Do I need ferts in a overstocked tank?

[M00n3at3r]

Confused in this thread you start with a UGF, then you say it's a reversed UGF. Either case, UGF compromised from the plants. Reverse UGF waste not staying in the gravel, it would be pushed up into the water column. If you want plants, I would look at alternate filtering methods.

Either case, the plants you have now, don't really need ferts, that being said, a little dirt under the gravel would do wonders.

The dirt is the idea behind the reverse ugf, the power heads suck up organics, blow it under the gravel and ideally it becomes organic fertilizer. But when i put more plants in and have my tank fully stocked, will I still need to dose it?

 

[OrionGirl]

That's not the idea of any RGF I've ever seen...usually there's a prefilter to trap solid organics and keep the gravel clear of accumulation. Standard UGF is far better at trapping solid wastes in the substrate.

Either way, fish wastes won't provide for all of the plants needs.

 

[MostlyHarmless]

The dirt is the idea behind the reverse ugf, the power heads suck up organics, blow it under the gravel and ideally it becomes organic fertilizer. But when i put more plants in and have my tank fully stocked, will I still need to dose it?

Your plants need more than fish poo. If you do blow the poo under the gravel you can be creating a toxic sludge under there. I have swords with little leaf growth, but under he gravel I can see the roots spreading all over the bottom of the tank. Once that is done, I am sure the leaves will start to grow more (still getting modest growth now with no CO2)