craig Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 i found out the hard way last night. your undergravel filters only last 2-3yrs,was having trouble with ph,it wouldn't go up much, after waterchange. end result: lost a beautiful pair of discus,so far!!!! was up till 3 in morning stripping out tank.undergravel gone now. no wonder tank crashed,"pure mud"2-3yrs of crap. anyway this morning was greeted by the rest of the discus all at the front of tank,"i swear they were all smiling" and me. so hopefully drama all over :roll: anyway the reason for posting this is:so other peoples can learn from my mistakes. so if you are running undergravel filters: beware they don't last forever & don't leave it for as long as i did. put a hose over your uplift's ever now and then and suck out access crap. "one man's failure, is another man's gain" :lol: shelley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 I have run ugf's for years and never had a problem. I only ever used them on tanks around 2ft or smaller though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig Posted September 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 discus still smiling .considering their rough night. under gravel system's are great.just don't leave untouched for years .it was in a 4.2.2 and had been yrs,i did put hose down once a yr,but oviously not enough. there was signs,just didn't act quick enough,when i lifted the undergravel the smell was very anaromic,i think the middle hadn't been working probably. nevermind it could have been worse,i was going to put my asain aro in there last week, because he is lifting bricks on his lid where he is now,and the tank that "crashed"has remu lid. just as well i didn't. shelley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanie Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 It looks like I learned the hard way, too, with my filter. I hadn't cleaned it for fear of destroying the bacteria culture in my tank. I only did so after one fish died and another got sick with swim bladder. So, undergravel filters are 2 to 3 years? Does anyone know what sponge filters might be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 With proper regular maintenance neither ugf's or sponge filters are a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanie Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 I think the point of the thread is some people don't know what proper regular maintenence is? I have no idea how often I should be cleaning mine for instance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Most recommend weekly (10%) or fortnightly (20%) water changes at which time you vacuum the gravel as well. This should keep your UGF happy. With HOB or canister filters, they need to be cleaned out when the water flow drops below 3/4 of its full output. Sponge filters, internal filters, or box filters with sponges or filter wool need to be cleaned when you can see the sponge or wool has gone black with crud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slash Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 its suggested that u clean it once every year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcookie Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 Nah, its suggested that the 21st century began over five years ago, and UGF's were old news even then.... Some people have had UGF's in for 10+ years and still swear by them. Many others tho, have had to redo their whole system after 2 to 3 years, you sure arent the only one Craig. Get a cannister or sump (wet/dry type setup), and sell off the air pump. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 has gone black with crud I find that my filter in the 29 gallon is like that, more so at the top. I never saw it that bad until the power outage a couple of weeks ago. It's on the bio filter which I only swish in tank water (that has been vacuumed out :roll: ). But lately it still seems to be quite yucky! But, as posted in another thread, something not right with my filter so maybe that is why. How do you clean that without upsetting the bacteria thingy? Swishing doesn't take it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig Posted September 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 caper, just change half,if your worried about bio load.you should have enough bacteria build-up in your shingle,if tank's been going awhile.in most of my tanks i run at least two filters,so i can alternate cleaning when time occurs.on the tank that crashed i also run a cannister,discus&sm fishies,put,high load on the tank,food wise!!!when crashed i'm awfully thankful to the cannister filter the tank had to be dropped 75%,and if it wasn't for the bacteria load in cannister,"everthing would be dead". you should never do all your filters&gravel etc at the same time along with your waterchange,or you might have a crash of a different kind. "alternate".sound's good coming from someone who's tank "crashed"aye!!!!but as i said you learn from others mistakes,mine was just lazyness :evil:i knew it needed done,but was putting it off,due to the size of the job,when ph won't alter much ie 6.2-6.4 after a 20% waterchange,it means your bio load is maxed,could be your gravel,cannister filter,or as mine was undergravel.so to all you new ones to the hobby,i hope this post has had some good info for you's. you can be in the game for years,but your still learning everyday. :lol: shelley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Craig and Shelly when do Redwoods have there next quarantine release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig Posted September 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 a couple of weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig Posted September 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 hi guy's, just a quick update on the discus.the two other pairs left in tank have layed eggs today so maybe they weren't praising me ,maybe they were h--ny shelley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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