Under gravel cleaners

[Cowboy]

do under gravel cleaners work or are they just a waste of time and money? i have heard an answer to both sides and wanted a more professional point of view from ppl that aren't trying to sell it to me

[hillbillyreefer]

I've run them for about 15 years in two of my fw tanks. Both tanks have dolomite gravel over the plates. One tank is 110 gal with 2 powerheads supporting about 40 juvenile african ciclids about 800 gph turnover. The other is a 33 with about 15 inches of assorted fish in it at the moment. It has a 350gph head and another airstone powered stack running it. Both systems have worked well for years for me. I don't run any other filtration, except for seeding hob's or sponges occasionally. My WC, cleanup schedule is terrible, I do about a 10-20% water change about 1 per month. This includes a gravel syphon and refill. Tanks are generally stable. I had one go bad about 8 months ago but I'd torn it down and moved it and refilled it. Not the systems fault. I haven't run one with salt but don't know why it wouldn't work. Kinda like a sandbed, adds extra area for the goodguys to grow.

Brad

[0sprey]

For a fish-only system, UGFs work just fine. But if you want corals or other inverts, cross them off the list. They become solid nitrate factories in a fairly short timespan.
Robert Fenner's Conscientious Marine Aquarist has an excellent overview of the different types of systems, and notes in detail the benefits and disadvantages of undergravel filters. Order it in from your local library and read it. Well worth your time.

[Cowboy]

Originally Posted by 0sprey

For a fish-only system, UGFs work just fine. But if you want corals or other inverts, cross them off the list. They become solid nitrate factories in a fairly short timespan.
Robert Fenner's Conscientious Marine Aquarist has an excellent overview of the different types of systems, and notes in detail the benefits and disadvantages of undergravel filters. Order it in from your local library and read it. Well worth your time.

this is in an fresh water tank but i do have plants that i am trying to grow

[0sprey]

My bad, sorry.
I don't often recommend plants with UGFs, although I have done it in the past. UGFs force plants to spend too much time developing tiny little roots that don't absorb nutrients very well. Once the plate gets clogged there are some nice nutrient pockets for them, but by that time, the UGF isn't doing much good anymore.
What kind of plants are you planning on?

[RedneckDaveAb]

I used to have underground filters and they appear to have worked fine although in our fish club I have heard bad reviews

We now use Aquaclear filters without any problems. They are easy to clean and work well.

Hope this helps!
Dave