Under Gravel Filter

[Fluffypants]

Do I need to clean our UGF and if so, how do I do it? The tank has been going for about 6 weeks and everytime I do a WC I wonder if I am supposed to clean the filter somehow. The top of it is a bit discoloured and maybe a bit of crud in the upright but otherwise it looks okay.

[Alan]

No, you don't clean the U/G filter.

The closest you need to do is put a syphon hose, about the size of the uplift, and syphon from the uplift tube, with the air off.

Remember to turn it on again.

This systen pulls out most of the fine crud that has filtered down thru the gravel then the filter plate onto the floor of the tank.

To clean above the filter is a different story.

You use a gravel vac for that, this pulls out the excess loose detrius from the gravel

Once a week/ fortnight job, and for a 600x300x300 tank about 11/2 buckets of water.

[HummingBird]

I think (hope?) there's an extra one in there Alan...11 buckets is probably more than a ~60 litre tank holds altogether

[Alan]

That reads one and a half buckets. :-?

And I don't use txt either.

[alanmin4304]

You don't want to be too fussy about cleaning the gravel above the filter as it is the gunk that makes it work. If you are not overfeeding you would only want to clean the gravel every 3-6 months. I have electrical sponge filters and they only get cleaned when the flow is restricted (3-6 months)

[Wok]

Pull out the UGF and put in a real filter like a canister or HOB

[Afrikan]

It is amazing how many people still use undergravel filters I know a guy who uses them and he has done for many years and swears by UGF system.. and I reckon if it works for you, then stick to it I run one tank with an UGF, only a smallish tank for my apistos, and is brilliant.. the rest of our BIG tanks have big external filters..

I reckon the dinky little HOB filters are overated after having used one.. I wasn't keen at all.

[alanmin4304]

I had 50 tanks with UG filters for a number of years and they were good. Only cleaned them after growing up a batch of fish. Often the simpler the better. I got rid of them when I went simpler still and went to bare bottom tanks. They do exactly the same as the fancy mechanical filters at a fraction of the cost.

[Afrikan]

I don't think UG is any good really for African tanks or tanks where you have fish that shift substrate tho, hence why we use big external filters..

[Alan]

You can get over that problem Afrikan by using a wide gap mesh buried in the substrate, suits other cichlids as well, including bulldozer oscars when they get going.