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Undergravel filters are good filters to add to your tank. They work great, if they are taken care of properly. They make nice
additional filtration, if taken care of right, to go along with a
powerfilter.
The thing that most people do wrong with taking care of a UGF (Undergravel filter) is when they clean they're gravel, they go all the way down to the filter. Wrong thing to do. Only go half way through the gravel, and
stop. By going all the way down, you're sucking out all the "good" stuff that makes the filter work right. It might look nasty if you suck any out, but the nastier the better at times. Now something else people do
wrong, is they don't clean it at
all.
You don't want to clean it all the time, just about once every couple months or so. How do you do this, you ask? Take the gravel vac off the end of your siphon, and use just the hose. Take the top part off your UGF hose
that is sticking up the back of your tank, and stick the hose down in there all the way. Start your siphon and suck out some of that nasty looking "good" stuff. You don't want to suck all of it out, as it will kill your
filtration system, and you'd have to go through your cycling process again. Only do half about once every two months. If you don't clean it, it will sour which means you will have to completely take it out of the tank,
and give the tank a good cleaning. If it does start souring, you should be able to catch it before it goes too far, and clean it like I told you how to, and you should be ok. The tank will start getting cloudy, and it
will start to smell a little bit, if it does start souring. It's best to have at least 1 1/2 pounds of gravel per gallon. This way you have plenty of gravel covering your UGF filter.
Good luck with your new wonderfull filter! |
