Return from canister UG or spray bar?

[lee914]

At first the idea of using the return from my canister to an UG tube to help keep debris of the bottom seems like a good idea but I have never been an undergravel filter fan at all, although this is not quite the same thing. Or, am I better off just using a spray bar?

[ziskus]

I use biowheels.

[MadCow]

I prefer the spraybar, however I honestly never tried the ug filter return method. Obviously, the spraybar will help with the oxygen exchange taking place at the surface of the tank as well. I use the spraybar return on both of my eheims and try to control debris accumulation through gravel vacuuming. Another concern that I might have with the ug method would pressure on the canister filter. I'm not sure,just guessing, that the water being being pushed down through the ug filter and up through the gravel might lead to an increase in back pressure on the canister filter motor etc. I tried running one of the returns through my UV sterilizer and then to my spraybar but it wasnt a good idea. Anyways, thats my take on the subject. What do you guys think?

[blitzen25bm]

why dont you put the intake down there to suck up all the stuff?

[JSchmidt]

I would think as long as you didn't increase resistance on the canister's pump, you could put the outlet wherever you want. I don't think the outlet water will benefit from being pushed thru the UG, as it should already be pretty free of ammonia/nitrite; moreover, it probably will be pretty depleted of oxygen, so it won't do much for any biofiltration going on in the UG.

One of the advantages of using the spraybar is that you can increase surface disruption, thereby oxygenating the water. That may not be an issue for you, depending on whatever other filtration you have.

HTH,
Jim

[RTR]

I am all for RFUG, but not by using canister return for this - but I have done so. My first RFUG was done with return from Eheims to UG plates (in SW). But I figured out that unless I changed the canister weekly, I had back-to-back biofilters operating, which is a bit of a waste, and also somewhat oxygen-depleted water feeding the RFUG, not particularly desirable. That was decades before the development of user-friendly canisters, strictly Classics, but even today, I'll stick with canisters and RFUG as independent systems.

[snickle]

I was researching this subject, so I thought I would ressurect this thread.

I am planning on use a wet/dry setup with my new 90G tank. The wet dry should keep the water aerated, so no problem there. With a flow rate on the pump 550+ GPH I would think that would help keep waste from settling too far in the substrate.

Any current thoughts? Does anyone make a good unit for this or have suggestions on a design?

[Rbishop]

Run an independent RUGF if your desire is to push debri from the substrate.

[snickle]

I see two types of design on this:

A jet system that has small jets sticking above the gravel

A totally under the gravel setup king of like a UGF plate.

Thoughts on which is better?

[jm1212]

a reverse flow UGF would be best

[Sploke]

Snickle, I'm planning on running the return from a w/d into a reverse-flow undergravel filter. The sump part will have a lot of biofiltration as well as mechanical filtration, the main reason I'm using the rfug is to try and help keep the gravel clean. Its a cichlid tank and gets fairly messsy, so the more help I can get in between gravel vacs, the better. It also seems like a good way to get great water circulation.

[nick2206]

I put the spray bar at the bottom of the tank to keep the debris from staying on the bottom and use H.O.B filters which help with oxygen exchange on the surface.

[snickle]

Which UGF are you planning on using?

I am looking at a Lee's Twin Flow 46 x 12. Won't cover the whole bottom, but since I have a built-in overflow, one that would cover the bottom won't fit.


Snickle, I'm planning on running the return from a w/d into a reverse-flow undergravel filter. The sump part will have a lot of biofiltration as well as mechanical filtration, the main reason I'm using the rfug is to try and help keep the gravel clean. Its a cichlid tank and gets fairly messsy, so the more help I can get in between gravel vacs, the better. It also seems like a good way to get great water circulation.

[dmopar74]

take into consideration although the gravel wiill be cleaner with a RFUG, all that crap being blown out of the gravel will go into the filter, which will make for more frequent filter cleaning and material. if your doing w/c's anyways just vacuum the gravel then. either way its the same amount of waste that needs to be removed, id rather gravel vac than pay for filter floss etc..

[Omega]

At first the idea of using the return from my canister to an UG tube to help keep debris of the bottom seems like a good idea but I have never been an undergravel filter fan at all, although this is not quite the same thing. Or, am I better off just using a spray bar?Use a spray bar.

If you want bottom water movement, what I did was hook up an Eheim pump to some pvc and made simple under-gravel jets. You can also use submersible water pumps but there's a cord for each one that can ugly-up your tank. Having a large central pump hooked up to PVC allowed me to have four output nozzles at surface level with only one cord to deal with. Depends how big your tank is.