Hornwort Vs elodea in absorbing nitrate

terror

terror

AC Members
May 23, 1999
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Manila, Philippines
Which woul dbe easier to keep ? how about which absorbs nitrate more?
i'm planning to put some in my sump tank. will be providing some lighting for it. which is a better nutrient absorber?
 
Since it is a sump, something like a peace lily, other tropical lower light foliage will work about 100-1000X better at export of NO3..........as well as NH4.

Emergent plants grow much faster in terms of actual dry weight biomass, even if aquatics like these do grow at 1-2" per day, it's about 97% water........
Whereas as a peace lily might be 70% water, or about 10X more biomass per inch of standard biomass.

They also do not have any CO2 limitation.
See hydroponics and using the wet dry type of chamber to place the roots in.
Pretty simple, you prune the leaves off as they grow.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
I would guess that having a Lily in a sump would not prevent allelopathic interactions with other plants in the main tank, so choose your emergent plant species carefully. If you're growing plants in your main tank that won't tolerate whatever a given Lily species might put out, you may have to switch to a less aggressive plant in the sump.
 
thanks :) mmm will consider a lily :) do they need lots of light?
the sump will get morning sunlight, and i'll add a flourescent light to be turned on for about 4-6 hours.
don't think i can grow water hyacinth since they are harder to care for?
btw what does a peace lily put out? my main tank is barebuttom with fish only inhabitant :D

btw how about pandan plants? i've read of them being used in sump filter. would this be a good plant? they are easy to get here.
 
Peace lillies are typical office plants, so they can do well on fluorescent office tubes and no natural sunlight. Other than that I don't know their lighting requirements.
 
thanks. btw for peace lilies. can they be submerged? also do they need soil? or just gravel? really sorry for the many questions. will also try to research :)
btw read that peace lilies are poisonous?
 
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I don't think you'd submerge it. just put the roots in your sump water. I guess gravel might make it easier to keep the plant from falling over, but other than for support, I don't think it would be necessary. I don't think you'd want soil, since you'd want the plant taking nutrients from the water, not from soil.

Do you remember those betta vases that were a fad a few years ago? Betta in a vase with a plant on top? Those were typically peace lillies.
 
jrh said:
I don't think you'd submerge it. just put the roots in your sump water. I guess gravel might make it easier to keep the plant from falling over, but other than for support, I don't think it would be necessary. I don't think you'd want soil, since you'd want the plant taking nutrients from the water, not from soil.

Do you remember those betta vases that were a fad a few years ago? Betta in a vase with a plant on top? Those were typically peace lillies.
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thanks :) really excited to get some. will try to find some this weekend.
btw do i have to dose my tank with ferts?
tank is heavily stocked.
 
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