• We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

Cheap plants, less nitrate! POTHOS

Thanks, we enjoy him very much. Never more than 20ppm of NO3, by the way, and he is turd factory. The plants pull that much out of the water. I would not run a big aquarium without some type of plant-based filtration. It only makes sense.
 
How long before the real affect ofbthe plants yo teduce the nitrates if you doing your normal water changes?

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ray777 said:
How long before the real affect ofbthe plants yo teduce the nitrates if you doing your normal water changes?

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I don't know if there is an actual answer to that, since the amount of NO3 going into the water probably varies, as does the growth of the plants. I would think that it would be safe to say that the more established the plants are and the more roots they have in the water, the more effective the removal would be. If people are thinking that they can just put a few snippings of Pothos in there and "poof", their nitrates are gone, that's probably not going to happen.

Look at my tank or better yet, look at any natural streamside with emergent plants: TONS of roots in the water. That is where you want to end up.
 
Jenerik what do you have for lighting above those platns?
Tank and mbu look stunning! BUt those peace lily's steal the show for me..
Gonna make me drill some holes for net pots in my tank after lookn at those.
Any ferts added or just good ol fish turds?
 
Ive got a dwarf lotus on order for my overflow box :)
NOw your making me wanna go find some neon pothos to add as well.
 
Thanks. I have actually had that particular Peace Lilly for as long as the Mbu: Going on 4 years now. This is other thing I was going to mention with regards to growing Pothos (or whatever plants you elect to use...). They will do OK under window/PC fluor/etc. lighting but if you really want them to kick ass, you will need a lot more light than that. Those are four 70w metal halides above the tank....

TankStand-lowangle.jpg

Lights-array.jpg


The more light the plants get, the faster and more vigorously they will grow and the more vigorously they grow, the more nitrate the will pull out of the water. To put it into perspective, I basically have to prune away half the Pothos on a monthly basis and trim back a third of the Peace Lilly's leaves. Never used any fertilizer, just let the fish waste take care of that.
 
Very nice!
I'll be rockn a 4ft 4bulb t5 above mine.
Puts out killer light w/out the heat.
Love your set up Jenerik!
What else is filtering your tank?
 
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