FWIW, I do not use an UGF with my current tank. I have kept fish off and on for almost 19 years (since I was about 10). I'm currently running a 35 gal with the maximum fish load. I use an Eheim Pro canister filter, which I clean maybe 3x annually, and I change 30% water about every week or two. I test the water parameters monthly and have had no trouble. The tank has a stock fluorescent light (in other words the tank has less than 1 watt/gallon, low lighting) but I'm able to keep live plants: java fern (very very easy once they attach to a rock or piece of wood) and floating anacharis (I expected it to die, I bought it cause "important" people were visiting; it keeps growing and growing and growing) so I think you could consider giving live plants a try--the "easy" plants (ie: low light requirements) are not really any work at all. I think if my anacharis was planted it would die but it is successful because it is so close to the light source. I do have one silk plant, a tall red and green hygrophila, because I started out with silk plants and I can't bear to pull this last one out. If you go with the silk, get the ones with the heavy resin bases, much sturdier and easier to deal with. My tank does not have the typical inch or two of gravel covering the bottom, instead it is decorated with wood, about ten 1-3 inch rocks and several java ferns. I siphon under the driftwood, rocks, little gravel "piles" (I have about a cup of white gravel on the bottom for interest), the plants...anywhere debris collects. I run an air pump because my tank shape does not allow for the canister spray bar to agitate the surface (it's a hex tank ). That is the purpose of the bubbles, to agitate the surface and allow oxygen to dissolve into the water. I have no experience with an elephant nose but I looked it up in my Innes(1966 edition, I'm sure fishkeeping has come a long way since then). Says they can reach 9 inches and can be agressive toward smaller fish. Should be kept in large, well-planted tank. I tend to go with "majority rule"; since most sites you read did not recommend this fish, you probably should look for something else. Example of what Innes recommends for a larger community tank: 2 "Blue Acara" cichlids or 4 scalare (as the larger fish).

Well, I went with a 39 Marineland tall because of size, cost, & the fantastic hood--covered double lights, separate flip-top for filter access, a biowheel, etc. Yeah, I know, less O2 absortion area, but hey, only 4 goldies & a few cories, plus i maintain regularly. The 55 longs had crummier hoods & light set-ups & were too long for the ONE place I could put them--the dresser top. Plus, I hate the hang-on-the-back filters I've been using--even though they ARE good filters. They just bug me as far as accessing them from behind the tank to service. And finally, I HAD to make a decision (even if it was the wrong one!). I had four goldies in a cracked 20 gallon tank that could fail any minute. Got a slab of MDF cut to stretch across the full length of the dresser top. Then (couldn't find the #$*% foam) lined the tank edges with that thick heavy-duty stick-on foam to pad campers to pickups. So far so good, fingers crossed. Each of the 3-4 levels we have reads differently (!) but all have the bubble in the middle, a couple have it VERY *slightly* left/middle. But the best level we have, though a professional one, is visibly warped, sooo.... I'm watching carefully as things settle. Shimmed with heavy cardboard to the right, added gravel & a few gallons, rechecked level, added more water, etc. And y'all are quite correct: no floor is true level either! We have a slab foundation, so no problems there, as far as the weight. The goldies & moors are in hog heaven & the tank is a beauty. Ehh...so what if I now have to stand on a stool to pull out the filter foam (yup, I DIDN'T think about the height)! still wouldn't matter, because it came down to: the tank MUST go on the dresser, PERIOD. Thank you again for the great advice :)

Thanks for the kind words Tom.I swore when We moved,that I would never set up another aquarium,but I got the "itch" a few months back & decided to go back to FW tanks.This was after seeing some really great looking planted tanks on Youtube.The phrase "dirt planted tank" kept cropping up,so I looked into & decided to go that route.I don't think it is a new method,as I remember reading about soil in tanks when I was a teenager-I just think it went out of "fashion" until recently.It does almost replicate how the plants would grow & obtain their nutrients in the wild & is very low tech(always something I like,when keeping fish/plants etc).The only down side,that I can forsee,is that eventually(& I'm thinking a few years)the nutrients in the soil/laterite will be exhausted.This will mean either having to dose fertilizers,like conventional planted tanks or tear the tank down & add new substrate.At this moment,I would definately say give this method a try.Also there are some great deals on used setups on C/list,if You are considering setting up a tank.Best of luck,if You decide to go for it & if You need any further info let me know,Darcy.

