undergravel filters

[rossi]

hi,
what r the reasons why ugf r not recomended for reef tanks,i no a couple of people keeping reef tanks on ugf and everything is fine.

 

[cdeakle]

simply put, there is absolutely no reason to have them in a saltwater reef tank. They serve no purpose and there is no reason to have one in a saltwater environment.

I'm sure someone else here can give you more specific cons about them.

 

[Anonymous]

There can be some issue with dead water space if the water does not circulate, but that is just a waste of valueable water space that could be used for something else. Otherwise, get a smaller tank.

If the water is made to recirculate, it can be difficult if fine sand is used. If coarse medium is used (crusted shell/coral), it trapes junk and need to be vacc'ed like all freshwater tank. It can be a real hassle if you need to move the rock work around.

All in all, there are other alteratives that achieve the same function, such as wet/dry and bio-wheel, without the disadvantage. Consider that these "better" alternative is not really useful in most reef (cf. fish only) setup, you can be sure that UGF is not really a good idea for reef tank.

 

[Anonymous]

UGF's were used extensively many years ago and I myself used one in a tank for a year without any problems. I just got bored and broke it down.