chuck

It seems like a good idea to get flow into places you normally can't reach with a powerhead.

yea that's just a form of reverse flow under gravel filter. There is a guy on rc I cant recall his name but he has been do it for many year. He just had his setup hit 40yo I believe

Wow 40 years is unheard of for a setup to be running.

I wonder if you eliminated the powerhead and used your return from the sump and plumbed it straight into this if you would have proper flow for your reef?

I believe you are talking about PaulB. He is here on Reef Addicts too.

Thats him I read a article he wrote about when they used pennies to treat ick, that had to be back when jesus ran the lfs

No you have to have movement up in the tank, substrate in a reef tank wouldnt stay put with a bunch on flow under it Chuck where as in that article it was stone in the bottom

Got ya DJ. Looked like an interesting concept. I am looking for options to keep as much of the "equipment" out of view as possible.

Originally Posted by chuck

I wonder if you eliminated the powerhead and used your return from the sump and plumbed it straight into this if you would have proper flow for your reef?

This is exactly how I have the return on both of my freshwater setups. One tank is a 125 the other 500. Both tanks have sand substrate and this works rather well at keeping the fish waste from collecting on the bottom of the tank. As for flow for a reef......I don't think you would have enough.

Thanks for the input trplxj! When i read about it keeping the waste off the bottom I thought what a great idea as well as an inexpensive DIY. I might just have to give this a try with added flow from another means

Yep, that's a good way to hide plumbing. It isn't all that different from a closed loop set up, other than the pump being visible in the tank itself.

DJ - that comment about the pennies made me want to click on the "like" option. Too bad we don't have that here.

If you were running a crushed coral sub in a fowlr this would definitely be a great option. I still think ug filtration is a viable system even though it isnt widely used any more the reverse flow is the way to go so garbage does settle under the plate. In a reef thank that running good you wont have as much in the sand bed because you have more micro organisms that are in the bed eating the detritus as where in fw we dont have this luxury to that extent any how. the best way to hide your plumping in the tank with you putting a top to bottom overflow would be to run it in th over flow either drill from the bottom with a bulkhead or you could drop it in from the top if you prefer and are not going to be tight to the wall

i am surely going to give it a try in a smaller tank and see how it works PVC is cheap

I read a article he wrote about when they used pennies to treat ick, that had to be back when jesus ran the lfs

Actualy that was Lincoln, I am not that old.
And if you want to run a Reverse UG filter you need to strain the water first, then run the thing very slow.
The only problem is that your tank may only last for 40 years.

Glad to see you throw up a post over here paul. Hey are you still using your diatom filter, You are the only one I have seen say anything about using one but me Most people dont know what they are these days I dont believe

I still use the diatom and am on my fifth or sixth one. They are not built very well and I have resorted to building my own. I don't know how there people keep a tank with out a diatom filter and RUGF.
Just wait until their tank is 30 or 40 years old and see if they will then buy a diatom.
That stuff builds up.

Yea I have been though a few myself in the last 25 years, I got a tote full of parts

Wow I have not heard of anyone mention diatom filters in 20+ years

I bought all of them before then.