So who runs an under gravel filter here?(Also post your filtration setups)

[mostlycichlids]

Sorry, I don't use any UGF filters. I have used them in the past with great success though. Here is what I use.....

120g=2x Emperor 400's, Rena xp3
125g=2x Penguin 350's Large powerhead with sponge
75g=2x Aquaclear 110's, Rena xp2
55g=2x Penguin 200's
55g=2x Whisper 60's
29g=1x Penguin 200
20g=1x Penguin 200
3g= 1x Eclipse hood filter

I am going to be testing out a few sponge filters here in the near future for the 20g and on a couple in two ten gallon breeding tanks.

 

[ChrisK]

150 Gallon: Fluval FX5, Rena XP4, and Rena XP3
75 Gallon: Rena XP3, Xp 2, Tetra Whisper 60
60 Gallon: Rena XP3, Tetra Whisper 60

Haven't tried an undergravel filter yet, I probably will when I ever get around to restarting my 55 gallon.

 

[Paladinpress]

I just setup a 29 with hopes to try my hand at planted with a school of tetras and maybe a centerpiece fish such as the Bolivian Ram recommended in the 29 setup. I started the tank with a new AC 70 (300GPH). The guy at the LFS must have stock in the company that makes the UGFs because he is saying they are amazing at the bio component of filtration and are a must-have? Being that I do want to have plants, will the UGF mess this up, or are they the way to go? Also, I do like the idea of powering an UGF with powerheads, anyone have a pic of that they can show?

 

[SMinNC]

I don't have any UGFs right now. Mainly because of either sand or plants.

My favorite tank I ever had was a 75g. It had 2 seperate UGF plates.
I ran each one with somewhere around a 170gph power head.
And a 350 mag canister.
At one time I had 70 something fish in it. Most were an inch to 2 inches, with a few cats and bala sharks in the 6" range.
I'd change around 20-30 gal of water while cleaning the gravel. When it got to the 70+ fish load, I was usually just getting half of the gravel one week and the other half the next.
Plus change the filter material and carbon in the 350.
I had the outlets more or less facing the front center (Powerheads were in the corners). This pretty much canceled out the flow from each, to where it was a pretty calm inviroment.

It is possible to grow plants too. I wouldn't recommend it, if your planing on anything more than one or 2 plants(not types, but total). I'd have to assume the roots would totally clog the UGF.

I had plain 'ol black aquraium gravel, around 2" deep at the front to 3" in the back.
Jam packed with fake plants.
Mom would go to the LFS with me most of the time. I'd be going to see about a little school(6-7) of something. And end up comming home with 5-7 bags of fish. Can't be telling mom "No". So after we'd got to the 70 fish, I suggested she could maybe buy a plant. So then it turnt into 5-7 plastic plants comming home every week to 2 weeks.
So now being bored because of finally standing in front of the tank and saying "I don't think anything else will fit?"
I got one of those little bulb packages.
Ended up growing a huge aponageton(sp?)
It was in the back left corner. And ended growing up, to the front, all the way across the front and turning back towards the back right corner before I trimmed it. Somewhere around 7' long leaves.
I trimmed anything the way to the top, and kept doing that until I noticed it wouldn't grow leaves any longer than to the top now. Just more of them. So I had a real nice big, real plant in the back left of the tank.
With just 1 40wt light.

One thing I liked that I saw my brother do, and have done myself one time is.

Run the UGF with a HOB filter.

I done it on a 29g.

One plate, with one tube comming up.
I cut the tube so it was above the water line. And stuck the intake tube in it. No sealing, tight fit or anything. Just plain put it in the tube. And it worked.
No sucking up food or fish into the intake.
Less Stuff in the tank, etc.

I'm actually doing a WC(instead of just top off) on moms indoor pond right now. It's 70*F around here today, so I can have doors wide open to run the pythin outside.
And I think I probably went off topic or something.

Thats it for now.
Hope it helped.

 

[tcarswell]

150 Gallon: Fluval FX5, Rena XP4, and Rena XP3
75 Gallon: Rena XP3, Xp 2, Tetra Whisper 60
60 Gallon: Rena XP3, Tetra Whisper 60

Haven't tried an undergravel filter yet, I probably will when I ever get around to restarting my 55 gallon.

