Harmful chemicals on store bought pothos?

[LS2012]

Hi all,

Just purchased 2 large golden pothos ivy plants from a home improvement store. I'm going to remove all the dirt, rinse the plant in water and trim the roots. Once this is done, the plan is to keep the roots submerged in a small empty tank, suspended by egg crate (sort of a plant qt tank). Eventually they will be used (Roots only submerged) in my 110 gallon low tech planted South American cichlid tank to hopefully reduce nitrates ......

I'm guessing chemicals/pesticides were used on theses plants and this could be harmful to my fish. What have members done to ensure the safety of their tanks when using pothos ivy?

Thanks!

 

[HybridHerp]

I sent a PM to you already, but I can only think of rinsing the whole plant off or something of that nature. Why do you want to use Pothos exactly?

 

[LS2012]

Thanks Chris, 3 reasons, nitrate reduction, curiosity and aesthetics.

Since I've set the tank up, the nitrates slowly climbed from 5 to 20. I realize that lighting, ferts, detrius and the amount of plants will be factors. I want to experiment with the pothos to see the impact. Until the plants have enough growth to consume more nitrates, the pothos are (to me) a welcome addition.

I'm just worried about introducing some thing, esp pesticides, that will harm my fish!



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[F1 VET]

Hey LS. Click the link in my sig below it is a sticky I made about this wonderful plant. Tons of members have done it many different ways that have worked well. Check it out for ideas but yes rinsing is a must, not only for fertz but the roots come in non organic potting soil that must be rinsed. The first post is where I break down the basics of planting Ivy!

After about 8-9months hers just one plant that started out a small lhs plant:

Feel free to post there or here if you have questions!





×Go S Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 3x WDC!!!×
__________________________________________________________________

Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763

 

[LS2012]

Hey LS. Click the link in my sig below it is a sticky I made about this wonderful plant. Tons of members have done it many different ways that have worked well. Check it out for ideas but yes rinsing is a must, not only for fertz but the roots come in non organic potting soil that must be rinsed. The first post is where I break down the basics of planting Ivy!

Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763

Thanks F1, I've been subscribed to your thread for a while. Its very, very helpful! The part about your GF still being mad because you used the tub to rinse the plants always makes me laugh

The plants have been on my kitchen counter with indirect light for about a week now. I trimmed the roots, rinsed, rinsed, rinsed and change the water a few times a day. I'm just waiting for the time to cut egg crate and add it to my setup.

In the past, I always kept pothos in my office, in soil and just jars with water. They're pretty much indestructible. I'm hoping to finish this project during my next tank WC this weekend.


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[F1 VET]

Thanks F1, I've been subscribed to your thread for a while. Its very, very helpful! The part about your GF still being mad because you used the tub to rinse the plants always makes me laugh

The plants have been on my kitchen counter with indirect light for about a week now. I trimmed the roots, rinsed, rinsed, rinsed and change the water a few times a day. I'm just waiting for the time to cut egg crate and add it to my setup.

In the past, I always kept pothos in my office, in soil and just jars with water. They're pretty much indestructible. I'm hoping to finish this project during my next tank WC this weekend.


Sent from my Nexus 10 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

Haha yea that was a bad idea and it actually clogged my drain... imagine that? I put a screen on top of the drain and it caught most the dirt or so I thought.

Can't wait to see it when its all done! Ill be updating the sticky tonight, I put another plant in and it took off at an alarming rate!




×Go S Vettel #1 Infiniti Redbull! 3x WDC!!!×
__________________________________________________________________

Cheap way to decrease nitrates and keep your fish healthy: http://monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=504763