UGF Dilemma

peleg38

peleg38

AC Members
Sep 28, 2004
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Vacaville, CA
I know this will probably cause an argument but I really can't decide what to do so I thought I would get some opinions. I have a penguin 330 and bubble powered UGF on my 40g tank and would like to increase the filtration. I'm looking real hard at the UGF. I need to decide between putting small powerheads on the uptubes and doing a forward flow or a reverse flow UGF. My other option is to scrap the UGF and just get a large powerhead. I know UGFs can be controversial but I wanted to know about other's experiences(especially with reverse flow).

Thanks,
Pelegro
 
personally I say stay away from the UGFs. UGF stands for Under Gravel nitrate Factory ;) They require a LOT of maintenance to keep them from getting a grody and nasty. Get an aquaclear and stuff it with the sponge inserts. tada! great bio-filter and all you have to do to clean it is wring out the sponges in a bucket of tank water wvery week or two.
 
I ran a UGF on my 40 for many years with no problems. I took it down because I was adding more and more plants, and they would have blocked up the gravel even more. So, if I were setting one up a gain, I would go reverse flow. Clean the gravel very, very well before doing this, and you'll probably need to clean the pengiun 2 or 3 times a day initially, as all the accumulated mulm gets pushed out. But, once this is complete, you should be very happy with it.
 
Two of my 3 tanks have an UGF as part of the filtration system and I don't have any problems. One is reverse flow and the other is not. I have no complaints.
 
UG/RFUG is always and eternally controversial. All biofilters are nitrate factories, that is what thay are for, and what they do by definition - if they do not produce nitrate from ammonia and nitite,then they are not biofilters in aquarium terms. If a filter bed of any type is not maintained, it can become a nitrate reservoir (quite a different thing), but that is not a defect of the type of filter, but of the understanding and/or maintenance of the operator.

I use multiple UGs myself without any issues or problems, but all are RFUG and most are OE-RFUG. Currently I'm playing with planted RFUGs due to Tom Barr's saying they can work, and they are to date fine, but it is too early to give long-term conclusions yet as the oldest are less than two years right now.

http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/rtrrfug.shtml
 
Over-Engineered Reverse Flow Undergravel Filter.

It's in the artical RTR provided.
 
Thanx Watcher!

LongTime - the object of that particular mod is to move much of the bio function into the non-crushing filter pad, so the depth of the gravel bed is less of a factor in the biological functionality of the RFUG.
 
I might just add that I have used all three set-ups RTR mentioned, the OERFUG is new to me but in concept and short term application it seems to be fabulous. I ran conventional with air pump many years ago, and switched over to powerheads because of my personal hatred for air pumps. The pwerheads did a better job with the conventional set-ups IMO, not to menton the silence and dependability. I was turned on to RFUG about 12-13 years ago, and ran them with high bio-load Oscar tanks. they are an absolute Godsend with messy fish. The RFUG is IMO one of the best ways to prevent substrate build-up and anaireobic (sp) pockets. I honestly don't use any conventional flow set-up and don't intend to again, but do know that they work well if maintained well. I was ready to scrap the idea of planted tanks because I like the RFUg well enough to use them in every tank. I read a little about planted set-ups, and despite RTR's caution about newbies planting RFUG I did it anyhow. Thus far it is working well, but it has been less time with my tanks than RTR's set-ups, and he is far more experienced with plants. so I'll probably leave the article writing up to him on that one. For any filter there is always pro's and cons, but IMO UGF, RFUG, and OERFUG are all excellent formats if understood and used properly.
dave
 
Tom Barr, some time back, did some RFUG planted and had no problems. Way back in the dark ages of the the prior century, I had a web-friend who had one planted UG of many year running which looked great. TB says it is not the best way to grow plants buit that it worked fine for him, and I will defer to his much more extensive experience and testing on that. But due to his comments, I had to try it eventually, and have had no issues to date. Part of the current tank room re-do is setting up more RFUG or OERFUG planted tanks so that I can have more different setups to play in and observe. I do not use high-light/high CO2 supplements, or do so only rarely and relatively briefly, so that is not part of my trials.
 
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