I use UGF too and it works fine.

The reason your roots aren't getting tangled in the plates is because you
admittedly prune and move often. If you left the swords alone for a while
the roots would go through the plates.

I'm hangin' tough on the UGF for now but I'll go canister as soon as it
becomes a pain.

"Dunter Powries" wrote in message
...
RedForeman ©® wrote in message
...
...
UGF, No... just add powerheads for circulation, planted tanks don't work
with UGFs, there's lots of...

Planted tanks work just fine with UGF's.

There are only three compelling reasons I've ever heard for not using ugf
in
a planted tank. First, that the roots get tangled in the plates is
bogus -
it's never happened to me and I prune roots and move plants continuously
in
all my tanks, including my monster-mother red-spot ozelot swords. Second,
that you can't use root tabs to feed swords and such because they dissolve
into the water column too quickly is true but, IMHO, not a problem due to
enhanced circulation of nutrients through the substrate making root tabs
unnecessary. Third, that you cannot use laterite or flourite because it
sifts through the plates and gets blasted out the heads is, unfortunately,
true. However, I prefer to use a fine gravel substrate anyway.

IME, unless you are planning on using a fine/powdery substrate like
flourite, UGF's can be the superior option for a planted tank.

kush