yank30265

Are these still necessary for biological filtration. Ive always had them in my freshwater tanks and was gonna put one in my reef setup. But i was told not to so I removed it from the reef setup. Is it hurting my freshwater tanks?

Jay

UGFs have declined in popularity over the past few years. They are clearly not ideal for planted tanks, they have a tendency to be nitrate factories, they are difficult to maintain and clean. Plus with the advances in filter technology, the increasing use of and affordability of canisters, has really pushed UGFs out of the hobby.

In all probability, you will improve your water quality and not hurt your fish.

Regards,
Jay

orb4me

I got a used tank, and the UGF was already there, I didnt really know what was going on under the gravel plate till I removed it. uck factor of 99. i cleaned it up and put it in my new 29 gal, my thinking is, I now understand what it does, so I can keep it clean. UGF vrs Cannister to me is a matter of money. I have no idea how much money I have spent of fish etc, and would be afraid to add it up, but the cannister thing looks complicated, and pricy in the ads.

UGF is very controverseal , there is an article here about them on the top of left under articles.

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If all is not lost, where is it?

Loman

I have never been been a fan of UGF even when they were popular. The two big issues are the already discussed fact that too much junk accumulates causing nitrate buildup etc. and that they pull the water through the substrate so fast the natural filtration can not occur because it is not in contact with the substrate long enough

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Loman

24 Gallon Saltwater Aquapod
1 Royal Gramma
1 Blue Devil
1 Bicolor Chromis Lyretail
1 Scooter Blenny
1 Chocolate Chip Star Fish
Crabs and Snails

20 Gallon Freshwater
Swords, Zebra Danio, Neon Tetras, Albino Cat Fish, Plecostomus, snails

10 Gallon QT Saltwater
10 Gallon QT Freshwater (Divided)

Tommy Gun

I know it doesn't really matter, but I sort of disagree with the notion that the water can move too fast past bacteria in an UGF if for no other reason than the fact that there is no one specific 'ideal speed' for any other filter. For example, it doesn't really matter whether someone moves 100 or 1000 gallons of water through a wet/dry filter, the benifit is still there. In fact, most people would probably lean more towards faster water movement...and I am not sure what the difference would be between media such as a sponge and/or bioballs and substrate. Perhaps I am wrong, but I do agree with the maintenance difficulties being a hurdle with UGF's, although I still think most "experts" would refer to them as being the most efficient forms of biological filtration since the area of filter media is pretty much the entire area of the bottom of the tank. Again, I know it doesn't matter, but I did some research on this subject when I wrote that article and never heard/read anything about the water movement problem.