Nitrogen sink plants

[Ebreus]

I'd like to get some more plants for my tank and I figure since I'm not really set on anything just yet I should see what fits my tank that really takes in the nitrate since I'm having an issue with the stuff being higher than it should be (don't intend to try replacing water changes with plants but want help keeping it from getting so high).
My tank gets medium light intensity... for a bit longer a period of the day than is probably good for it (if anyone knows how to adjust the timer on a Finnex Planted+ 24/7 please let me know).
The tank is kept around 78F (25.55C) temperature.
The tank is 50 gallons in volume.

Current animal inhabitants are Fancy Guppies and Bladder Snails.
I intend to add Amano Shrimp and an Assassin Snail or two.

I'm looking for two things: Floating plants & a carpeting plant.
The tank is kept on a tall enough stand the top part of the floater will be mostly out of view unless it gets tall, so criteria for the floater would be nitrate hungry, provides environment guppies or shrimp will care to interact with, and attractive root structure.
As for carpeting I want to fill in the bare spot in front of the filter with it. I want to avoid Co2 for now as I'm going from having done nothing with fishkeeping for years to having a planted tank... all while learning harder types of math and programing languages. So anything that carpets nicely and won't need a Co2 injector would be marvelous.
Here's a recent pic of my tank:


Thank you in advance for your suggestions and comments, always appreciate your insights.

EDIT: Sorry about the... glare(?) in the picture. It was taken at 4AM my time. Had to get a pic for a different, semI time sensitive, thread.
At the moment I know about Dwarf Sagittaria for no C02 carpeting and the idea of making a faux carpet from Stargrass (but can't get ahold of Stargrass).

 

[Jerome O'Neil]

Duckweed.

It is easy to cultivate, is a sponge for nitrates, reproduces like mad, and it makes a delicious addition to your salads.

 

[KingJamal2]

I'd like to get some more plants for my tank and I figure since I'm not really set on anything just yet I should see what fits my tank that really takes in the nitrate since I'm having an issue with the stuff being higher than it should be (don't intend to try replacing water changes with plants but want help keeping it from getting so high).
My tank gets medium light intensity... for a bit longer a period of the day than is probably good for it (if anyone knows how to adjust the timer on a Finnex Planted+ 24/7 please let me know).
The tank is kept around 78F (25.55C) temperature.
The tank is 50 gallons in volume.

Current animal inhabitants are Fancy Guppies and Bladder Snails.
I intend to add Amano Shrimp and an Assassin Snail or two.

I'm looking for two things: Floating plants & a carpeting plant.
The tank is kept on a tall enough stand the top part of the floater will be mostly out of view unless it gets tall, so criteria for the floater would be nitrate hungry, provides environment guppies or shrimp will care to interact with, and attractive root structure.
As for carpeting I want to fill in the bare spot in front of the filter with it. I want to avoid Co2 for now as I'm going from having done nothing with fishkeeping for years to having a planted tank... all while learning harder types of math and programing languages. So anything that carpets nicely and won't need a Co2 injector would be marvelous.
Here's a recent pic of my tank:
View attachment 659624

Thank you in advance for your suggestions and comments, always appreciate your insights.

EDIT: Sorry about the... glare(?) in the picture. It was taken at 4AM my time. Had to get a pic for a different, semI time sensitive, thread.
At the moment I know about Dwarf Sagittaria for no C02 carpeting and the idea of making a faux carpet from Stargrass (but can't get ahold of Stargrass).

I like dwarf sag as a carpeting plant.


this is my current carpet after about a month of growth. I started with maybe 3 plants.

you can definitely cut the leaves shorter if you prefer, but I like them a little bit taller.

 

[Salem]

I can't help much with carpetting plants because as far as I'm aware they do best with Co2.

Duckweed is the easiest to grow but the roots tend to be shorter. Salvinia minima is a personal favourite. Other options are water lettuce, frogbit, red root floaters, etc

If you're having major nitrate issues you could also put some pothos into the hob.

 

[Deku-Cory]

Duckweed.

It is easy to cultivate, is a sponge for nitrates, reproduces like mad, and it makes a delicious addition to your salads.

Wait are you being serious about the last part?

 

[Dennis57]

Yes you can put the roots from a pothos plant either in the back of a HOB filter or some people put the roots right in the tank, then let the plant grow outside of the tank. You can also buy Nitra Zorb to remove nitrates pretty fast. 16.00 a bag, and 1 bag does 55 gallons

 

[KingJamal2]

Duckweed.

It is easy to cultivate, is a sponge for nitrates, reproduces like mad, and it makes a delicious addition to your salads.

You can eat it?

 

[Ebreus]

I can't help much with carpetting plants because as far as I'm aware they do best with Co2.

