Under Gravel filter Cleaning
October 24th, 2007 | by Tim |Most people complain about the cleaning of UGFs and their effectiveness after a while. It involves taking the tank down, re-locating the fish, plants, ornaments etc., emptying the gravel out and cleaning it, lifting the UGF and washing it off, (holding your nose while doing this), scrubbing the tank itself and rinsing it out and then putting the whole lot back together, re-cycling and then putting the fish back in.
I have found a solution to this chore that is simple, easy, quick and completely safe and stress less for the fish and the human. It does not involve pulling the tank apart, unsettling plants or even removing the fish! (You might want to take out small ones though, just to be sure).
What you need:
A wet/dry vacuum, preferably the bottle type with adjustable power;
A hose adaptor to fit onto the UGF riser pipe and the cleaner hose; (You may have to make this beforehand);
About five minutes of your time!
What you do:
Remove the cap and air stone or power-head from the UGF riser tube. (If you have more than one riser, plug the other one(s) up, so that water or air can’t get in)
Connect the adaptor to the riser.
Connect the other end to the wet/dry vacuum suction hose.
If you can adjust the power, turn it down as low as possible. (If you can’t adjust the power, just drill a hole in the adaptor that you can put your finger over should you need to. This will effectively reduce the power of the vacuum by drawing air through the hole. You can adjust the strength of the suction by moving your finger over the hole changing the amount of air it can draw.)
Switch the vacuum on for as long as it needs to reduce the water in the tank by 20%. (You need to vary the time according to the size of the tank, size of the riser tube, the adaptor and the power of the vacuum.)
Top up the tank to normal level with clean treated water.
Switch the vacuum on again as above, and stir the gravel while it’s running.
Disconnect the adaptor from the riser pipe.
Put the air stone and cap back into the riser(s). (You may want to change the air stone, depending on its condition. Sorry, this will cost you a few pennies if you do!)
Top up the tank to normal level again.
Rinse out the vacuum, holding your nose while you empty it!
You’re all done! The gravel, UGF and water are now clean and clear.
Repeat the procedure every 6 months to ensure the efficiency of the UGF. (Now who says that UGF’s are difficult to clean?)