Advice needed: Undergravel filter and sand?

[angel383]

I have a 15 pound bag of Onyx Sand from Seachem. I have a planted tank. I currently have roughly 20 pounds of small black gravel in the tank.

Recently my boyfriend told me he would like to add an undergravel filter to the tank. It is a 20 gallon long. I am running a Marineland Bio-wheel 150 (for 30 gallon aquariums). He read the undergravel filters can help prevent diseases in fish.

I have yet to add the sand to the tank, but I know a good time to add it would be to do some when adding the undergravel filter. However, I'm smart enough to know that the sand will go through the filter plates and thus I'll have no water pocket underneath the gravel/sand.

So, should I layer two inches of gravel on top of the undergravel filter plates and then put the sand on top? Or what should I do to use both an undergravel filter and my plant-friendly sand?

 

[Ghost_knife]

I would be concerned about running a UGF with sand, may jam up somthing

 

[Needeles]

The only way I would think that would work and not wreck the UGF is to turn the UGF into a RUGF. Then though you would have the problem of the small sand particales floating in the water. Even if you were to put a couple inches of rock some sand would end up getting pulled through the gravel and up through the intake tubes on the UGF. It is usally not a good idea to use a UGF and sand as it can cause alot of problems that you really don't want to deal with.

 

[Dangerdoll]

He read the undergravel filters can help prevent diseases in fish.

that's a first, never heard of that before...

Next, sand in the tank with an UGF... never a good idea, no matter how you try to get around the sand falling through the plates, chances are, eventually it will. Another thing is you don't really want to add the UGF with a planted tank because of the root systems eventually getting all knotted in the plates and causing a holy nightmare.