Cheap plants, less nitrate! POTHOS
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I'm not having much like with having terrestrial plants on my tank. I bought some Philodendrons from Lowes about 2-3 months ago and placed it in 2 Emperor 400 I have at the back of the tank. I have not seen any growth or nitrate reduction at all. In fact, some leaves are turning yellow. 
Here's a pic of the plants.
Here's a pic of the plants.
There is a fact or a myth attached to this plant.It is said that it only grows in house which have a lot of positive energy.The chinese & the indians consider it as a good fengshui and vaastu plant.If it grows healthy and nice it is supposed to bring good luck to the owners.I have personally seen this grow in houses & businesses which do very well,so somewhere at the back of my mind i think that it might really be a fact!!!
Oxygen is in the water column already, pothos mainly need current which can be achieved w/ bubbles but ideally a filter output, ph or circulator IMO. My fx5 spray bar hits all my roots.
I'm not having much like with having terrestrial plants on my tank. I bought some Philodendrons from Lowes about 2-3 months ago and placed it in 2 Emperor 400 I have at the back of the tank. I have not seen any growth or nitrate reduction at all. In fact, some leaves are turning yellow.
Here's a pic of the plants.
View attachment 962721View attachment 962722
That particular plant isn't exactly as hardy or efficient at nitrate reduction as pothos. Try and find devils ivy aka pothos @ your lhs!
Yes!! It definitely adds tranquility to my household. So many benefits w/ pothos! Thanks for adding to an already epic sticky!
Perfect. I thought about the floating baskets but I have jumpy fish :/
Pics when done!
×Go S Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 4x WDC!!! Congrats on another flawless title and 7 wins in a row going on 8, see you in Texas boys!×
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Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
Yellow leaves often indicates an iron deficiency, which was confirmed at an aquaponics seminar I attended 2 weeks ago. I would recommend a fertilizer supplement such as FlorinFE or FlorinMulti from Brightwell Aquatics. That has always fixed the problem in my tanks and pond.
I'm not having much like with having terrestrial plants on my tank. I bought some Philodendrons from Lowes about 2-3 months ago and placed it in 2 Emperor 400 I have at the back of the tank. I have not seen any growth or nitrate reduction at all. In fact, some leaves are turning yellow.
Here's a pic of the plants.
View attachment 962721View attachment 962722
Edit: now that the pics loaded those do indeed look like pothos.
Questions:
-how long had they been in your tank?
-was your tank cycled?
-what is the stock and gallons?
-did you snip the roots an inch or so before placing in filter?
-any added light?
×Go S Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 4x WDC!!! Congrats on another flawless title and 7 wins in a row going on 8, see you in Texas boys!×
__________________________________________________________________
Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763
I thought it looked like Pothos too but the label says Phildendron (P.Scandens). I'll try to see if I can find some Devil's Ivy/Photos in the plant nursery near us because I can't find any of those in Lowes.
As for your questions...
-how long had they been in your tank?
They've been in the tank for 2 months.
-was your tank cycled?
Yes, the tank is cycled and has been running for more than 2 years. My usual water parameters are ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate 20-40 (kind of hard to distinguish between the two). My tap has at least 20ppm nitrates though and that's why I'm really hoping that plants will help keep it lower.
-what is the stock and gallons?
It's a 125 gallon tank with 1x Oscar, 1x BGK, 1x Featherfin catfish, 1x Polypterus P. Palmas, 1x Polypterus P.Beuttikoferi and 5x SDs.
-did you snip the roots an inch or so before placing in filter?
Originally, I didn't. But about a month ago I did snip the roots hoping that it would grow.
-any added light?
No added light. Not sure if it matters but the tank is also in the basement so there's no sunlight. I normally just leave a corner lamp on or open the lights on the tank.
This is the idea I am going to use in my 55gal sump filter for my 180gal. The sump will have 3 chambers: 1st chamber will be wet/dry with bio-balls; middle chamber will be the biggest with two pothos plants; 3rd chamber will be the smallest which will have the pump. Pick up some cheap LEDs off Ebay as a light source since the 180 is in my unfinished basement