AQUARIUM FILTERS

Maybe that should have said "water filters" on account of the aquarium is not getting filtered unless there's a disaster. In a previous post, I talked about early box filters. Well, other than not keeping the water too clean, they sucked up baby fish. That's why I'm still a little spooked about the newer, more powerful and sophisticated filters. I know you can put something over the intake, but it seems like that would just plaster the little guys up against it.

The under gravel filter is still my favorite, and I hook it up to a relatively small air pump. Some people abbreviate the thing with UGF, but I prefer to write things out. Thus, it's an uggiff.

Linguistics aside, uggiffs always give me nice clear water, and they turn plant debris and fish wastes into good cooties. However, they don't work for squat if you put too many fish in one tank or neglect aquarium maintenance chores. Since uggiffs are pretty low tech, you need to keep up with the regular partial water changes. I use the Python system to pull waste materials out of the gravel column while also removing old water. According to Mr. Python, you stick the intake into the gravel and leave it there until you get clear water. My front yard loves the neutrients it gets from the aquarium waste.

This is just an opinion, but I think an aquarium can be too clean. After all, lakes and rivers have mud on the bottom. Uggiffs fit the bill, and they're cheap. Whaddaya think?

I am soooooo loving this site! That said, I have a question for the guru of under gravel filters--yes, John, that is you .

If I have a tank already set up with fish and plants, how hard is it to change out the hanging on the back filter with an undergravel filter? And how would I go about making the change? How do under gravel filters deal with dead plant material?

I think my ammonia problem was caused by the plethora of dead plant material floating around in/trapped in the filters. I also believe the white particles floating about the water and on my fish may have come from the white stones in one of my filters and not ich, although time will tell. Amazing what you find when you take things apart isn't it.

Changing an established aquarium to under gravel filtering requires a complete breakdown of the tank. You save most of the old gravel and keep it wet. That's where the good cooties (beneficial bacteria) live. After everything is emptied, you install the filter and lift tube then about two inches of gravel. It's a lot of work, and uggiffs probably don't function as well as the high technology filters. Still, they're cheap and easy for new setups, and they work really well if you keep up with aquarium maintenance and don't over crowd or over feed. In fact, they work for lazy aquarists like me.

Decaying plants will produce ammonia, as will uneaten food and fish wastes. However, all those good cooties in the uggiff will render the ammonia and nitrites harmless --- within reason. Maybe that makes me the guru of peeyoooo. As for unidentified white things floating in the aquarium, be sure that all the decorations, etc. are made specifically for fish tanks. Of course, the crud could also be uneaten food.

Thanks for the complement about this website. It's just about aquarists having fun helping each other.