Re: plant filtration

[Frauley/Elson <fraulels@minet.ca>]

Erik Olson wrote:

> 
> Hooray for retro tech!  Hydroponic plant filters rule!!! :)
> 
> Two succesful methods:  I've kept plants growing in aquaclear-300 filters
> (with the lid off).  I keep them in either rockwool like aquatic plant
> wholesalers do, bare-root, or in small pots of large gravel (the pot is
> not solid;  it's similar to the aquatic plant pots).  I keep one sponge in
> the filter, no carbon.  The plants sit right on top of the sponge.

Question: does the high rate of flow from the Aquaclear 300 give the
plant a chance to filter properly? 
I read in a magazine somewhere about the roots of a philodendron
dangling down into the water. Has anyone tried that approach? I like
weird looking effects like that - one of my favorite tanks came
second-hand with scratches in the back glass - now I have java moss
growing all up the back on the glass and Dicrossus maculatus and H
loretoensis picking through it. It looks good, especially behind
hygrophilia and amazon swords.. 
> 
> Theoretical methods: floating foam blocks with holes for the plants to
> poke through, a shelf behind the tank, etc.
> 
> Plants that have worked well for me in the past: spatiphyllum, syngonium,
> philadendron, pothos, spider plant.
> 
> Interestingly, for Apisto tanks, we seem to have good luck by simply
> growing *floating* plants with higher light (2 wpg?).

By floating plants, are we talking riccia, hornwort, etc? All my tanks
have good plant growth already - the retro filter idea comes from the
principle that I can't change water as fast as the Amazon can, so I may
as well keep fiddling/striving/whatever. I don't think a dangling
terrestrial plant would outcompete submerse plants, would it? 
I'm currently re-establishing my plants after the heavy losses from our
mega-blackout up here. The easy stuff is weeding its way along merrily
again. My crypts are popping back up after sliming out in protest at 6C
water (the tanks that got to 3C didn't regrow...) so my apistos have
been living in bleaker tanks than they're used to. Would those who have
tried this suggest I wait until I get back to thick plant growth?
Disaster inspires fiddling... as you set up again, you realize that
nothing in your set-up is really established, so why not try new old
approaches.
- -Gary

By the way, I'm not going to the plant list with this because I see it
as a possibly eye-pleasing approach to good apisto-level water quality.
There's a local aquarist who has built a central system filtered only by
plants, and he's had dwarf crenicichla (compressiceps), apistos and West
Africa dwarfs spawning quite readily in his tanks since. The idea of
'halfway' approaches could be useful for low-budget (okay, cheap) types
like me.