It’s been ages since I geeked out at my local fish store – mostly because of the limited space I have in my home – but heading in to find a few plants for the 5 gallon that’s powering my spinach grow bed was serious fun. While traditional large scale aquaponic systems don’t have plants in the fish tank since they use up some of the bioload needed to feed the grow bed, I undersized my grow bed to accommodate the extra plants I wanted. I mean, after all, I get to make it whatever I want! I have the tank lit solely by a nearby window, so I knew I needed to go with low light plants. So two days ago I introduced an anubias nana and a banana plant into the 5 gallon and they are fan-freaking-tastic. Not only are they interesting to watch as they grow, but they’re also helping to speed up the last few days of tank cycling. Science! Amazing!
tales of a plant geek 