Moss Balls Work

Probably could do with posting this under details about cycling a tank, but have been doing a trial on a number of plants to see which get rid of the higher than I like nitrate levels. Coming from the tap at 26ppm so when changing water which you must still do, I was adding back in more than I wanted. Have just thrown in 6 Moss Balls into each of my tanks 240 and 180l. which have been showing around 50-75ppm. Within two days this has been knocked back to between 5 and 10. Whether it is just me I do not know but fish look and seem to behaving better, water is clearer. I know I used these in the past but had forgotten their real value. Better than all the chemicals you can buy, most of which do not work, and the shrimps and snails love them. Just thought I would share this for anyone who wants to get their nitrate down as well.

Hi Helen

Just the Moss Balls in the tanks, have a busy schedule I was taking too much time with the live plants and have had very little success in the past with plants. But these  have done a really good job. Am going to set up a smaller tank shortly to experiment with live plants and really try to get the balance right. Have found plants do not seem to live very long in our hard water. But I am going to try again when I have the time. Start with a small spare tanks I have.

Hi Brecon and Helen,
I am going through quite a difficult period at the moment and did not post on the new forum apart from one post in “introduce yourself” just before I had to go thousands of miles away to see my ill mother which still insists she is better off living where she does...
I decided that I would only post in the “planted tanks” section as all the other aspects are covered anyway and I have quite a lot on my plate just now...
Helen, I am glad you remember me and glad you use dosing regime! And thanks for your kind words – I think planted tanks are fantastic both aesthetically  and with respect of health and wellbeing of fish and overall aquarium balance.
Brecon, yes, Helen is absolutely right about moss balls. Before experimenting with live plants in a dedicated tank, you could – it is just a suggestion – add some very-very easy plants into your existing tanks. The ones I would recommend are:
Egeria (or Elodea) Densa – this is sold almost everywhere, and often sold as a pond plant. It will do just fine in a tropical tank and enjoys hard water (tends to “melt” in soft water). It is a floating plant but you can “pretend” it is growing by weighing  it down (I would avoid widely sold lead strips – although small amounts but lead is still leached from those – I am sure you have enough lead in your hard water anyway)
Hornwort (Ceratophyllum Submersum) is another very useful one. There are reports from fish breeders that fry do much better and have better survival rate in tanks with this plant.
Both are fundamentally “aquatic weeds”, so growing them should not be at all difficult but will provide your fish with much better and healthier environment. Just throwing a twig or two into your aquarium and watching their progress – that’s all it takes. They will help with excesses of Nitrate, Phosphate and many other things – they use them as food to grow. Just like the moss balls but even more efficient.
As for the micro and macro nutrients: yes, most  test kits used are testing macro nutrients, although micronutrients are being tested as well – for example, Nitrates could be in the water in the form of Magnesium or Calcium Nitrates which effectively change the general hardiness of water.

I don't usually answer plant questions as that's not an area I know much about. But I did have moss balls a few years ago. They grew very well in my tank and made an interesting feature. But after a few years they started to go funny inside, and the outside started breaking up. I don't know if this is what all mossballs do or if it's something I did wrong, so follow advice from others on their care.

If you want another easy plant, you could try salvinia, a floating plant. There's not much 'gardening' you can do to it and I have to throw handfuls of that in the compost bin on a regular basis.