What do you think of the tetra whisper 60? I think my top fin 60 does a fine job at 300 GPH for mechanical :dance:

 

[tcarswell]

But I guess I wouldnt know how effective it is. Its been clean since I introduced the AC110

 

[Paladinpress]

That's actually a great idea to use the HOB pickup to power the UGF. I purchased the PerfectaFlo UGF for the 29 and installed it. The box claims, "The slots have been designed to draw water evenly over the entire plate." Not having owned a UGF before, was that a common problem before this "new" style? It seems pretty rugged, with eight ridges and seven channels. It has slits cut along the top of the ridges and in the valleys of the channels.

Was thinking about getting a couple of small powerheads to power it, but instead I cut the updraft tube so the pickup from the AC 70 could power it and it seems to be working fine. Will probably get a PH to power the tube on the right side.

I am assuming that rather than the HOB filter catching detritus directly from the water column it will now get sucked into the gravel bed. This may require more frequent gravel vac / water changes, but might reduce the sludge that builds up on the mechanical filtration foam of the AquaClear. Will post more later when I see how this thing works. Now it's off to the LFS to choose some victims, err specimens . . .

 

[tcarswell]

That's actually a great idea to use the HOB pickup to power the UGF. I purchased the PerfectaFlo UGF for the 29 and installed it. The box claims, "The slots have been designed to draw water evenly over the entire plate." Not having owned a UGF before, was that a common problem before this "new" style? It seems pretty rugged, with eight ridges and seven channels. It has slits cut along the top of the ridges and in the valleys of the channels.

Was thinking about getting a couple of small powerheads to power it, but instead I cut the updraft tube so the pickup from the AC 70 could power it and it seems to be working fine. Will probably get a PH to power the tube on the right side.

I am assuming that rather than the HOB filter catching detritus directly from the water column it will now get sucked into the gravel bed. This may require more frequent gravel vac / water changes, but might reduce the sludge that builds up on the mechanical filtration foam of the AquaClear. Will post more later when I see how this thing works. Now it's off to the LFS to choose some victims, err specimens . . .

I got the same type of UGF and it works well

 

[SMinNC]

...The box claims, "The slots have been designed to draw water evenly over the entire plate." Not having owned a UGF before, was that a common problem before this "new" style?

The "flow" could just be a marketing thing. But it's possible. And they are Alot stronger now.
The first ones I ever used where flat. And the ribs could break fairly easy, if not careful.

...Will probably get a PH to power the tube on the right side.

I've always used just one tube per plate. Because of the idea of them working against each other. Which could easily cause a dead spot.

I'd deffinately suggest, Not to use two different power plants.
As in. If you had 200 gph sucking up through the HOB, and 180 gph from the PH. Something won't be right. And with out using something to check the flow constantly, you won't know for sure which one is doing what. There are a few things that could affect eother one.
PH box says 200 gph. But at the height it's installed in your aquarium, the water lvl changing, which could change the pressure in the water to make a difference in the actual gph. Dirty impellers. Dirty filter material in the HOB, etc, etc.

...I am assuming that rather than the HOB filter catching detritus directly from the water column it will now get sucked into the gravel bed. This may require more frequent gravel vac / water changes, but might reduce the sludge that builds up on the mechanical filtration foam of the AquaClear...

Yip.

If you have a typical stand. You can look up at the bottom of your tank.
Sooner or later you'll see some build up under there. I'd just do some concetrated vacuming in that spot, and it would break it up. Here's where it's good to have the HOB opposed to a PH. All that junk is going to go flying up the tube and make a cloud in the tank. With the HOB, a whole lot of that will be caught.

Something I used to do with my 350 magnum canister was, hook up the gravel vac to it, and clean the gravel with it. Then do the water change without worrying about trying to get the cleaning done. With the amount of water I wanted to change.

The way I looked at the UG with plants. Is that it would be sucking stuff down to the roots all the time. That plant I mentioned earlier, had a pretty good sized root system. I'm sure they covered at least half the tank from the end it was located.

 

[tcarswell]

Sorry, I don't use any UGF filters. I have used them in the past with great success though. Here is what I use.....

120g=2x Emperor 400's, Rena xp3
125g=2x Penguin 350's Large powerhead with sponge
75g=2x Aquaclear 110's, Rena xp2
55g=2x Penguin 200's
55g=2x Whisper 60's
29g=1x Penguin 200
20g=1x Penguin 200
3g= 1x Eclipse hood filter

I am going to be testing out a few sponge filters here in the near future for the 20g and on a couple in two ten gallon breeding tanks.

That is a sweet collection!