# Under Gravel filter?



## Giddy012 (Feb 16, 2007)

While I was at Meijers earlly tonight getting a ridiculous deal on live plants (2 for a dollar), I saw another good deal. Complete 5gal. tank 50% off, $50 tank for $25. Another bonus when I switched everything from my old 5gal, I had to add another gal., making this tank more like a 6gal.

So here is the question. It has an under gravel filter, how the heck do those things work? I don't know if this is just a super cheap piece of crap or what. I just don't see how it cleans the water, or develops bacteria. It has the bottom thing with a tube hooked to it, and a ait stone running at the bottom of it. It also doesn't seem to be to powerful.

I also attemted to add the old filter to this tank, not sure if it's good enough to transfer some bacteria to the new tank, but hope so.

I am planning on planting this tank will an UGF have an effect on the plants?


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

What does a "complete" 5 gallon tank mean? What did this come with?

Just throw away the UGF, it is an outdated piece of equipment that has proven itself useful/harmful in comparison with more recent methods of filtration. 

Where adding the filter from an established tank comes in, this will help with starting the growth of beneficial bacteria. So to answer your question, it is good enough, but will only jump start the growth not skip the nitrogen cycle.

The UGF may affect the plants because of its size. They usually take up quite a bit of room under the substrate and plants need a deeper substrate than average. To get the proper substrate height on top of the height of the UGF would be ridiculous.

Hope that helps


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## Corydora_FREAK (Feb 21, 2007)

UGF's actually work by using your substrate as it biological housing and the first stage of filtration they are worthless by themselves, you need to combine them with a power filter of canister filter for them to be very effective. Although get an updated one, the cheapie ones are terrible. It takes them forever to get established but once they do they can be quite effective at keeping the gravel clean!


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## Giddy012 (Feb 16, 2007)

By complete I mean, tank, lid, light, filter, air pump.

I did some switching around of filters, to get a hang-on control flow on this tank. I am running them both right now.


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

I would only run the HOB filter. As Cory said it is the first and only stage of filtration used by and UGF which means all of the waste will become stuck in the gravel and then water will be forced through the crud. That is why other filters have their mechanical filtration before the biological, so that you can take it out every once in a while and clean out all the crud, with the UGF you wont be able to. All this will do is create nitrates. I would advise just getting rid of it.


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## Guest (Apr 8, 2007)

get rid of it and use hob


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

swordtailbreedr said:


> get rid of it and use hob


Again, no useful info in this post.....................

UGF and plants do not mix well. Despite what others have said, UGF can be very effective biological filters running them in either mode. They are outdated but effective. The problem you will run into is the plant roots cannot bury correctly with the ugf plate in there. They will get tangled and die over time. Switching your HOB from the other 5 gallon tank will be a better idea in your case. BTW a 5 gallon tank is a 5 gallon tank. No way to make it a 6 gallon tank. You plants may or may not do well in your tank. Not sure what type of light is over it. I'm guessing its an incandescent bulb which will not provide much light for your plants.


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## Giddy012 (Feb 16, 2007)

Ok thanks guys. I will be taking the ugf out later tonight.

The lighting is a 50/50 bulb, and the plants are low light plants.


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## Guest (Apr 9, 2007)

damon, his isnt a true ugf i got a kit like that, and they are cheapos that are simulir to ugf but they are unefective. all they do is creat a pockey of air at the bottom of the tank...


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

What do you think an undergravel filter does?


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