new tank?????

Question

for xmas i got a new 65 litre fishtank (aquaone 500)

it has an undergravel filter powered by a powerhead (550 litres per hour)

there is about 2 and a half inches of gravel

also in the tank is a sponge filter (330 litres per hour)

how do i maintain the ug filter?

the sponge in the filter came from my old tank which has all the good bacteria

also most of the water came from the old tank

Answer 1

You have too much gravel in the tank all you need is about 1/2 inch. The under-gravel filter should then be maintained like you would any other filter. Just keep it clean and clear whilst maintaining the good bacteria. Good Luck and Happy New Year

Answer 2

To maintain an undergravel filter you need a siphon with a larger (about 5-8 cm) diameter by 30-40 cm long tube in the end. These are readily available. You just start the siphon, stick the end into the gravel. The detritus will flow up the tube. When not much stuff is coming out of the gravel at that spot, pull the end out an stick in back in the gravel in a spot just next where you were before. Repeat until you have lowered the water level in your tank by about 1/4. Remove the siphon and refill your tank with chlorine free water that is the same temperature are you tank. Repeat about every week until you have 'vacuumed' the entire bottom of the tank. This will keep your undergravel filter in good condition and your fish will greatly benefit from the water changes. Don't start this until your tank chemistry is stable. This usually tanks a month, but with the bacterial from your sponge, it will probably be faster. Your gravel depth is fine - 1/2 inch isn't enough for good filtration. An undergravel filter is both a mechanical and a biological filter.

Answer 3

UG filters do a great job as long as you maintain them well. This means every week you must gravel vacuum very well. Making sure to get down deep and try to suck stuff up from under the filter plates. Then once about every 2 months you need to actually remove the gravel and filter plates and clean the plates off and clean under them real well.

An alternative if you don't want to tear your tank apart every couple of months is to make it into a reverse flow undergravel filter(RFUGF). To do this just turn your powerhead around so it pushes fish poop and all the gunk up into the water, then use a HOB filter to remove the gunk from the water. This way includes very little maintenance and is very easy to maintain. Plus your gravel stays very clean.

Answer 4

Years ago, before I changed to exterior power filters, I also used undergravel filtration. How to clean it without a big disturbance? (This works best if you have twin undergravel outlets) Stick a length of hose pipe (Garden hose will do nicely) down the/an outlet & start syphoning into a bucket. Providing you can get sufficient current, the detritus lying under the filter plate will become detached & exit down the hose. Obviously, you need to make sure that you maintain the water level in the tank so that air is not drawn into the hose.

Answer 5

to start off with, the amount of gravel you have is fine. The deeper the better with UG filtration really, as it houses the bacteria that covert ammonia. How ever, you couldn't go much deeper, as it could turn anerobic and nasty.

to maintain the Ug all you need to do is use a gravel cleaner on the tank once a week.. The syphon ones are easier to use, and you can do your water change with it also. I'd suggest doing abiut half of the tank one week, and half the next, so you don't disturb the bacteria too much.

Answer 6

My suggestion for maintaining the under gravel filter would be to stuff it in the trash can and replace it with a hang on tank type filter.

UGF's are archaic.

Answer 7

I'd toss that UG filter and get an HOB (hang on back) or canistar filters. UG filters are pretty crappy and don't do a very good job. An aquaclear filter or fluval will be much better!

Answer 8

You need only 1/4 of an inch of gravel. The high levels of gravel stress out the fish.