I plan on using 'play sand' in my 80 gal and was wondering if an undergravel filter would help keep my tank clean. Keep in mind that 20-30 crayfish may live in the tank and they can really dirty up the substrate. Would the filter get clogged? Is the sand to compact to allow any waste to get to the filters?Or is my tank too big for undergravel filters? Thanks
Undergravel filters good or bad for sand?
- Thread starter Stevoh
- Start date
you could use an undergravel filter,but in a tank that large it's kinda couterproductive to have a ugf.to use one with sand is impossible.sand will sink and clog the ugf basicly rendering it useless.there is a method using a similar idea called a plenum,but those are used in salt water tanks and not really a practical form of filtration.so unfortuneatly the anwser is no on all on all your questions.if you want to just keep crayfish then just a small layer of gravel should work fine.crayfish need very clean water for long term survival.so a tank with lots of rock and wood and thin gravel should be easy to clean and keep your crayfish happy.
UGF's are becoming obsolete IMO. they suck for cichlid tanks and are non-functional in sand-substrate tanks.
canister filters are the best type of filtration for sand tanks due to the way that they filter water. i.e.-- canister filters route the water through media BEFORE the water reaches the impeller and is expelled back into the tank.
power filters (HOB's) route the water through the imperller BEFORE the media, which means that if your filter sucks up a bunch (or even a little) sand you could ruin your impeller...
i have burned up a penguin 330 this very way.
you could use aquaclear power filters such as the 300 or 500, but i would cover the intake pipe with a piece of sponge to help prevent sand from getting in.
i would also keep the intake pipe fairly high in the tank to add a little extra security.
if you go with canisters, the eheims, filstars, and the via-aqua are my personal favs.
M
canister filters are the best type of filtration for sand tanks due to the way that they filter water. i.e.-- canister filters route the water through media BEFORE the water reaches the impeller and is expelled back into the tank.
power filters (HOB's) route the water through the imperller BEFORE the media, which means that if your filter sucks up a bunch (or even a little) sand you could ruin your impeller...
i have burned up a penguin 330 this very way.
you could use aquaclear power filters such as the 300 or 500, but i would cover the intake pipe with a piece of sponge to help prevent sand from getting in.
i would also keep the intake pipe fairly high in the tank to add a little extra security.
if you go with canisters, the eheims, filstars, and the via-aqua are my personal favs.
M
cannisters would be great for a larger tank but for my <60gal tanks, fluval pump/filter/aireators are the best. they go directly inside the water and filter before the impel. they use two filter cartritges whiuch are inexpensive and last for months. if i had a really big tank, i may just get a couple high end fluvals.
