# Under-gravel Jets - Lazy Man's approach :)



## MRossi (Dec 8, 2010)

Hi all. This is my first post here, I'm a newbie as far as this site and forums go, but have been keeping cichlids for about a decade now. I have 2 tanks, a 65 corner and a 72 bowfront, both containing mostly Malawi Cichlids as well as plants.

I can't post URL's or links until I've made at least one post, so that's what this is


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## MRossi (Dec 8, 2010)

Here's the rest...

After finding this site I came across this excellent concept and article: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ug_jets.php which introduced me to undergravel jets.

I first tried this last week on my 65G corner tank, and it worked so beautifully that I soon used a similar approach on my larger tank. I captured the steps as I went, this was done in a few hours yesterday.

Many UGJ setups I've seen (most actually) involved starting with an empty tank, and laying out PVC in a configuration, then covering it up and filling the tank. Given I have 2 running tanks and was not keen on completely emptying the tank, I came up with this approach. I also thought it was kind of funny to start from scratch given how inevitable it was that the cichlids would dig up around whatever you put in, and figured by burying tubing in my existing tanks as they were, I could easily re-bury things if they get excavated. Flexible nylon tubing seems better than PVC to me because it can be routed around things more easily whereas with PVC you're locked into a specific configuration once laid.

It's not mandatory to do something like this in a tank, but I wanted to have cleaner water, and with all the settled debris on the substrate combined with the ongoing digging cichlids love to do, there was always particle floating around. By adding the jets, water circulates a lot better, and indeed flows to the filter where it gets removed from the tank rather than settling at the bottom.

I've seen configurations with 8+ jets, but to maximize flow from the pump I decided to go with 3. It's working great and the fish love swimming in the new jet currents! The tank circulates water very nicely now, I highly recommend trying this.

It's probably ideal to do this kind of a setup prior to filling a tank, but my fish didn't react too badly to all this activity, and now a day later are doing just fine. Completely emptying my tank and laying PVC under the substrate just wasn't an option.

Supplies:

Black - 5/8" nylon tubing
Clear 3/8" nylon tubing
Maxi-Jet 1200 Pump
Various jet ends, for this project I bought a set of Rio powerhead jet ends (2-pack) and jerry-rigged the third by crimping a small metal clip
A few 'T' PVC connectors
A few 'L' (90 degree) connectors

Steps:

1. Look at parts, go to local hardware store (Canadian Tire) with some pieces, get tubing to fit things together
2. Measure things, factoring in placement of pump, places you want to create current
3. Clear out enough of aquarium to place the pump and tubing.
4. Assemble the pieces, check for tight joints
5. Insert into aquarium
6. Test flow, current, placement, aiming, adjust as required
7. Bury tubing, cover with rocks to hide it
8. Aim heads/fine tuning
9. Finish burying
10. Rearrange tank

I must say, I'm SO impressed with this concept. It could be accomplished with out-of-ground jets, but this method is stealth and therefore looks much more natural.

Here's how it went:

Before doing anything:









3-Jet Apparatus, measured and ready, prior to installation:









Tank cleared out as much as required:









Apparatus inserted into tank, 3 "jets" circled:









Laying the tubing down, testing flow/current:









After direction of flow was verified, burying began:









Jets all buried and positioned:


















Finished job, an hour later:









Finished job, a day later:


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## Dieselfool (Aug 11, 2010)

Exelent job.


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## MRossi (Dec 8, 2010)

Quick update after running jets on my two tanks for a few weeks. First off, I must say I really love this concept. The circulation in my tanks is excellent, and I've also noticed a dramatic reduction in the amount of debris that settles on the ground.

I added a sponge to each of the power heads as a way of doing some additional filtering, and it works well. I used a very pourous sponge material to avoid reducing the flow, and when I clean these sponges every few days they do indeed collect a lot of small particles.

The fish also appear to love these jets. Many of my fish take turns 'surfing' in the current, and at other times they just hang back and enjoy the currents from a distance.

Another bonus with this setup is that it doesn't introduce all the surface agitation that bubbles do, and so for a planted tank it doesn't degas the water like a bubble wall may.


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