Have I totally messed things up with undergravel filter????

[owlett]

I have a 29 reef set up just starting and I was going to put in an undergravel filter but changed my mind after reading something about them no being needed. However, I didn't take the plastic grid out. It got buried uder the sand and live rock.
Everything seems to be okey dokey. I did a water test the results were
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
Ph: 8.3
Alkalinity: 300
Nitrate: 15 (before first water change which was two days ago)
The tank is only a few months old though and I was wondering if I have set myself up for a disaster.

 

[j21kickster]

Now you have a little plenum- its ok to leave that in there- some people do that on purpose- so no worries

 

[col]

Alkalinity 300?
I think you may have mixed the results with something else there.

 

[kpogue]

If it were me, I would remove it. I don't agree w/ the plenum theory and feel it leaves too much room for things to get messed up with. But that's just my op.

 

[maroonclownfan]

Have had my tank up for over a year WITH an undergravel filter. All my parameters are acceptable. (0 trites,ammo)
The only thing that is a little elevated is the nitrates at 20ppm.
Which is not optimal but not terrible either. More frequent water changes on my part would probably knock that down.
Anyway, I don't see the harm since it is just the grid. You aren't "pulling" anything through it, so it is basically just sitting there unused.
If it is a hassle to remove it then leave it, is not going to do much of anything, harmful or beneficial if it is not running.
......MCF

 

[yetex]

If it was me i would just leave it there where it lies. I wouldn't want to mess with the hassel of removing it.

 

[beth]

Originally posted by MaroonClownFan
The only thing that is a little elevated is the nitrates at 20ppm.
Which is not optimal but not terrible either. More frequent water changes on my part would probably knock that down.
......MCF
And herein is the problem with the ugf. Nitrate factory. Watch the nitrates zoom now over the next 6 to 12 mos to astronomical proportions unless you do major water changes frequently. Do you have LR in the tank?
UFG's can be maintained if you already have one, but to start out now with a UGF is a mistake. It is obsolete for this hobby and limits what you might want to do later with your tank. IMO.

 

[maroonclownfan]

In my defense of UGF.....
Yes, 20 is a little high for nitrates, but there are people on this board with higher levels than that running DSB. So how do you explain that? (rhetorical ?) I do very little in the way of water changes. Maybe 15% once a month. And actually my trates are slowly going down, not up.
I am not advocating using a UGF, to each his own, when I set up another tank I probably will not go with an UGF, only because I want an aragonite or sand substrate (these will clog UGFs). Right now I am using CC and the UGF seems to be getting the job done.
So in summary, an UGF CAN work, but may not be the "preferred" method.
IMO...........MCF

 

[beth]

Originally posted by MaroonClownFan
So in summary, an UGF CAN work, but may not be the "preferred" method.
IMO...........MCF
Yes, I agree it can work...but it is not the prefeable way of setting up a new tank. That is why I said you can maintain an existing ugf system, but that I thought, IMO, that setting up one at this stage in the hobby, when there are better options, would be a mistake.
I'd be interested in knowing what your nitrates are when the tank is 18 mos to 24. But, didn't you kinda take down the ugf? It never got to the stage where many ugf systems start to blow the scales on nitrates.

 

[owlett]

well, the ugf isn't running or anything. I do have some live rock, only about five pounds at the moment, since the tank is pretty new. I took out the tubes that hold the carbom and what not and all I have is a plastic grid underneath everything.
I also added some aglae, I think it's called grape algae, it looks like a bunch of tiny green grapes. I'm hoping this will help to lower nitrates.

 

[jlem]

The grate should not hurt anything. If anything it will provide a low oxygen area for nitrate reducing bacteria to grow. It may not be very efficient at reducing nitrates but it should not elevate them. All it is is simply a grate that is sitting there so if it is not being seen and you don't want to tear apart your tank then leave it. Also a properly vacummed UGF will not lead to skyrocketing nitrates, but a unvacummed UGF will. Any tank not maintained will eventually have high nitrats no matter what set up you have. You sre going to have nitrates untill your tank matures enough to reduce them on it's own so Be careful about putting algae in you tank to reduce algae because it may spread to very annoying amounts and cause more harm than good. Your best way to keep nitrates down right now is very light feeding and good water changes with ro/di water.

 

[otto13]

I was going to do that on purpose with one of my tanks. Someone mentioned a plenum earlier. You should read up on it. I really dont think it will hurt.

 

[broomer5]

I'm not sure I'd call it a true plenum.
It's lacking the fine mesh screening that makes the plenum system function as it does.
I don't know what I'd call it really.
Maybe a modified pseudo plenum, or just a buried under gravel filter plate.
In any event - I would not have one under the sandbed.
If you can remove it without totally messing up your tank - I would if I were in your shoes.
If you chose not to, and leave it in, I can't think of any real harm that could come of it.
But this is only a guess - I'm not all that familiar with what may happen as time goes along under there.
Maybe nothing - maybe something

 

[gwtank]

I'd leave it be... that seems to be the general consensus anyway. I attempted to take an UG plate out of my old tank and in the process managed to screw absolutley EVERYTHING up and lost nearly all my fish in the process... IMO it is not worth the effort. Just my two cents worth
-GWT