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R.O Water on big tanks

Most fish-keeping literature and forums vastly underestimate the nitrogen removal potential of plants....
Hi @dw1305 and Everyone,

With my latest tank, I can vouch for the above. More details to follow at a later date. I have limited my comment here to submerged plants because those are the only plants with which I have a reasonable amount of experience.

JPC
 
Hi all,

I'm going to tell you plants are the answer.

I understand it is difficult with herbivorous fish, like Tropheus, but that is the great advantage of plants, they are very efficient at depleting fixed nitrogen, and you get a <"visible indication of nutrient content">. When you harvest the plants that nitrogen (and <"all the other nutrients">) are removed.

Planted tank keepers have to continually add nitrate, mainly due to their relatively light stocking densities and heavy planting, but in <"aquaponic systems plants will still deplete nitrogen levels">. Most fish-keeping literature and forums vastly underestimate the nitrogen removal potential of plants, particularly floating or emergent ones.

<"Anion selective resins work">, but you have to keep on testing for nitrate (NO3-), to tell when the resin is exhausted, <"which isn't entirely straightforward"> and <"there is the cost issue"> when you treat a large volume of water which has relatively high NO3- levels.

cheers Darrel
Thank you
Yes
100% agree, i no longer use the resin, stocking levels are now reduced (by the use of Cyprichromis as dither fish, and slightly different layouts), and hence NO3 produced by filters is manageable
Recharging resin is pretty easy, once a setup is sorted, i used to pump saline solution (made from ro water, as calcium is not good for the resin i was using),through the column, then rinse with ro water, this was done as soon as tapwater was indicated to have 10ppm nitrate

I do keep various cryptocoryne’s in my tanks (i purchase “new” types from time to time, to try them out), this was initially done for decorative purposes, a side effect is that the fish breed more regularly, the females seem most eager to deposit the fry amongst the denser plants
I am sure that fast growing plants would be of benefit, i very much doubt that these would last long though, the “trick” ( if there is one), seems to be finding plants that the fish find unpalatable, they will still occasionally tear leaves up though, i think that stem plants would be murdered in short order
 
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