Cheap plants, less nitrate! POTHOS

1bigdovii

Blue Tier VIP
MFK Member
Mar 1, 2012
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Virginia
I want to add pothos to my tank. Most of the methods i see involve putting some kind of basket directly into the water but I would like to avoid that. Any way I can get the roots directly into the water while suspending the rest of the plant above?
I always just cleaned the roots then shoved the roots and bottom of plant into a gap in the back of the tank lid and let the lid support the plant.
 

pimen

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 12, 2016
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So for almost several months growing photos plant hydroponicaly with deep water culture system n grow each pot from a new non roots phase,
I have a conclusion,
I put my photos in my customize sump filter in the back top of my aquarium
I have 2 aquariums , one is close to window and the other one only depends on 1 led 4 watt
the one that close to window and got 7-8 am sunshine is become jungle now
the other one that depends on led 4 watt is growing but very unsignificant, little leafs and grow so little
so what is the best lighting for photos anyway ?
Some said this plant dont need lighting so much like other plants
BUT a good lighting MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCES in terms of 'GROWING'

Should I buy a UVB LAMP FOR REPTILE ? to replicate sunshine ?
or buy a another type of LED ? TF5/8 ? CFL ? Im confused please suggestions....
 

FriedFlowerHornFillet

Piranha
MFK Member
Aug 26, 2014
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Toledo Ohio
The idea is to use the waste as fertilizers for the roots if that make any sense.. But sure enough, the root has to be packed in order for it to work.. Theoretically, once the roots are submerged, they won't need to be rinsed, right?
They end up rotting without attention paid to them
I've used corkscrew willow with pretty good success with almost no light at all. With decent light it would take off pretty quick. The roots grow down almost like branches and you can plant/lodge things in the root "branches" like pothos at the top and anubias towards the bottom.
 

FriedFlowerHornFillet

Piranha
MFK Member
Aug 26, 2014
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Toledo Ohio
they die with too much salt
anubias might work
Microsorium pteropus, Hygrophila polysperma, Sagittaria, Vals, Echinodorus tenellus, Ceratopteris
and of course the javan fern
they're all a little more salt resistant
 

pimen

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 12, 2016
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u know,,,,
i have a really established jungle photos in my separately custom overhead sump filter to my 55 gallon main tank,

over almost a year everything is fine the growth of photos is really mad and aggressive
actually that tank is the house of baby southern painted turtle and several small fishes
the small fishes are really healthy , I think my canister + photos nitrate reducer are works really awesome

and then for a moment i notice something
MY TURTLE!
even i set up the photos in separately way, and the turtle cannot reach the leafs..

something happened to my turtle

for almost a year this turtle life in this 55 gallon with photos in the sump
my turtle is often basking,
then I notice something weird happened to my turtle
even my turtle very active, healthy..

my turtle shell is get something like weird spot which I thought is dry shell / shedding phase cos he is always basking
then even hes not basking the spot not going away,
so I go to some of my friend and they said its typically like MBD & Calcium deffiecieny
I can't believe it! ,
my friends said to me that im not give him a proper food, habitat and a basking place & uvb lamp which is not true!
I give my turtle everything! the best of the best from food and a overkill water filtration for just a turtle!

So...... I NOTICE SOMETHING


u know when ur photos established and grow like a mad in ur water flow aquarium system,
as they grow they always make new leaves and new roots in the water,
the leafs are fine cos is in the air and we can trim it easily
the real problem is the roots in the water
in a long term ,the roots always make a new one and the other old roots will die and become darker and make a debris, (the debris is not the problem)
so as u know this plant is poisonous, the CALCIUM OXALADES stuff in this plant are all over the plant parts , right ? steam, leafs and roots too
then i suggest when the new roots grows and the old roots die they contaminated the water with their calcium oxalade ? , is my logic true ?
I need suggestions and advice

IS CALCIUM OXALADE IN PHOTOS PLANT CAUSE THIS ?
 

Tussin

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 21, 2017
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This is a great tread. I have officially read through all the pages and I wanted to give some people some advice growing these.

I do plan on starting my 1st tank once I move into a house next spring but wanted to give you guys some tips because I'm a houseplant nut.

Pothos are one of the easiest plants to grow indoors. I have a few different varieties and my oldest one(going on 5 years old) has multiple vines over 10'.

