undergravel filters

[Daisy88]

Hey everyone
This is my first set up and i was just wondering what everyone thought of undergravel filters.The pump i have on it is powerful and i think the discus are not to keen on it. i have tried pushing the water flow thing into the back of the tank so it doesnt make such a big current. They tend to stick to the bottom and the back of the tank.But they are healthy and fine any suggestions in fixing the current problem.
Thanks
Emma

[Mattzilla]

under gravel filters and discus do not mix...period!

get rid of it

[Merrilyn]

Hello Daisy and welcome to the forum. Undergravel filters were the mainstay of the aquarium hobby for many years, and it's true, they make an excellent biological filter, but they do have drawbacks.


The principal here is that the excess food and fish waste is drawn down into the gravel where the bacteria in the gravel can turn the waste from ammonia to nitrite and finally to nitrate.

The only problem I have with this is that a huge amount of rubbish builds up under the filter plates and it doesn't get removed during normal gravel cleaning. The only way to really clean it , is to strip down your tank and clean out all the rubbish under the plate.

Under gravel filters have largely been replace by the more efficient canister filters and even sponge filters. These have the advantage of being easy to clean and are more efficient.

Have a look at some of the canister filters in your local aquarium shop. You can get good filters at a reasonable price these days.