Undergravel filters are great for fish only aquariums but there use in planted aquaria is debatable. In addition epoxy coated gravel is probably the least desirable substrate. If you are loathe to tear down your aquarium and start from scratch I would vacuum the mulm and detritus from underneath the filter accessing from the up lift tubes. Then remove the up lift tubes and cap off the holes. Your gravel may have enough mulm and detritus to support plants but you may want to amend it with a nonclouding substrate such as Flourite. Dont try to add laterite as you will have a cloudy mess. For filtration you could use a hang on or canister filter depending on your taste and budget. You can easily fit 4 flourescent tubes over the top of a 55 gallon. Add DIY yeast CO2 and you are on your way. Eric --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html --- ------------------ To unsubscribe from this list, please send mail to majordomo@thekrib.com with "Unsubscribe aga-member" in the body of the message. Archives of this list can be found at http://lists.thekrib.com/aga-member/