BAT Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 Does anyone have any recommendations on plants to root in water and grow leaves above to help reduce nitrate levels? I have seen pothos used. Any others? Tips welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 I also use lucky bamboo this is an awesome thread 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDojoMojo Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 I use 2 pothos in my 125. I use an intake sponge on my Eheim canister filter and set up one of my pothos to root into the sponge to sort of use the nutrients that get caught up in the sponge. The other one I just have pulling from the water column. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted February 21, 2022 Author Share Posted February 21, 2022 On 2/20/2022 at 11:45 AM, Guppysnail said: I also use lucky bamboo this is an awesome thread Thanks! I just ordered some lucky bamboo. And i have a sponge holder already that i can use! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkM Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 That's a great thread on the bamboo, I've meaning to give that a shot but after reading the results might need to prioritize it. My dogs have a tendency to tear up any plant the can get their mouths on so I've had to avoid pothos. I've been using spider plants. Trimmed some babies, propagated in shot glasses on windowsill until they had 2" roots, and then put them in the tank. Originally I just had them at the waterline with steel wire inside airline tubing (not my idea, but forget where I saw it) like this: It worked, was low budget, and I had all the materials on hand. The problem is that the mbuna in that tank treated the roots like a salad bar. So I printed a cage to protect them. I wasn't sure if they just needed a head start or would need full time protection so I only made them ~120mm deep and 120mm wide to hold multiple babies. Its been almost 3 months, and they continue to trim back the roots as far as they can. That's total growth for 5 spider babies, no additional firts and planted+ 24/7 HLC light. Compare that with a different tank that is heavily planted, gets easy green/easy iron, a planted+ 24/7 ALC (better reds) and doesn't have mbuna eating everything they can. This cage is much smaller (about 70mm deepx60mm wide) and only has a single spider plant baby. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted February 22, 2022 Share Posted February 22, 2022 I have styrofoam rafts holding lucky bamboo and they're working pretty well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaHomesAndGardens Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 I’ve used pothos before and it works great but my favorite one I’ve done is a peace lily. My LFS actually sells peace lillies for this express purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 On 2/21/2022 at 7:24 PM, MarkM said: 24/7 ALC (better reds) Can I ask what is this please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 On 2/25/2022 at 6:39 AM, Guppysnail said: Can I ask what is this please? I believe that's the Finnex Planted+ 24/7 ALC aquarium light they're referring to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 On 2/25/2022 at 8:48 AM, gardenman said: I believe that's the Finnex Planted+ 24/7 ALC aquarium light they're referring to. ORD THANK YOU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 On 2/21/2022 at 5:24 PM, MarkM said: My dogs have a tendency to tear up any plant the can get their mouths on so I've had to avoid pothos. My puppies were the same way, and my vet said the problem with pothos is the oxalates which (other than teething puppies) tends to irritate the mouth and gums similar to Bitter Apple, before the oxalates can irritate kidneys. @Odd Duck would know better, and I can say none of my dogs will chew pothos as long as they have access to holy basil for their occasional tummy upsets. I still have to keep the lucky bamboo and dracaena out of reach, but a frozen carrot a day has been more appealing and better on gums than my pothos or philodendron. I just had to wait until they grew up. They didn't even try to eat my Solstice gift: a small, potted rosemary 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra the fish rookie Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Pothos in EVERY tank! Not only good for filtration. it just looks pretty 🙂 I use cheap intake sponges to keep them together, and then use flexible plant wire (same as Dean used to keep Cory's mangrove plants in place. so, I can take them out if needed to trim the roots or clean the glass behind them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 On 2/27/2022 at 10:58 AM, Torrey said: My puppies were the same way, and my vet said the problem with pothos is the oxalates which (other than teething puppies) tends to irritate the mouth and gums similar to Bitter Apple, before the oxalates can irritate kidneys. @Odd Duck would know better, and I can say none of my dogs will chew pothos as long as they have access to holy basil for their occasional tummy upsets. I still have to keep the lucky bamboo and dracaena out of reach, but a frozen carrot a day has been more appealing and better on gums than my pothos or philodendron. I just had to wait until they grew up. They didn't even try to eat my Solstice gift: a small, potted rosemary 😁 Yep, pothos are more of an oral irritant than truly causing kidney issues. I’ve never had to treat a pet for pothos ingestion other than with sucralfate (forms a chemical bandage on ulcers and I’ve only used it as a precaution in one silly teething patient that chewed but spit out everything), and pain meds. