10 gallon planted Dwarf Rasbora journal

[BleuTheBetta]

My favorite floaters are floating fern (Salvinia natans) and amazon frogbit. I've had decent luck with asian water grass (Hygroryza aristata). If you want something bomb-proof that will really soak up the nutrients, it's hard to go wrong with hornwort and water wisteria.

Oooh, I really like salvinia minima. I might go with that.

 

[Byron]

I would suggest looking for more substantial floating plants. Water Sprite is probably the overallbest, and there are Water Lettuce and Frogbit. The benefits to these is that the plants take up depth more than the smaller species, providing root systems that provide shade, shelter and microscopic food. This is important for nano fish.

 

[BleuTheBetta]

I would suggest looking for more substantial floating plants. Water Sprite is probably the overallbest, and there are Water Lettuce and Frogbit. The benefits to these is that the plants take up depth more than the smaller species, providing root systems that provide shade, shelter and microscopic food. This is important for nano fish.

Okay. I love the look of water lettuce. If it overgrows, how do you deal with that? I don’t know what other people do. Wether your supposed to throw it away, or?

 

[Essjay]

I just pull out the excess plants and throw them away. When we had a compost bin they went in there; now they go in the rubbish bin.

 

[Byron]

Okay. I love the look of water lettuce. If it overgrows, how do you deal with that? I don’t know what other people do. Wether your supposed to throw it away, or?

Water Sprite forms adventitious plants on alternate fronds (leaves) and when the parent plant(s) get substantial, it is easy to pull off some of the new plants and toss out the older. Water Lettuce is a bit different, along with Frogbit; these send out runners (there is a name for them that I cannot remember) with new plants at the tips. Growth depends upon the environmental conditions, and while all floaters will usually grow fast these two in my tanks were not overwhelming. The photo below shows one tank with several Water Sprite plants.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Okay. I love the look of water lettuce. If it overgrows, how do you deal with that? I don’t know what other people do. Wether your supposed to throw it away, or?

You just remove the excess you don't want. You can choose to sell portions of it, give it away to local hobbyists if you can network safely (and you're an adult, don't mess around with this stuff if you're a minor) or bin it.

It's important that anything from our tanks doesn't make it into wild waterways. Not fish/inverts etc, but also plants, since some species are invasive. So regular waste bin for any unwanted plant trimmings.

 

[BleuTheBetta]

Thanks both of you!

 

[BleuTheBetta]

The chaos has begun….
I realized a few hours ago that the hutch I had my tank on was bowing and the doors at the bottom wouldn’t shut. I immediately unplugged the filter, accidentally tipping it when I picked it up, spilling a ton of water on the floor. Well, I needed to drain and move the tank before I could deal with that issue. Just as a little side note, I have the flu. I shouldn’t have even realized that the hutch was bowing, I should have been laying in bed. But, me being me, got carried away doing a wc on Bleu’s 5gal. Under the hutch is where I keep my water conditioner. So I was going to grab that when I noticed.
Anyways, I drained the tank down to the last drop (not even joking, I used a turkey baster to get the last bit of water out), and set my filter out to dry, since I know that I will need to buy a aquarium stand to keep this tank on. I was apparently not thinking when I set the tank on the hutch. With the tank moved, the doors work perfectly. What a relief to me. I really like that piece of furniture.
I cleaned up the water and moved the hutch back into its normal position. I brought the tank into my closet along with the fish stuff that I had in the hutch. It’s a good place to store that kind of stuff for the time being. So, I guess I’m done with that tank until I get a stand picked out and bought. Pretty sad news for me.
Now the not tank part- like I said, I’m sick with the flu. Right after I got everything cleaned up, my dog puked on the couch and I had to clean that up and bathe her. Now I’m finally relaxing a little bit…
I’ll keep this thread updated once I get that stand ordered!

 

[gwand]

Feel better soon. Awful day.

 

[BleuTheBetta]

Feel better soon. Awful day.

Thank you!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Wow, what a bummer. Having to deal with stuff like that when you're healthy is bad enough. The the bright side is that you were able to save both your tank and the furniture.

"Normal" furniture can work for an aquarium stand, but you have to make sure it's good and stout. When I recall the rickety dresser I had my 20 gallon stand on for years when I was a kid, I cringe. I was very, very lucky.

 

[BleuTheBetta]

Wow, what a bummer. Having to deal with stuff like that when you're healthy is bad enough. The the bright side is that you were able to save both your tank and the furniture.

"Normal" furniture can work for an aquarium stand, but you have to make sure it's good and stout. When I recall the rickety dresser I had my 20 gallon stand on for years when I was a kid, I cringe. I was very, very lucky.

Yeah, I’m pretty lucky. Feeling a bit better today.
I’m super happy that I didn’t wreck anything. The hutch is sort of old, so I’m happy that the weight off of it saved it from becoming fire wood…