This plant is extremely easy to root in water. I cut of a couple of feet from a vine and cut right above each leaf. Then put them in a clear plastic cup and put it on top of the fridge. Roots grow from the tiny little brown nubs you see on the stems and the warmth from the fridge really helps speed up the process. I don't even change the water. Just when I need to cover the roots with water is the only time I add any. That's why I use clear cups so I can see the roots!! This is why this plant is so cheap because it's so easy to propagate. Literally each leaf that has a stem with that little brown nub or nubs can become it's own plant!!

I live in an apartment and it doesn't get the greatest light but I'll give you guys some tips. First, even though these are low light plants, the more light you give them the better. East or West sunlight is less strong than midday sun. With east being the weakest, then west, and of course South is the king. Also, sun in the summer is stronger than sun in the winter. I actually get sun from my sliding glass door in the winter but not in the summer because of the angle of the sun.

Most plants can take winter sun especially if they are medium to high light plants. I've seen people on here say that their plant died because they put in in direct sun and others saying this plant can't take it. Technically, it's a shade plant but can take full sun if you acclimate it. Meaning you introduce it to full sun slowly and not all day all at once. Start out with time under an hour and slowly increase the time every few days until you get up to the point you want. I'd say increasing it by 30 minutes or so is a good start. Just pay attention especially if it's from a south window. If the leaves start to burn then make smaller jumps with the time. Patience is key to get any houseplant to receive full sun. Obviously, this will be impossible to do in a fish tank unless you have some way of controlling the sunlight.

Just so you know, full sun is not good for all plants and sometimes their leaves will look wash out with too much light. Also, a plant with any white variegation will burn in full sun. With any plant I buy, I always Google search it for care and read several articles. Yes, like I said I'm a nut lol.

Personally, I would root in cups before I would put it in the tank. With full plants, I have cut a gallon jug in half and stuck and pothos in it that was in dirt and it has done fine. Patience is the key for anything. This way if you want your plant to get handle full sun, you can try this method to get the plant used to it and it would be much easier to move. Once it can handle sun then you can stick it in your tank with the water roots already established!! Beware though that this will cause algae growth as well(because of the sun) so you will have to change the water more often. Sounds familiar huh? There also different pothos you can get like Jade(all green), Neon(lime bright green), Marble Queen(this one has different varieties too that some variegation that is yellowish and others pure white), and many more.

Marble Queens are slower growing in my experience because of the variegated leaves especially if they don't have much green in the leaves. Less green means slower growth. I would love to experiment with these in a fish tank to see if it would speed their growth.

As long as you give these some adequate light they will do fine. If you have bright walls(like white) or any mirrors in the room, this will help out more than you know because light bounces off these colors and surfaces.

I personally am going to use a different pothos than the common golden one. Although beautiful, there are others I like more and want to try. Can't wait and if anyone has any questions about growing tips the feel free to ask. This is my first post and it's a wall of text lol.
 
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Manas

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Jul 3, 2017
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Thought I might as well make a DIY thread, I know its been done before but not the way I did it. I don't use a hob or anything for added flow, the plants are simply submerged a few inches in my water and the roots suck up nitrates and the plant grows... Simple. Each plant consumes 5-10ppm per week and needs no added light!

First off go to your lhs, in the garden section they should have hydroponics baskets for about 4$:


Next, grab a GOLDEN IVY POTHOS PLANT (also known as devils ivy), usually cost 8-10$ per plant:


Next, take the plant out of the pot, clean away all dirt with a hose (DO NOT USE BATH TUB LIKE ME, GF IS STILL MAD LOL):


Make sure roots are clean and free of soil:


Snip about an inch off the end of the roots (this helps them establish quicker) and place in hydroponic basket, then carefully add pea gravel or aquarium gravel around them, making sure all the roots are NOT visible:



The most difficult step is finding a way to suspend the basket in the water, I just used a recip and cut my DIY metal shelf lid and placed it in:


Now your done, just place on top of tank and enjoy!


Lower N03, cool look, lasts forever, purifies water and the air!







Make sure house pets cannot get at the plant since it can be very toxic to pets! Thx guys!


Go S. Vettel #1 rb8
Can we fully submerge the pathos plant?
 
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