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 I have done the following: -Lucky Bamboo -Pothos -Peace Iilly -Areca Palm -Ponytail Palm -Prayer Plant -Bacopa -Pennywort I hang sponge holders made for kitchen sinks from the rim of my aquarium and fill them with leca as the growing medium. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted March 5, 2022 Author Share Posted March 5, 2022 (edited) I just added the lucky bamboo 🤞🏻🍀 I put some through holes in a sponge container and the ones that were two big I put on top of filter to see if they will grow into sponge Edited March 5, 2022 by BAT 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 On 3/5/2022 at 1:26 PM, BAT said: I just added the lucky bamboo 🤞🏻🍀 I put some through holes in a sponge container and the ones that were two big I put on top of filter to see if they will grow into sponge 🎉 congrats. I love mine. They do not grow long roots like pothos. They may grow in just a bit but never enough to support itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 I have cats and I'm thinking about risking philodendron or pothos just because I think they're soooo pretty.... I've never had cats jump on TOP of my tanks so maybe I'll be ok? 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 I put the cuttings in 10 day and they took off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted March 13, 2022 Author Share Posted March 13, 2022 Hi Nerms! So far so good. The nitrates seems to be staying at 20 or lower with no change in water change schedule. I just returned my betta to the tank after his quarantine treatment for fin rot. I will continue to follow the water parameters closely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted March 13, 2022 Share Posted March 13, 2022 On 3/12/2022 at 7:22 PM, BAT said: Hi Nerms! So far so good. The nitrates seems to be staying at 20 or lower with no change in water change schedule. I just returned my betta to the tank after his quarantine treatment for fin rot. I will continue to follow the water parameters closely. Wonderful to read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkM Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 A month later and the growth of the Spiderplant in my 29 gallon has really taken off. I realized I was starving the tank of phosphates, the tank was essentially at 0. I started dosing Seachem phosphates to 3ppm and it's now nicer than any of my potted spider plants. Which isn't saying much, I'm much more successful with aquarium plants than house plants (which is itself a low bar). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAT Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 On 3/29/2022 at 12:57 AM, MarkM said: A month later and the growth of the Spiderplant in my 29 gallon has really taken off. I realized I was starving the tank of phosphates, the tank was essentially at 0. I started dosing Seachem phosphates to 3ppm and it's now nicer than any of my potted spider plants. Which isn't saying much, I'm much more successful with aquarium plants than house plants (which is itself a low bar). @Mark Mhow did u figure out the phosphate problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkM Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 On 3/29/2022 at 3:18 AM, BAT said: @Mark Mhow did u figure out the phosphate problem? First sign of a problem was a massive uptick in green spot algae, which I learned from this forum is a sign of low phosphates. I verified I was at almost 0 ppm with the API Phosphate Test kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadMax8 Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 I don’t know how well this will work, but I want to give basil a shot in my tank. I know you can grow it hydroponically, so I’m thinking about attempting something like that. If it helps the water quality, great, but my wife loves basil so it’d be nice to have around! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widgets Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 On 3/29/2022 at 10:28 PM, RadMax8 said: I don’t know how well this will work, but I want to give basil a shot in my tank. I know you can grow it hydroponically, so I’m thinking about attempting something like that. If it helps the water quality, great, but my wife loves basil so it’d be nice to have around! A hydroponic herb garden for your kitchen tank. What a wonderful idea. http://AquaSprouts Garden, Self-Sustaining Desktop Aquarium Aquaponics Ecosystem Kit, fits Standard 10 Gallon Aquariums https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B4ZRVR4/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_HZ4VV9856QA6ARDNVCDZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now