u/g filters

[eric]

Everyone says they suck, ditch them, get rid of it. but no one ever says why? when I started this hobbie or should I say addiction. If I would have had to bye an expenseive wet dry filter, protene skimmer I probably would have never started but I did and with an under gravel and it worked fine up untill the point that I wanted to put more and more rock in the tank and was afraid of pluging off the filter. And that is the only reason for not useing one that I can think of. this is a great hobbie and any one who wants to get started but can't afford the good stuff can still get started and work into it slowly. So if there is something that I missed about u/g let me know.

 

[kris]

Alot of people say that they are bad because they blame them for nitrate builup. In my opinion though any piece of equipment can cause this if not properly maintained. keeping the ug working properly requires good powerheads and regular vacuuming of the gravel. In the reef enviroment they really have no place due to the fact that most use live sand. I am a firm believer that this hobby should not be limited to the wealthy.
I think people are misled- being under the false impression that the more you spend the less work you'll have to do. It does'nt matter if you have $100 or a $1000 worth of junk you still have to do the work. Bear in mind though that even the bear essentials will cost plenty. The amount of money you spend does however limit what you put in your tank --for example don't put some delicate corals in your tank if you can't afford the lighting system they need. Or don't go putting a highly sensitive fish in your tank with minimal filtration. And don't overcrowd.
[This message has been edited by Kris (edited 04-05-2000).]

 

[thebatcave]

One of the reasons that they don't work to well is that a lot of junk gets stuck in there and clogs the filter. It is much easier to buy a slightly more expensive filter and get better filtration.

 

[tattooedlife]

I currently have a semi-reef tank, with a ug filter. Its been up and running for some time now. I think the ug filter is fine if you have enough power heads to support it. I have a 55 gallon with 4 power heads running my ug filter, and had no problem of yet. If you have a stand with only a partial top, you can look at the bottom of your tank, just make sure it stays clean.

 

[kass]

u/g filters work o.k. at first when the tank is new, but after a while they clog and get detritus trapped under them building up nitrates. With all the inexpensive ways(compared to a few years ago) you can set up a reef now (live rock, sand, good skimmer, and power heads) which you need anyway for a reef. Why would you want to put something in it that your going to have to take out in a year or 2.
It's better just to go with aragonite substrate.

 

[beth]

Well the reason why some may want to go with the UG is because they already have that system setup [like me] and they don't want to tear apart their whole tank to set up a new system. In other words, some people, like me, like the FISH aspect of the hobby most, and don't really want to do a full-scale reef system [because we prefer fish, not inverts], but it would be nice to kinda "graduate" a little and perhaps add some live rock, etc. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who started with a FO UG system and have successfully added to their existing system and how they did it. Please post here or email me at : Leizzabeth@aol.com

[This message has been edited by beth (edited 04-06-2000).]

 

[kris]

Well beth-remember I had a ug set-up in my fish only run by powerheads. I did graduate slightly by adding a bunch of live rock - I did not remove the ug. Live rock as you know is great extra filtration but in my case I had added it to please my fish and it really did. (I had tangs and angels) Extra filtration, more hiding spots, and algae to graze on (which reduced the amount of food I was putting in).

 

[beth]

That's great news, Kris...that you continued to use the UG. Was this in the system that you had up and running for several years? Tell me what else you had in the way of filtration?
Right now, I have a UG, 2 powerheads, canister, and UV in a 72 gal with only 6 small fish. Did you add live sand, or just use the crushed coral? Also, I have high nitrates. Can I add the live rock in a high nitrate system? I do not want to add anything that can't be sustained well.

 

[kris]

Well in the old set-up I had the ug run by high end powerheads and then 2canisters as well. (I actually used the four lift tubes of the ug and put the powerheads on two of them and the intakes from the canisters down in the other two tubes). I also had a bio-wheel back filter for mechanical and chemical purposes. The canisters were packed with strictly bio-type media The substrata was crushed coral and I didn't want to change to sand because of the cost and trouble. I ran this tank (60g) for 4 years this way and like you I tried not to overcrowd (I had 6 fish). When I added the rock I just added enough to build a wall in back which covered my lift tubes and of course gave my fish something to do and eat. It was like watching a kid with a new swingset- they played and picked at it all day. I won't set up another fish tank without the rock. Although certainly not in the quantity required for a reef. Get the rock beth--Your fish (especially your yellow tangs) will love you.
You have to take care of it though--I started adding trace elements like reef complete to mine. And I was told it needs some current so stick a powerhead close by.

 

[beth]

What about lighting requirements for Rock? Also, I am a pretty clean housekeeper, both in and outside of the tank! LOL...So how do you vacumn up the substrate with Rock? Just vacumn around it? And what about my currently high nitrates? Can the rock take that?

 

[kris]

I didn't upgrade my lights, and I use the standard twin tube strip with two 50/50's
Like I said before I didn't have that much rock so I just moved it to one side, vacuumed and redecorated when I was done. I don't remember how high your nitrates were, and I am not exactly sure what the rock can tolerate so maybe someone else can verify.
Off the top of my head I'd say you would probably experience some dyeoff of critters, but wouldn't kill the rock as a whole.