Under Gravel Filters..

Are they any good.........????????

I'm curious as well on these. When you vote could you please explain why you like it or dislike it?

I had one long ago when they were popular. It seemed to do an acceptable job of filtration Then somehow a clown loach got trapped underneath it and died. Ugh, what a mess that was to clean up. I have not had one since.

i hate them like amber says fish get down the uplift tubes and get stuck and dye. plus i dont see what good 1/2 inch of poop trapped under the plates for a long time can be of any bennefit to the tank in the long run. plus you need to have a thick layer of gravel for them to work propperly and i dont like thick substrates in my tanks. my rant over lol

Never used them so i can comment but that siad i hear nothing but poor feedback

it may seem as a dodge filter because it sucks al the crap in the gravel but in the end, makes a huge biological filter. it works a charm!!!!
some people only use UGF's with great success. and plus a lot of people say that UGF's stuff up your plants but in the end helps them grow because the plants use the waste in the gravel to help them and plus the gravel's bio bacteria feeds on that gunk more efficently.

The best filter system you can have by miles.. BUT, by no means a stand alone system.

Having a UGF means you need not worry about really cleaning out any other pump filter you choose to have in the tank as all the healthy bacteria etc is all stored by the UGF, then once every six months I'd remove the Powerhead Or if like me you use the 'oldfashioned' air powered remove the air line, send down the syphon tube and remove about half the glup that under there..

When you consider just how dirty pleco are, to me it makes sense.. just my opinion anyway.. Currently I dont have one and that's the problem, when you have a tank set up its hard to completely empty to fit one.

very good advice on the last post, I went away from undergravel when my fry used to get stuck under it...

though it is good if managed accordingly, and you seem to have come up with a similar method of cleaning that i used too

keep up the good posts

I changed from undergravel to external/internal filtration over 30 years ago when undergravel where powered by noisy airpumps. They did a good job but the external/internal filters where so much quieter.

I recently bought a second hand Aquastart 320 with undergravel filtration and I'm pleasently surprised by it.

I don't liek them, they might be better than many years ago when I had one in a tank. But i like plants and you can't really grow good plants in the without having very think gravel...Just my experience for many moons ago, I don't know if the setups have change or even if they have evolved..But I never liked them ...
I love my sponge filters, my HOB's & my gravel vac...

something from the dark ages undergravel filters they are so basic compared to modern filters why would anyone who wants to keep there fish at there best use one

Mooo wrote:

I love my sponge filters, my HOB's & my gravel vac...

You can still use your gravel filter with an Under gravel system.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4K8-erlE2E

i voted no for bottom feeders but for my other fish they were fine ,longest time before tank clean out 2 years.

Hi there,

I have been running undergravel filters with external Eheim filter for more than 15 years. They are doing a good job, though it is quite an effort to build up an refresh the whole filter. I use different grain fractions of gravel and coarse sand, which mix with the time. Thus sieving for bigger tanks might bring you close to madness, but it surely is a very reliable way of filtering, especially if you like a good growth of plants in ypur tanks.

Have used UG filter' s with reverse flow that were very effective. Prolly wouldn't use one without reverse flow due to reason's already mentioned (dirt under filter plate.)