Floating plants?

[ella777]

Are there any floaters that don't populate too quickly and are very hardy?

My tank is 200l, I would like a small portion of the water surface used.

My water is around 7.5 pH, I dont know what the gH or kH is, test strips don't help.

The light is on for 8 hours.
I don't use fertilisers or co2.

 

[betta4ever!]

I love dwarf water lettuce!

 

[ella777]

Doesn't it grow really quickly though? And require a lot of maintenance?

 

[betta4ever!]

Without fertilizers, it doesn't grow fast ime. It did fine in my low light no fertilizers set up!

 

[Byron]

Generally all floating plants are fast growing, which is why they are so often termed "ammonia sinks." They have a cople of significant advantages. First, being under the overhead light, photosynthesis is more rapid than it would be with less light. And second, floating plants have what is termed the aerial advantage; the macro nutrient carbon which is taken up as CO2 is more abundant in the air than water, plus it is four times faster for aquatic plants to assimilate CO2 from the air rather than water, and carbon is in most tanks the first nutrient to be exhausted in the water.

The easiest way to limit the plants floating is to simply cull them at the weekly water change. It is easy to remove excess plants. With the substantial plants like Water Sprite, Water Lettuce and Frogbit, when you have adventitious plants appearing on the parent plant, you can either remove some of the tiny plants, or allow them to grow a bit and remove the parent plant.

 

[ella777]

Do you recommend duckweed?

Another thing, I've had my tank running for two months, and I've never done a water change. The fish/snails/shrimp/plants are very healthy and I've had no deaths. My filter is very powerful, it is meant for a 500-800l tank, though mine is 200l.
I understand why water changes are important but 50-75% a week seems like a lot, I have very tall plants and I think they would get messed up by taking water out.

In my 70l, I did a water change every two weeks, it was running very well for three years until I upgraded.

People say every week is necessary, but I havent cleaned it for two months, the man in my lfs said he hasnt cleaned his for almost a year.

I dont know how necessary it is to clean every week?

 

[Byron]

Do you recommend duckweed?

Another thing, I've had my tank running for two months, and I've never done a water change. The fish/snails/shrimp/plants are very healthy and I've had no deaths. My filter is very powerful, it is meant for a 500-800l tank, though mine is 200l.
I understand why water changes are important but 50-75% a week seems like a lot, I have very tall plants and I think they would get messed up by taking water out.

In my 70l, I did a water change every two weeks, it was running very well for three years until I upgraded.

People say every week is necessary, but I havent cleaned it for two months, the man in my lfs said he hasnt cleaned his for almost a year.

I dont know how necessary it is to clean every week?

Duckweed is better than nothing [there is a real benefit in having floating plants] but does not provide much shade (it is thin and so tiny) and it can be a real mess. "Substantial" plants are better on all counts.

Re the water changes, read my article on why they are essential if we want healthier fish. Prevention, rather than cure.

Regular Partial Water Changes

Byron Hosking November, 2010 (rev April 2021) Nothing is more important when it comes to aquarium maintenance than regular partial water changes. The adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” certainly applies here. One frequently reads of products that will reduce the need for...

www.fishforums.net

Let me just say that having fish that swim, eat and even spawn does not for one second mean they are as healthy as they could be. Fish will do everything they can to manage whatever we throw at them. Providing them the best environment seems only fair. And they will then thrive, not survive.

 

[PewPewChris]

I love the look of salvinia in my tanks. I haven't had duckweed but hear it's hard to get out of the tank? Salvinia is a few swipes with your hands into a waiting Tuper wear while you clean your tank or do water changes, etc.

 

[Aqua67]

I do like duckweed, especially if you’re cultivating it to feed it to your goldfish, but it can certainly be a pain in the rear. It clogs filters and it is hard to eradicate once you put it in. I do have some in one of my aquariums and it is in several desktop plant-only jars and separate amphipods colony containers. This past summer I was able to trade a good amount of it with a local person for some dwarf water lettuce and water hyacinth plants. I’m often taking it out of my aquarium in handfuls at each water change. It gets all over everything, very messy (my arm, my nets, etc.).

I like the longer roots of the dwarf water lettuce. You can always trim the roots if they are getting too long in a shorter aquarium. Smaller plants branch out from the main dwarf water lettuce and it multiplies quickly. I know it seems a shame to throw away a perfectly healthy plant, but you have to if you don’t want it taking over your aquarium. You may find other people to trade with though. The plant doesn’t get too tall and it does not need a lot of light so it can do well in a aquarium with a lid and a mediocre light. Sometimes their leaves turn yellow or melt away from the plant and there is some maintenance involved, as there is with any plants in an aquarium.

You may be able to get away with fewer water changes if your aquarium is quite large, lots of plants, you only have it stocked to 10% capacity, including detritivores.

 

[PewPewChris]

The way my salvinia multiplies almost baffles the mind sometimes lol

 

[Essjay]

I have red root floater and that is easily contained by just scooping out handfuls when it gets too much.

If the tall plants are true aquatic plants they have soft bendy stems so they'll bend over as water is removed them straighten up again as the tank is refilled.

the man in my lfs said he hasnt cleaned his for almost a year.

Never ever listen to what anyone working in a fish shop says. Most of them haven't a clue. He may have been keeping fish for decades starting when water changes were thought to be bad, and just hasn't kept up with changes in thinking. Or he's got a tank stuffed with plants and just a couple of fish.

 

[Back in the fold]

I like any plant that will grow for me. Duckweed grows great but gets thick and overgrown fast. Doesn't need much light either. I have some in an unlighted tank next to a north facing window. It grows great. I scoop out the excess with a net and dry it to feed my paramecium cultures.
Salvinia is another great floating plant. It gets inch long hanging roots and is quite attractive. Grows pretty fast and reproduces itself by sprouting off itself. I have some nice little rafts of it that are about five plants hooked together . It needs thinning every so often but not as often as duckweed .
These floaters that get overgrown make feeding difficult . I solved that by using a pipette to feed , squirting the food underneath the plant cover.

 

[PewPewChris]

I like any plant that will grow for me. Duckweed grows great but gets thick and overgrown fast. Doesn't need much light either. I have some in an unlighted tank next to a north facing window. It grows great. I scoop out the excess with a net and dry it to feed my paramecium cultures.
Salvinia is another great floating plant. It gets inch long hanging roots and is quite attractive. Grows pretty fast and reproduces itself by sprouting off itself. I have some nice little rafts of it that are about five plants hooked together . It needs thinning every so often but not as often as duckweed .
These floaters that get overgrown make feeding difficult . I solved that by using a pipette to feed , squirting the food underneath the plant cover.

I have almost a full bed of salvinia in my 10-gallon column, except for where the HOB filter prevents it and my large center piece wood rises almost to the water surface. I use two floating square feeding things to allow light down below at a better rate and to feed from...looks/works great for me and the fish seem to love it

 

[BrianK]

I have red root floaters and dwarf lettuce. I do not find maintenance difficult. I do weekly water changes and just grab a handful and toss when I am changing the water.