FYI: Neat idea to help purify water and stylish :P

totallyrad

totallyrad

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So I got the idea to add pothos in the water to help soak up unwanted stuff and purify water from carsona246 in another thread.

It's been working out great so far and I also love the way it looks and it will look even better when they droop down over the side of tank.

step 1: Get pothos plant (typically around $5)
step 2: Cut off a portion of plant with about 4 or so leaves
you will want to make the cut right underneath the node (the weird bumpy part)
step 3: Get some suction cups (couple dollars)
step 4: I took some fishing line that I had or thread could be used also
and wrapped the plant around the suction cup bump 8 times or so until it's
nice and firm but don't do it too hard to cut into the plant.
step 5: Insert into tank so that the leaves are coming out of the top
step 6: You're done! :3

I have just a simple 15w light strip with a plant and aquarium bulb in it and that's enough light for the pothos to grow.

It took about 1-1/2 weeks for the cuttings to grow new roots in the water but they
are coming along quite nice now. I have about 3 on each side of my tank that will eventually hang down on the sides of tank and look great.
 

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very cool, I've seen it done with peace lilies and I myself use that lucky bamboo stuff, but I'm not even sure what a pothos plant is, lol.

I like that it grows down the side, though, and the root structure won't look too shabby either, plus its a great hiding spot. Oh, and of course the nitrate removing properties.
 
I use the same suction cup method with a peace lily, but i was all out of fishing line so mine is held up with a shoe lace :D

looks really cool, well done
 
haha thanks, yeah I've heard of a lot of people using peace lily too so i just need to find someone who has one and trim it up for them :p and yeah I can't wait for the roots to get really long, I think it will look cool. just thought I'd share this method. I was going to use lucky bamboo too but i read somewhere that the bamboo rots cause it's not really aquatic? I dunno if that's the case or not.
 
technically pothos and peace lilly are not aquatic either, they are bog plants, meaning well... they live in bogs! They can handle being saturated with water 24/7. I dont think bamboo is, which makes me wonder why they are kept in water anyway?
 
Hi guys, That looks really awesome ! I'm just wondering with the plants coming out of the top of the tank, does that mean you don't need to use a hood or top cover on the tank ?
 
You never really need a hood, per-say, its more to prevent evaporation and to look nice (edit: and to prevent escapees).

Its true that bamboo isn't really a bog plant, but issues with rotting can be avoided by allowing the roots to dry on occasion.
 
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ah i didn't know this about the bamboo, I might get some the next time i see some :p if nothing else
just put it in a small glass vase enjoy it's beauty.

and about the top cover/hood, I don't use one on this tank so I can increase evaporation to keep the tank cooler. I will be adding a computer fan soon to help increase evaporation so i kinda have to leave a small slit in the top cover anyway so the fan can blow in. I still am fearful about the axolotl i'll be putting in jumping out but I don't see why he would unless the water quality is crappy. they have very weak arms and legs so it's hard for them to just climb out.

more comments welcome :]
 
I always leave a gap between the rim of my tank and the water level, because while they can't climb out, they might launch themselves the the surface, and jump out. If I used lids I wouldn't be concerned, but, well, I'm working on it.
 
pent565 said:
You never really need a hood, per-say, its more to prevent evaporation and to look nice.

Great thanks Pent, I would really like to get rid of the glass covers for the top of the tank and add some plants to grow over the top like Totally Rad has done.

Just another question before I do this, I have two dogs that shed fur, so when I vacuum and some gets in the tank would it cause any problems to the water chemistry or problems for the axie ? Obviously I would get it out if I see it in there and I'm only talking about small amounts not great big giant tufts of fur lol

Another question I have is, with no cover on the tank, I'm guessing nobody uses things like fly spray or air freshner in the room where their tanks are kept ??

Sorry to stray off topic here, but I would really like to go topless so to speak lol:p and add some plants to grow over the top of the tank, I think it looks fantastic and I always thought it was crucial to have a cover or hood on top of the tank.
Click to expand...
 
pent565 said:
You never really need a hood, per-say, its more to prevent evaporation and to look nice.
Click to expand...
That's a dangerous statement. And in your next post you do say that axolotls can launch themselves out of the tank. This is a disaster we have heard many times on this forum. Just to clarify: YES, you do need a lid. While I like what totallyrad has done with the plants, the lack of lid is risky!
 
I have a dog, though he doesn't live in my room, and I myself loose hair. If I see any in the tank I clean it out. I have a bird, so I can't really use air freshener or fly spray anyway. I have a Venus fly trap and a pitcher plant for fruit flies and house flies.

I keep my water level low enough that Im fairly certain an axolotl couldn't manage, but yeah, I forgot to mention, no lid you do have to keep a lower water level. I compromise on a few of my tanks, and use a partial lid.
 
Jennewt said:
That's a dangerous statement. And in your next post you do say that axolotls can launch themselves out of the tank. This is a disaster we have heard many times on this forum. Just to clarify: YES, you do need a lid. While I like what totallyrad has done with the plants, the lack of lid is risky!
Click to expand...

thx, fixed it.
 
I compromise - lid AND plants :)

I have those two-part glass lids, one wide, one skinny, and I just put the wide one on, with the plants growing up out of the remaining space where the skinny lid would normally be. My plants are sitting in little plastic pots hanging over the edge of the tank on bits of wire that i bent around the pots. Their roots are in the water and they seem really happy - when they get leafy enough they'll block whatever gap is there anyway.

Plus, I keep my water level at around 2/3, although I can vouch for the fact that a freaked out axie can jump a LONG way...
 
Haha I don't mean to be a bad influence! I would definitely suggest a top but if you don't have one then keep the water level down :] This tank has about half of the top covered w/ glass (the light sits on it) and i'm still working on adapting the lid so that plants can freely grow out and the computer fan i'm going to put in can blow inwards and sit on the lid w/ hinge. i dunno hard to explain but it'll be great once i figure it all out.

Happy axi: do you have the glass cover w/ the hinge? why would you want to get rid of it, you really don't even notice it haha (if it's the same one I'm thinking of). I just took the hinge and other glass piece off and left one piece of glass to hold light til i can adapt the top.
 
( I might also add that I don't have any axies in here yet, it's still cycling :p so no risk of them jumping out right now )
 
Hey Totallyrad, No I don't have a hinge on my top, it's just two glass cover with a centre piece in the middle for the two sides to rest on if that makes sense. Your right about not being able to see them either !

I'm still new to keeping axies and the tank, live plants, aquarium set up just fascinates me !

I really apologise for diverting your thread Totallyrad ..thanks for answering my questions here everyone.

Regards Sammie.
 
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