Get rid of (currently active) UGF

[BillyHal]

Which is the best approach in order to remove a UGF which has been in position for over a year now? What should I be careful with? Which preparations are necessary before I even start?
I would appreciate answers from people who have actually done this, rather than in theory. Oh, I currently have 6 little fish in the tank

PS. And in case anyone wonders why I am removing, it's because: a) I am thinking of placing plants and b) I am suspecting the UGF for poor water condition, as I have excluded other possibilities.
Thanx!

[Tightdog1]

i posted on this about maybe 1-2 months ago search for the thread and it tells about exactly what i did. if u cant find it i will tell u again.

[BillyHal]

Sorry TightDog1, I tried but I got lost, you have been very-very productive:p ...

[mogurnda]

BillyHal,
Best I can do is tell you what I have done.
First, install the new filter, and have it going long enough (guesswork, I suppose) to be colonized by nitrifying bacteria. I gave it a couple of weeks. You can also count on the old rocks, decorations, and tank walls to be reasonably well-colonized.
Remove fish to an aerated (heated if necessary) bucket or plastic garbage can, with some of the decorations to keep them company.
Remove decorations.
Remove gravel and UG filter.
Siphon out the muck, leaving about half the water.
Add new substrate (or the old stuff, after a good rinse).
Add decor.
Top off tank.
Let filter run until the water is relatively clear, and be sure temperature is right.
Add fish.
My fish didn't even blink after the procedure, and NH3 never went up, but you can test and do water changes as appropriate.
There may be more elegant ways, but this one worked.

[125gJoe]

You may not have to re-cylcle the tank if you save enough water and 'used' filter floss (if you have that..).

A total tank take-down is needed to get rid of that UGF. Clean everything, and now is a good time to clean off the insides of the tank (remove algae)..

Congrats! ... You will have cleaner water with better filtration techniques! :D

[Tightdog1]

BILLYHAL this is what i did. i have a 55g with a fluval 304 with biowheel pro 60s attached inline, UGF with power sweep 228 self-rotating powerheads and a POS HOB bravo 200. (soon to be AC300).
i have this former reverse osmosis mechanical filter with a 10 micron filter element in it. i hooked that up to a penguin powerhead and had it run on my tank throughout this whole process ahead. it had to be cleaned out like 3 times during the process too.
ok i took out all my blue acaras, but my pacus had to stay in the tank. there is no way i could get them out with out them splashing out all my tank water.
so i took all the gravel off one of the ugf filter plates. and ran my gravel vacumn down behind and under the plate, the end of the gravel vacumn went out my window and onto the grass. while this was goin i had the hose filling my tank back up as the water left the tank. i also turned up all my filters to full in order to filter as much bacteria out as posssible. the process took me about a half hour. i tested the water b4 and after the process:
B4
pH 6.4
nh3 2.0
no2 .25
no3 20
temp 78F
KH 90
GH 120

next day
pH 6.6
nh3 0
no2 0
no3 40
temp 76F
KH 100
GH 120

the reason i took out the UGf was bkuz of my ammonia it would never go lower than 1.0 no matter how much water i changed or what i did. but i still have to do the other side of the UGf so i still have half a ugf on my tank.