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Prothos

blkmjk

blkmjk

Members
Anyone tried this on their tanks? I want to do this when I set up dumps over some tanks in the fish room... I see there are pretty great results on MFK just wondering if anyone had tried them here?

Drew
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
Yep, i have a dump filter with pothos. Will post pics when i get home.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
I have it in a few of my tanks as well.

Heater suction cups are a great way to keep it in place on the sides of tanks. You can also feed it through egg crate.

I haven't had good luck with it actually in dump filters - maybe too much flow?

Matt
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Has anyone been able to come up with measurable results from the use of pothos? I would agree that the plants growing would indicate that they are taking nutrients from the tank water, but I have heard many claims about the actual reduction of nitrates in the water. I'd be interested to see if anyone has taken some measurements.
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
I haven't...but the pothos definitely grow more on tanks with dirtier water!

I like them because they can grow in really low lights (like the dangling 14W bulb that illuminates my fishroom) and the roots provide some nice overhead cover.

Matt


jonclark96 said:
Has anyone been able to come up with measurable results from the use of pothos? I would agree that the plants growing would indicate that they are taking nutrients from the tank water, but I have heard many claims about the actual reduction of nitrates in the water. I'd be interested to see if anyone has taken some measurements.
Click to expand...
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
Interesting. I only have one tank where the pothos has been successful, and that tank is near a window that gets a fair amount of light.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
Here's the input end. Canister filter flow returns to the dump filter, there's an outlet on the opposite end to return water to the tank and an overflow standpipe (I invert a basket plant pot over it to keep the media from overflowing into the tank) near the input end if flow is too much to make it all the way through the media. Media is hydroponic clay pellets. I have a piece of plastic mesh in here to keep the media pellets away from the canister return....the only reason is that the water flow was making the pellets tumble around and it was kind of loud.

image.jpg
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
jonclark96 said:
Has anyone been able to come up with measurable results from the use of pothos? I would agree that the plants growing would indicate that they are taking nutrients from the tank water, but I have heard many claims about the actual reduction of nitrates in the water. I'd be interested to see if anyone has taken some measurements.
Click to expand...

I haven't found any actual numbers for pothos, but there are some papers out there that say that the best terrestrial plants for nitrate removal are in a family of huge grasses (4 ft tall, need full sun). That's not gonna happen. Otherwise, it seems that most terrestrial plants prefer their nitrogen in other forms (ammonia, for example).

There's another paper that says that as far as aquatic plants, hornwort is a huge nitrate hog. So, I'm considering some dump filters with just a huge mat of hornwort and lots of light.

Mangrove seedlings are another nitrate remover classic. They can be grown in freshwater....but can tolerate a lot of salt, too (duh...considering they're used in marine Setups sometimes). I'm experimenting with some in a small fry breeder box with the same hydroponic media I use in my dump filter. I need to get more light on them, but here's how mine look right now...I need to get more light on them, but they seem to be putting out roots like crazy.

image.jpg
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
Anytime, Jon! I'll trade you for info on what not to do when I finally get my 100 setup....going to be new world stuff (mostly).
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
By the way, nice dump filter :)

How are you running it? Outflow from another filter or dedicated pump?

Matt

chriscoli said:
I haven't found any actual numbers for pothos, but there are some papers out there that say that the best terrestrial plants for nitrate removal are in a family of huge grasses (4 ft tall, need full sun). That's not gonna happen. Otherwise, it seems that most terrestrial plants prefer their nitrogen in other forms (ammonia, for example).

There's another paper that says that as far as aquatic plants, hornwort is a huge nitrate hog. So, I'm considering some dump filters with just a huge mat of hornwort and lots of light.

Mangrove seedlings are another nitrate remover classic. They can be grown in freshwater....but can tolerate a lot of salt, too (duh...considering they're used in marine Setups sometimes). I'm experimenting with some in a small fry breeder box with the same hydroponic media I use in my dump filter. I need to get more light on them, but here's how mine look right now...I need to get more light on them, but they seem to be putting out roots like crazy.
Click to expand...
 
blkmjk

blkmjk

Members
chriscoli said:
Here's a pic to show the size relative to the 4ft tank it's on.....it's not big.Here's the input end. Canister filter flow returns to the dump filter, there's an outlet on the opposite end to return water to the tank and an overflow standpipe (I invert a basket plant pot over it to keep the media from overflowing into the tank) near the input end if flow is too much to make it all the way through the media. Media is hydroponic clay pellets. I have a piece of plastic mesh in here to keep the media pellets away from the canister return....the only reason is that the water flow was making the pellets tumble around and it was kind of loud.

I haven't found any actual numbers for pothos, but there are some papers out there that say that the best terrestrial plants for nitrate removal are in a family of huge grasses (4 ft tall, need full sun). That's not gonna happen. Otherwise, it seems that most terrestrial plants prefer their nitrogen in other forms (ammonia, for example).

There's another paper that says that as far as aquatic plants, hornwort is a huge nitrate hog. So, I'm considering some dump filters with just a huge mat of hornwort and lots of light.

Mangrove seedlings are another nitrate remover classic. They can be grown in freshwater....but can tolerate a lot of salt, too (duh...considering they're used in marine Setups sometimes). I'm experimenting with some in a small fry breeder box with the same hydroponic media I use in my dump filter. I need to get more light on them, but here's how mine look right now...I need to get more light on them, but they seem to be putting out roots like crazy.
Click to expand...

OK very nice setup. My first experience with this stuff was at Mike's house he had some growing. Then I saw it on MFK looks like I'm going to definitely try it out on my tanks. Where did you get the mangroves? I will be directing my returns from my pumps to the new dumps as well as from my canisters....

Matt,
I'm planning an appearance this Saturday. Can you bring the filters or have you trashed them? And I also need a lake Grenada male as well... Pm or text me back and let me know if we can work it out???

Thanks
Drew
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
Drew, I got a small bundle of mangroves from ebay. Pretty cheap. I don't know if it's important (or if it's just BS) but I got a pack that had already been acclimatized to fresh water.
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
No problem - I can bring the filters and a male Grenada con...

Matt

blkmjk said:
OK very nice setup. My first experience with this stuff was at Mike's house he had some growing. Then I saw it on MFK looks like I'm going to definitely try it out on my tanks. Where did you get the mangroves? I will be directing my returns from my pumps to the new dumps as well as from my canisters....

Matt,
I'm planning an appearance this Saturday. Can you bring the filters or have you trashed them? And I also need a lake Grenada male as well... Pm or text me back and let me know if we can work it out???

Thanks
Drew
Click to expand...
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
If everyone would just start using dump filters, raising red wigglers and join a fish club...I'd have nothing to talk about :)

Your dump looks nice. How is the sound?

Matt

chriscoli said:
Thanks, Matt! Canister filter outflow.

You're the one who introduced me to the dump filter concept!
Click to expand...
 
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