Removing UGF from tank.

[Tightdog1]

what is the best way to remove a UGF from an established tank?

i will be removing it from my 55g, it has powerheads on it if that matters but i doubt it.

[VoodooChild]

Just rip that sucker out. You're going to have to do a good 50% water change, and I'd do another that night or the next day. And run all of your HOBs with sponges and clean those often. It's messy.

[wetmanNY]

Why does this always remind me of the whipping-the-tablecloth-out-from-under-Mother's-tea-set trick? Why not leave it be until you take down the tank for other reasons? Just turn the power off.

[JP457]

I just ripped mine out of my 5 gallon when I went to sand. Pull out the lift tubes and use the holes to get a grip and slowly slide it up and back. I managed to do it without disturbing the gravel too much but that was a tiny tank

[VoodooChild]

If you do just turn the power off, which is a very viable way, make sure you do frequent water changes. You're going to have a good fermentation of all the food that was down there and you'll probably have some bacterial die off. Actually Wetman's right. That's what I'd do. Just do a few 1/3 water changes over the next few days after you do it and watch your parameters.

[BV77]

If you just shut down the ugf, anerobic bacteria will start growing under the plates where no water is circulating. I've pulled them out of all mine a long time ago.

[Tightdog1]

water parameters are horrible already, without doin anything.


if i jsut leave the tank as is and turn the power off the bacteria will die and then will jsut pollute the tank evern more than it is already which is pretty bad. i am not goin to turn the power off. i will probably just move the gravel off the plate and lift the platem, simultaneously have my bother do a water change and suck out all the bacteria/crap that is under there, i will probably hook up another power filter just to help sucking out the juck that will float around.

process has not been done yet.

[wetmanNY]

We don't know what fish are there. If you do this, you'll begin by removing the fish to a bucket with siphoned-off water I hope.

There are some tricks about preserving the nitrifying bacteria at www.skepticalaquarist.com in the SetUp folder, under "Starting Over."

If you're careful and clever, you won't have even a breath of ammonia afterwards, nor nitrites following..

[somefinnfishy]

my sugestion is to pull it:D I've done it a few times I would wait and do 3or 4 good gravel vacs first maybe even wiggle the UGF while powerheads are running to stir it up during one of those water changes carefull not to lift and get gravel in you power heads.

BTW why are you removeing it?I would never run a unplanted tank without a UGF but most my tanks are planted.

[Tightdog1]

i have no planted tanks cause i dont have the time to keep them goin and im never home.

here what i did:

i hooked up this reverse osmosis micron mechanical filter (not the RO unit) just the micon filter part to a powerhead so it would continuiously filter out the old dead bacteria, while doin a water change also with all filters running at full throttle, it took about 20 minutes to do and there was tons of stuff under the filter plate. during the filtering and changing the water got so dark that u couldnt see any fish!!!!
After about 6 hours of the RO filter and normal filters still goin the water is still kinda murky.

after the fiasco was over i checked the water and it was normal.

[125gJoe]

http://gordon.sourcecod.com/images/flagicons/american_flag.gif
Here's what I would do --- Total tank take-down, and start new. I wouldn't risk spreading around that stored up crud under those plates. Especially since you mentioned the water is 'bad' anyway.