Small Kit - Undergravel filter system question.

[rvijay07]

Name of the Tank: The Aqua Tank
Manuf.: Hawkeye Corporation in KS
TANK: Small ACRYLIC Hex 2G tank (Pump included) Kit.

I bought a yesterday that comes with an Undergravel filter system. This basically has an elevated black hexagonal plastic that goes at the bottom of the tank. There is a tube that goes into
this black piece, the other end terminates towards the top. How can I
suction of the water/waste from this ? Do I have to buy anything else
extra ?

Also, is it safe to use a 25W heater with this tanks ?

Thanks.

Vijay

 

[NovaWo1f]

Just stick a bubble stone down the tube, the air bubbles will cause the water to get sucked up, and water to get sucked down through the gravel and back up through the tube. I got a cheap little hexagonal aquarium too, no clue how big, cant be no more than 2 gallons. Pretty cool...lol

 

[rvijay07]

If air bubbles are caused below the grave and then they rise above, water will get pushed up. Then the waste will be distributed all over the tank. This is very confusing. Can this be explained more clearly please ?

Also, how does the waste get removed out of the tank then ? Is it manually removed or siphoned out ?

Vijay

 

[Bearfan]

Ok, an air stone is placed into the verticle tube of a UGF. As bubbles are introduced into the tube, they displace water which is moved through the top of the tube due to the vertical motion created by rising air. Typically, on UGFs, you would have a head on the top of the tube with a charcoal filter.

This was all changed by powerheads, which use a syphoning to get the water movement.

The goal was to pull the waste through the gravel into the UGF, where it sat and often messed up water quality.

 

[rvijay07]

In the case of very small tanks like a 2G tank, there are no power heads for this correct ?

Here is some info. that I found in this regard.

http://aquariumservices.com/most_mis_filt.html

Vijay

 

[tkos]

What are you keeping in this tank?

 

[rvijay07]

Just one Betta. That is it.

Vijay

 

[rvijay07]

And there is a plant too

 

[MicroFish]

I have my bettas in this EXACT setup. They dont' come w/ a carbon filter head so I had to go out and buy some. Go to PetsMart or somewhere (measure the diamter of your tube first) and buy a carbon filterhead for it. It will then clean the water.

Since I just have bettas in mine, I tend to simply clean the water and gravel every month and rince out my makeshift filterhead. There really is no way to put another type of filter on these small tanks so the UG filter is as good as it gets. Are you planning to do monthly water changes and gravel cleaning? If so, you probably won't have to worry about the carbon top, depending on what type of fish you keep in it.

 

[tkos]

Well then the underground filter will be fine. In my 5 gallon betta tank I just use a small box filter and never clean it (no carbon just a sponge). Just make sure to do weekly water changes (probably 50% in that tank). Once the bacteria gets going strong you don't want to mess to much with the filter anyway. Bettas like the temp around the low 70's so the heater won't be a real problem turing on too much if you keep it in a warm room.

They are great fish. What colour?

 

[rvijay07]

Brown, small fins with streaks of dark blue on top.

 

[tkos]

Sounds nice.

 

[rvijay07]

I just checked. The Diameter is 0.75 inch or 1.9 mm. What kind of a power head will I need ? Is there a part number for this product ? Is there a web-site for this product.

Also, if I use soil, sand and then gravel to make this into a tiny planted tank, Can I still use the UG filter ? Thanks.

Will I still need to use an air stone inspite of using the power head ? Will I have to change the Carbon often in the powerhead ? Thanks.

Vijay

 

[rvijay07]

I live in Canada and am not close to a Petsmart etc.,

 

[tkos]

Sorry that I don't know too much about power heads. But I do know that you can't use soil or sand with an underground filter. It will just clog it up. So too you can't use plants that root as their roots also clog the UGF. You need floating plants which aren't a good idea in that small of a tank as they will quickly cover the surface which the Betta needs.

At walmart you can get a small filter system with cartridges that I used to use in my smaller 1 gallon tank. It has a small air pump and a small internal filter that suction cups to the side. It works fine in small tanks and is easy to take care of.

Otherwise you don't need carbon unless you need to get rid of medications. Carbon is useless in less than a week. Sponges and filter floss are the best, especially since you don't have a big bioload.

 

[MicroFish]

>>At walmart you can get a small filter system with cartridges that I used to use in my smaller 1 gallon tank. It has a small air pump and a small internal filter that suction cups to the side. It works fine in small tanks and is easy to take care of.

What is this called? I've not seen it before and pretty much assumed that the UG filter was all I could use w/ my Bettas. Would love to be able to get rid of the UG filter altogether!! Would that be possible w/ the filter you just described?

 

[tkos]

Sure it would. I don't know the name. But in the Canadian WalMarts it is just located near the fish food. It comes in a green package with an air pump, tubing, the filter and a valve so you can adjust how much air goes through. If you tunr it down it is pretty much silent. They sell replacement cartridges in 2 packs. I used to change them once a month or so and it kept the water nice and clean.

 

[rvijay07]

This filter is quite expensive, almost the price of the tank itself. I wonder if it is even essential. A partial water change atleast once a week, gravel cleaning twice a month and using the undergravel filter seems to be a better option.

I have known cases where people have not changed water for extended periods of time while using this filter. This resulted in bacterial infection. There is no substitute for water change, specially in smaller tanks.

Vijay

 

[rvijay07]

This question on UGF is out of general interest.

If I used a powerhead, do I still need the air stone/pump ? Why ?

Vijay

 

[tkos]

You don't need an airstone at all. They are just for looks and for extra airation, but this isn't needed for Betta that can breath air if the water lacks oxygen.

You should change water every week in a tank that small regardless of what filter you use.

You don't need the suction cup filter if you plan on using the UGF. It is just an option in case you don't want to use the UGF which most people don't like to use. And if you ever want plants UGF's are useless.

If you use the UGF that comes with the tank then there is no need for a powerhead. Bettas also don't like or need a whole lot of water movement as it becomes harder for them to swim with those big fins.