How to grow a sweet potato in an aquarium or a pond?
Sweet Potatoes absorb nutrition
through its long healthy roots, & thus they can be used for filtration of
dirty water. Fish poop, leftover food & other detritus releases ammonia
that are very dangerous for the life of fish. A bio media filter breaks down
ammonia into nitrites and nitrates. Nitrates are not as dangerous as nitrites, &
nitrites are less dangerous than ammonia. Ordinary bio media allows only
nitrifying bacteria to grow on its surface therefore, they cannot wipe out
nitrates from the water. Heaps of nitrates are still dangerous for the life of
fish. Sweet Potato has the ability to consume ammonia, nitrites & nitrates
so it purifies water due its strong absorption. These dangerous chemicals
fertilize the plant & keep it healthy. Sweet Potato roots grow abruptly in
the aquarium or pond thus offering hiding spots for the fish. When fish hide,
their stress is relieved.
Sweet Potato will need some
maintenance such as removing dead leaves but this plant is hardy & it will
grow in almost any conditions. Fish fries can use the Sweet Potato plant for
hiding from adult fish.
Sweet Potato plant can assist in
filtration of aquarium water & it provides heaps of hiding spots for the
aquarium or pond fish. The stem of the plant inside water will grow roots that
will help in water filtration. Sweet Potato is a hardy plant because it does
not need enough light & can endure for a long time.
Steps: How to grow Sweet Potato in an aquarium or pond:
I bought Sweet Potato from the
market. I put Sweet Potato in a cup half filled with water. After a week, this
plant produces roots & leaves, & after a month, I added this plant to
the aquarium. I made a small container & connected it to the aquarium glass
using a suction cup.
There is no need to add extra
fertilizers & CO2 as plants absorb CO2 from the air, & absorb
fertilizers from fish waste, leftover food & other debris through its
roots.
In this tutorial, I will show you
how to grow Sweet Potato in a pond or fish tank. The tough part of this DIY
project is to make a container that holds the plant by connecting it to the
fish tank glass.
Step 1:
I purchased a pack of gold Sweet
Potatoes from the supermarket. I half-filled a cup with water, & put potato
in it. I did not put Sweet Potato directly into the aquarium. I allowed the
plant to grow inside a cup & after a month when Sweet Potato grew roots
& leaves, & became stable, I added Sweet Potato plant to the fish tank.
Step 2:
Half fill a disposable cup with
water, and then put Sweet potato in it. Place the cup in sunlight. Sunlight
helps plants in growing quickly. After one and a half week, roots & leaves come
out of the plant. I changed water with fresh water, & I added some
fertilizers to the cup water to offer nutrition to the plant. This step is
optional because Sweet Potato has heaps of nutrition inside that assist the
growth of the plant.
Step 3:
After 2 and a half-week, the
plant had shown huge progress because it grew more roots & leaves, &
the leaves became larger in size. The plant got more stable.
Step 4:
It can be seen in the photo that
the Sweet Potato plant had grown stunning leaves, & it grew to a large size
so it is time to add this plant to the aquarium. For putting this plant into
the fish tank, first, we have to build a container for Sweet potato that will
allow sixty percent of the Potato to submerge in the water & the rest of
the Potato will be outside of the water surface.
Step 5:
A bottle lid as well as a suction
cup is used for holding a Potato.
I chose to build a container for
Sweet Potato plant via a bottle lid & for connecting this container to the
aquarium glass; I am using a suction cup. I made a hole in the lid & then
pushed Potato through the hole. Sixty percent of the Potato is submerged in the
water & the top part of the Potato is outside of water. The submerged part
of Sweet Potato grows roots & the outside part grows leaves.
Step 6:
Use scissors and a knife to make
a hole in the lid. The sharp edges of the lid might cut the Sweet Potato so I
cut a Styrofoam and set it up in the middle of the lid for holding the Potato.
A suction cup is required for attaching the container to the tank glass.
Step 7:
Connecting a suction cup is easy,
as it is advised to cut a hole in the lid via a hot nail. It is time to connect
a suction cup. I inserted the Styrofoam in the lid & pushed Potato through
the hole. I connected the lid to the tank glass.
The End:
My Sweet Potato plant grew well inside the fish tank. It grew heaps of roots in the water, & it developed leaves outside of the water surface. Sweet Potato is a beginners plant because it needs low light requirements, & there is no need to add extra fertilizers or CO2.
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