Looking for a few pointers on paludariums

[Carissa]

Well I have an empty 10g sitting around and of course it can't remain empty very long. The biggest thing holding me back is that I don't want a lot more maintenance since my other two tanks keep me pretty occupied. My earlier attempts at an "el natural" ended in failure due to bga, as soon as any amount of organic matter built up in the substrate, the bga would start and once again I would have to be doing regular vacs to keep things clean. Anyway, my idea was that I could have a paludarium with plants growing out of the water with just the roots in the water. I don't have a hood for that tank so this would work well. In this way I would hopefully not need to have bright lights on the tank and avoid algae problems, and at the same time the plants could take up the nitrogen from the water. Has anyone tried this, and what type of plants can grow this way with just the roots submerged?

[Sponsors]

[tundragirl]

crypt can grow emerged, hm, swords, I'm sure there are more
mondo grass, Acorus calamus (non aquatic)
Cindy

[patm]

Don't forget anubias, they work great, although they are a slow grower. Also, java moss can be used completely on land as long as it stays wet to get that moss-like effect.

-Pat

[Carissa]

Does the addition of emersed plants help with nitrates much the same as submersed? Or do emersed plants get most of their nitrogen from the atmosphere and not the roots?