Planted tank advantage?

[small fry]

Hello.

I have heard of heavily planted FW tanks that run without filters. The plants take care of the ammonia. Weekly water changes must still be made (to get out the other fish waste that builds up), but it sure would be alot easier on me knowing that my betta's ammonia is always below .2ppm.

I like Java Fern. It seems to grow well at my house. If I had about 5 mature Java Ferns in a 4g tank (odd size, I know), do you think that my ammonia would be inexistant?

I would just like an easy plant (that doesn't require CO2) that will suck the ammonia and nitrates up as soon as they appear, makeing them practially inexistant.

All that to ask this, does anyone think that some Java Fern (or other plant, suggest away) would keep my toxicity down? I have a tetra 1-3g filter that I could use for aeration.

Suggestions?

[weluvbettas]

It will live on the ammonia in your tank while it lives but eventullay it will die without light and food. Does the tank have a light? :)

[wallywestisthebest333]

Java fern doesn't grow that quickly. In order for a plant to take care of waste in your water it needs to grow quickly.

A great list of plants that WILL help keep your water clean are:

1) ANY floating plant (other than carnivorous floating plants)
examples: frogbit, red root floater, duckweed(comes in greater and lesser), water spangles, and water lettuce.
2) Wysteria
3) Water Sprite
4) Mexican Oak leaf
5) Hornwort
6) Anacharis

These plants grow really quickly as in you prune them once a week. because they grow quickly they suck up a lot of nutrients (to them, toxins to our fish)/ a TON of bad stuff out of the water. You still need to change the water often but not as often as you would without them. =]

A great place to buy any of these plants is this site right here.

You can also find these in your local fish shop if you have one. CHain stores usually wont carry them but then again the only time I get to visit a petstore is when I'm back home in a rural area.
I have no idea what Urban chain pet stores carry. :P

ALSO these plants are typically classified as floaters and they get all of their nutrients from the water around them so they don't really need any enriched substrate to survive though you should try to fertilize with liquid fertilizer (traces) every so often. So you can just throw them in there tie them to a rock and let them sit in your tank, or poke them into the substrate to create the illusion of a rooted plant. =]

If you get a legit floating plant though (anything from #1) be advised that they multiply RAPIDLY and will most likely shade your entire tank in a few days to a week or so if you fertilize. =]

ALSO if you get any of these plants you'll need a daylight (not soft white or white, a daylight) bulb that's a low wattage (you want about 2 per gallon). =] The amount of time you leave the light on depends on how many watts it is and if your tank gets any sunlight. If it's around 2 wpg w/ no sunlight then you can leave it on for 8 hours. If it's more than 2wpg or it's 2wpg and gets sunlight as well, leave it on less. You don't want algae. =]

I copy-pasta'd from another post of mine in a different thread because I'm LAZY. :P

Oh! to balance all of the bright colored fast growers I recommend that you add a few dark slow-growers. =] That way your tank has a nice variety instead of all light green! XD

[small fry]

I guess I am useing in-direct sunlight as a light source? My plant looks the same as when I bought it a month ago. I have an aponogeton bulb in my other tank that gets less sunlight than my betta's tank and the apon has been alive since July.

I don't have good lighting for the 4g. I don't even have a hood.

[wallywestisthebest333]

Indirect sunlight is a wonderful light source! =]

Plus these plants often do well in low-light tanks anyway. Just in case though you should just get a small bunch of one plant as a test to see if others will survive. =]

An alternative to lighting your tank with a hood is lighting it with a lamp. Any desk lamp that allows you to direct where your light shines is good. =]