so what kind of plants can I get to put in my sump in order to reduce nitrates in my tank ? something that requires no light or very very little ..... non toxic is best as well incase some falls or gets in the tank and releases something in the water just incase I have thought about pothos but I have read they have a sap on the leave or something and that worries as id rather not have to move the plant for maintaince and get sap either on my skin/hands, or inside the sump or something. I don't really have room for to be rooted and totally submerged in my sump, but I was thinking of a basket suctioned cup to the inside of sump so just the roots are submerged and etc. any help would be great thanks rob
little to no light plants for nitrate reducing ?
- Thread starter rob1984
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I've never heard of pothos hurting any fish. Once in a while, my green severums will get a hold of a leaf or two and actually eats everything they get a hold of. Many times, I've pinched back pothos leaves and stems with my fingers and have never seen or felt any visible sap.
I've used a banana plant and hornwort. I just throw most stem plants that I trim in there. But hornwort has done good for me.
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oh really ? you have your totally submerged in the tank ? or just the roots.... ive just heard that the sap in them is toxic to animals and our skin, how much light do they actually need to grow ?
I have mine growing in a shower caddy. The caddy cames with large suction cups that I apply right to the back of the tank. Only the roots are submerged, but once in awhile a leaf will grow and/or drop to the water's surface and within reach for the fish.
I have my pothos in a half gallon rubbermaid container which sits in the acrylic lid i built for my sump. I installed a few 3/4" bulkheads in the container. It's fed by a 9 watt 185gph submersible pump and drains back into the sump. Just a little closed loop deal. Not really necessary to do it this way, I just wanted to. It keeps any and all debris out of the sump and I have a constant water level t9 work with.There are 2x 10w 6500k cfls over the pothos. It grows rampant and has doubled in size in the last couple months. My tank is a moderately heavy stocked 90g African cichlid setup with a 40b sump. A week after a water change my nitrates are around 5ppm. This isnt entirely from the pothos but it certainly plays a role. I keep my media meticulously clean and don't overfeed combined with approx 70 gallon water changes weekly.
Duckweed is magnificent for nitrate reduction but it's the biggest nuisance ever. I have one 75g with a solid duck weed canopy and it's miserable. I hate sticking my arms in there
Hornwort is awesome. Shedding needles are a pain. I havent kept it in years, but mine always grew like wildfire and suddenly they would all drop needles and die. No Idea why
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Duckweed is magnificent for nitrate reduction but it's the biggest nuisance ever. I have one 75g with a solid duck weed canopy and it's miserable. I hate sticking my arms in there
Hornwort is awesome. Shedding needles are a pain. I havent kept it in years, but mine always grew like wildfire and suddenly they would all drop needles and die. No Idea why
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I have to see if I can find some potho around here try em out see how well they actually work. I have a pretty big load in my system
The more light they get, the better they remove nitrates. You can snag an under the cabnet light fixture from any hardware store for 15-20 bucks which would be more than enough for pothos to have good growth.
Toss in a shower caddy for the roots and maybe a nail and some string to hang the vines and you're set.
Toss in a shower caddy for the roots and maybe a nail and some string to hang the vines and you're set.
