Plated tank questions

[irdajoh]

I have a 20g tall with 2 shrimp and 7 mollies(2 adult,5 fry), under gravel filter and HOB filter. Substrate is a mix of sand and gravel.

I was wondering if it would be a bad idea if I were to aquascape my tank into a plated tank with driftwood & some lava rocks and live plants with a diy co2 system. The tank is fairly new and still developing a stronger biofilter but it is cycled. Would converting be dangerous as long as the fish are in a separate tank for the build. I plan on getting all materials together before doing the project.
I'm aware I need to treat the driftwood and watch the pH carefully.

Is there problems I could run into? What are the best type of hardwood should I look for. Or should I just give up on the project?
All advice welcome and needed!

 

[BBradbury]

Your Tank

Hello ird...

The under gravel filter (UFG) is going to create a water chemistry problem when the pores in the filter plug up with sand. This type of filter would work pretty well with pea-sized polished gravel and floating plants only.

I would unplug the the UFG and run the HOB filter only. You'll need to remove and replace half the tank water weekly to maintain a healthy water chemistry.

B

 

[Cthulhu]

Depending on how much you want to change things in the tank, you can do it with the fish still in the tank, you don't have many. This is what I did when I changed mine, only one half at a time, and it went well.

I don't know if some types of driftwood can cause problems. Some will release tanins, lowering the pH a bit, but that never caused me any problems and eventually there are no more tanins.

I also have a 20g with lava rocks and driftwood. I attached anubias to the wood and rocks, some crypts in the substrat, and some java moss. With a good filter and low bioload, it is very low maintenance and I almost never do water changes. But I must replace evaporated vater with RO water to avoid raising the hardness over time.

I don't think undergravel filters are a good idea, but I never used one.