Re: NANFA-- U/G and plants?

Brian Haas (bhaas_at_dubuque.net)
Sat, 12 May 2001 20:12:30 -0500

Says Martin:
>While there is no real evidence that UGF's are bad for plants, most
>plant people shun them. Plus, it is really had to use specialized
>substrata (like kitty litter) with a UGF. I have abandoned them
>entirely.

I have used an undergravel filter and had no worse luck growing plants than
I did without it. I think the general opinion is that while UGFs don't
harm plant growth, in no way do they improve plant growth.

As a side note- Several years ago in Aquarium Fish Magazine, there was an
article that discussed the use of kitty litter for growing aquatic plants.
Kitty litter is a lot like an UGF- it doesn't hurt the plants, but it
doesn't help them either. The author stated that kitty litter doesn't
contain any nutrients beneficial to plants. There is actually a potential
for harming the plants if you make the mistake of buying a perfumed brand
of litter.

Travis Haas
Hazel Green, WI

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