Equipment Review and Discussion :: a filter question

[daredevilgirl013]

Ok so I'm going to upgrade to a bigger tank and in this tank I plan to cover the whole bottom with river rocks. So I'm going to get another filter to add on with the one I have but I was wondering, would an undergravel filter work well too?

[missibsu]

I've heard that undergravel filters aren't as effective with turtles, but I don't know from experience. I actually have the undergravel parts at the bottom of my tank, they just aren't hooked up to anything. It's kind of nice because all of the junk sinks underneath it and I don't have to see it.

[steve]

The idea of an undergravel filter is to let it build up beneficial bacteria, similar to the bio media you would use in a filter. Since turtles like to dig around and stir things up, you won't be getting much benefit from it. I'm not sure how effective how it would be as a mechanical filter sucking up the gunk and poop, I guess that would depend on the strength of the filter.

[FishTechNH]

An undergravel filter can be somewhat useful in a reverse flow set up, but with river stone you'll barely have enough surface area to make it worth setting up the filter.