will it?

eugh...i dont get it... lol...can u explain how it works?

the air bubbles will create a current and then the water will be filter in the tube, it might work i think

hmmm...I don't think it will, but it's worth a shot! good luck!

it actually have some suction when i put my hand to the bottom.......

Never hurts to try!!! Why do you need it?

need some bio bugs on it for my 30 gal but i think it filtered enough.......
490 gph........

Hey,

I think it'd work, but it wont be very effective, not as a permanent filter..

you said it had some suction from the bottom, was that when it was filled with filter media, or before you put it in?

oh...cool! Enjoy! hehehe...hopefully it works!

it was when it had the media in it
filter floss and carbon

I know you probably don't want to punch holes in the side of the big tube (I'm guessing it's from a gravel syphon) but if you punch holes around the filter media there'd be more flow of water through the media (ie more effective), hope this helps.

yup i did punch some holes by the floss

Sorry I had a closer look at your picture! It wasn't so clear unless I knew what I was looking for! the more holes the better, except for where the airstone is of course!

I have a suggestion that I think will help very much here:


Take a plastic fish food can, just a little larger around than the uptube you constructed, and place the uptube, empty of contents, into the can. Then, take gravel and pour it into the can, around the uptube. Fill the can to within an inch or two of the rim and then the final bit left should be stuffed with the white batting. The white batting will help to keep the uptube from moving up ot down alot.

You can either be all careful and fill the can with the tube sitting loosely in it, or you can go ahead and silicone, or superglue the uptube into place first. Then you dont have to be a careful filling and stuffing it.

Essentially, the gravel will become an EXCELLENT beneficial bacteria bed. The floss or batting can be replaced when needed.

You can spring off of this idea and cut holes in the lid of the can, with a large hole in the middle and screw the lid on the can to help keep it all secure and prying fish mouths from pulling the batting out.

As it is, your spongefilter right now is only a good way to remove debris, nothing more. there is no real beneficial becateria bed to speak of. Except for the little bit of carbon. If you really want to employ carbon, mix the gravel with a bit of carbon, then pour it in.


Hope this helps!

Paul

hey that's cool. it'll work well for a fry tank i guess

toothless, any chance for a simple picture of ur idea? sounds very interesting but i didn't quite understand ur explanation in the previous post sorry

how does this look exactly?
it works the same as a UGF rite because i was thinking of buying one

awww my fish food can is too small
it is the third of the length of the tube and just a bit wider c
can i use a water bottle?

I went ahead and threw something together real quick.

[attachmentid=7234]


I took the picture from above so that you can see the gravel sitting inside of the foodcan. You might have to devise a way to stop the gravel from pouring into the uptube though. Maybe glue a couple of small peices of plastic canvas over the holes, or just glue a couple of small plastic tabs/strips/scraps whatever, over them.

If you have any extra uptubing, cut a new one and instead of holes, cut slits.

Okay, got some pointers for the finer points of undergravel/spongefilter operation:

By far, the MOST efficient ways to maximize the flow of the UG/sponge filter, driven by an aerator, is to make sure the uptube stops short of the surface by 1 to 1 1/2 inches. This allows for the most efficient dispersal of air bubbles from the uptube, this allowing a maximum amount of water to be pulled from below.
Also, too many bubbles from too strong an airpump will just pump a bunch of air up the tube wich doesn't leave much room for water to be pulled up. So, you basically want to have a steady stream of bubbles flowing up but still see plenty of room for water to come up with the bubbles. a 50% water/50%air ratio is ok, but a little less air than water is better. Its all done by eye.

So, good rules of thumb for these filters to run as efficiently as they can are:

More bubbles is not always better.

The uptube ends between 1 and 1 1/2 inches from the surface.


Maybe I should click and paste this into a sticky about these filters. they are indeed great little filters to have on hand, but not many know how they actually work properly......


Hope this helps!


Paul

thanks i'l try and put one tegether

look what i found in my closet!!!
a mini UGF!

Great!

that will work fine as added bio-filtration one the gravel over the plate gets good and colonized.....


Paul

cool