Need help on upgrade from undergravel filter !!!!

150 gallon acrylic tank came with UGF and I want to upgrade but dont know the best way to do it. Bought it with UGF with external pump runs to canister filter-mechanical filter-heater canister- utraviolet light -through uplift tubes. Dont want to be fish and live rock and fish only long but dont know what to do . PLEASE HELP!!!

 

First I would run your other filtration for a week or two.
Then I would remove all the fish.
rip out the ugf plates.
do a large water change and gravel vacuum(do this before replacing water).
add fish back.


then after everything stabilized you can begin replacing your gravel with sand.

 

I mean I dont have any other filter how is the best way or can I use the external pump and all but plumb it another way to get rid of the UGF no problems with it after 120 days but dont how to switch to better filter.

 

I don't understand your set up. isn't it just a ugf with powerheads or a canisterfilter intake on the uplift tubes?

 

also how big is this tank? and is this salt or fresh?

 

Saltwater 150 gallon. The UGF is pumped with external pump then to 3 canisters chemical-mechanical-heater than to UV sterilizer through to uplift tube.

 

is the tank drilled at all?

if you want to keep using that system,

A)you will either have to just have the external pump draw water from a tube placed in the tank and remove the ugf.

B) use a overflow(built in or hob), to take water down to a sump which the external pump then puts in through the filtration and pumps it back up.

I would really recommend B since you could then have a protein skimmer.

 

Would use HOB but the way the tank is made it has a 3 inch or so piece of acrylic material all the way around the top and 6 inches in the middle. I didnt the uplift tube would stay but there are 2 holes drilled for UGF plates and 2 for uplift tubes.

 

well it sounds like your tank is eurobraced.

but can you rephrase the second sentence?

 

How would you do the intake and return? I was trying to get rid of the tubes. Should the intake come from the top of the water and the return at the bottom?