smittyjr18
Aquarium Advice Regular
What are the pro's and con's of a undergravel filter? Should i have one or not?
Undergravel Filter?
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Bearfan
Aquarium Advice Addict
No. They are waste traps. It's an old method that has been pretty thouroughly defeated.
FishyDan
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Everybody has their personal opinions about undergravel filters. Some like them and some don't.
I have used them on every tank I have owned for the last 35 years. The tanks have ranged in size from 10 gal to a homemake 70 gal. If you take care of your tank by doing weekly or bi-weekly gravel vacuuming and 25-30 % water changes, then you won't have a "waste trap". The constant flow of water and particulates through the gravel not only feed your plants, but keeps the bacteria in your gravel fresh and alive. It also alows you to have lots of bubbles to help aerate your water by moving it around, that way you don't have "stagnate" places or "bad water" spots in your tank (i.e. it keeps the water the same throughtout the tank). Without the water turnover, you might get different readings at the top of your tank or the bottom of your tank, even with a HOB.
On the other hand, if you don't take care of your tank, then you will have problems (just like Bearfan said) with or without an undergravel filter.
I think it makes for a cleaner tank and better over all water quality. I use a HOB and undergravel filters. Works great for me.
I have used them on every tank I have owned for the last 35 years. The tanks have ranged in size from 10 gal to a homemake 70 gal. If you take care of your tank by doing weekly or bi-weekly gravel vacuuming and 25-30 % water changes, then you won't have a "waste trap". The constant flow of water and particulates through the gravel not only feed your plants, but keeps the bacteria in your gravel fresh and alive. It also alows you to have lots of bubbles to help aerate your water by moving it around, that way you don't have "stagnate" places or "bad water" spots in your tank (i.e. it keeps the water the same throughtout the tank). Without the water turnover, you might get different readings at the top of your tank or the bottom of your tank, even with a HOB.
On the other hand, if you don't take care of your tank, then you will have problems (just like Bearfan said) with or without an undergravel filter.
I think it makes for a cleaner tank and better over all water quality. I use a HOB and undergravel filters. Works great for me.
wright4lfe
Aquarium Advice Activist
always had good luck with them, helped to keep my plants looking great and to keep the amount of waste at the top to a minimum.
with weekly cleanings you can pick up the majority of the waste caught by the undergravel filters and continue to have a great looking tank.
with weekly cleanings you can pick up the majority of the waste caught by the undergravel filters and continue to have a great looking tank.
RocketSeason
Aquarium Advice Addict
I say no. The only Under gravel filter I have is on my 2 gallon betta. and that is only because My bioload is very low and sword plant needs food.
go with a great emporior HOB bio-wheel system instead. You will have a cleaner, better looking tank.
go with a great emporior HOB bio-wheel system instead. You will have a cleaner, better looking tank.
nyghtone
Aquarium Advice Freak
I would say that it depends on what you want. If you only want a tank with fish, but no living plants, I think a UGF would be a huge waste of time and way to much work. I have a 20 gallon fw tank that only has 1/4" of gravel on the glass, one rock for decoration, and a pengiun 125 biowheel HOB filter. This tank stays crystal clear and the only maintenance I have to do is once a week I filter the gravel and replace about 5 to 7 gallons of the water, and then monthly replace the filter in the pengiun 125, which runs 3 bucks. This is by far the cleanist tank I have ever kept and is the least amount of work as well. On the other hand, I COULD NOT keep plants in this tank with much success I don't think, although I could be wrong.
So I'd say review what you want, and this plan for it. Adding live plants to a tank is a lot more work and IME UGF's help greatly. If you don't want plants though, a simple HOB and a heater is all you really need, and if this is the case, keep your gravel to a bare minimum, just cover the glass, and you will have great success.
If you do decide that you want plants, I am not qualified to give advice, haha. Hope this helps.
So I'd say review what you want, and this plan for it. Adding live plants to a tank is a lot more work and IME UGF's help greatly. If you don't want plants though, a simple HOB and a heater is all you really need, and if this is the case, keep your gravel to a bare minimum, just cover the glass, and you will have great success.
If you do decide that you want plants, I am not qualified to give advice, haha. Hope this helps.
wright4lfe
Aquarium Advice Activist
yeah, i forgot to add the part about live plants.
i use live plants in all of my tanks, and having UG filters are a must have in my opinion. they give the plants roots something to cling to so that everytime you go to vacuum the gravel they don't get loose and come up when ever the fish swim thru them.
i use live plants in all of my tanks, and having UG filters are a must have in my opinion. they give the plants roots something to cling to so that everytime you go to vacuum the gravel they don't get loose and come up when ever the fish swim thru them.
