Filter Discharge To Undergravel Filter

[wombat1100]

I have just finished setting up my new tank and as i will have a bit of trouble cleaning the substrate (see pics)have decided to reverse the undergravel filter by running the discharge from the 1800lt ph internal filter into the undergravel as i am told that it will give me increased bacterial benifits, is that true? does anyone else do the same thing?

[firedragon92]

hey nice tank by the way
i am not sure whether it is benificial to the bacteria, but i have recently brought an eheim undergravel filter and i thought i better look at the instructions and when i did i saw that it actually tells you to run the discarge from, in my case and eheim 2217, through the under gravel filter so it could not hurt. however in my opinion im not sure if the small tube for the undergravel filter will be able to cope with the 1000 litres and hour pumper by my 2217, so what i am going to do, and what i would suggest you to do if possible is also connect a small sprinkler type thing that came with the filter to the discarge pipe as well as the under gravel filter, that way not so much water will the going through the undergravel and you will get the benifit of the air bubbles up the top.

i hope this helps

cheers

[joz]

Putting the outlet through the undergravel will not give you any extra bacteria if your already using a U/G.But if you aren't it will if you add one.
But what it will do to an extent is rather than suck debris into the gravel it will lightly expel it.Then the crap gets taken up by the cannister inlet.

This is the concept and YMMV.:)

[GoGuppy]

I have just finished setting up my new tank and as i will have a bit of trouble cleaning the substrate (see pics)have decided to reverse the undergravel filter by running the discharge from the 1800lt ph internal filter into the undergravel as i am told that it will give me increased bacterial benifits, is that true? does anyone else do the same thing?

I used to have that type of set up many years ago and it worked quite well.
I can't recall why I went away from it, probably to get rid of the internal filter from the tank..because I did switch to external canisters after that.
Give it a go, it won't do any harm, and should give you heaps of surface area for the good bacteria to grow on.
Cheers

[lil_fuzzy]

Undergravel filters are not really recommended by anyone anymore. I can't remember exactly why, but I think it has something to do with them being difficult to clean and also when you don't clean them they release all kinds of toxins into the water.

[wombat1100]

Yeah i think you are right lil fuzzy, the reason was that it sucks all the crap into the substrate and into the undergravel filter making the tank go septic if i remember right.
BUT
i have one in my 5 footer and it works a treat with theres also a 1500lt external canister on there too.
thats why i wanted to run the undergravel in reverse by putting the discharge from the internal canister filter through it, there bye causing the waste to be blown out of the substrate rather than sucked into it, letting the canister filter then clean it all up, seems to be working by the way! no signs of problems at all.
Dazz

[GoGuppy]

...thats why i wanted to run the undergravel in reverse by putting the discharge from the internal canister filter through it, there bye causing the waste to be blown out of the substrate rather than sucked into it, letting the canister filter then clean it all up, seems to be working by the way! no signs of problems at all.
Dazz

Dazz
The low flow velocity of the water though the gravel is unlikely "to blow the dirt out of the gravel", but by preventing dirt getting under the gravel in the first place, that's not an issue.
I was wondering what the slight reverse flow thow the gravel does to plant growth? As you probably know, Dupla and others recommend to put in under gravel heating to promote a gentle flow thouh the substrate, and you're basically doing the same. BTW, this probably belongs in an other forum....
Cheers

[wombat1100]

Dazz
The low flow velocity of the water though the gravel is unlikely "to blow the dirt out of the gravel", but by preventing dirt getting under the gravel in the first place, that's not an issue.
I was wondering what the slight reverse flow thow the gravel does to plant growth? As you probably know, Dupla and others recommend to put in under gravel heating to promote a gentle flow thouh the substrate, and you're basically doing the same. BTW, this probably belongs in an other forum....
Cheers


Hi GG, i didn't mean "blow the dirt out of the gravel" literally! :rolleyes:
my aim was to not have to siphon the dirt out of the gravel as i do with my tank with the undergravel filter in it operating as it was originally designed(with air flow):biggrin:
:confused:as for the plants i haven't any in there due to bad lighting conditions other than a piece of java fern tied to a rock , that seems to be doing well.
But wouldn't the temperature of the water from an external canister filter be colder than that of the tank itself marginally? unless you heated it b4 it returns? and in my case with an internal filter the temp would be the same i assume.:confused:
Dazz

[joz]

Really for plants water circulation around the roots is not the preferred option.
But what the substrate heaters do is give a very gentle type of movement as the warm water rises from around the roots, though you wouldn't call it circulation as such.

With revers under gravels you wouldn't be sucking any debris into the substrate at all which I think the idea is with the benifit of extra bio filtering.


i have one in my 5 footer and it works a treat with theres also a 1500lt external canister on there too.
thats why i wanted to run the undergravel in reverse by putting the discharge from the internal canister filter through it, there bye causing the waste to be blown out of the substrate rather than sucked into it, letting the canister filter then clean it all up, seems to be working by the way! no signs of problems at all.
Dazz


Pretty much what happens as Wombat described.

[Woodsy]

The idea in using an undergravel filter is that your substrate becomes your biofilter, so I would have thought that unless you have NH3/NO2 problems, circulating 'clean' water through your gravel wouldn't have much benefit at all. It would remove all the mulm from your gravel too, making it very hard indeed to get any type of substantial plant growth. I'd love to see you prove me wrong though, I don't get to experiment with stuff like this very often :p

[wombat1100]

My main purpose was to not have to clean the substrate as often, due to the access problems
so if it does that, which it seems to be doing i am more than happy
Dazz

[Woodsy]

Freaky when someone's on the forums at the same time as you, hey? HAHAHAHA

[wombat1100]

Freaky when someone's on the forums at the same time as you, hey? HAHAHAHA

yeah it is, cant wait for live chat on here!:)