🐟 Lee's Original 15/20 Undergravel Filter: Superior 12-Inch by 24-Inch Filtration System Review

Very strong high-quality bottom filter. Used this in a new 20 gallon tall tank. Good instructions, easy to cut floor panels, fit well together, tubes snap securely into place. I have two Penn Plax UG filters in other tanks and I find this filter to be just as good if not stronger. I bought this along with a 158GPH Power Head. My only (minor) complaint is that the pipes can be a bit taller to work in a 20 gallon tank with a pressure head. I ended up using one of the tubes from the previous UG…

This item arrived well packaged and very quickly. Assembling the filter is easy, with precision fitting and quality parts. The kit includes two 12" x 12" filter beds, each with an air hose hole. Two height-adjustable air hoses with activated carbon filters that snap into the air hoses. Two air ducts complete with plastic diffusers (bubblers) and corresponding air duct fittings, as well as air duct fittings made from hard transparent plastic and two air duct sections made from transparent PVC…

I liked this filter so much I bought another to use in my 15 gallon column tank. This first purchase was for my standard 20 gallon tank. It fit perfectly and was easy to assemble and install. My fish like to play in bubbles. I have a conventional filter, which I also use in both pools, and the water stays crystal clear. You still have to vacuum the gravel, so don't think that this filter will somehow relieve you of that duty. To allow circulation between the plates. There is a recess for the…

Now I'm a firm believer in gravel packs with live plants. Less work, no searching and changing activated carbon filters. The water remains very clear (10% water change per week). Plant roots really LOVE the slow flow of water that carries nutrients to them and feels very good. One of the "tricks" is to use the power head to move the water stones, not the air stones. The power head moves MUCH more water than the gentle current created by the air stones and it is VERY QUIET. No constant humming…

Over the past twenty years or so I've heard a lot about not using underground (UG) filters, especially with plants. aquariums. I am very suspicious of this conversation. I've been using gravel packs since the 1960's and almost all of these tanks are planted. I didn't have a problem with any of these tanks except the first one and that was because these early filters only had 1/2 inch risers so had very low flow rates and deadly anaerobic bacteria could easily find unthreaded pockets to grow…