Looking for some nitrate sponges

[Prodigal Son]

Hello!

I've got a 100 gallon tank that I'm growing out a Jardini in and I'm planting it pretty heavily to give hiding spots for tankmates and a nice look to a tank with very few fish. The tank will have pressurized co2 injection, plenty of T5HO light, and lots of water flow. There's a 1200gph jet system in the substrate and a pair of canisters. Substrate is a mix of Florite, Black Beauty, and Florabase.

I'm hoping to use plant growth in the tank for nutrient export, and keeping the nitrates in check. I may end up needing to add a refugium later to really do that, but I'd like to see what I can do in the tank first.

So what plants grow nice and fast to suck up nutrients? I've got some fairly large sword plants and onion grass to start with, but I'm looking for suggestions for the foreground. Squashing a bunch of ball moss into a mat seems like it would work, since it's algea, but I've heard it doesn't grow very fast?

Any other suggestions for rapid growers I can cut out periodically for nutrient export?

 

[ewurm]

My question is, won't that large fish tear up your plants?

 

[Brillig]

Hello!

I've got a 100 gallon tank that I'm growing out a Jardini in and I'm planting it pretty heavily to give hiding spots for tankmates and a nice look to a tank with very few fish. The tank will have pressurized co2 injection, plenty of T5HO light, and lots of water flow. There's a 1200gph jet system in the substrate and a pair of canisters. Substrate is a mix of Florite, Black Beauty, and Florabase.

I'm hoping to use plant growth in the tank for nutrient export, and keeping the nitrates in check. I may end up needing to add a refugium later to really do that, but I'd like to see what I can do in the tank first.

So what plants grow nice and fast to suck up nutrients? I've got some fairly large sword plants and onion grass to start with, but I'm looking for suggestions for the foreground. Squashing a bunch of ball moss into a mat seems like it would work, since it's algea, but I've heard it doesn't grow very fast?

Any other suggestions for rapid growers I can cut out periodically for nutrient export?

Ball moss is not algae -- nor is it moss or even lichens. It is a bromeliad, in the same plant family as pineapples.

 

[Prodigal Son]

My question is, won't that large fish tear up your plants?

They will if I get small or delicate plants, but none of them tear them up just because. So far it's been all fairly large sword, anubias, and onion grass plants. The fish all bash through them when they get wound up, but the plants look no worse for wear when things calm down. The fish seem to love them too, the catfish tuck down into the heart of the sword plants to hide in the day, and the jardini threads through them just because he can

 

[Prodigal Son]

Ball moss is not algae -- nor is it moss or even lichens. It is a bromeliad, in the same plant family as pineapples.

Gotcha, does that mean it withstand dosing the tank with Excel? Is the metabolism fast enough to help keep nutrient levels in check?

I'm mostly looking for some fast growers, either to put in the tank or in a refugium, that I can use like macroalgea in a marine setup for nutrient export.

 

[guppy]

I have always had good luck with elodea, it grows very quickly and is cheap, just harvest the extra often to export nitrates.

 

[Fishyfan]

Frogbit would be perfect, i have some in my 30 gallon and i have to thin it out every week or two...

 

[evercl92]

Ball moss is not algae -- nor is it moss or even lichens. It is a bromeliad, in the same plant family as pineapples.

You just might want to do some research before you make a statement like that.
Moss balls are a species of Cladophora, which is an algae.

http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Plant, Japanese Moss Balls.htm

Back to the OP.

It would be a waste of perfectly good T5HO lighting and CO2 to use it on floating plants, but here goes: amazon frogbit, red root floater, duckweed

Fast growing stem plants: ludwigia, wisteria or other hygrohila, water sprite, anacharis, bacopa, cabomba (it's a mess if it dies though), hydrocotyle, limnophila, rotala

Other fast growers: valisneria, tiger lotus

Foreground: cryptocorynes, lilaeopsis, sagittaria

What are the dimensions of the tank? This will help narrow down what foreground species would work best for you.

Also, keep in mind that faster growing plants uptake nutrients fast. So, (typically) stem plants would be your best option for that purpose.

 

[Prodigal Son]

Thanks for the replies everyone! The tank is 60" x 16" x 24". Lots of room to let them grow up and out. There is also a substantial amount of water flowing from the bottom of the tank towards the top, so layering (i.e. putting low light plants in the shade of higher light plants) is not a problem either as it won't end up making dead spots. I've been veering away from floating plants since they seem like a waste of a perfectly good tank setup.

I've gotten the background more of less how I want it. A few large swords with anubian underneath, a few large onions, and a new patch of Val right in the center. It's mostly the foreground I'm having trouble finding suitable species for. I'm probably going to trade out the Jardini for a Black ghost, but I still need some hearty plants as the catfish and plecos tend to "love" the plants a bit hard as they come careening through the tank.