There is no advantage to using an UGF. They do very little in terms of filtration. I'd ditch it and stick with the HOBs if I were you.
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Thanks for the feedback AZFishKid and Diana! I will just pull it out and maybe someone with a reef-type gravel setup or cichlids can make use of it. 
I love my HOBs and they seem to keep the water crystal-clear. The fish also really seem to love the flow they create, so I'll just still with them.
I love my HOBs and they seem to keep the water crystal-clear. The fish also really seem to love the flow they create, so I'll just still with them.
Some of use UGF in akadama drl substrate because it keeps the ph stable day/night. Is like 5.9 all the time. This kind of UGFs are usually DIY with PVC pipes tho.
Otherwise, there is a lot of naysay about those plaque ones and specially is run by Airstones. That said, in an older thread some people shared pictures of their tanks with airstone powered UGFs in cheapo gravel and they looked healthy.
There is the reverse flow version that is supposed to not clog but I have no experience with it.
As in everything in this forum, I would ask to people "have you had one? How did that work for you?", everyone is trying to help but not everyone talk about their own experience here.
However, if you aren't planning on keeping high end shrimpies with acidic preferences then ditch it, there is no proof that the flow of o2 rich water helps or bothers the microbial part of the root system, like ectoenzymes and phosphorus fixing lil dudes... roots do provide enough o2 to them anyways.
You can also use it and share your "did it clog or not" experience to us, I'll be interested to know.
Otherwise, there is a lot of naysay about those plaque ones and specially is run by Airstones. That said, in an older thread some people shared pictures of their tanks with airstone powered UGFs in cheapo gravel and they looked healthy.
There is the reverse flow version that is supposed to not clog but I have no experience with it.
As in everything in this forum, I would ask to people "have you had one? How did that work for you?", everyone is trying to help but not everyone talk about their own experience here.
However, if you aren't planning on keeping high end shrimpies with acidic preferences then ditch it, there is no proof that the flow of o2 rich water helps or bothers the microbial part of the root system, like ectoenzymes and phosphorus fixing lil dudes...
roots do provide enough o2 to them anyways.You can also use it and share your "did it clog or not" experience to us, I'll be interested to know.
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Hello HighDesert,
I suspect that most people who claim a UFG doesn't work, or can't be used in a planted aquarium have never tried it. It provides a huge amount of surface area for nitrifying bacteria and eliminates 'dead areas' in the substrate where hydrogen sulfide gas can build up and cause fish deaths when released. One picture is worth 1000 words....
45 Gal with UGF
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30 Gal with UGF
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"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance — that principle is contempt prior to investigation." William Paley
I suspect that most people who claim a UFG doesn't work, or can't be used in a planted aquarium have never tried it. It provides a huge amount of surface area for nitrifying bacteria and eliminates 'dead areas' in the substrate where hydrogen sulfide gas can build up and cause fish deaths when released. One picture is worth 1000 words....
45 Gal with UGF
30 Gal with UGF
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance — that principle is contempt prior to investigation." William Paley
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