filters

What kind of filter do you like

  • hang on the back

    Votes: 60 74.1%

  • under gravel

    Votes: 10 12.3%

  • bio wheel

    Votes: 28 34.6%
  • Total voters
    81
  • Poll closed .
Well I'm one of those who wrote off UGF's years ago, but seeing how knowledgable Daveedka is I will reconsider. I didn't neglect mine rather I did not know maintenance was even possible. How do you clean under it? I know you don't take the gravel out or it would defeat the purpose.
 
Forgot to mention. The reason I'd love to use reverse UGF plus HOB or canister is not having to vacuum the gravel. It's not that I'm lazy it's that I like heavily planted tanks and they are a real pain to clean.
 
This is just my opinion, as I have owned HOB, BioWheel and canister filters.

Canisters are great for any tank. The drawbacks to them are the lack of turnover rate. Even the largest Eheim, the 2128 only gets around 270 GPH (gallons per hour) whereas the Aquaclear 500/110 turns over 500 gph.
Canisters do excel in the fact that they hold a whole buttload of media, meaning they have exceptional biological capabilities. These can be especially usefull if you have a large bioload or need extra media for seeding new tanks. If you are stocking the tank with fairly clean fish, canisters are perfect. If you are stocking the tank with dirty fish like cichlids and such, they simply do not perform an adequate amount of mechanical filtration needed.
Another drawback is that you have to mount those dreaded intake and outlet tubes. In a smaller tank (less than 75 gallons) it is hard to make these tubes asthetically pleasing.
A big plus in the planted tank is that a canister can be setup as though to not create alot of surface movement which increases the rate of CO2 loss.

HOB and Biowheel filters fall under similar categories. I am in love with Aquaclear filters and do not currently own any other brand filter. HOB filters move a lot of water which in turn makes for more debris removal and more circulation. Suspended particles tend to get picked up quicker with my Aquaclear than they did with my Eheim.
The drawbacks to HOB filters are that they are limited in size and thus cannot hold as much media. On a tank smaller than 40 gallons, one filter will suffice. For tanks larger than 40g, you are better served by having 2 smaller filters rather than 1 larger one.
HOB filters do create a huge loss of CO2 though, and should thusly be avoided if you are planning on a planted tank.

Personally, I use HOB on all my tanks. All of them are 55g and smaller. On my 2 55g tanks I use 2 AC 500 and on my 2 20g tanks, I use a single AC 200.

If it were me and I were setting up a 75g tank or smaller, i would use HOB filters. For tanks larger than 75g, I would use a canister in conjunction with a HOB.
If I were heavily planting a tank, I would strictly use canisters only.

I have never used UGF and would not recommend them. The only real maintence you are able to perform with UGF are by reversing the power head and flushing the debris back into the water. This debris is again filtered back through the gravel and so on and so forth. I just don't like this design and would never recommend it. I personally like being able to perform maintenance on my filters and being able to do a thorough cleaning without having to dig up all my gravel in the process.
 
Well I'm one of those who wrote off UGF's years ago, but seeing how knowledgable Daveedka is I will reconsider. I didn't neglect mine rather I did not know maintenance was even possible. How do you clean under it? I know you don't take the gravel out or it would defeat the purpose.
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In conventional ugf set-up. Once a year (or every six months if needed), I'd run an airline under the plate and vacum out any gunk. In btween gravel vaccuming is an absolute requirement and the primary reason I prefer the RFUG set-ups. In conventional set-up you have to be religious about gravel vaccuming.

With an RFUG the key is to prefilter the powerhead with a sponge or sock. Penguin make a great reverse flow filter kit for their powerheads, some other powerheads can be cutomized pretty easily to be prefiltered. In reverse flow, the prefilter keeps the gunk out from under the gravel in the first place, and the upward flow of the current through the gravel will keep mulm from settling deeply.I seldom if ever vaccum my gravel any more.

