Undergravel Jets...

S

snytiger_92

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Jan 31, 2005
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Odessa, TX
Has anyone on this forum heard of the UGJ set-up? I am about to purchase a 75 gallon tank for cichlids :cool: and was wondering about this method of circulating/filtering water along the substrate of my tank.

I was thinking of using a magnum 350 and fluval 404 (because I have access to one of each) as the pumps for the 'jets' - I just don't know how to properly modify them to do so :rolleyes: . I have a 20 gallon wet/dry filter to accompany this set-up.

Any opinions?

Thanks!
 
I remember something about using a submersed spraybar to create a gentle current at substrate level to lift the detrius off the gravel and coax it toward the filter input. Don't quote me on it though...
 
Cool! A 75 is an ideal tank for cichlids, I think...

I'm curious though, given most cichlids propensity for digging, how do you keep the fish from digging the subtrate out from around the submerged jets? Wouldn't that look pretty bad?

I've read with interest about people who have built these jet systems, and they sound kind of fun to make. I have a hard time seeing that they would really be a very big improvement, though.

Jim
 
acefred said:
Just run an RUGF same result..........
Click to expand...


I will elaborate on that. I recently bought two Penguin 660R's and will attach them to my 29g's Undergravel Filter after some major syphoning...The Penguin 660r's have the reverse flow option and come with an elbow adaptor attachment to fit the UG tubes and a pre-filter sponge. It's only a couple dollars more than the Penguin 660's which are the same, but do not come with the elbow or the pre-filter sponge...
 
Running powerheads to power a reverse undergravel filter (RUGF) is great idea, especially if you prefilter. Unfortunately, UGFs (or RUGFs) aren't necessarily the best solution with digging fish (like many cichlids....). The digging opens up holes in the gravel, exposing the plates. You get excessive water flow through the holes, and almost none through the gravel bed.

If you're talking about using powerheads to run an underwater jet system, I still wonder what the advantages are (other than the tinkering factor, which cannot be ignored!) and how you protect against exposure from digging.

Jim
 
Yes, but you can always do the eggcrate thing over the UG plate which stops the diggers from digging right down to the plate and short circuiting the flow of the RFUGF.
 
Under this same idea, one could egg-crate the UGJ as well. Or, I thought I might silicone the pvc to the bottom of the tank.

Also, the outlets would be hidden behind rocks in places throughout the tank. I thought of maybe using the rockes themselves to hold the pvc in place.

Thoughts?
 
this article should help

Here is the article that I read before I built my UGJ system. It took me about 1 evening to make it, and it was fun to build, and I just a big submersible pump to power it. What I did was to coat all the pipes with silicone and coat them in sand, and then even if part of it gets exposed, it looks pretty natural, and I don't get all bent out of shape trying to cover it up, because I do have African Cichlids in my tank.

I haven't used my jets long enough yet to know how clean it keeps the bottom, but so far, so good.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ug_jets.php :dog:
 
I don't think anyone answered the original question.

I am setting up a 100 gallon, and have the same thoughts. I don't want to use a reverse undergravel filter (RUGF) since I'm putting plants in. I'm going to have a Magnum 350 canister, and an XP2 canister for my filtration.

I am planning on setting up two loops of under gravel jets (UGJ), and instead of purchasing new pumps/powerheads, I want to pipe the return from each canister (through a DIY rock background) into an UGJ loop with 3 or 4 jets.

Has anyone set up an UGJ system, using canister filters to power them? How many jets did each canister supply? Was the flow rate high enough? Did it work, or did you end up switching to pumps/powerheads?

The reason I'm so intent on doing this is that I hope that by reducing surface disturbance (by returning the canister supply via the UGJ), the CO2 put off by the fish resperation will help reduce or eliminate the need to add CO2 for the plants. If it doesn't, I can put an inline CO2 reactor in the return from the canister, which would then come out the bottom of the tank.

Any thoughts/ suggestions?
 
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