Ammonia

[zac15]

Do plants help get rid of ammonia in a tank? Do they help with fish with ammonia poisoning?

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[Rpeinhardt]

Yes, in fact aquatic plants "prefer" ammonium to nitrate and will absorb it before they take up NO3.

In a planted tank, nitrifying bacteria effectively compete with plants for nitrogen.

If you are running a medium to well planted tank, you will actually end up needing to supplement nitrogen for your plants as their demands will outstrip the production of your fish, especially if you inject co2.