undergravel filter
- Thread starter HangOver
- Start date
Take out that old UGF. Most new HOB filters have suffiecnt biological filtration to sustain a tank.
Undergravel filters are old news. They really dont provide much filtration at all and arent suitable for most fish except maybe Bettas. 
Even then, HOB (hang on back) filters provide much more filtration like Tightdog said and are relatively inexpensive.
UGFilters are the equivalent of those old Apple 2E computers to todays Dells.
(that was kind of a retarded analogy)sorry
Even then, HOB (hang on back) filters provide much more filtration like Tightdog said and are relatively inexpensive.
UGFilters are the equivalent of those old Apple 2E computers to todays Dells.
(that was kind of a retarded analogy)sorry
There is nothing quite as impressive as a closed mind. To me equating a properly set and maintained UG/RFUG to an HOB is ludicrous.
http://www.aquasource.org/CMS/modul...ns&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=17&page=1
No HOB-filtered tank is ever likely to approach the water clarity of an RFUG filtered tank.
http://www.aquasource.org/CMS/modul...ns&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=17&page=1
No HOB-filtered tank is ever likely to approach the water clarity of an RFUG filtered tank.
RTR said:
Very well said, I loved how my UGF worked on my 29g and now it is doing great as a RFUGF. Most people hate UGF but I love the concept of it and it works great
I just bought a 55 gallon and thought of ditching the ugf idea. I decided to run one anyway for money reasons it will be the main filter for a short while. Another thing is I just feel more comfortable with something between the gravel and bottom glass. Although the ugf is an antiquated system, if properly maintained they can do a nice job.
Firstly UGF is no good with sand the gravel should be around 3-4mm..
You can keep more than bettas with them, before I went marine (around 7 years ago) I had no trouble with UGF filtration and raised a couple of healthy discus with an UG filtered tank, without issue... The tank was running for over 2 years before I went marine, and when I broke down the tank as I used it for marine and sold the discus, the UGF was not clogged up at all and my plants (anubas nana.) root systems were under there, but the plants were growing well...
I don't understand the anti-UGF sentiment here, it seems very strong and the problems reported mainly sound like they had UGF, but never cleaned the gravel, hence the ineffective filter? If I never changed the cartridge in a hang on filter it would clog up eventually too.... UGF are very effective if maintained, like many other filtration systems..
You can keep more than bettas with them, before I went marine (around 7 years ago) I had no trouble with UGF filtration and raised a couple of healthy discus with an UG filtered tank, without issue... The tank was running for over 2 years before I went marine, and when I broke down the tank as I used it for marine and sold the discus, the UGF was not clogged up at all and my plants (anubas nana.) root systems were under there, but the plants were growing well...
I don't understand the anti-UGF sentiment here, it seems very strong and the problems reported mainly sound like they had UGF, but never cleaned the gravel, hence the ineffective filter? If I never changed the cartridge in a hang on filter it would clog up eventually too.... UGF are very effective if maintained, like many other filtration systems..
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If you over-engineer the RFUG, you can use finer particle size substrate. I use aragonite routinely for my BW puffers to help buffer the water when low specific gravity is used.