Hi i was looking into buying another tank and i found one with an under gravel filter. is this just as effective as a regular side filter or which is better/ easier to take care and such. thank you for any help.

Hi, It depends on some things like, for example, the size of the tank and the type of fish you will put in it. In general, though, for a regular 15-20 gallon tank, it's good to have both kinds of filter since you can get cloudy water and lots of problems if you have only a regular side filter. Decide which fish you want to keep before you buy and set up your aquarium.

So, what size is te tank you're looking at and which kind of fish do you want to keep and which books have you read fish and fish care and setting up an aquarium?

Hi thank you for replying. I was looking at one of those 25 gallon coffee table tanks. a few Signifer Rainbowfish, Dwarf Cory Cat, a few Longfin Zebra Danio or/ Purple Passion Danio, a few clams and snails. i haven't read any books just different faqs online and lots of beginner fish forums and sites.
Does that sound good?, do you have any advice?

Yes, but please read at least one book (They're not usually that long) first - you can even just read it a your local library. You can see lots of suggestions on fish care books in the articles here at the Fish Site on BellaOnline.com

When we were shopping around for our 32 gallon tank the fish associates all discouraged the use of the under gravel filters because it "old school and not very good". And to properly clean it you need to remove the gravel every time to get at it, then put it back.

There are new and improved versions of it and if you get one opinion from one person at one pet store - please collect many opinions from many places and take them with a grain of salt and use it to help you come to your own educated decision after reading up on the subject from several books that address this topic. Your fish deserve it.