Anyone out there have a FO set-up with CC &UGF?

[teetee]

Just wondering. Does antone out there use crushed coral and the dreaded undergravel filtration? If so, for how long, and are you happy with it? It seems like they are so yesterday's technology. I am even ashamed to say I use them.
If not what do you use as substrate? T.T.

 

[beth]

Yes UGF, Yes CC, 3 yrs, Yes I regret it, yes it is passé.

 

[teetee]

Hey Beth, so why? High maintenance? High nitrates? Or simply that shameful association of not being in the "in". Oh dear what to do what to do.

 

[krustytheclownfish]

Yes to both. Haven't been in saltwater that long and I'm already thinking of taking the ugf out(I do have other filtration besides the ugf). UGFs get clogged over time and constantly need to be vacuumed out to keep waste(and nitrates) from building up. They're just not that good of a biological filter compared to other fairly inexpensive methods. A ls bottom is a popular alternative to cc. I has the ability, along with lr, to not only convert ammonia to nitrites to nitrates, but also convert the nitrates to nitrogen gas that escapes into the air if the conditions are right. Do a search on this bb for "live sand" and "live rock" and you'll get a lot of good info. Good luck.

 

[teetee]

I know live sand is the way to go, It's just that I have a heavily decorated 135g set-up. The thought of emptying everything out simply to remove the cc & UGF. Someone on another post mentioned doing it in sections. A third every week end for three weeks.

 

[eric the red]

I have both also,2years,and it does not bother me if they are"out dated".Also My protein skimmer is home made,and so is my light hood.The only casualty I have had is a snail that was eaten by a large hermit crab. So my guess is on how well a tank is managed,determines if it needs upgrading
[ May 04, 2001: Message edited by: Eric the red ]

 

[beth]

The UGF is high maintence because of the clogging and the endless effort to reduce nitrates. You can modify your existing UGF if you don't want break it down by adding LR. You cannot add LS to a UGF. However, you can slowly convert....preferably having another tank ready for fish in case you have a major bio-meltdown at any time during the conversion.

 

[deblin2]

I had a lot of problems with my tank because of UGF. I took it out and replaced coral with sand and my live rock suddenly began to grow beautiful plants on them and my water quality improved greatly. My fish are healthy and happy. It is much less trouble. My nitrates had been extremely high and they are much lower now.

 

[teetee]

I guess I will get somewhat political here without trying to seem overly victimized, but my rant is, why the heck do lfs sell UGF's & promote CC if they are out-dated technology?
I just set my system up about 3 months ago. Unfortunately i was not privy to the wisdom of this board, but I wish my LFS could of steered me in a more healthy direction as I was planning my set-up with them. It seems like a waste of money & resourses.

 

[beth]

They sell it because it is still standard filtration for the FW hobby and they don't necessarily know any better. If you want to get serious about marine fish-keeping, don't go to a petshop that sells everything, or a LFS that sells FW and SW.
IMO & in my experience.

 

[azzala]

I do not have an UGF so I won't comment on that but I did purchase a book on marine aqariums that the auther swore by then and suggested their use. I read through a little of it and it did seem like more work but it seems that is what this hobby is all about. If you are interested the book is called Marine Aquariums by Richard F. Stratton.

 

[caymanlovers]

Deblin, How did you go about switching from UGF to ls and lr? Separate tank for fish during change over, all in one day? Contemplating doing this myself but only have the 50g tank and 10g QT and not sure how to do the change without losing fish. Thanks for any info you can give.