BillD
Aquarium Advice Addict
LOL. Having an extra tank in use for a refugium, CO2 tanks, fert dispensers, RO units are all expensive extras that most people neither need nor want. For the cost of each of those things, I see another tank setup. So, while I see where you are coming from, and a high tech planted tank is truly a beutiful thing, it is primarily for the plants and the fish are secondary. Changing water is still the easiest, cheapest method of keeping fish in a healthy environment.
As far as plants as nitrate filters goes, hornwort is probably one of the best. You can see it's daily growth. Bulb plants aren't good nitrate sponges. Their quick growth comes from the bulb not from the water column. They don't really use many nutrients until they start to manufacture a bulb. Other fast growers such as Vals are also good. I have to remove 40 or 50 every other month from my planted tank, that does not use CO2, ferts, or have adequate lighting. Those plants go into our monthly fish society auction and help defray my costs, as they are definitely more profitable than (most)fish.
In addition, Malawi cichlids for example are better kept in crowded conditions, which necessitates large regular water changes. A planted refugium would probably have to be much larger than the tank the fish are kept in to be effective. I don't see a 150 gallon refugium as a practical option for a 75 gallon Malawi tank.
As far as plants as nitrate filters goes, hornwort is probably one of the best. You can see it's daily growth. Bulb plants aren't good nitrate sponges. Their quick growth comes from the bulb not from the water column. They don't really use many nutrients until they start to manufacture a bulb. Other fast growers such as Vals are also good. I have to remove 40 or 50 every other month from my planted tank, that does not use CO2, ferts, or have adequate lighting. Those plants go into our monthly fish society auction and help defray my costs, as they are definitely more profitable than (most)fish.
In addition, Malawi cichlids for example are better kept in crowded conditions, which necessitates large regular water changes. A planted refugium would probably have to be much larger than the tank the fish are kept in to be effective. I don't see a 150 gallon refugium as a practical option for a 75 gallon Malawi tank.