Duckweed is the easiest to grow but the roots tend to be shorter. Salvinia minima is a personal favourite. Other options are water lettuce, frogbit, red root floaters, etc

If you're having major nitrate issues you could also put some pothos into the hob.

Red Root Floaters & Water Lettuce are quite visually appealing. Any notion on how they stack up to frogbit or duckweed on nitrate absorption?

 

[Salem]

Red roots are fairly average as far as I'm aware and water lettuce is pretty good. In my own experience most floating plants are pretty consistent in terms of absorption.

 

[w3amz]

Just beware if you decide not to use duckweed in the future it can be a pain to remove because if you miss a small piece it propagates rapidly. I prefer Wisteria and Water Sprite with NuriI Crypts or hair grass as a carpet.

One should never use plants from a fish tank in a salad. Fish can carry tuberculosis without showing any signs of it.

 

[Ebreus]

I like dwarf sag as a carpeting plant.

View attachment 659646View attachment 659647
this is my current carpet after about a month of growth. I started with maybe 3 plants.

you can definitely cut the leaves shorter if you prefer, but I like them a little bit taller.

That's the nicest looking sag I've ever seen. I've seen my LFS with something labeled Dwarf Sag and it was more vine-y. I did have an issue with them labeling... they had Java Fern labeled as Amazon Sword and vice versa. Took a while to figure that out.

 

[Jerome O'Neil]

You can eat it?

Yup. Has a taste a bit like watercress, and is a really good source of plant proteins.

Pull a handful out, rinse it well, set it on some paper towel to dry. Add a little salt. Snack!

The next time I cull I am going to mix it with crab meat and egg white, and make crab cakes.

 

[Jerome O'Neil]

One should never use plants from a fish tank in a salad. Fish can carry tuberculosis without showing any signs of it.

All plants grow in bacterial infested environments. It is the exact same risk you take with e-colI or salmonella, or any plant fertilized with manure, or paddy farmed produce. i.e. Pretty much any fresh produce you eat.

Treat it like you would any other plant taken from your garden, and it's fine.

 

[aced it]

Just beware if you decide not to use duckweed in the future it can be a pain to remove because if you miss a small piece it propagates rapidly. I prefer Wisteria and Water Sprite with NuriI Crypts or hair grass as a carpet.

One should never use plants from a fish tank in a salad. Fish can carry tuberculosis without showing any signs of it.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but do they carry human tuberculosis too? I know they can have fish TB and it causes a nasty rash in humans, but I hadn't heard anything about them carrying the human kind.

 

[CHJ]

I'm looking for two things: Floating plants & a carpeting plant.

I don't think those play nice together do they?
I associate carpeting with high tech, CO2 + good PAR at the substrate. The floaters will kill the PAR at the substrate.
I think if I had to do that I'd look at a moss like fissidens to carpet.

As for nitro sponging. Floating, I did frogbit until duckweed made it into my house. Now I'm trying to figure out how to save what is left of my frogbit and how to kill the duckweed. I swear that stuff spreads through the air (but is actually probably me and nets I do not sanitize). Before the duckweed I was bringing gallon bags of frogbit to the LFS 2x a month.
I tried red root floaters. They died. Water lettuce I suspect was done in by the flow.

For plants that are not carpet or floating I mainly use wisteria and java moss. A few tanks run big amazon swords. Madagascar lace is for looks.

 

[Ebreus]

I don't think those play nice together do they?
I associate carpeting with high tech, CO2 + good PAR at the substrate. The floaters will kill the PAR at the substrate.
I think if I had to do that I'd look at a moss like fissidens to carpet.

As for nitro sponging. Floating, I did frogbit until duckweed made it into my house. Now I'm trying to figure out how to save what is left of my frogbit and how to kill the duckweed. I swear that stuff spreads through the air (but is actually probably me and nets I do not sanitize). Before the duckweed I was bringing gallon bags of frogbit to the LFS 2x a month.
I tried red root floaters. They died. Water lettuce I suspect was done in by the flow.

For plants that are not carpet or floating I mainly use wisteria and java moss. A few tanks run big amazon swords. Madagascar lace is for looks.

I intend to corral the floating plants above the rock structure in the center of my aquascape with airline tubing and fishing line. The area I intend to carpet will still have direct access to the light. I'm hoping being corralled away from the filter keeps any flow problems from killing them.
I have a good PAR value at substrate I just don't, and would preffer not to start with, C02 injectors.

 

[CHJ]

I tried corralling frogbit with plastic cross stitch mesh. The frogbit beat me.

 

[YellowGuppy]

I read somewhere that there's a nutrient in duckweed that makes you significantly more likely to get kidney stones. I'd rather pass on eating duckweed than pass a stone!