Undergravel Filtration for planted.

[Cheesetian]

I had no idea whether this was supposed to be in this section or in the Filtration section. I have a 15g and was wondering whether if i decided to carpet the entire tank, would my undergravel filtration still work at all?

Thanks in advance.

 

[m1ste2tea]

depends on a lot of criteria,

what are you planting?
what substrate are you using?
how much substrate?
what kinds of undergravel tray are you using?
is the undergravel filter driven by an air pump or a water pump?


Id say that your best bet would be to have a water pump driven undergravel filter, with a fine mesh fabric type material laid over the tray to prevent the roots from burrowing through the tray into the space underneath, where it can clog off the waterflow... then again plant roots are pretty persistant and may still find a way through.

perhaps having a thicker layer of gravel may prevent the roots from trying to access the undergravel tray.


as a general mantra it is advised against planting plants in an undergravel setup. If you're not very committed to the undergravel filter, I'd say chuck it and go with some other type of a filtration system.

That being said, I have an undergravel filter system but i only have floating plants in that tank.

 

[Cheesetian]

Was thinking of carpetting it with HC. Not too sure what kind of substrate yet, any good suggestions? Guess i'll just scrap the undergravel filtration.

 

[m1ste2tea]

IMO just about any substrate will do as long as you use root tabs with it. You can go with the any of the commercially available substrates. seachem's flourite is great if you want to go for a heavily planted tank. If you want something cheap and that works just as well, try play sand purchased from home depot. I used white play sand for a year because It was not as fine as the tan quickrete sand, and itwas heavy, did not get easily disturbed by bottom feeding fish. You can also go to your local pool supply store and buy some pool filter sand. both are great. remember that it is a good idea to get a bucket or two and rinse whatever substrate that you will buy.

 

[Cheesetian]

IMO just about any substrate will do as long as you use root tabs with it. You can go with the any of the commercially available substrates. seachem's flourite is great if you want to go for a heavily planted tank. If you want something cheap and that works just as well, try play sand purchased from home depot. I used white play sand for a year because It was not as fine as the tan quickrete sand, and itwas heavy, did not get easily disturbed by bottom feeding fish. You can also go to your local pool supply store and buy some pool filter sand. both are great. remember that it is a good idea to get a bucket or two and rinse whatever substrate that you will buy.

What kind of filtration would you suggest on my 15g? I doubt an HOB would be sufficient right?

 

[JasonG75]

What kind of filtration would you suggest on my 15g? I doubt an HOB would be sufficient right?

WRONG

Also you should never really use UGF on a planted tank, the roots and get lodged in the vents and tear the plant up. HOB (with the correct filtration size) is perfectly adaquate for a 15G.
Always try to double your filtration.

 

[m1ste2tea]

look into something like the aquaclear 20 or equivalent. they're HOB, easy to maintain, cheap, common, and can accomodate a variety of media. Its rated for up to a 20 gallon tank but... like others have said, you'd do yourself and the fish a favor by getting the aquaclear 30 that's rated for a 30 gallon tank. to put it into perspective, I use a 20 on my 10 gallon tank and its just OK. There's nothing wrong with doing this and nothing wrong with the filters but the ratings are taken from optimal conditions.

 

[Cheesetian]

WRONG

Also you should never really use UGF on a planted tank, the roots and get lodged in the vents and tear the plant up. HOB (with the correct filtration size) is perfectly adaquate for a 15G.
Always try to double your filtration.

Thank you, i'll look into that!

look into something like the aquaclear 20 or equivalent. they're HOB, easy to maintain, cheap, common, and can accomodate a variety of media. Its rated for up to a 20 gallon tank but... like others have said, you'd do yourself and the fish a favor by getting the aquaclear 30 that's rated for a 30 gallon tank. to put it into perspective, I use a 20 on my 10 gallon tank and its just OK. There's nothing wrong with doing this and nothing wrong with the filters but the ratings are taken from optimal conditions.

I'll be sure to get something stronger to keep the tank cleaner. Thanks!

 

[aclockworkorange]

Aquaclear 50 wasn't enough for my 20 gallon long...

 

[Cheesetian]

Probably cos' it was long?