Undergravel or Not?

[mzingali]

Hi All,

In addition to setting up my own reef tank, I'm moving my wife's freshwater fish to a 55gal. Should I place an undergravel filter in the 55 gal?

Just wondering what works good for others...thanks in advance!

Mike

[Wiskey]

I hate UG filters, they always build up a bunch of junk under them then you have to tear the whole tank apart to clean under it.

I would just put gravel in it and syphon once a month or so.

Whiskey

[DebsSisterFlo]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

I hate UG filters, they always build up a bunch of junk under them then you have to tear the whole tank apart to clean under it.

I would just put gravel in it and syphon once a month or so.

Whiskey

Absolutely, 100% agree! They get so nasty under there, ewwww... Since I don't mind how they look I am now using a foam filter in each end of my tank. They're just round with an uplift tube and an airstone inside. The bubbles go up which displaces the water, and so the sponge is the filter as water is drawn through it. Once a month you pull the sponge, rinse it in lukewarm water til it runs clear and put it back. I love them.

[Mindsgoneawol]

Originally Posted by DebsSisterFlo

Absolutely, 100% agree! They get so nasty under there, ewwww... Since I don't mind how they look I am now using a foam filter in each end of my tank. They're just round with an uplift tube and an airstone inside. The bubbles go up which displaces the water, and so the sponge is the filter as water is drawn through it. Once a month you pull the sponge, rinse it in lukewarm water til it runs clear and put it back. I love them.

Honestly.. undergravel filters are the best... the goo underneath.. leave it alone.. its the bac breeding ground.. also.. if u feel u must clean some of it just stick a syphon hose down each of the tubes to remove some.. if u keep up with the water changes and such.. you really shouldn't have much build up. i use them for all my freshwater fish.. overspill filters i use only in my gold fish tank.. which i actually use both undergravel and overspill..

[abigtroutt]

Mike is this going to be a planted 55 gal fresh with live plants or just fish only? If you do a planted tank then leave the UGF out. I my self dont like the UGF on my 55 fresh I dont use one and have had better luck with keeping algae away....plus I use the freshwater salt too.

[tabwyo]

Well I am a UGF fan. I have one on all my FW tanks even on a few planted tanks. But I use a reverse flow type set up with powerheads on most of them and will convert the rest over as I rework each tank. The revers flow set ups are quite easey to maitain. All you gotta do is remove the filter sponge on the PH and rinse. That and once a month give the gravel a good vacuming. When I say vacum I mean remove all decor and vacum. This eliminates all the mulm in the gravel and under the UGF plate.