Mid posted.


"PokoFish" wrote in message
oups.com...
I've had lots of cloudy water problems in the past. I'm not sure what
fixed it though. I had an under gravel filter at one point, and I
think that helped it some what. Although I have removed it as my
loached kept finding their way under it and I could never find them!

I experienced that when I was 12. My one kuhli loach would go under the
undergravel filter plate and I only saw the khuli loach a year afterward
when I was rounding up fish to take to the pet store. Boy had it grown!



About the waste buildup... I usually don't clean up waste that builds
up under anything, as I don't want to move around too much in the tank
when I clean it. I find I don't need to clean it up though. I have
corys and loaches in my tank, along with some other bottom feeders. I
think that these fish help with the waste problem. I think some large
snails would also take care of any waste laying around.

I also think that an underground filter would help get rid of the waste
because it will suck the waste into the bottom where it won't be
visible and will also help create beneficial bacteria that will help
keep the water clear.

Undergravel filters still are respectable filters, it does good biological
filtration and mechanical filtration can always be added later (hang on back
power filter), I suspect back when aquarium technology was very primitive
and even until today undergravel filters did a great job at biological
filtration and kept the water clear because of the biological filtration.
Good luck and later!



Hope this helps!