i am just getting back into the hobby and was wondering should i get an under gravel filter? i had tanks in the 80's and always had under gravel filters and never had a problem but now being told that they are not good! i am getting a lot of Algae working on changing my lighting and was thinking of adding an under gravel.
Under gravel filters
- Thread starter Pappy
- Start date
Hello; I have seen the threads and posts criticizing undergravel filters (UGF) since visiting these online forums. I started out using the UGF in 1959 and have several decades of experience with them. They work and I have had good results with them. I now run an additional hang on back(hob) with removable media with the UGF most of the time, but have run them alone many times. I have run tanks without them as well for the last couple of decades.
I suspect many feel they are old technology and perhaps dislike them for that reason. I have read posts that say the UGF are hard to clean which I do not unsderstand, as in my experience they do not require cleaning. Once installed under the substrate they are maintance free in my use.
With a secondary hob and cleaning during water changes the tanks can be kept mostly free of unsightly detritus which the UGF will not remove.
The UGF is extremely reliable and they use to be fairly cheap compared to other filters. I run mine with air, but have read of power heads being used. I do replace air pumps from time to time. The UGF have only needed to be replaced due to my breaking them with hancling or the plastic becoming brittle over many years. The air bubbles create a flow and break up the surface film as well.
In another forum I commented on a similar question and another old hand mentioned running a UGF with a layer of bonded filter material directly on the filter plate with substrate over that. This apparently provides a greater surface area for bacteria and keeps the fine material in the substrate from getting under the filter plate. I intend to try this at some point.
I recently made a new setup and pulled an old UGF from a box and installed it in a 29 gallon tank. I put four to five inches of roughly bb sized gravel over it. I plan to look for any problems with the use of it and invite those who do not like the UGF to post the issues I need to be on the look out for.
I suspect the UGF will operate well without problems as they did for me over many years when I first used them.
I suspect many feel they are old technology and perhaps dislike them for that reason. I have read posts that say the UGF are hard to clean which I do not unsderstand, as in my experience they do not require cleaning. Once installed under the substrate they are maintance free in my use.
With a secondary hob and cleaning during water changes the tanks can be kept mostly free of unsightly detritus which the UGF will not remove.
The UGF is extremely reliable and they use to be fairly cheap compared to other filters. I run mine with air, but have read of power heads being used. I do replace air pumps from time to time. The UGF have only needed to be replaced due to my breaking them with hancling or the plastic becoming brittle over many years. The air bubbles create a flow and break up the surface film as well.
In another forum I commented on a similar question and another old hand mentioned running a UGF with a layer of bonded filter material directly on the filter plate with substrate over that. This apparently provides a greater surface area for bacteria and keeps the fine material in the substrate from getting under the filter plate. I intend to try this at some point.
I recently made a new setup and pulled an old UGF from a box and installed it in a 29 gallon tank. I put four to five inches of roughly bb sized gravel over it. I plan to look for any problems with the use of it and invite those who do not like the UGF to post the issues I need to be on the look out for.
I suspect the UGF will operate well without problems as they did for me over many years when I first used them.
Thank you, i did not think that fish changed that much in the last 20 years but just wanted to check. i was given this take and the fish by someone who could not care for it any longer and been running a canister filter that came with it but again my first canister. i have to change the lights because after fighting algae for six months i checked the lights and they have what appears to be grow lights (Nice) but i am going with LED should help a lot. going to break down the tank this weekend and put in a under gravel hopefully my lights will be finished by then.
I inherited a 30g tank with an UGF. It had been set up that way for about 9 years with out cleaning. It had two fairly large angels in it and evidently the only maintenance had been scraping algae. They were using city water with no additives. When my son-in-law broke it down to deliver it he found it wasn't a big smelly mess either. Because I didn't understand at the time how it worked, I didn't put it back in the tank and I now regret not continuing to use it. It was a kind of hurry-up situation (they were moving and had no place for a tank) I had to make room on a few hours notice and I had well water and not a lot of experience at the time - obviously neither did they, but in spite of it, the fish had thrived and the transfer went well and I have had the tank for well over a year now.
I used undergravel filters before I did planted tanks, and they work just fine. If it was a fish-only tank or only used plants that did not root into the substrate, it works ok.
Since I like planted tanks, I don't use them anymore. They get broken very easily by the plants' root system and the roots block the flow of water under the plates.
Since I like planted tanks, I don't use them anymore. They get broken very easily by the plants' root system and the roots block the flow of water under the plates.