newfishliny
Member
if there are any , or is there a positive aproach to under gravel
whats really the down fall of a UG filter
- Thread starter newfishliny
- Start date
marc42fe
Member
I use UG filters for exactally the oposite reason, I find them easier to clean, with my rainbow vacuum cleaner (a shop vac should work too never tried that though). I made a cone for the end of it and about 2 seconds of suction on the riser tube and there is nothing left under the thing. it removes about a gallon of very nasty water without stirring up anything in the tank. top off and go about my buisness
broomer5
Active Member
I don't let the dog go to the bathroom on the back deck of my house. Some of the waste will fall through the cracks, and I'd have to go clean up underneath the deck now and then.
If not - it would begin to reek under there - and the deck would be an unpleasant place.
I certainly wouldn't place a suction device under the wood deck to "suck" the crap through the cracks either. That would make it even worse.
For the same reasons I don't use crushed coral and an under gravel filter.
Pooper scooper or fish tank substrate vacuum - all the same to me.
I hate to clean up after animals when there are alternate methods.
If not - it would begin to reek under there - and the deck would be an unpleasant place.
I certainly wouldn't place a suction device under the wood deck to "suck" the crap through the cracks either. That would make it even worse.
For the same reasons I don't use crushed coral and an under gravel filter.
Pooper scooper or fish tank substrate vacuum - all the same to me.
I hate to clean up after animals when there are alternate methods.
slothy
Active Member
Originally posted by broomer5
I don't let the dog go to the bathroom on the back deck of my house. Some of the waste will fall through the cracks, and I'd have to go clean up underneath the deck now and then.
If not - it would begin to reek under there - and the deck would be an unpleasant place.
I certainly wouldn't place a suction device under the wood deck to "suck" the crap through the cracks either. That would make it even worse.
For the same reasons I don't use crushed coral and an under gravel filter.
Pooper scooper or fish tank substrate vacuum - all the same to me.
I hate to clean up after animals when there are alternate methods.
interesting analogy heheh
surfnturf
Member
I've had all of my freshwater tanks running that way for about a year, I finally took the plunge with one of the saltwater tanks about 2 months ago. I run a single rio 200 powerhead on the 29 gallon (fowlr) riser tube, just to give it some flow through the sand. The nitrates in that tank are around 5ppm. I don't see detritus becoming a problem under the plate, but we'll see how it goes over the next year in the SW. Anyway, it's doing a lot better than the CC did and if I decide the undergravel filter isn't working out, I'll just pull off the riser and cap off the plate and use it as a plenum. It really helps being able to see the underside of the tank so you can see if something bad is happening under the plate or not. No problems yet though.
surfnturf
Member
Really, if you use gravel with the undergravel filter, I don't think that it has the surface area that it needs, reverse flow could prevent the buildup of detritus to some degree, but I think you would still have some areas of low flow that would allow detritus to settle, or fall through the cracks as broomer illustrated above. The sand seems to be working well, the only thing you have to put some thought into is what material to use to prevent the sand from falling through the plate. I definitely believe there are still good uses for the UGF, especially as an Under Sand Bed filter. JMO
newfishliny
Member
Originally posted by broomer5
I don't let the dog go to the bathroom on the back deck of my house. Some of the waste will fall through the cracks, and I'd have to go clean up underneath the deck now and then.
If not - it would begin to reek under there - and the deck would be an unpleasant place.
I certainly wouldn't place a suction device under the wood deck to "suck" the crap through the cracks either. That would make it even worse.
For the same reasons I don't use crushed coral and an under gravel filter.
Pooper scooper or fish tank substrate vacuum - all the same to me.
I hate to clean up after animals when there are alternate methods.
I am laughing at your explaination , when I lived in my town house thats where my dog took a s..... in the winter, so I know what you mean. " good sense of humor"
thanks