How can I use an UGF with eco-complete?

[KittenFishMom]

I am setting up my half cylinder tank. I want to use a UGF in there, and some eco-complete where I will be planting plants to give them a good start. 

I don't want the Eco-complete to clog up the UGF. Should I cover the areas of the UGF with stiff plastic (say a cut down deli container) where I plan to put the eco-complete, or will that negate the value of the UGF for the plant roots? Would a few layers of cotton cheesecloth be better? I welcome any ideas on this

I'm new to UGF. I expect I will need to cut back the front corners of the UGF to get it to sit flat in the tank. I think I may need to put a "rim" on the areas I cut so I don't clog the UGF with stuff coming in these open edges. Again, I welcome any advice.

Do folks have a method for cleaning under the UGF? I use one in my snail bucket. It is too small and the snails climb down the uplift and hang out under the filter. It is always really gross when I give away the snails and clean out under the UGF, but it has a big bioload, so I'm not too surprised. I plan to keep the bioload in my half cylinder low. 

Thank you for read, and even more for replying.

KittenFishMom

[Gwallace]

Eco Complete is fine with a UGF.  Material is almost always going to pass through the holes in the UGF.  I don't clean mine at all.  The material breaks down and feeds my plants. I'm sure some people do clean them out but short of removing all of the substrate you will never get it all.  I guess you could shove a hose down the uplift tube and suck as much detritus out as possible. 

[KittenFishMom]

@Gwallace Do you gravel vac the substrate? I was envisioning putting eco complete where I wanted plants, the cover everywhere with gravel. If eco-complete is OK for the UGF, then I could put down a layer all over and then a layer of gravel all over, if it doesn't need vacuuming.

[nabokovfan87]

I would always vac the substrate.

The way I've seen UGF used is in two forms, the traditional method and a plenum method.

The traditional method is that the UGF is placed in the tank, then your layer of eco complete on top.

Plenum would be something like this...

 

On 7/31/2023 at 3:26 PM, KittenFishMom said:

Again, I welcome any advice.

Pecktec did a video on his big tank with UGF. Let me see if I can find it.

Yeah... He did his as a plenum in the big tank, no uplift tubes basically.

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[Torrey]

On 7/31/2023 at 4:26 PM, KittenFishMom said:

I don't want the Eco-complete to clog up the UGF. Should I cover the areas of the UGF with stiff plastic (say a cut down deli container) where I plan to put the eco-complete, or will that negate the value of the UGF for the plant roots?

Dr. Diana Walstad shared this method with my BiL, and it seems to improve the efficiency of the UGF, and it also makes it easier to rearrange the tank/change out plants if you decide you want to make changes. Put your UGF in the tank, and set your uplift tubes.

Put the black trays in between the uplift tubes to give you an idea of how to scape. Remove the trays to put in a thin layer of gravel.

Use a sautering iron to put a few small holes (pin prick holes) in the bottom of the trays and fill the trays with the Eco-Complete.

Place the full trays on top of the thin layer of gravel, between the uplift tubes.

Add the rest of the gravel, so it's thinnest near the front of the tank, and deepest in the back, covering the trays.

Plant in the trays.

There will be some water movement through the trays, but not as much as at the front of the tank where the gravel is thinnest. You don't need to heavily gravel vac the trays, you will want to occasionally gravel vac the front/center of the tank.

The mulm that gathers under the UGF is ideal for plants, eventually there roots will make it down there. If you notice you are losing suction at the front of the tank (extra flake food should be sucked to the gravel in the front and accelerate as it gets closer to the gravel) you can lift up the trays, pull roots out of the UGF, trim the roots, and put the trays back in.

Seriously, this makes it so much easier to move plants around.

In larger tanks, I leave areas with no UGF (~30% to 50% of the tank), but in smaller tanks you get more effective filtration with the UGF under the trays. Just don't cover more than the back 30% of the tank. (Hexagonal tank you can put a tray in the back middle, and one tray to either side, for example)

Hope this helps!

 

[KittenFishMom]

@Torrey what are the black trays? Where do I get them? I have a UGF that covers the bottom of my tank, after cutting off a corner, So if I put something down, it will be sitting directly on the UGF tray. When I read this earlier, it made sense, but now that I am about to start my build, I am confused about where the black trays come from, or what they look like, other than black.

[Galabar]

I would suggest putting something larger like pea gravel from Home Depot directly on the UGF tray and then covering that with eco complete.

[KittenFishMom]

@nabokovfan87 I am wondering which is better, UGF with uplift tubes or without the the uplift tubes.

Edited August 27, 2023 by KittenFishMom

[nabokovfan87]

Purely a UGF, it's likely better with the tubes in there.