should i unravel the undergravel

[buffalochip]

I had a fishtank 40 years ago. Decided to buy an aquarium again. Got a 37 gal and in line with my previous experience, installed an undergravel filter when I set it up. I am curently running the undergravel with a powerhead and an aqueon50 hob. The tank has finished cycling (fish-in) with 5 black widow tetras and a cory. when cycle completed i added 6 cardinals and 3 more corys. Now i find the underwater is no longer considered desirable. I am unsure of how to proceed. I have 3 choices as i see it
1. leave it alone

2. remove the powerhead and stand pipe and not take up the plastic below the gravel

3.rip the whole thing apart and remove all vestages of the thing.

Would appreciate your thoughts on subject along with reasons the undergravel is no longer considered desirable

 

[Mebbid]

People hate all over the under gravel filters all day long but in reality; they work just fine like they did back in their hayday. They are just a bit of a pain to clean and thats primarily why people dislike them.

If i personally were in your position i would go and invest in a hang on back filter and run that along with the ugf fkr at least a month. After that id pull out the gravel and ugf and replace it with a sand substrate.

That being said, theres absolutely nothing wrong with keeping the gravel or ugf, i just prefer my tanks to have a sand substrate because they are easier to clean.

 

[buffalochip]

Amazing how things change. couldn't use sand then because it didn't work with the undergravel. the new HOB filters have taken a lot of the work out of the hobby. Just pop out the cartrodge, rinse it in tank water and pop it back in. guess i need to pull the whole unit out every couple of months and clean impeller etc. Still a lot easier than the old inside box with floss!! maybe i'll get myself modernized in time. What do you think of option2, pulling the powerhead and lift tubes and just coveing my gravel with a layer of sand??

 

[Mebbid]

Amazing how things change. couldn't use sand then because it didn't work with the undergravel. the new HOB filters have taken a lot of the work out of the hobby. Just pop out the cartrodge, rinse it in tank water and pop it back in. guess i need to pull the whole unit out every couple of months and clean impeller etc. Still a lot easier than the old inside box with floss!! maybe i'll get myself modernized in time. What do you think of option2, pulling the powerhead and lift tubes and just coveing my gravel with a layer of sand??

You will have to keep adding sand over time for a little whilr because it will shift to reveal the gravel.. but theres nothing wrong with it.

 

[buffalochip]

thanks Mebbid....that looks like the simplest approach to me

 

[katiekelsey]

I'm in the same position as you are. Four years ago I set up a 45 gal with both an u/g filter with two power jets and a hob filter.
Six months ago I set up a 75 gal with a canister filter. The 75 gal tank stays so much cleaner and I don't have to vacuum the gravel.
I just bought a canister filter on line for the 45 gal tank. I'm going to get rid of the hob and u/g filter and power jets. I'm tired of all the crud under the gravel.

 

[gilpi]

Pound per pound, dollar for dollar, you can't beat an under gravel filter as a nitrifying filter. For many years I had them in my salt water setups. Some might choose to call them old or old fashion but the reality of it is that they work with not as much maintenance as many claim and very little $$ to purchase, all you need to do is to vacuum the gravel occasionally as you would any other tank.
It can also be used as a reverse flow UG filter, pushing partially filtered water thru the tubes... a lot less maintenance.