I agree with shrubs_n_bulbs and dcarch. While it is useful to study the aquarium community, because they are very obsessed and very knowledgeable, you do definitely learn a lot. Unfortunately there are just not too many people participating in this forum and some of the people just seem to be here to sell lamps and spread misinformation. Our local lamp salesman should have banned long time ago. (New lamps for old! New lamps for old!) FWIW in my other life, I'm a senior pathologist, who is rather obsessed with perfection himself. In my professional life and in my hobby life, I like to go all the way, understand it all to the maximum that I am able to, and apply my knowledge to the utmost. My most inspiring person is Henry Kuska, who is a member of this forum, and who applies theory, scientific method, painstaking dedication, sweat, and generosity, all tempered with what is practical, and how can resources be applied most efficiently. Henry got me started on indoor gardening, and I have been going strong ever since. I think I started out with germination of rugosa achenes about 6 years ago. For that reason I commend shrub's comments most highly, please take 100% heed of them, because I completely endorse them. My viewpoint is also a very practical one, and although I am blessed that I can afford just about any gizmo or setup my heart would desire, I restrict myself however, I don't just go out and get the "newest and the best", don't play into manufacturer's hype, learn how to recognize real data from bogus. My holy grail is "most bang for the buck". I work hard for my money, and I try to spend it as wisely as I am able. The aquarium community is very good at evaluating reflectors, that's why I bought myself some lumenmax reflectors, although they're bent metal, the bends to the first approximation if a full parabola. I recommend them. Choice of lamps: Pulse start metal halide, blows away conventional halide by a country mile, there is absolutely no reason why anyone should use probe start for growing on land. Venture lamps sold by businesslights.com have a perfect spectrum for vegetative, can be run continuously, and in that mode last up to 30,000 hours. For general growing, a ratio of 2 x HPS : 1 x MH maximizes the terrific growing power of the sodium lamp and adds the blue spectrum that is critical for synthesis of chlorophyll and to discourage stem elongation. Try to design your garden so that it has at least 3 "sides", and cover the sides with mylar. A garden illuminated by 2 lamps, and surrounded by mylar, due to reflection, is equivalent of a garden out in the open illuminated with 3 lamps. For example I built a grow-closet, and lined all 4 sides by mylar, but my next project is to have a garden across the short dimension of a room that has kind of a 8' alcove. The back and sides of the "alcove" are covered in mylar, and the front is open, for general viewing, and access to work on it. Practical things and attention to detail is always critically important. The aquarium community must grapple with very high scattering losses of water. Scattering is proportional to wavelength (why the sky is blue), and for any useful light to reach the bottom of the aquarium, it must be top heavy with very short wavelength (blue violet). Aquarium owners also grow beautiful ?coral or other vegetation, they have colorful fish, and the extremely high color lamps are essential for the esthetics. Remember, the aquarium owner is buying it for pleasure to look at, we are buying for maximum size of crop for us to eat (vegetables and fruits), admire (various ornamental plant), or smoke, as the case may be. So while I am grateful to the aquarium community, and like yourself have read over extensively the forum discussions, the bottom line is I adapt what I learn there and apply it to land farming. Also why I study the cannabis growing forum, but due to LEO, the best forum overgrow.com was shut down. If you visit plantlightinghydroponics.com you will even notice that under their horticultural lamp selection, they superimpose the photosynthesis activity spectrum with the spectal output of the lamps they sell. However, the regular horizontal 400W pulse start Venture metal halide lamp sold in the sister company businesslights.com has the exact same spectral output as a SunMaster "horticultural vegetative" lamp, but has higher lumen output and longer lumen maintenance.Paul Mozarowski.