Biologically seeding undergravel filter

Well, this is just for at her house, we have the big 90 gallon here, with some fish she picked out. So it won't be overstocked, just a couple little ones to keep her occupied.

Eventually, if all goes well, these fish will probably EVENTUALLY be incorporated into my 90 gallon tank anyways. :)

Her mom had a goldfish in a bowl, which was entirely too small before she knew any better. I was in the process of finding them a 10 gallon aquarium but the fish didn't make it long enough.

I'm going to be setting it up at my house and doing the ammonia cycle here, when it's ready I'll add fish and move it to her room.
 
I would go with dwarf fish or shrimp... I am personally a fan of large groups of small fish. I like the interaction between them.

it is also more difficult to name them or tell them apart so it can be easier to replace one if something should happen ;)
 
mdit- sorry if I missed it somewhere, but how many gallons and what is the footprint of this vertical aquarium you want to setup? I'm with you in that, I'll often base my setup on the equipment I have on hand, but why is it necessary to use an UGF with this tank? Do you intend to run additional filtration with it?

Getting back to the how do you setup a nitrogen cycle with the UGF, like Shelia and Doug said above, use gravel out of your established 90g for the "vertical tank". Hopefully what ever beneficial bacteria are on this gravel will be enough to process the bio load you keep in this tank and basically be an instant cycle for you.

I personally don't think an UGF is the best option, but it's indeed an option!
 
mdit- sorry if I missed it somewhere, but how many gallons and what is the footprint of this vertical aquarium you want to setup? I'm with you in that, I'll often base my setup on the equipment I have on hand, but why is it necessary to use an UGF with this tank? Do you intend to run additional filtration with it?

Getting back to the how do you setup a nitrogen cycle with the UGF, like Shelia and Doug said above, use gravel out of your established 90g for the "vertical tank". Hopefully what ever beneficial bacteria are on this gravel will be enough to process the bio load you keep in this tank and basically be an instant cycle for you.

I personally don't think an UGF is the best option, but it's indeed an option!
 
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Any hope of you running a small HOB on your 90g to establish a small amount of beneficial bacteria for child's tank? UGF is "old school" & we never did it as "only" filtration for long, it can have it's issues. HOBs are easy to clean...if you understand the "cycling process". Is "helping" at the child's home an option? I know there can be issues with that kinda thing even though I never had kids. Or will this be in your home & help?

A betta & a few shrimp & plants (real or fake)? I gave my nieces a 10g shrimp tank they enjoyed for several years before teenage stuff took over, lol, the seeds were set!.They'll be back!
 
Never did it for long? I know people who are still running UGF, and have for years. Heck, some of the nicer LFS in the area run UGF on their tanks because it's easier and cheaper to maintain than multiple power filters and allows them to have each tank independent (ie, no shared water). My biggest complaint with it is the high visibility of equipment for RUGF, or bubbles. Not a fan of bubbles.

But otherwise--it works. Old school doesn't mean bad. It's not great for tanks with fish that dig, or exceptionally large fish, but that doesn't mean it's not perfectly suited for many setups.
 
If you want to run RUGF, You can always power it using a canister filter.. it doesn't need to be something in the tanks ;)

I agree about the bubbles though, I really don't like them, and if I was going to do something air powered, it would likely be Hamburger Mattenfilter or a Debruyn filter. But it's a personal preference,
 
I think we scared the OP away at this point anyway..
 
I hope we did not scare him away. UGF are still being used, and it is a very good filter, but does need more maintenance. You must do more gravel vacs to keep it clean. With that large surface area, it does a good job of cleaning and converting the waste to Nitrates.
 
OrionGirl, I meant we never did UGF as a sole filtration method always although it was at times. I'm a big fan of 2 filters or methods no matter the type...old school or new, more is better! I'm not trying to pick a fight, lol. I'm not a bubble fan either.
It was a major PITA to clean under UGF plates & I regret we never tried RUGF...almost 40 years ago, HOBs & canisters are comparatively easy to me., except for extremely understocked tanks.
 
Yep. Back in 1980s, I ran UGFs and a DynaFlo HOB. Good times.
 
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