Review on 🐠 High-Quality Penn-Plax Clear-Free UGF Aquarium Filter – Freshwater & Saltwater Safe – Ideal for 15 to 20 Gallon Tanks by Andrew Pierceson

The Gravel Filter is easily one of the best filters you can buy, dollar for dollar. Because they are very effective, simple, inexpensive and durable. Here are some tips on how to use this filter properly. DO NOT CLEAN THE GRAVEL. That's the most important. You shouldn't clean the gravel much at all. Yes, some brown matter will accumulate. This brown substance is not a "pile of fish". These are beneficial bacteria. If you remove these beneficial bacteria, your filter will stop working and your fish may die. DO NOT CLEAN THE GRAVEL. If you need to clean your gravel, only clean half of the tank at a time and give the cleaned side some time to allow bacteria to grow back before cleaning the other side. Otherwise, just very lightly scrape off the top 1/2 inch gravel.2. You really don't need carbon cartridges. If you want to support Penn-Plax, I think you can still buy them. Use 1-3 inch 1/8 inch aquarium gravel on top of the filter. Gravel packs are so effective because they provide more surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow. The more gravel you have, the more effective this filter is. Decide whether you want to use a pressure head or an air pump to move water through the filter. The Power Heads significantly increase the efficiency of the filter and ensure cleaner water. If you plan to keep a lot of fish in the aquarium, you should use electrobaits. The power heads should be rated for gallons per hour which is 2-3 times the gallons of the tank. If you use air pumps, they must be designed for the size of your aquarium.5. Decide whether or not you want to connect the slabs under the gravel. If you're using air pumps I wouldn't put the panels together. Simply place an air stone in each riser for each plate. You don't need to buy multiple air pumps. Just buy a plain tee to split the pump outlet. If you are using power heads I would connect every two plates and use one power head for every two plates. Some people complain that this filter killed their fish, which is very unfortunate. The filter didn't kill her fish. Misusing the filter killed her fish. You've probably removed all the gravel and removed any good bacteria that was causing the filter to stop working. Unless the filter is so clogged that water cannot flow through it, there is no need to clean the gravel or surface beneath the filter. If this actually happens, I would suspect that the person is severely overfeeding their fish! Some people complain that this filter "produces a lot of nitrates". Nitrate production is the goal of all filters and shows that the filter is working properly! If the nitrate levels are too high for you, you are putting too much food in the aquarium. Another filter will not fix it. There are only two ways to remove nitrates from an aquarium: changing the water or adding plants. Plants really only take nitrates into their bodies, so you'll need to remove some plants if you really want to remove nitrates. that Penn-Plax makes this product!