mechanical filtration in plant roots

[bettaMagenta]

I've got a crazy amount of terrestrial plants thriving in my tanks, plus a few floating ones I've dabbled with. The more aggressive floating plants seem to suck up a lot of solids and hold them loosely - I've noticed this with water lettuce and water hyacinths. These plants do need regular maintenance, though - I have to remove and clean them about once a month. On the other hand, my pothos and Chinese Evergreen have massive root balls that stay pristine white, even after a year in the tank with zero maintenance.

[bettaMagenta]

...And in roughly the same amount of time, I've noticed these water hyacinths have already started to show signs of solids accumulation, despite the tank's filtration and stocking level being comparable to where my pothos has thrived for over a year.

[bettaMagenta]

I've noticed that those water hyacinths tend to collect more debris than they can actually hold onto, and then they just release it, dropping solids down below.

[bettaMagenta]

My pothos, which is a massive 20-foot vine, doesn't seem to collect or drop any solids.

[graye]

I've always assumed, based on nothing concrete, that floating plants adapted to catch debris for nutrients, whereas terrestrial plants rooted in water didn't need this ability. Their roots can still do well submerged, but it's not their natural environment.

[coltin]

Floating plants have fine hairs on their roots that catch debris. Terrestrial plants, on the other hand, have different types of roots - some can thrive in water, while others can't. Not all land plants have adapted to life in water, and many will actually die if their roots are constantly wet. But some plants are okay with wet feet and develop water roots. There are also plants like Tillandsia that have air roots, which are a bit different from regular terrestrial roots. The thing is, terrestrial plants with water roots usually don't have those fine hairs that trap gunk.