As far as plants, There are several people who have raised and continue to raise plants on an RFUG plate. And most report no problems. I am new to plants, so my observations reallly mean very little, but all of my tanks have RFUG's and all of my tanks have plants as well. The only major Drawback I can see is the inability to use sand, and the inability to use substrate fertilization.
Dave
 
Wot Filter

I Have Used U/g Filters In All My Smaller Tanks And Even Removed Those Due To High Build-up Of Wastes.. I Use A Ehime Pro 11 External In All My Larger Tanks Now!!
And There Great Really!!!!
I Removed All U/g/s From My Smaller Breeding Tanks And Use Internals Fluval Plus Or Equivelent And With Regular Water Changes And Gravel Cleaning Found This Not Only Much Easyer But More Affective!!!!
 
Filters Again!!!

If People Use U/g/s So As Not To Clean And When They Do Suck Up The Muck Underneath... They Havent Tryed A Good External Yet ???
They Keep The Balance Right (to Quote Depeche Mode)!!
Need Little Cleaning..
And Unless Your Use Ing A Small Tank Such As For Breeding ? .....work So Well I Would Never Revert To Ug/s Again..
Internals Work Fine Without Too!!!
Good Tank Maintenance Eg: Water Changes And Gravel Cleaning ( A Weekly Clean Of Internal Filter Sponges In Tank Water .... You Cant Go Wrong!!!
 
I am not very knowlegeable (sp?) about ugf so maybe you can help me what if any is the difference between a regular ugf and a rfug?
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Conventional UGF uses a powerhead or an airlift tube to pull water cown through the substrate and up through the tubes to the top of the tank. The primary disadvantage is that it pulls mulm into the gravel as well, and you need to dilligently vaccum to ensure it doesn't build-up and plug the plates with gunk which will eventually turn septic.

RFUG reverses the operation by pulling water from the tank into the tubes, and forcing up through the gravel. This keeps the mulm from settling deeply, and by prefiltering the powerhead, you get no dirt under the plates ever, and less dirt in the substrate than any other system going. You have the additional advantage of pulling water with a higher o2 level from the upper portions of the tank and feeding it directly to the bacteria bed in the substrate which makes it even more effecient as a biofilter. You also have additional mechanical filtration in the tank via the intake prefilters, and no chance of ever having an anaerobic pocket in your substrate. Water changes are easier because of no need to vaccume, less mulm build in the substrate and more lands in the filter therefore you have less nitrate production in the tank. It's silent, reasonably inexpensive, and extremely effective. I have never found any other filter that can keep the substrate as clean. I haven't tried cannisters yet but will, and I will do so with my RFUG still in place.

If People Use U/g/s So As Not To Clean And When They Do Suck Up The Muck Underneath... They Havent Tryed A Good External Yet ???
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I for one have tried many good externals and use many good externals. I'll still put my RFUG against anything else for ease of maintenance, cost, and bio-filtration capabilities. There are a lot of really good formats available, all with their good and bad points, and all with their fans and folks who don't like them. The only filter that isn't a good filter is one that quits working. Otherwise it's a choice of all the different pro's and con's of the different formats.
Good Tank Maintenance Eg: Water Changes And Gravel Cleaning ( A Weekly Clean Of Internal Filter Sponges In Tank Water .... You Cant Go Wrong!!!
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Water changes are a must IMO, rinsing/ or otherwise cleaning media is a must IMO, gravel vaccuming is only a must in a non-RFUG tank. And as far as that goes, most people with enriched substrates, and heavily planted tanks don't do a lot of vaccuming either.
Dave
 
Wet/Dry trickle filters get my vote. With canisters right behind.
 
If you're religious about vaccuuming your gravel. There's nothing wrong and a whole lot right about UGF's. Most of us aren't and that can lead to problems down the road. If you regularly vaccuum your gravel, a reverse flo UGF is great. Probably the best filter out there for the price. Add a HOB of some kind for chemical filtration and you're good to go. In my experience, its a lot more stable than using cannister/Hob's exclusively. If you tlhink about it, They do the same thing, force tank water through media that hopefully filters it. In the case of the UGF, your filter is getting cleaned every time you vac your gravel. With a cannister, you have to shut it off, physically remove it and then replace it when you're done and get it started again. Aside from that, with a properly maintained UGF, you have a couple of POUNDS of media per gallon of tank capacity, no other kind of filter can even come close.
 
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