Fluval RFUGF

[Kent]

Thank you in advance. I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank. It has an
air-stone UGF. I have had this set up for about three weeks. Currently
it is home to 5 zebra danios. I have just acquired a Fluval 304. My
question is: Could / should I turn my filtering system into a RFUGF or
should I run both filters? I would like to have some live plants at
some time in the near future. I plan on putting some mollies, angel
fish, and pearl gouramis in the tank if this makes any difference.

Thanks again,
Kent

[Dances_With_Ferrets]

I have almost a carbon copy of the setup that you are inquiring
about.... 50G D.A.S. tank with filter box pulled out and a Fluval 304
running a RFUGF... I am exceptionally pleased with the way it has
performed thus far...9 months and thriving. It's heavily planted with
a mix of Seachem Flourite, CaribSea Eco-complete, and about a half
gallon of hydroponic-grade crushed lava rock as a substrate. Stocked to
full capacity with fish, a DIY 1 gallon CO2 canister injecting CO2
directly into filter intake. The only thing that I've done a bit
different is that I took the original polyester felt from the discarded
D.A.S. filter spool and tailored it to fit over the UGF plate to
prevent miniscule particles of the substrate from falling between the
spaces in the plate (the Eco-complete has some very fine particles in
the mix). This tank also has about 120 watts of light on it (4) 30
watt, 36" full-spectrum t-8 bulbs). I've never once had an ammonia or
nitrite problem and under 20ppm of nitrate at all times (regardless of
my occasional lapse of monthly 1/3 water change). I've known some
other folks who've had similar systems set up for over half a decade
with a very lax/poor maintenance schedule, and they've gone without a
single problem. So, in short, I'd HIGHLY recommend this method. One
concern to consider is that this provides for no surface agitation-
ideal for a lightly to moderately stocked aquarium, but if you intend
to stock your fish to near full capacity, it would be wise to put an
extra powerhead or something like that in the tank to aide in
aeration/circulation.

[Dances_With_Ferrets]

I have almost a carbon copy of the setup that you are inquiring
about.... 50G D.A.S. tank with filter box pulled out and a Fluval 304
running a RFUGF... I am exceptionally pleased with the way it has
performed thus far...9 months and thriving. It's heavily planted with
a mix of Seachem Flourite, CaribSea Eco-complete, and about a half
gallon of hydroponic-grade crushed lava rock as a substrate. Stocked to
full capacity with fish, a DIY 1 gallon CO2 canister injecting CO2
directly into filter intake. The only thing that I've done a bit
different is that I took the original polyester felt from the discarded
D.A.S. filter spool and tailored it to fit over the UGF plate to
prevent miniscule particles of the substrate from falling between the
spaces in the plate (the Eco-complete has some very fine particles in
the mix). This tank also has about 120 watts of light on it (4) 30
watt, 36" full-spectrum t-8 bulbs). I've never once had an ammonia or
nitrite problem and under 20ppm of nitrate at all times (regardless of
my occasional lapse of monthly 1/3 water change). I've known some
other folks who've had similar systems set up for over half a decade
with a very lax/poor maintenance schedule, and they've gone without a
single problem. So, in short, I'd HIGHLY recommend this method. One
concern to consider is that this provides for no surface agitation-
ideal for a lightly to moderately stocked aquarium, but if you intend
to stock your fish to near full capacity, it would be wise to put an
extra powerhead or something like that in the tank to aide in
aeration/circulation.

[Kent]

Dances_With_Ferrets wrote:
> I have almost a carbon copy of the setup that you are inquiring
> about.... 50G D.A.S. tank with filter box pulled out and a Fluval 304
> running a RFUGF... I am exceptionally pleased with the way it has
> performed thus far...9 months and thriving. It's heavily planted
with
> a mix of Seachem Flourite, CaribSea Eco-complete, and about a half
> gallon of hydroponic-grade crushed lava rock as a substrate. Stocked
to
> full capacity with fish, a DIY 1 gallon CO2 canister injecting CO2
> directly into filter intake. The only thing that I've done a bit
> different is that I took the original polyester felt from the
discarded
> D.A.S. filter spool and tailored it to fit over the UGF plate to
> prevent miniscule particles of the substrate from falling between the
> spaces in the plate (the Eco-complete has some very fine particles in
> the mix). This tank also has about 120 watts of light on it (4) 30
> watt, 36" full-spectrum t-8 bulbs). I've never once had an ammonia
or
> nitrite problem and under 20ppm of nitrate at all times (regardless
of
> my occasional lapse of monthly 1/3 water change). I've known some
> other folks who've had similar systems set up for over half a decade
> with a very lax/poor maintenance schedule, and they've gone without a
> single problem. So, in short, I'd HIGHLY recommend this method.
One
> concern to consider is that this provides for no surface agitation-
> ideal for a lightly to moderately stocked aquarium, but if you intend
> to stock your fish to near full capacity, it would be wise to put an
> extra powerhead or something like that in the tank to aide in
> aeration/circulation.

DWF,
Thank you for the info and quick reply. It is very helpful. I have a
couple of questions for you (or anybody else).

1. How many lift tubes did you run your fluval into? My setup has the
option of 6 across the back. I was thinking of putting a "T" in the
return hose from the 304 and running it into the lift tubes on each end
of the tank and capping the middle 4. Do you think this will work?

2. If I put a couple of air stones in the tank, will this provide the
aeration/circulation you mentioned above?

Thanks again for your help. As you can tell I am new at this.
--Kent

[Dances_With_Ferrets]

I have the water flowing into only 1 lift tube... then again, I have
just one solid plate across the bottom of the tank. If your UGF
consists of two separate plates, then it would probably be best to use
a T connector to run separate lines to both individual plates.

The air stones shouldn't pose a problem, however they may interfere a
bit if you're to run a heavily planted tank... if you are not planning
on a heavily-planted tank, then this would work just fine for you as
far as aeration. There are quite a few plants that can also tolerate
the extra current and lower CO2 levels.

We were all new to this at one time... take your time, experiment...
trial and error will give you more insight. It's still a learning
process for me and I've been at this since age 12.

[NetMax]

"Kent" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Thank you in advance. I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank. It has an
> air-stone UGF. I have had this set up for about three weeks. Currently
> it is home to 5 zebra danios. I have just acquired a Fluval 304. My
> question is: Could / should I turn my filtering system into a RFUGF or
> should I run both filters? I would like to have some live plants at
> some time in the near future. I plan on putting some mollies, angel
> fish, and pearl gouramis in the tank if this makes any difference.
>
> Thanks again,
> Kent


On the filtration, it's certainly viable, though it will be a very
'quiet' tank in terms of turbulence. I tend to split my hoses to the
tank extremes of the UGF plates. Other than that, opinions will vary on
the overall effectiveness (particularly of UGF plates and operating
longevity with deep rooted plants), but experiment :o).

Less subjective is your combination of fish. The Angels & Pearl gouramis
sound like a nice mix in a neutral to soft water. Zebra danios might be
a bit hectic in there, and Mollies definitely prefer harder and saltier
water than an Angelfish would normally prefer. I would go with a larger
& slower tetra (ie: Penguins) and the equally prolific Platy (or even
Kribs) to replace the Mollies.
--
www.NetMax.tk