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[APD] African Planted Tank and RFUG



I have been leaning towards using a RFUG in my bosses 75 gal African tank at work. I read about them in the archives as well as some of the posts Tom Barr made to my questions back in Jan. '04. He said that the flow should be slow, on the order of 1 GPM. I have been reading Diana Walstad's book, Ecology of the Planted Aquarium. I learned that Ferric Iron is reduced in the substrate to the plant useable Ferrous state under near anaerobic conditions. If I use a RFUG, even with the low 1 GPM flow, I wouldn't have any anaerobic area's in the gravel, correct?

I guess my question is: Why even use a RFUG? Tom once did on an African tank. I must have missed the reasons (or forgot them) for using one somewhere. Can anyone provide some of the positive factors in using RFUG's? Can anyone give some of the drawbacks in using RFUG's? Remember, this is not primarily a planted tank. The fish are very important to my boss.

I originally was going to plant my plants in pots buried in gravel or rocks. This would shield them from digging fish. I am now leaning towards planting some directly in the gravel and forgoing the pots as I have decided to go with mostly small non digging Julidochromis, Neolamprologus, and Labidochromis. Anubias and Java Fern will be growing on the rock walls. I bought four bags of Onyx sand to use in the pots, but now I am wondering if I should make a three product mix with the Carib Sea African Cichlid Mix/Profile Aquatic Plant Soil that is in the temporary 20 H set up in my bosses office. From what I have been reading it appears the benefits of using Onyx for its Iron and other nutrients will be best realized where near anaerobic conditions occur. Am I correct?

Thanks for your help,
Jerry Smith

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