Bearfan
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have live plants just fine w/o a UGF, they anchor in the loose gravel and don't come up.
nyghtone
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hey Bearfan, I wasn't trying to say that you couldn't have plants without a UGF, I was just pointing out that it takes a little more than 1/4" of gravel I think, but I am also not claiming that to be a fact, haha.
wright4lfe
Aquarium Advice Activist
there's always one...lol
Bearfan
Aquarium Advice Addict
nyghtone said:
I have laterite and about 1 1/2" of gravel, so yes, it would take more than 1/4". I wouldn't recommend only 1/4" even with a UGF and live plants.
RocketSeason
Aquarium Advice Addict
its really personal prefrence in alot of ways. I just feel that HOB filters keep your water much, much, cleaner than a UGF ever could do.
wright4lfe
Aquarium Advice Activist
i don't think anyone on this thread was advocating using only a UG filter. if anyone was they need to seriously reconsider.
on my 20gal, i have a UG filter and a penguin 330.
on my 55gal, i have a UG filter, 2 emperor 400's.
on my 180, no UG, but 1 eheim 2260 and 1 2180 pro II thermofilter. possibly adding another 2260.
on my 20gal, i have a UG filter and a penguin 330.
on my 55gal, i have a UG filter, 2 emperor 400's.
on my 180, no UG, but 1 eheim 2260 and 1 2180 pro II thermofilter. possibly adding another 2260.
RocketSeason
Aquarium Advice Addict
I dont think that anyone has asked this yet...what size tank do you have???
smittyjr18
Aquarium Advice Regular
It is a 29 High with a Mag 350 pro system. I do have a UGF and i am slowly removing the fake plants and adding live.
RocketSeason
Aquarium Advice Addict
well there you go! that Mag 350 Pro with the bio-wheels works like a champ. You shouldnt need the UGF at all I would just turn it off and remove the tubes and save yourself some money on your electrical bill.
What are you planning on keeping? Goldfish and Cichlids I would say no. They move to much gravel around to keep the filters running properly. Tetras or guppies sure.
I use them on most of my smaller tanks but not the larger ones. I do know of a public aquarium that uses them when doing substrate tests because it actually increases bactera growth and shortens study times of some conditions. So in short Yes and No. Clear as mud now huh! :?
I use them on most of my smaller tanks but not the larger ones. I do know of a public aquarium that uses them when doing substrate tests because it actually increases bactera growth and shortens study times of some conditions. So in short Yes and No. Clear as mud now huh! :?
docrak
Aquarium Advice Freak
I have done some research on this topic and still haven’t decided weather a UG filter is a good thing or a bad thing. There are so many different viewpoints on this topic that it can become confusing.
I put an UG filter in my first tank, a 29-gallon tank. I also have two hang on back filters and am running a power head on both outlet tubes. It seems to take a lot longer to cycle an UG filter. My tank has been running for about 6 months and my stand allows me to look under the tank. There doesn’t seem to be much flow in certain areas while the area near the outlet seems to have a high level of flow. It makes me wonder about the efficiency of an UG filter.
That being said I also have a 10-gallon tank with an UG filter. One outlet tube goes into a HOB filter and the other is air powered. The tank has 6 skirt tetras and one beta. I just cleaned it yesterday and was amazed at how little waste there was. It seems to be running very efficiently.
On my 60-gallon tank I decided to go with a canister filter and a HOB filter. After my experience with the 29-gallon tank and after doing some research it didn’t make sense to use a UG filter on that large of a tank. I think that’s been mentioned before.
If I were to build another small tank, 20-gallons or smaller, I probably use an UG filter as a supplemental filter.
As for smittyjr18, I’d say keep it in, I can’t see there being any negative benefit from using it. Where as tanking it out completely would be a huge pain in the neck.
I put an UG filter in my first tank, a 29-gallon tank. I also have two hang on back filters and am running a power head on both outlet tubes. It seems to take a lot longer to cycle an UG filter. My tank has been running for about 6 months and my stand allows me to look under the tank. There doesn’t seem to be much flow in certain areas while the area near the outlet seems to have a high level of flow. It makes me wonder about the efficiency of an UG filter.
