Undergravel filter

[HNLim]

What are your views on undergravel filter for the serious Goldfish hobbyist?

[Cincy Ranchu]

85 tanks and tubs, zero undergravel filters. while this technoque may work well for small tropicals the bio load is too great for Goldfish, and even gravel tends to be an anaaerobic zone issue. I like glass bottom tanks and plants in pots....!

[Fishguy2727]

It is an old-school way of doing it and it seems the people who do use it have used it since it was best and refused to really try anything else.

In no setup would I use an UGF. They require weekly vacuuming and even then will end up causing problems in time. And since sand is a better option anyways, no UGFs even if they weren't bad. I have found the best substrate for any tank, goldfish included, to be sand. It is just as clean as bare bottom and the fish love to sift through it, a natural behavior I am not willing to take from them.

[Fishdork]

I will admit to using undergravel filters in my 55 gal and larger tanks (usually with powerheads with a sponge on the outlet to stop current). I put a 4 inch plexiglass wall down the middle of the tank to keep the gravel on one end of the tank and the other end bare glass so I can feed sinking food and it doesn't go directly into the gravel. They seem to take awhile to become established and don't handle a very big load of ammonia. Fishguy2727 got it right. I still use Hush air pumps and Dynaflo outside filters that were used when I got them in the mid 70's. (at least I use filters- I'm not that old)
Norm

[Fishguy2727]

Sinking foods is another reason why I use sand only.

Thanks for not being offended by that. Every time I try to explain the issues with UGFs somebody who has been using them for a long time tries to explain how they are fine "as long as...". In my experience any time someone tries to make something sound easier/better and then uses 'as long as...' it really isn't that easy/better when you count the 'as'.