Pothos and Nitrates

[DAnCSF]

Hello,
It's seems many people like to add pothos to their tanks. Some mention that they do a great job of sucking up nitrates. But has anybody actually done a pre/post nitrate level reading after adding pothos? I added a pothos and I saw no change in nitrate levels.

 

[Naughts]

I didn't think it was worth pursuing when I tried.
I suppose it depends a lot on tank size compared to plant size and also growth rate.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello,
It's seems many people like to add pothos to their tanks. Some mention that they do a great job of sucking up nitrates. But has anybody actually done a pre/post nitrate level reading after adding pothos? I added a pothos and I saw no change in nitrate levels.

Hello. The reason you don't see any significant difference in the nitrate level is because the root system of the Pothos isn't large enough to take in much in the way of nutrients. The Chinese Evergreen has been used in what is called a "Terraphyte" system for decades. The system uses the roots of the land plant immersed in water with the leaves above to remove all three forms of nitrogen from the tank water. By using this plant, you never need to perform a water change. The minerals are kept constant by the dissolving fish waste and water lost to evaporation is replaced with distilled water. So, the minerals never increase to the point the system fails and kills the fish.

10 Tank (Now 11)

 

[Byron]

This is a good question. We had this arise in a thread a couple of months back, and someone (can't remember who) cited a study suggesting that these terrestrial plants removed ammonia/ammonium, not nitrate, via the roots. Their value as nitrate removers would if this is true be very minimal. Aquatic plants rapidly take up ammonia, and nitrate is reduced because the plants taking up the ammonia do not produce nitrite, and thus no nitrate. If the nitrate is occurring within the aquarium, this is the way to go, along with water changes, not overfeeding, not overstocking, etc. If the nitrate is in the tap/source water, that is a very different problem. The terrestrial plants have often been advised for this, and I used to do so myself...but now I am not so sure.

 

[DAnCSF]

thanks all....as usual there are nuances that aren't always stated in the youtubes....

 

[DAnCSF]

Hello. The reason you don't see any significant difference in the nitrate level is because the root system of the Pothos isn't large enough to take in much in the way of nutrients. The Chinese Evergreen has been used in what is called a "Terraphyte" system for decades. The system uses the roots of the land plant immersed in water with the leaves above to remove all three forms of nitrogen from the tank water. By using this plant, you never need to perform a water change. The minerals are kept constant by the dissolving fish waste and water lost to evaporation is replaced with distilled water. So, the minerals never increase to the point the system fails and kills the fish.

10 Tank (Now 11)

Thanks 10 Tanks, so now I've got to figure out what exactly is a Chinese Evergreen...google here I come.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello again. I recall the discussion as well. The plant was discovered many years ago in the northwest growing along the rivers where salmon migrate to their spawning rivers to lay their eggs. The salmon lay their eggs and the eggs are fertilized and apparently the adult fish die and the decomposition process creates the forms of nitrogen. But instead of all these dead fish bodies polluting the rivers, the large Chinese Evergreen forests remove the pollutants. Apparently, these northwestern rivers are some of the purest in the world. I read an article some years ago about these forests of Chinese Evergreen. The plants can become quite large and will grow with or without soil. About 15 years ago, I put one of these large plants in a 30 gallon tank with an air stone under the plant roots and no filtration. I put in some minnows and didn't change the tank water for nearly three years. Just topped off the tank using distilled water, so there was never a problem with the mineral content in the water. The fish lived, so I figured the water chemistry was good enough. Though I never tested it.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[10 Tanks]

Thanks 10 Tanks, so now I've got to figure out what exactly is a Chinese Evergreen...google here I come.

DAn. The plant is called Aglaonema. It's available in most chain grocery stores in the "Floral Dept." If you're going to use it in a fish tank, you'll need to rinse off all the potting soil. Once the soil is removed, you only immerse the roots. The leaves must not go under water, or you'll kill the plant. Put an air stone attached to an air pump underneath the roots. This supplies oxygen to the roots and helps the plant acclimate to growing in a water environment.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Ram419]

I have not but regardless I've added several emersed plants, including pothos to my tanks recently. They look nice and that's the main thing I like about them. I took a clipping of the the pothos I purchased and put it in my largest tank and it is slow to grow so far.

 

[Byron]

I have not but regardless I've added several emersed plants, including pothos to my tanks recently. They look nice and that's the main thing I like about them. I took a clipping of the the pothos I purchased and put it in my largest tank and it is slow to grow so far.

Want to make sure we are understand this correctly. Make sure with any terrestrial plant like pothos that you do not submerge the leaves in the tank water, these must be completely in air. The roots only are submersed. This is in effect hydroponic cultivation.

 

[Ram419]

Want to make sure we are understand this correctly. Make sure with any terrestrial plant like pothos that you do not submerge the leaves in the tank water, these must be completely in air. The roots only are submersed. This is in effect hydroponic cultivation.

Yes, I have just he roots feeding into a hang on back planter.

 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

A wildly underappreciated thread on this forum from 2021:

Alternative Nitrate Reduction Method$

I had the good fortune of limited access to an ichthyologist and marine biologist who operate an LFS here in Southern California and work at an aquarium in San Diego. We began what became almost a full year of informal but largely quantified gatherings of data on nitrate reduction techniques and...

www.fishforums.net

This post, where it was appreciated, has changed corporate policy in a chain pet store. They now, even offer the preferred species in my reptile store as a means to help in nitrate uptake in semi-auatic and aquatic reptile enclosures. It's been a game changer for many people!

 

[GaryE]

We are not answering the question.

I use a lot of bog plants in tanks, but I don't even own a test kit. I would like to see some numbers from someone who does.

It's easy to say Chinese evergreen are better. They seem fine. I have had 18 foot long Monstera vines coming out of a 120 and running along, over and under a window - the thing was great and had lovely roots. Peace lilies have had better root systems than chinese evergreen - About 20% of one of my 75 gallon tanks is roots, and the flowers above are great today. But I have never tested these, or the other houseplants (including large root systems from Pothos), largely because I don't care. Water changes are quick and easy and part of my routine, and I'm not looking for hacks to get around them.

Still, we're speculating, but for those who claim anything other than that the terrestrial plants look cool, I think we need numbers.

 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

largely because I don't care.

Then please consider that despite your wealth of experience, this stance might not make you the best person to reply in this instance.

We are not answering the question.

I provided a link that absolutely addresses the OP's question.

Still, we're speculating, but for those who claim anything other than that the terrestrial plants look cool, I think we need numbers.

Indeed, this is the content of the the linked thread. Give it a read.

 

[GaryE]

Then please consider that despite your wealth of experience, this stance might not make you the best person to reply in this instance.

I provided a link that absolutely addresses the OP's question.

Indeed, this is the content of the the linked thread. Give it a read.

I had missed your link. That is most useful. I am not keeping the kinds of bioloads the author is, and if those were the results, then the additional filtration in my tanks is more a question of moving the water than filtering. That is very good to know.