That being said I also have a 10-gallon tank with an UG filter. One outlet tube goes into a HOB filter and the other is air powered. The tank has 6 skirt tetras and one beta. I just cleaned it yesterday and was amazed at how little waste there was. It seems to be running very efficiently.
On my 60-gallon tank I decided to go with a canister filter and a HOB filter. After my experience with the 29-gallon tank and after doing some research it didn’t make sense to use a UG filter on that large of a tank. I think that’s been mentioned before.
If I were to build another small tank, 20-gallons or smaller, I probably use an UG filter as a supplemental filter.
As for smittyjr18, I’d say keep it in, I can’t see there being any negative benefit from using it. Where as tanking it out completely would be a huge pain in the neck.
RocketSeason
Aquarium Advice Addict
I wouldn't remove the whole thing. Just the tubes.
I had a clown loach once who lived for 2 years in my UG filter. had it not been there. I might have seen him more often. I didn't even realize he was still alive until I tore the tank down!
I had a clown loach once who lived for 2 years in my UG filter. had it not been there. I might have seen him more often. I didn't even realize he was still alive until I tore the tank down!
PATtheHAT
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Under gravel filters
I'm new here and have some input about Under Gravel Filters. I've been using under gravel filters for years and have never had to do all the things thats been posted here. I had a 55 gallon hex with close to 50 fish in it run for more than three years with doing nothing but add a little water once in a while. It had a glass top which I had sealed off, leaving just enough room for the heater and air line. I never vacuumed it or changed water as most of you have advised. I added a large seashell to keep the ph balanced. I had to move across the country and sold the tank
I know this all sounds far fetched to you, but it's really worked this way for me, I only wish i took pics of it. It mostly had Tiger barbs (about 20 or more) a few clown loaches, a couple of cats, a shark, 5 female betas and 2 males which fought often but never to the death (one male at the top of the tank had all it's fins and only one mate, while the other at the bottom had nearly all it's fancy fins gone, but enjoyed 4 mates), and one big african knifefish. My current tank is a 35 hex, setup the same way and so far after 8 months I haven't anything different with No Troubles at all. I'll try it get pics posted soon. It has 6 lg tiger barbs, 4 lg albino tiger barbs, 4 lg green tiger barbs, 6 (2 lg 4 sm)red tiger barbs, 2 congo river puffers, a one lg clown loach. I had a lg blue lobtser til it found out that the puffers are poisonous when eaten, found it belly up yesterday
recently I tried the same technic to a 15 gallon high profile tank with disastrous results. I put ten small to medium sized tigers and one puffer in it, and less than two days later 7 tigers died and the water got cloudy and fowl smelling. I didn't find much waste in the gravel, so I think I added too much and didn't get a good draw though it. I'm trying again with less. I'll keep you posted on my progress. I'll also be posting pics real soon.
I'm new here and have some input about Under Gravel Filters. I've been using under gravel filters for years and have never had to do all the things thats been posted here. I had a 55 gallon hex with close to 50 fish in it run for more than three years with doing nothing but add a little water once in a while. It had a glass top which I had sealed off, leaving just enough room for the heater and air line. I never vacuumed it or changed water as most of you have advised. I added a large seashell to keep the ph balanced. I had to move across the country and sold the tank
I know this all sounds far fetched to you, but it's really worked this way for me, I only wish i took pics of it. It mostly had Tiger barbs (about 20 or more) a few clown loaches, a couple of cats, a shark, 5 female betas and 2 males which fought often but never to the death (one male at the top of the tank had all it's fins and only one mate, while the other at the bottom had nearly all it's fancy fins gone, but enjoyed 4 mates), and one big african knifefish. My current tank is a 35 hex, setup the same way and so far after 8 months I haven't anything different with No Troubles at all. I'll try it get pics posted soon. It has 6 lg tiger barbs, 4 lg albino tiger barbs, 4 lg green tiger barbs, 6 (2 lg 4 sm)red tiger barbs, 2 congo river puffers, a one lg clown loach. I had a lg blue lobtser til it found out that the puffers are poisonous when eaten, found it belly up yesterday recently I tried the same technic to a 15 gallon high profile tank with disastrous results. I put ten small to medium sized tigers and one puffer in it, and less than two days later 7 tigers died and the water got cloudy and fowl smelling. I didn't find much waste in the gravel, so I think I added too much and didn't get a good draw though it. I'm trying again with less. I'll keep you posted on my progress. I'll also be posting pics real soon.
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