55 G Test / Mechanical vs Plant Filters
Attached is a pic of a 55 G with 150 Fancy Guppies and a dozen or more assorted Corydoras and associated fry, mostly smaller varieties of Corys like Pandas and Orange Saddles. Plus pics of the land plants. (Excuse the poor photos!)
Used to filter the tank with a single Hagen AC 70 and nitrates tested at 20 ppm, with large, weekly water changes, of at least 50 percent. Removed the mechanical filtration and emersed some land plants in the tank. Within a few days the nitrates were down to a trace. This morning's nitrate test shows "0". Tank now requires no water changes, just twice weekly top offs of a couple of gallons.
Apparently, the roots of the emersed plants take in nitrogens more efficiently than mechanical filtration and return water that's cleaner.
Guess I'll no longer go to the effort and expense of maintaining mechanical filtration, just spend a little time trimming the plants.
B