Advanced Nitrate Control

I'm looking for ideas to change my water less frequently in freshwater I like to challenge the limits of the number of fish one can stock in a tank and I'm intending to set up a huge 660 gallon freshwater tank in a few months. I know the nitrogen cycle and the obvious ways to combat it such as less fish and more plants equals less nitrate but which plants work the best? Are there other methods to controlling it? I'm even considering installing a RO water system to my filter but I have to find a way to reminerlize the water any ideas in this area?

 

Protein skimmer

 

Thought protein skimmers only work for a saltwater tank

 

Thought protein skimmers only work for a saltwater tank

technically that is correct. However you can put a weir(skimmer) on your freshwater tanks too. It gets rid of that oily slick (proteins) on the surface while enhancing filtration. For a 660 I recommend a sump. Anubias and amazon sword are hearty and look great.

 

You need fastgrowing plants to suck up nitrates, in fact they take ammonia up first. Floating plants are great but they don't do well in high flow which you will probably have. I find they get pushed under or their leaves get too wet. Pothos is great for pulling out nutrients. Fast growing stem plants are good and cheap.
I can keep bettas and shrimp without a filter but a lot of plants. Bettas love floating plants, they like to rest in them and push through them. The two just go together.
Purigen is good and you can regenerate it with bleach so not too spendy.

 

I've got hornwort and java moss as well as a few other random plants and I have several pothos clipped to the side, I wonder if I filled a 5 gallon bucket full of purigen and hooked it to my tank how long it would last me before needing refreshed lol