Tropical Fish Forums

brisbaneace

I have only recently set up my 220 litre tank with a canister fliter (800 lph), being the first time I have used an outside filter. I still have the UGF with a 400 lph powerhead working in the tank as well. Is it of any use to keep the UGF operating as well as the canister? From what I have read in this forum UGF 's are not real popular now, and I am thinking I may well be better off without it at all? Question

richiestang_78 · Regulars Joined: 13 Oct 2003

Well some love them but mostly these days people stay away from them. I would say get rid of it and just go with the canister as UGFs are having a slow death.

brisbaneace

Gotta admit that the tank is crystal clear with the canister filter-never seen it so clear in fact!

Flame Angel · Regulars Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia

If the Canister Filter is doing the job, then I would stop using the UGF- as after a while they can become a 'nutrient sink'.

How long have you had the canister filter running for? Because you might have to wait a while until a descent amount of bacteria starts to form in the canister.(Kind of like cycling the tank again).

Just keep testing for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates to make sure everything is still under control.

Oh by the way, I noticed you were from Australia (sorry, a bit off topic Rolling Eyes

), but do you know much about lion fish? Please see my thread in the marine section - here it is:
http://www.aquahobby.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=40497

Cheers

Bob · Moderators Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: UK

There is another option.

Why not use the UG in reverse flow, but power it from the outflow of the cannister filter.

For a planted tank this can be a very good option as it keeps the roots of the plants in warmer water (Stops cold spots in the substrate). The cannister filter does the bulk of the mechanical filtration, the cannister and reverse flow UG combine for massive biological filtration, and you can still use chemical filtration when needed in the cannister.

If you did this, you may could the tank for a day or so as the crap gets, blown out of the UG (a goog clean with a syphon before hand could be a good idea).

This is the system of filtration recomended in the UK, by one of the countries most respected plant sellers. I copied this from his website:

fishlover888 · Regulars Joined: 20 Dec 2006

UGF will keep your water clear and good for about 1 year, maybe year and half, then you really have to do a good clean up job or your water condition will start to go down hill.

One of the reasons your watre is so clear is UGF push the water down so nothing will be floating around. Once you stop using it, you will see some small particals in the water with cannister filter. The way to get rid of them is to include some fine fiber moss in your cannister filter. It will trap the small things and you will have the same clear water.

I notice you have plants in the tank. Plants and UGF is a no no, unless you are using reverse flow like Bob said. The problem with reverse flow is you will have the same thing with small particals floating around. Might as well add some fine fiber in your cannister.
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125 g discus tank 13 discus, 5 Sterbai cory, 3 clown loaches, 1 Albino BN pH 6.3 50% WC x2/wk
2 g nano tank 3 Danio, pH 7.6 80% WC/ 2 days

coryfan · Regulars Joined: 11 Feb 2006

The only problem I see with UGFs is that the gravel needs to be cleaned often as it is the filter media that traps all the debris. It is a pain in the neck to siphon the gravel using an UGF with a planted tank. Otherwise, if a person wants a very easy set-up with plastic plants and with a small fish load, UGFs will produce crystal clear water and the only thing you will need to really worry about are the airstones getting clogged.

Bob · Moderators Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: UK

brisbaneace

I think I will give this a go after reading the replies to my question. As Bob said, everything is in place to try it out, so it's most probably worth a go. The only thing that worries me is the amount of junk that will be pushed into the tank from under the surface of the gravel, and how long it will then take to clear in the tank. Will it harm my fish that are in the tank now?

Bob · Moderators Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: UK

Give the gravel a good clean before you hook it up, it may put out a bit of mess, but I think your tank is a newish setup, so shouldn't be to bad, and your cannister should clear it up in a short time.

Normally UG's have a soft plastic top to the uplift tube that the air tube sits in, you may need to cut this, so the outflow of the cannister filter can sit inside yet form a barrier for water coming back up the tube.

Let us know how you get on. If it works your tank will have the best of both worlds filtration wise, if it doesn't you have wasted an hour or so.

I ran a set up like this many years ago, I could be tempted to go back to it, but I use soil under my gravel so it wouln't work.

Bob