What a dilemma!

[Chicken]

Hi I have just bought a 5"x18"x18"tank. It came with u/g filter and a 1000lph powerhead. I feel loyalty to my lps (40km away - next closest is 150km away) & they don't keep canister filters & recommended aquaone 800 HOT. Everyone says dont use the u/g. Is this enough filtration? Please help. I dont know what fish I will put in it - maybe natives.

PS This is my first post on a forum ever! I hope it made sense :-?

[caserole]

HI Chicken, an undergravel will work if it's a big 1 .

The problem is u/g's need to be cleaned and in a large tank it's a lot of work compared to a good canister filter.

IMO anyway

HEY whats with all these ozy's crossing the ditch to this site, isn't it normaly the other way around. :lol:

[Alan]

Glad you put in my opinion Stu.

The only cleaning that an U/G filter needs it gets when you gravel vacc.

IF you wish to suck out what little sediment that gets under the plate.

You only need to put a syphon onto the airlift from the base plate.

There is a lot of myths about them being bad, but I run almost exclusively, U/G filters, and I have had up to 200 tanks, and I have at least 100 at the moment.

Those that don't have them have a sponge filter, box filter, or no filter at all, but these ones normally being small, have a large % of the water changed per day.

Alan 104

[jude]

My (at times overstocked) 2' tank runs on an ug filter and it seems to be doing a great job - water stays clear, fish are all happy and healthy and the plants do ok as well. They grow a little more slowly but they still grow

I just wish I could find an airpump that was quieter

Cheers

Jude

[Wok]

I believe that the secret to using UG filters is to have a nice thick layer of gravel... especially if you want to have plants as well

[caserole]

Thats the point Alan , most of your tanks are small, I run u/g as well but I wouldn't use 1 on a tank bigger then 3ft.

The vacc'ing becomes a "job" on a larger tank IMO, thats why a canister would be a better choice, not that it is a better filter just easyer to manage .

As to puting a syphon down the air lift,I used to do that on the 3ft tank , it was a pain in the b..., imagine it would be worse on a LARGER tank

[Chicken]

Thanks for the replies guys. I really didn't want to spend more money if I had a decent filter already that would do the job! I guess I will stick with the u/g. That's my decision today anyway, tomorrow it may change :roll:

[Caryl]

I too am a fan of ugf's but not on big tanks. I don't think it will be enough. A canister can be added later of course

[Bluetom]

you could always consider adding another smaller filter, e.g an internal or HOB and have two types running at once.

[madcookie]

Hiya Chicken, thats a big tank you've got there, nice one.

U'G's are pretty debatable - but most people agree they will do a reasonable job "short term" so long as the substrate isnt too fine. Many people argue they are okay long term too. Maybe do a search on the forum for past discussions? Personally I cannot stand them.

If you dont want a Cannister filter just yet, a good HOB (Hang on Back?) or HOT (Hanf on tank?) will do. Get the bigest you can with a decent flow rate. Aquaclear 200 (or now called Aquaclear 70??) would do nicely...has a large area for bio and mechanical filtration and a very good flow rate.

Tehn again, using a UG short term and getting a 'good' Cannister later on is going to work well too.

But long term, for that sized tank, 1x cannister, 1x HOB, and possibly (depending on fish type, planted or not, and fish 'load') an internal or powerhead too, would be my personal setup.

Good luck!