Underground filteration???

shel

shel

Member
Hi everyone! A friend of mine who helps me on my 125G is thinking of starting a little reef tank. He orginally bought the tank for his cichlids, they are out growing his current tank. He bought the hood, light, underground filteration etc. We were talking last night and he going to take back the hood. I told him that he should take the underground filteration back also. I told him that the underground filteration is for fresh, not salt. I told him he needs to do LS with no underground. I told him it will not be bio-correct? I wanted everyone's opinion if they use underground or not and why. Thanks everyone.
Shel :p
 
andymi

andymi

Member
Most people do not use undergravel filtration because most people use sand or coral which is kinda difficult to clean. I would suggest for them to get a wet/dry filter a good base of sand and a fair amount of live rock. This should help quite a bit.
Just my opinion.
--andy
P.S. And after his tank cycles let him get a cleanup crew and that will take care of the sand for em.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Well "underground" is probably an accurate way to describe this filtration method, I think, however, you mean "under-gravel". :D
Yes, tell your friend to take the undergravel filter back. I'd also not use a wet-dry either, as they produce nitrates too, which is the reason that the undergravel is not desirable. Both filtration methods cannot finish the nitrogen bio-cycle in the tank, thus producing excessive nitrates.
 
jacksonpt

jacksonpt

Active Member
I don't mean to argue with previous posts... I have no doubt that they are more knowledgable than I, but I have and my tank up for almost a year, and the only filtration I am running is undergravel. I have a 75gal reef tank with undergravel plates from a 55gal tank and 2 powerheads. That's it, and that's all I have ever used. Never had any water problems, never done any water changes (I add water back in as necessary due to evaporation). I test salinity, pH, and nitrate/nitrite levels about every 2 weeks.
 
burnnspy

burnnspy

Active Member
Wetdry filters make excellent sumps when you remove all of the crap mechanical filtration and bio-plastic.
Yes return the UG filter and research DSB(deep sand bed) and plenum systems for complete waste removal.
BurnNSpy
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Jack, UGF water quality looks very good, but the nitrates are usually out of this world...especially if you're not doing any water changes. Also, a yr running with a ugf is fine...wait til it approaches 2 yrs. Also, what kind of history to you have with your fish? Fatalities? Diseases? How often do you feed your fish?
Burn, if you want a sump, buy a $30 fish tank not a wet-dry! :D
 
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