Plant only filtration (why not popular in the hobby???)

[duanes]

Above is a deiffenbachia that was growing in the 180 back in 2020. I pulled it out momentarily to better see its growth progress
It, and many other shade loving terrestrials grows wild in the forested areas, all over this island, so I always have a ready supply, and usually use it in the more shaded area, of the main tank.

 

[jake37]

View attachment 1489678
Above is a deiffenbachia that was growing in the 180 back in 2020. I pulled it out momentarily to better see its growth progress
It, and many other shade loving terrestrials grows wild in the forested areas, all over this island, so I always have a ready supply, and usually use it in the more shaded area, of the main tank.

Is that a type of anubia ? It is one large plant !

 

[CrazyPhishMan]

Is that a type of anubia ? It is one large plant !

deiffenbachia has the common name of DumbCane

 

[andyroo]

Toxicity worries with dumbcane?
Apparently not, at least so long as it's not bruised?
Looks kind'a great, duanes

 

[MrsOz]

This is basically like aquaponics right? I wanna try this one day.

We recently bought a house and it had previously been a... Uhh.. hydroponics empire shall we say? ? There was a load of gear left in the garage so I'm currently settings up aquaponics systems on top of all the tanks, results so far are ? can definitely recommend

 

[eon aquatics]

Well plants can contribute to dirt and decay in the aquarium, possibly why its not a popular method.
And they need to be maintained and such.

 

[Texasrockwell]

I have a 30ftx15ft above ground pond and I use plants for most of my filtration. I haven’t done a water change in several years, just add water to replenish evaporation. I have 8 fish over 3 ft long and several more just over 2ft, so that’s a pretty big bio load, water is near perfect.

 

[duanes]

Thought I'd update, since this thread seems to be taking on a revival.
I still consider plant filtration to be one of he best methods of filtration, because not only do the plants provide substrate for beneficial bacteria to live on, but go beyond normal filtration, in that they also remove nitrate (as long as the plant to fish ratio, is large enough).
One or 2 pothos, or a val or 2 is not going to make much of a dent.
I use a 125 gal heavily planted sump, for my 180 galcichlid tank.
Still using dumb cane (dieffenbachia) and some other terrestrials.

The sump is also heavily planted with Vallisneria, water lilies, and mangrove trees.
Couple mangrove trees left.
Beside floating lily pads, salvinia and water lettuce are used as floaters.
I don't worry much about decaying plant parts, because a population of snails, shrimp, and a young pleco take care of that.

 

[duanes]

.
As an aside, below is my quarantine tank

It's a 180 gal tank, that only holds about 140 gals of water, due to an earthquake, perfect for its utilitarian use.
There is no filtration whatsoever, except the surface is covered in water lettuce collected in Lago Mira Flores, started with 2 plants.
There is a small wave maker to provide current, and at the moment has about a dozen tetras being watched the next few months for Lernaea.

 

[Texasrockwell]

Thought I'd update, since this thread seems to be taking on a revival.
I still consider plant filtration to be one of he best methods of filtration, because not only do the plants provide substrate for beneficial bacteria to live on, but go beyond normal filtration, in that they also remove nitrate (as long as the plant to fish ratio, is large enough).
One or 2 pothos, or a val or 2 is not going to make much of a dent.
I use a 125 gal heavily planted sump, for my 180 galcichlid tank.
Still using dumb cane (dieffenbachia) and some other terrestrials.
View attachment 1523291
The sump is also heavily planted with Vallisneria, water lilies, and mangrove trees.
View attachment 1523293Couple mangrove trees left.View attachment 1523297
Beside floating lily pads, salvinia and water lettuce are used as floaters.
I don't worry much about decaying plant parts, because a population of snails, shrimp, and a young pleco take care of that.
View attachment 1523298
View attachment 1523299
View attachment 1523300

I agree with you, I think the plants are one of the best filters. Trying to reproduce what we see in nature, seems to me to be the best for keeping fish. I try to keep my pond as natural as possible. I do have some mechanical filtration, because I think that it is needed to keep the water clear. I will be moving in the next year and I have big plans for my next pond. I am planning to do a "lazy river" style pond. It will have a gate style system that that I can section off the fish during the winter, since I will have to heat the water. I will be opting for a "bog" type filtration and several floating types of plants.

The one downside of being very natural is the amount of snails. I like that they do thier part in breaking down plant matter, but they sure do multiply like crazy and clogg up my pumps.