Tank hunt

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@jaylach $ 10.25 for the two plate economy model or $ 19.95 for the single plate Professional Series model . Both with a 24 x 12 footprint . I just ordered a heater from them last week and shipping was $ 11.28 . I expect that filter would be about the same , give or take a buck .

 

[jaylach]

@jaylach $ 10.25 for the two plate economy model or $ 19.95 for the single plate Professional Series model . Both with a 24 x 12 footprint . I just ordered a heater from them last week and shipping was $ 11.28 . I expect that filter would be about the same , give or take a buck .

Actually I find it sort of funny to have economy and professional versions. I mean as long as the plates hold up the substrate and mount the risers who cares?

 

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Actually I find it sort of funny to have economy and professional versions. I mean as long as the plates hold up the substrate and mount the risers who cares?

Yeah , I agree but the Pro model does have more surface area since it has those wavy ridges . Those ridges might make it stronger to hold up a deeper gravel bed too . Just a thought , I don’t really know .

 

[jaylach]

Yeah , I agree but the Pro model does have more surface area since it has those wavy ridges . Those ridges might make it stronger to hold up a deeper gravel bed too . Just a thought , I don’t really know .

All plates I've seen have support 'pegs' all over the underside so the wavy ridges are not likely to give more support. On the other hand the ridges could give more water flow depending on how the slots are arranged.

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An associated question. My current tank is my first with all live plants. I have a couple of swords that I would like to carry over to the new tank but they would need cut back as they are taller than the height of the new tank. Will cutting back the leaves cause harm?

 

[gwand]

All plates I've seen have support 'pegs' all over the underside so the wavy ridges are not likely to give more support. On the other hand the ridges could give more water flow depending on how the slots are arranged.

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An associated question. My current tank is my first with all live plants. I have a couple of swords that I would like to carry over to the new tank but they would need cut back as they are taller than the height of the new tank. Will cutting back the leaves cause harm?

I cut my sword leaves about two weeks ago. So far the plants are healthy. No browning or other signs of injury at the cut site.

 

[jaylach]

I cut my sword leaves about two weeks ago. So far the plants are healthy. No browsing or other signs of injury at the cut site.

Thanks.

 

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All plates I've seen have support 'pegs' all over the underside so the wavy ridges are not likely to give more support. On the other hand the ridges could give more water flow depending on how the slots are arranged.

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An associated question. My current tank is my first with all live plants. I have a couple of swords that I would like to carry over to the new tank but they would need cut back as they are taller than the height of the new tank. Will cutting back the leaves cause harm?

Yeah , that’s right . I haven’t seen a UGF plate in years and I forgot about those support pegs . As for your plant question , I got nothin’ .

 

[Bamf Comics]

The ridged plates are definitely more durable than the cheaper plates. I've had the little ridges on the cheap ones break and the connection point for the uplift tubes is more practical. I've had the snaps on the cheap ones break off and no matter which of the models I used, I'd always find myself wanting to flush the tanks regularly to get all the mulm out that accumulates in the dead spots. The best way to view that is with an open frame type stand so you can actually look underneath and see the crazy things piling up and where your flow is pretty much non existent. You can even find baby fish trapped under there that way as well to know and rescue them. What I would have to do is pull the uplift tubes off, put a garden hose running temp adjusted water down one while holding the vac over the other and peaking underneath to make sure I was accomplishing the goal. Eventually I gave up the frustration and just converted everything over to sand bottoms from 1/4 to 1 inch and used alternative filtration to worry about bio and mechanical options that were easier to service. You have a lot of options there right now including simple sponge filters. Sponges and internal filters can be hidden in/by the decor, they're simple to service, I even have some starting to get covered by plant life, the fish go to them to snack off of since stuff is where they can access it, not pulled down into the gravel and away, you save on food if you're using bottom feeder tabs and such since more of the food stays in places where the fish can access it longer, lower nitrate as a result, most tanks have enough bio after they've been established that additional isn't really needed unless you're overstocking anyway, etc.....

 

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The ridged plates are definitely more durable than the cheaper plates. I've had the little ridges on the cheap ones break and the connection point for the uplift tubes is more practical. I've had the snaps on the cheap ones break off and no matter which of the models I used, I'd always find myself wanting to flush the tanks regularly to get all the mulm out that accumulates in the dead spots. The best way to view that is with an open frame type stand so you can actually look underneath and see the crazy things piling up and where your flow is pretty much non existent. You can even find baby fish trapped under there that way as well to know and rescue them. What I would have to do is pull the uplift tubes off, put a garden hose running temp adjusted water down one while holding the vac over the other and peaking underneath to make sure I was accomplishing the goal. Eventually I gave up the frustration and just converted everything over to sand bottoms from 1/4 to 1 inch and used alternative filtration to worry about bio and mechanical options that were easier to service. You have a lot of options there right now including simple sponge filters. Sponges and internal filters can be hidden in/by the decor, they're simple to service, I even have some starting to get covered by plant life, the fish go to them to snack off of since stuff is where they can access it, not pulled down into the gravel and away, you save on food if you're using bottom feeder tabs and such since more of the food stays in places where the fish can access it longer, lower nitrate as a result, most tanks have enough bio after they've been established that additional isn't really needed unless you're overstocking anyway, etc.....

I had a bunch of Kuhlii Loaches living under an under gravel filter plate once . I finally gave up getting them out and left them alone . They came and went as they pleased .

 

[Bamf Comics]

I've been there. Some of those grate pieces on the cheaper plates would break over time letting gravel and loach types down under the plates. I used to sell a lot of them though. Take a tank, put everything together in the store then let the new owner go home and fill with water and plug in the air pump, heater and light. Even then we'd get headaches like the one's who would plug the heater in before filling with water shattering it. Then there's the lady who never took the air pump out of the tank, just plugged in in for a month before having me come out to diagnose the problem.