Cichlid-Forum

My 90 gallon tank has a Finnex LED light, receives partial sunlight, and is planted with crypts, anubias, Java fern and duckweed. I dose daily with Excel and weekly with Flourish. Everything grows well in this tank and their is no nuisance algae. I clean the glass every 2 weeks and have never had a problem with brush algae.

My 150 gallon tank has a Finnex LED light, receives very indirect sunlight as it is far from the window, and is planted exclusively with anubias. I also dose daily with Excel and weekly with Flourish. The anubias grow well but are starting to be smothered by brush algae. This just started happening, and I think that it is because of the angle of the sun this time of year. Somehow the most indirect light from the window fuels the growth of brush algae.

I'm thinking of planting an Amazon sword plant in a pot to suck up some of the excess nutrients and starve the brush algae. What is the best substrate for planting in pots? Flourite?

When I put plants in pots, I used poor topsoil, with little organic matter, mixed with gravel (about 50/50), and topped with about an inch of gravel. The swords always did well in those pots.

In the past, I had used cheap kitty litter (pure Georgia clay) and my swords did well. I want something that my geos won't spread all over the tank. I have white sand as a substrate.

mambee wrote:'m thinking of planting an Amazon sword plant in a pot to suck up some of the excess nutrients and starve the brush algae.

If the goal is to suck excess nutrients, how about using floating plants or dipping the roots of terrestrial plants into the tanks? These plants grow much faster because they have direct access to oxygen.

Pothos seems like a popular choice for sucking nitrates in aquarium...


Source: http://www.tuncalik.com/2010/01/indoor- ... aquariums/

I actually have some pothos growing out of the tank. Unfortunately, there isn't enough light for it to grow well.