On Sep 20, 11:34 pm, Tynk wrote:
On Sep 20, 11:25?pm, John DeBoo wrote:

Years ago I had two of these and they worked well. What books I've read
(published 1995 to date) seem to say they are good inexpensive filters
to use. However, in my trips to WalMart, a local fish store, Petco &
PetsMart, they seem to have all disappeared - else I'm blind.

Are these little hummers still available? Thoughts & comments on them
welcome.

Grandpa John

Hello there Grandpa John.
Under gravel filters are still around, however filtration has come
along way.
If they are not used properly and taken proper care of, they end up
being cess pools just waiting to set free a toxic gas bubble.
Sounds pretty wild, I know. But that's the extreme worst thing that
can happen with them.
Mainly, they're a pain the butt and outdated.
Depending on the size of the tank, better options would be:
Sponge filters run by an air pump.
Power filters. These hang on the tank and make a lot less noise than
anything making bubbles.
Canister filters for large tanks.
Do you have tanks running now or are you getting back into the hobby?

Undergravel filters are rarely used anymore.
In a lot of stores they are hard to even find.....If properly
maintained and installed they work great. YOu would be have much
better luck with a hob (hang on back) type filter such as the work
horse Aqua Clear filters. They work for ever and do the job, and are
extremely easy to maintain. ||Even on a 29 gal tank I would go with
the largest model offered, which is the AC110 (old model 500) They
are fully adjustable and can be found online for $35 or less or if
there is a Petsmart store near you just print out the webpage on them
with the price and Petsmart will price match prices (you'll save
approx 50-60%| that way) as they sell it for close to $80 in the
stores. Canister filters are mnore excpensive and can form a bnitrate
factory very quickly. Media replacement is more costly too in a lot of
the canister types. The hang on the bac (|hob) such as the Aqua Clears
are extremely quiet and you will not hear any noise, unless you have
air trapped in the system. They just do not make noise and they last
forever. Media replacement is quick and easy and cheap and a lot of
varioius other media can be used in these hob filters than just the
stuff Aqua Clear sells for it. Trust me, your fish and you will
appreciate a good AC110 on a 29 gal tank.

Air powered filters are for the most part no where near as
effectiveas they lack any real circulation or filtration and yes
eventhough they do filter water, they certainly are not quick about it
or provide much current, which also helps in any tank. Air powered
filters anymore are usually used in breeder tanks and such.rarely in a
larger display tank. Who wants top hasbve top be putting their hands
and arms ina tank to clean filters etc. ||The hob Aqua |Clear is lift
lid, pull basket out, clean and reverse removal process and go!
Eviderntly Aqua Cl;ears are too "complicated " for some fokos so they
go the old air powered way.


And as much as I hate to do it, TYNK seen perfectly fit to trash RMs
other post as well as some I made. See what| I mean about TYNK needing
to be in charge and receive 110% of the attention . I could easily
trash this post, but I fortunately do not have the resident trolls
nasty habit of of being a hipocrite