Plants And Ugf

[Tarpan]

I have a tank up and running with a UGF and fake plants. I would like to transition over to live plants, but wondering if it is worth the hassel with UGF. I have read quite conflicting sides so far. Some say the roots can get into the plates and cause bad water flow, other say they do great with UGF due to the more balanced water temp on the roots and that any kind of tangling in the plates is a non issue.

Any commentary / advise / resources on this issue would be appreciated. I am quite new to the topic of plants and want to fully understand what I am getting into before I start adding plants.

 

[lljdma06]

Welcome to Planted!

I'm going to give an honest answer. Usually UGF and plants don't mix because their root structures tend to impede with the function of the UGF. That being said, I used UGF early in my fishkeeping days and was able to grow cryptocorynes and Amazon swords with some success. But, the plants grew much better when I started using HOB filters. If you didn't want to switch out filters, you could also try plants that don't require a substrate (ferns, mosses, and anubias).

Check out our resource center.

PARC

 

[Tarpan]

I appreciate the response, wondering if this is the prevailing opinion on these forums. I get the impression that UGF's in general are in the great minority around here.

 

[Verminator89]

Personally wouldnt try UGF in a planted tank. It can work, but in principle they counter each other, especially concidering flow around the tank is important in the planted side of things. HOB or external are difinately the best way to go with planted tanks.

 

[flix_cw]

I've had an UGF for the past year in a 28L and my crypt wendtii has absolutely flourished, probably due to its roots getting into all the mulm under the plate.

The other plants in there (mosses, hygrophila and crypt willisii) have done okay with ferts but not amazingly. I'm breaking the tank down this weekend and upgrading to a larger tank with external filter.