Moss balls for higher nitrates....

[Silverbearslady]

I just bought my axies a moss ball to play with. Do I need to do anything to it before introducing it to the tank? And also, will it help with higher nitrates in the tank?

 

[block 213]

Hi,
I have 6 moss balls in with my axolotles.
I buy them off the internet and they arrived compressed
I usually give them a rinse with tank water and let them expand, roll them in the palms of your hands if you want them spherical and add to the tank.

In time they will start to turn brownish on the bottom, just rinse them off in some tank water.
I'm not sure how much impact they have on the nitrates in the water, but they make for an interesting plant and the axolotles love to climb on them

 

[Silverbearslady]

So good to know. I have never had living plants in my aquarium, so was unsure. The store employee where I got mine told me to feed them once a month with FloraPride,
0-0-3 plant food for all freshwater aquariums. Do you think this is really necessary? I don't want to take the chance that it may hurt my axies...

 

[rachel1]

I'm not familiar with that fertilizer, but I wouldn't use it. They should do just fine with the waste your axolotls produce. You will still need to keep up with your water changes, but live plants will soak up some of the nitrogenous waste in the water.

 

[Chinadog]

Marimo moss balls will be fine without any products like that, I've had some of mine for years and they've been fine without. Marimo moss grows in clean dim conditions in nature where nutrients are minimal, the nitrate levels in normal aquariums are paradise for them.

 

[Cacique]

Moss balls are great, but if you're having problems with nitrates I can only recommend doing water changes a bit more frequently.

 

[Silverbearslady]

I'm glad the fertilizer is not necessary. I have been working on the water quality since I replaced the river rock with sand. All counts are good except the nitrate which shot up to 160ppm. I have been doing daily 30-40% water changes and now it is at:
PH-7.2
Amonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-between 40 and 80ppm (almost there)
Temp-19 C
I also added a bit of Prime. Still hoping the moss balls contribute, too, and definitely will keep a close watch. It is worth it to get rid of the rocks, though!
Thank you for all the replies. All of the knowledge and experience on this forum has been VERY helpful for me.

 

[Cacique]

Glad you're getting it under control. There's nothing more frustrating than problems in your tank you can't figure out. If you wanted to have more help with nitrates I would invest in several low light plants. Floaters like frogbit and water lettuce I believe are great plants to help. I'm not sure how they'd work for axolotls but red root floater is a plant I've also heard good things of, and I've seen water hyacinth mentioned here a few times. Anubias and java fern (and moss) are also great, easy plants.

 

[Silverbearslady]

OK, Thank you, I will look into what plants are available near me.