Any clue on which plant absorbs the most amount of nitrate/ammonia?

[ProjectCode619]

Curious,

What makes a particular aquatic plant better at absorbing nitrate/ammonia. Is it dependent on growth rate, perhaps surface area, or a little bit of both?

I have heard a certain type of moss absorbs more, some floaters in particular absorbs more than others and so on but these are perhaps just speculations. Any proven data?

[pandamonium]

Floaters tend to absorb quickly and I would hazard a guess that it's because their roots tend to have little rootlets that are covered in hairs which exponentially increase surface area. I learned in my freshwater ecosystems class that plants that are rooted tend to absorb through the soil only and the interstitial water moves a bit more slowly. If a study were done, would be interesting

[wicca27]

hornwort, duck weed, frog bit, any of the floaters.

[discuspaul]

Originally Posted by ProjectCode619

Curious,

What makes a particular aquatic plant better at absorbing nitrate/ammonia. Is it dependent on growth rate, perhaps surface area, or a little bit of both?

I have heard a certain type of moss absorbs more, some floaters in particular absorbs more than others and so on but these are perhaps just speculations. Any proven data?

No specific biological data, but I suspect its a combo of both surface area, and plant hardiness/ease of growth rate under many conditions. One example - I 've found that Hygrophilas, in particular, (fast growers with lots of surface area) just seem to lap up phosphates/nitrates, etc., and grow as well and as quickly as any weed. Wisteria is another example.

[AirstoND]

With sufficient light...Algae

[plantbrain]

Wetland wastewater management has a ton of data on this, floating and emergents will rule this catagory. Reddy and Smith have a semi old book on the topic(1984).
Floating and emergent will have the best and highest access to light intensity. They also have less support from the water buoyancy, meaning they need to produce more structural support, but they also have no CO2 limitation.

[aokashi]

water hyacinth XD

[apisto84]

After adding co2 my water sprite planted in dirt has exploded. I'll actually have to dose nitrates because mine is ALWAYS at zero.

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[auban]

anything floating. i did some experiments several years ago in florida and found that wollfia grew fastest. what i mean by that is, it doubled its plant mass faster than duckweed or even water hyacinth at first, but it reached a limit at which it plateaued. when it reached a uniform thickness over the water(about a centimeter), the water hyacinth started to beat it. i wouldnt suggest either plant for an aquarium though...

[ProjectCode619]

Floaters,

Got it. What you guys think of Mini Salvinia or Pennyworth? Pennyworth has a bunch of root growth when its floating on the surface.

[pandamonium]

I have both plants and mini salvinia grows really fast. Pennywort is nice because it grows quick, floating or planted. The root nodules that develop ever couple inches or so really help with absorbing nutrients. Both are great options. When my tank had a nitrate spike of 160ppm, I used pennywort and frogbit to bring it down to 40ppm. Just my experiences

[ProjectCode619]

Originally Posted by pandamonium

I have both plants and mini salvinia grows really fast. Pennywort is nice because it grows quick, floating or planted. The root nodules that develop ever couple inches or so really help with absorbing nutrients. Both are great options. When my tank had a nitrate spike of 160ppm, I used pennywort and frogbit to bring it down to 40ppm. Just my experiences

Pandamonium,

Everywhere I search it shows that Pennyworth also contains anti-bacterial properties, aids healing, good health, etc. Does this also apply to how it affects the tanks? If so, this plant is definitely a must have for all tanks! Haha

[plantbrain]

Water sprite is awesome, so is pennywort, many of the other weeds are not that manageable in an aquarium though.