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I have been using an undergravel filter in my 29 gallon tank for quite some time now, but it really doesn't seem to filter anything.
I am using a 2 piece undergravel filter:
I am using a rena air pump 200:
And I have two small air stones connected to the ends of the tube.
The only thing it seems to do is add oxygen to the tank.
Are these undergravel filters worth the trouble? Are the air stones supposed to go under the actual undergravel filter, or are they supposed to stay in the clear tubes?
My experience with undergravel filters is that they're messy (and hard to clean) and don't really do a very good job. Even sponge filters seeem to work better.
Must admit I'm not keen on the UGF. I personally prefer the external type (such as fluvial 1/2/3/404 or eheim) as they are easier to clean, and provide much better filtration.
I use a fluval 204 in my 26gal, well overspecified for the job according to the literature, but seems to cope very well. In addition they provide enough movement to not need the airstones, which are a personal pet hate of mine as I dont like the bubble effect. My bristlenoses seem to get on OK.
i think your best bet rather than tear down your tank to remove the ugf, would be to get two cheap power heads and a small hang on filter like a Eheim 100/150 or a Penguin 125...stay away from whispers IMO, with the combination of the UGF and the hang on you should be in biz
it doesnt mean you should ditch it...the more filtration the better...use it in conjunction with another filter...i do that with one of my tanks and it works well
the above being said...a UGF isnt exactly state of the art when it comes to mechanical filtration...i believe that is what you mean when you say "i doent do anything"...as far as filtering out pieces of garbage no it doesnt do a great job...the purpose of the UGF is to use the entire bed of substrate as a bed for biological filtration or bacteria bed...the UGF is good for bio filtration but if youre looking to improve water clarity or suck up little bits of goo you need a power filter with some activated carbon...by the way i thought you only had your tank set up for a month or so...that isnt enough time to determine whether the UGF is efficient or not...lets not throw the baby out with the bath water.
ALSO...the airstones dont go under the tray, they stay in the tubes...the purpose...the air bubbles create a small current in the tube causing slight suction of new water through the gravel bed and out up through the tube...if you put the stones under the tray youll just stirr up any goo you substrate has in it...important to consider when using a UGF...do i have too much gravel covering the tray...will the gravel compact so no water movement will occur...is my pump powerful enough to encourage proper flow through the gravel...the limitations of the UGF are large, but you now can also buy owerheads...small little pumps that fasten to you tubes that suck water from the tube, thus creating more flow through the gravel...using twosmall poerheads on the system you have woul increase it efficiency dramatically, and in conjunction with a small bio wheel your fish would have a ton of filtration=an extra fish or two...water changes less frequently...although i still think its good to change your water at LEAST once a month...i try for evry 1-2 wks depending on the tank...i have one i do maybe once every two months but this is because of the way it is set up, (ie less fish, ample filtration and for whatever reason i try not to disturb this tank and the biotope is perfect so why mess up a good thing) and it WORKS...i dont recommend you try waiting so long, your fish will suffer...anyway UGF gets a bad rep...and is not my favorite method, but it can work with proper planning
OOPS...big blue i meant some of that last post for eddie...anyway i think the emp and 2 powerheads should rock the house on your unit...why the sponge?? are you keeping fry??
IMO. Under ground filter is a time bomb.
With large fish forget the UGF if you have small fish(guppie tetra) then ok maybe, but its still a slow trickle filter I think.
My point is under a UGF is a perfect place for nasty bugs "IF" it blocks up or the flow slows down to much.
The more filtration the better. My tank is kind of cloudy right now. I slowed down the feeding and do water changes more often. It still gets cloudy after a couple of weeks.
thats cool bigblue...but i think youll find a sponge only adds clutter, but its up to you...if you want an internal filter like a sponge i would get an internal filter in which i could add some carbon or peat or something so if you want you have some chemical filtration as well...how long has your tank been cycling, how long do you leave the lights on, how many fish etc...your cloudiness may have nothing at all to do with filtration
DeLBoD wrote:IMO. Under ground filter is a time bomb.
With large fish forget the UGF if you have small fish(guppie tetra) then ok maybe, but its still a slow trickle filter I think.
My point is under a UGF is a perfect place for nasty bugs "IF" it blocks up or the flow slows down to much.
if you make sure to siphon the gravel bed you shouldnt have too much trouble with blockage, esp if using some good powerheads, but if you dont siphon often you will, you need to siphon a UGF system more often than one without ugf because it depends on flow of water through gravel, if no flow, then no go...lol
The more filtration the better. My tank is kind of cloudy right now. I slowed down the feeding and do water changes more often. It still gets cloudy after a couple of weeks.[/quote]
3 possibilities come to mind.
if your tank is cloudy-white or grey:
1) bacterial bloom caused by an un-cycled tank or a minicycle
2) stuff precipitating out of the water if you use pH altering products/devices
if your tank is cloudy-green:
3) algae in the water column
how can you tell which one, and what should you do in each case?
1) the ammonia or nitrites in the tank will not be 0. this cloudiness is not harmful and is actually a proliferation of the nitrifying bacteria needed to process the toxic ammonia and nitrite that your fish produce as waste products. the cloudiness should go away in a day or so as the bacteria moves to colonize the filter. causes for the un-cycling of a tank include rinsing biological filter media (such as the biowheel) in untreated tapwater or letting it dry out, depriving the biological media of an ammonia source, adding fish to an non-cycled aquarium, adding too many fish to your tank at once, treating with medications that will kill the biological filter, and finally, changing the water often and then drastically reducing water changes.
2) first clue is having hard water and using a pH altering substance. second clue is is usually happens after a water change. try using R/O water and mixing some back in with your tap water. test this in a bucket first until you get the desired pH, GH, and KH, so you know the correct ratios for your tank. i don't recommend using rain water because i know in some places it has a lot of pollutants.
3) try cutting down on the lights. look for possible sources of phosphate in the tank. check your tapwater for nitrates.
so which do you think it is? (also, if you don't know what cycling a tank means, please say so, and i'll explain)
I used to play with UGF in a 5 Gallon Basket-Planted tank.
The Water Quality is Crispy Clear after running for a month. I can't get that Clarity with Power/Overhang Filters though they still do the job. Some people may disagree. But that is my experience.
I need to do partial area- gravel suck cleaning about every 3-4 months. That's fine for a 5 Gallon with a bit of overfeeding. You maybe able to live with that for 6 months.
One thing to note is to make sure the air-stone is slightly above the gravel surface level
and a good air-pump.
Angel
