Will undergravel filter be too weak for a 4ft tank CRS tank?

[GER]

Hi all, will like to seek some opinions from fellow CRS keepers regarding undergravel filter for CRS in a 4Ft tank.
I intend to have undergravel filter connected to my ehim 2026 for my 4ft tank with the gravel plates taking up about 50% of the base(using GEX soil). Question: Are the gravel plates area too big or too small or its not even recommended to use on a 4ft tank?
Suggestions or feedbacks please.
Thanks alot.

[silane]

50% of 4ft x 1.5ft area is too much, for this base area size 25% will be good, this is my personal liking.

[GER]

Roger that. thanks alot silane.

[Spid]

Hi all, will like to seek some opinions from fellow CRS keepers regarding undergravel filter for CRS in a 4Ft tank.
I intend to have undergravel filter connected to my ehim 2026 for my 4ft tank with the gravel plates taking up about 50% of the base(using GEX soil). Question: Are the gravel plates area too big or too small or its not even recommended to use on a 4ft tank?
Suggestions or feedbacks please.
Thanks alot.

Using undergravel filtration powered by cannister have to be careful. Best to have a pre-filter to absorb the dirt/soil particles, which will enable your medias to have longer lifespan. If not you have to wash the cannister frequently.

[Savant]

Can anyone share the benefits of using a UG filter for a shrimp tank?

[silane]

Roger that. thanks alot silane.

You are welcome.

[Savant]

Can anyone share the benefits of using a UG filter for a shrimp tank?

Anyone at all?

[GER]

Using undergravel filtration powered by cannister have to be careful. Best to have a pre-filter to absorb the dirt/soil particles, which will enable your medias to have longer lifespan. If not you have to wash the cannister frequently.

Thanks for the tips spid, point noted also.

Can anyone share the benefits of using a UG filter for a shrimp tank?

hi Savant, i choose UG filter because it offer extra surface area for beneficial bacteria to live on. I feel i will need all the BB i can get so why not.
Anyway, I'm actually following Silane's method of setting up a CRS tank at: http://www.silaneshrimp.com/articles...ank-setup.html
Hmm...hope i do not get sue for copyrights

[Savant]

In such a case, will a larger canister loaded with biomedia do the same thing?

I did read Silane's thread on using UG, but did not find any understanding as to how the entire setup actually works...

[Spid]

With or without undergravel filtration is ok for shrimps. I tried air driven undergravel, hoping only to create a "plenum" effect- where denitrification takes place.

I have tried cannister powered UG and find it troublesome to manage. Reason being cannister will be clog up often due to the break down of soil particles. If lazy to wash frequently, I guess this filtration will not works well in the long run.

[Savant]

Oh okay... that sounds reasonable...

Thanks for the explanation...

[nasty12]

I dont see why will it clog, the dust created will not be that compact, whether you use UFG or not. Shrimps still have to dig around and create dust. For a canister to clog, it will take ages, the cross section of a canister filter is so much bigger.

[Spid]

I dont see why will it clog, the dust created will not be that compact, whether you use UFG or not. Shrimps still have to dig around and create dust. For a canister to clog, it will take ages, the cross section of a canister filter is so much bigger.

UGF powered either by motor or cannister has a high flow rate which will cause a faster break down of soil. Since soil are broken down easily, wont these particles that are being drawn into the cannister have a greater impact on the medias and thus redcing the flow rate of the cannister drastically? In the long run, if not wash frequently, clogging will occurs.

[Savant]

Yeah... I think its okay to install a UG filter so long as you do not power it with a cannister filter... It may not be necessary to draw water through the soil at such a fast rate if all you are trying to achieve is to provide additional surface for the bacteria to colonise....

Further since these bacteria require ammonia fo feed on, you will need quite a fair bit of bioload before you can ultilise all the surface? I think I would still go ahead with loads of biohomes in a cannister filter

[slowcat]

Just bouncing off an idea. How about putting a layer of bio materials on top of the plate, then coarse gravel then gex soil? No cannister, pure UG filtration.

Cheers

[globalcookie]

I am running a tank with UGF as well. I have around 50% of the based covered with UGF. To avoid fast breakdown of soil, I had covered the UGF with a layer of netting, follow by quartz.

The area surrounding the UGF is also protected with quartz. Soil comes after that.

The benefit of using UGF is, shrimp's waste are sucked into the UGF and siphon out, into a canister. For normal filtration, shrimp waste are trapped in the gravel and stirring the gravel can prove fatal. Thus, with UGF, the risk are reduced or eliminated.

I dont see why will it clog, the dust created will not be that compact, whether you use UFG or not. For a canister to clog, it will take ages, the cross section of a canister filter is so much bigger.

With constant high velocity suction, soil will break down fast and the fine soil particles will clog the pores of your filter media. These fine soil particles will past through filter wool easily.