undergravel filter

[Soeman]

These used to be the standard in aquarium filtration, and I understand that fish keeping technology has improved, but I'm just wondering what are the drawbacks that keep everyone away from undergravel filters? I would think that since they take water from the bottom of the tank, and recycle it to the top, they would be very good at maintaining even circulation through the tank.

comments?

[Hookup]

RUGF - reverse under gravel filters have a following in the salt water world.

[Rybren]

I always ran a regular UGF on my FW tanks and never had an issue with it.  I found that the key was to regularly clean the substrate.

There is a fellow on Reef Central who has been running a RUGF for close to 40 years on his 100G reef.  I believe that he does a massive substrate cleaning once or twice a year.

I'm in the process of setting up a 75G reef and have been contemplating going the RUGF route.

[Soeman]

Anyone ever had any bad experiences with them? I've heard that mulm buildup under the panels (where you cant vacuum without a complete overhaul) can render the pH in the substrate very low (acid) and detrimental to plants. This would be one obvious advantage of a RUGF if there's a pre-filter.