cathlyn847
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I'm feeling foolish and a bit frustrated.
This will be my first aquarium in 30 years.
Because my budget was tight I bought a used tank off Craigslist.
What I have is a 12 x 30 x 24 (37 gal I was told) Eclipse tank. It is glass with a mirror back. It has a plastic top with built in pump, double filter system and 2 lights. The seller assured me everything worked.
But only one light works & the pump didn't work at all.
So I go to the aquarium store for a new pump...obsolete, can't get one.
Option 1: buy a whole new hood from Eclipse ($200)
Option 2: outside the tank filter. (But my tank sits close to the wall so a filters that hangs on the back won't work for me.)
Option 3: under gravel filter (this is what I had 30 years ago)
I ask the store person, can I have live plants with this filter??
"Oh yes" was the reply. Really? I say, won't the dirt get sucked down
into the filter? "No, I don't think so" she said.
So, I bought the undergravel system.
Can I make this work?? If I lay a fine screening down on top of the UGF will it keep the dirt out of the slits? Or if I only put 1/2 the filter in and plant the other half?
Or???
Finally, can I grow anything with just one 24" 17 watt light?
Cathlyn
This will be my first aquarium in 30 years.
Because my budget was tight I bought a used tank off Craigslist.
What I have is a 12 x 30 x 24 (37 gal I was told) Eclipse tank. It is glass with a mirror back. It has a plastic top with built in pump, double filter system and 2 lights. The seller assured me everything worked.
But only one light works & the pump didn't work at all.
So I go to the aquarium store for a new pump...obsolete, can't get one.
Option 1: buy a whole new hood from Eclipse ($200)
Option 2: outside the tank filter. (But my tank sits close to the wall so a filters that hangs on the back won't work for me.)
Option 3: under gravel filter (this is what I had 30 years ago)
I ask the store person, can I have live plants with this filter??
"Oh yes" was the reply. Really? I say, won't the dirt get sucked down
into the filter? "No, I don't think so" she said.
So, I bought the undergravel system.
Can I make this work?? If I lay a fine screening down on top of the UGF will it keep the dirt out of the slits? Or if I only put 1/2 the filter in and plant the other half?
Or???
Finally, can I grow anything with just one 24" 17 watt light?
Cathlyn
I think in your situation with an undergravel filter you would stick with regular gravel and for now with that light stick with anubias for the plants you can tie them to drift wood so they don't grow into your ugf plate.
