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

[JK47]

I am on week #6 having not done a WC on the below 10 gallon. Only a 1 gallon top off once a week. I literally only do a WC to replenish mineral content/remove what cannot be measured once a month. The results speak for themselves.. I am not doing this on my larger tanks yet but am working on it with my 120 gallon right now.







The reason for flawless water would my buddy "gator"



The hardware.. Eheim 2211 (basically a powerhead), Marineland double bright LED fixture, no heater.









The software. $5 walmart "get well" house plants. They consume ammonia before nitrate so for the most part, the nitrogen cycle is avoided all together. DOC buildup is kept to a minimum.















So is it really that ugly? Be honest is that the reason it's not popular? I am really curious why so much effort goes into algae scrubbers and various other means of lowering DOC levels but this is not often done. It is as easy and simple as can be. This method needs water movement and sunlight.. Done..

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

My tanks are deep and I'm not really into DIY to make a platform for them to grow

 

[carsona246]

I've always wondered the same thing, I always keep water wisteria and cabomba in my tanks, and let them go crazy. I'm currrently trying my hand at pothos. First time trying anything that grows above the water

 

[JK47]

My tanks are deep and I'm not really into DIY to make a platform for them to grow

Have you thought about emptying out an HOB Ryan? You realize all the "DIY" I did was rinse the soil off and dump it in right? They don't even go through a "melting period" like allot of plants do. Easy peezy..

I've always wondered the same thing, I always keep water wisteria and cabomba in my tanks, and let them go crazy. I'm currrently trying my hand at pothos. First time trying anything that grows above the water

IME plants that are 100% submerged don't do squat for me. Anthing submerged seems to explode in growth and keep all levels at zero PPM. I have a massive pothos in my 120 gallon too.

 

[carsona246]

What kind of plant are you using in your axolotl tank? My 40 breeder axolotl tank somehow became uncycled and my ammonia levels only raise about .25 ppm's a day, but that's still .25 ppm's more than I'd like. It actually looks like a much better flow diverter than the ugly cut water bottle I'm using. I might have to give that a try. I'm sure I could find a cheapo plastic container and hook it on to the back of my tank, to elevate the plants enough to reach the top of the water. Correct me if I'm wrong but all you did was just put the plants in some dirt behind your background right? You think it would be pretty easy to just get a plastic bin and hook it on the back of my tank, and stick some plants in there?

 

[erk419]

Well the inside of the tank looks good but the top is another story lol. Do you have any fish in there or just the little lizard guy. I wonder if you would get the same results on a heavy stocked tank.

Posted on mobile.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[JK47]

What kind of plant are you using in your axolotl tank? My 40 breeder axolotl tank somehow became uncycled and my ammonia levels only raise about .25 ppm's a day, but that's still .25 ppm's more than I'd like. It actually looks like a much better flow diverter than the ugly cut water bottle I'm using. I might have to give that a try. I'm sure I could find a cheapo plastic container and hook it on to the back of my tank, to elevate the plants enough to reach the top of the water. Correct me if I'm wrong but all you did was just put the plants in some dirt behind your background right? You think it would be pretty easy to just get a plastic bin and hook it on the back of my tank, and stick some plants in there?

Your 100% correct, all I did was drop the plants behind the BG, no soil just roots submerged. The stems of the plants hold the spray bar for my canister and help divert/break up the flow. As far as making something to hold the plants, if your a baller on a budget, check out your local bath store. They make plastic boxes (to hold soap etc..) that attach to your shower with suction cups. Also a very cheap idea if you don't mind see it in your tank.

Less than $10, nothing needed but sunlight and fish waste to achieve zero nitrates just seems like a no brainer to me.

Well the inside of the tank looks good but the top is another story lol. Do you have any fish in there or just the little lizard guy. I wonder if you would get the same results on a heavy stocked tank.

Yeah I get made fun of by clockwork for the top of the tank too haha! Well maybe I can just push the stems behind the blinds? They get sun and I don't see them. Everybody wins! Yeah it's just the Axolotl in there. Its a coldwater tank.

 

[jcardona1]

Well the inside of the tank looks good but the top is another story lol. Do you have any fish in there or just the little lizard guy. I wonder if you would get the same results on a heavy stocked tank.

Posted on mobile.monsterfishkeepers.com

I agree. It's an extremely light bioload. I'd be curious to see a 'before and after' experiment, setting something like this on an established tank with a lot of fish, and then watching the nitrate levels over the next few weeks.

 

[jcardona1]

And I've been thinking of doing something similar in my discus tank. Since I have vertical pieces of driftwood, I was considering them attaching them to the wood up top, and let the roots hang in the tank. What do you think about that?

 

[carsona246]

I'd actually say that's a decent bioload for a ten gallon. Axolotl's get pretty big. If he's got no nitrates in there I'd say plants are doing the job.