# UGF and planted tanks



## ashok.antony (Aug 14, 2012)

Hello All,

Rather than go into all the details, let's just say that I can't use any external filter on my tank, at all. There is no way for me to have a HOB or Canister or a wet dry to my tank.

Tank itself is a 55gal, flat back hex acrylic tank. It came with a UGF and then I went ahead and got 2 Fluval U4 filters. I would have river pebbles for gravel. I plan to use the UGF and also the 2 U4s. The UGF doesnt cover the whole base of the tank though. It covers about 80% of the tank floor.

I like to plant it and was wondering if that would be alright. Most of my plants would be java moss, anubias (on a driftwood), etc. Some would have to be planted and thats where I was concerned. With the UGF, is it possible to have rooted plants? What would be my issues, if any. 

Ashok


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## HX67 (Sep 24, 2009)

I've had multiple tanks with rooted plants and UGFs.
The filter is no reason for the plants to not thrive.

If I had your setup and hardware, I would rig one of the fluvals to feed reverse flow to the UGF and keep the other standard.
Mild vacuuming of the bottom with waterchanges and that's it.


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## xenxes (Aug 1, 2012)

UGF means gravel substrate, not nutrient rich dirt. It means you would have to constantly dose the water column with ferts.


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## ashok.antony (Aug 14, 2012)

HX67 said:


> I've had multiple tanks with rooted plants and UGFs.
> The filter is no reason for the plants to not thrive.
> 
> If I had your setup and hardware, *I would rig one of the fluvals to feed reverse flow to the UGF *and keep the other standard.
> Mild vacuuming of the bottom with waterchanges and that's it.


Could you please explain this a bit more? I guess I dont quite get what you are saying. Not that much knowledgeable when it comes to making changes on my own.


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## ashok.antony (Aug 14, 2012)

xenxes said:


> UGF means gravel substrate, not nutrient rich dirt. It means you would have to constantly dose the water column with ferts.


Will this impact the fish in any way? Also, since there is charcoal in the filter, should i remove that before dosing ferts?

Any specific fert that I can use?


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## HX67 (Sep 24, 2009)

I would rig one of the fluvals to feed reverse flow to the UGF.



ashok.antony said:


> Could you please explain this a bit more? I guess I dont quite get what you are saying. Not that much knowledgeable when it comes to making changes on my own.


Sure.
Normally, an undergravel filter is sucking water through the gravel downwards. I.e. you connect either airhose or a powerhead to the pipe coming up from the UGF platform.
You can do a reverse flow version for it by connecting the outlet of a powerhead, or in your case, one of the Fluvals, to the pipe.
The filter then works reverse to the original, pushing water down the pipe and upwards from the gravel. Some of the detritus comes up with the flow and end up in the filters. The filtered water pushed through the gravel will reduce clogging of the gravel, which is sometimes a problem with UGFs.
But water keeps flowing and the gravel is being used as a biomedia for bacteria.


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## ashok.antony (Aug 14, 2012)

HX67 said:


> I would rig one of the fluvals to feed reverse flow to the UGF.
> 
> Sure.
> Normally, an undergravel filter is sucking water through the gravel downwards. I.e. you connect either airhose or a powerhead to the pipe coming up from the UGF platform.
> ...


Thats quite good. Will try it out. I have 2 and 1 can be rigged this way and the other can run as usual. Thanks. Will do that.


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## xenxes (Aug 1, 2012)

ashok.antony said:


> Will this impact the fish in any way? Also, since there is charcoal in the filter, should i remove that before dosing ferts?
> 
> Any specific fert that I can use?


No it won't, but it's a lot of cleaning. Any debris will get trapped, whereas a substrate / dirt tank the debris is collected on the bottom and converted down them used up by plants.

Here you are doing 2x the work, dosing the plants frequently and keeping the flow strong.

Many breeders prefer to do a sanitary UGF heavy flow setup so they can control pristine water conditions. I like keeping things natural, no maintenance.


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