Regarding Surface Level Plants

[CHUA KOK TUNG]

Hi all, other than duckweed, as I do not want it to swarm all over. which surface level plants are good for a low tech planted tank with no liquid fertilizer?

And should I use fertilizer for a low tech planted tank? If so, which brands are good and won't be harmful to the inhabitants for a tank with white cloud minnows, cory hasbrosus and amano shrimp? The liquid fert will be used for another 6.5g planted tank with single betta as well.

Currently, the tank has java moss, Bacopa Carolina, bacopa monneri, hygrophila polysperma, ludwigia red, eleocharis acicularis mini, a bunch of plants that are most probably amazon swords and a bunch of plants with needle-like leaves (Can't recall the name and the site that I got info for this plant on is down at the time of writing)

Thanks in advance

 

[Colin_T]

Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) is a good floating plant.

You can control floating plants with a loop made out of airline, clear plastic hose, pvc pipe, or black poly pipe (irrigation tube). Cut a length of air line and use an airline joiner to make it into a loop.
Get a suction cup and stick it to the inside of the tank about 1/3 of the way down in the water.
Use a piece of fishing line or string to tie the loop of airline to the suction cup.
The airline floats on the surface and the string stops the loop from moving around the tank.
When you do water changes, the string allows the loop or airline to move up and down as the water level changes and keeps the plants confined.

You can also use a breeding net to confine Duckweed.

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You don't need plant fertiliser but plant do better with them.

I use Sera Florena, which is a liquid aquarium plant fertiliser and is primarily iron based. You can get an iron test kit and monitor the iron levels in the tank. Keep the levels around 1ppm and the plants will grow well and the fish and shrimp will be fine.

You can get red or orange clay and roll it into small balls around 10mm in diameter. Let them dry in the sun for a few days and then stick one in the gravel under each big plant. The plant roots grow into the clay and get lots of iron and nutrients from it.

 

[Byron]

other than duckweed, as I do not want it to swarm all over. which surface level plants are good for a low tech planted tank with no liquid fertilizer?

The most effective and beneficial surface plants are those that are more substantive, such as Water Sprite (Ceratopteris cornuta is the best species here for floating), Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) and Frogbit (the true tropical species, Limnobium laevigatum). I have all three but Water Sprite is hands down the best.

Floating plants are fast growers, which means more nutrients. Being close to the light, this isnot usually a detrimental factor provided the spectrum suites them. But in my tanks over 20 years with these floaters and with duckweed in some and Salvinia in others, they definitely benefit from some liquid fertilizer. The GH of your source water (the primary source of calcium and magnesium) and the fish load (fish food providing nutrients as it becomes organic waste and decomposes) may be adequate or not.

And should I use fertilizer for a low tech planted tank? If so, which brands are good and won't be harmful to the inhabitants for a tank with white cloud minnows, cory hasbrosus and amano shrimp? The liquid fert will be used for another 6.5g planted tank with single betta as well.

Here (low tech) you want a complete or comprehensive supplement. I concur that one must be careful with plant additives because like any substance added to the tank water it gets inside the fish, and this must be kept minimal.

There are two I know are at the top of the list, Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium, and Brightwell Aquatics' FlorinMulti. Both contain all necessary nutrients (except for those found naturally in the tank to begin with) and they are in proportion to each other which is very important. Too much of one nutrient can cause deficiencies in others as plants will shut down assimilation of the other nutrient. And this brings me to iron.

This is not a nutrient usually missing, certainly not in either product I mentioned, and iron is easy to overdose. Back when I got active in the hobby with planted tanks iron was often mentioned as the likely essential, but this is no longer the thinking; plants will develop problems from excessive iron. Twice in an experiment I killed my Water Sprite in one tank by using additional iron to what was already in Flourish Comprehensive.

Both products mentioned are safe for invertebrates. But don't over dose; less is usually sufficient, and better for the fish.

 

[CHUA KOK TUNG]

You can control floating plants with a loop made out of airline, clear plastic hose, pvc pipe, or black poly pipe (irrigation tube). Cut a length of air line and use an airline joiner to make it into a loop.
Get a suction cup and stick it to the inside of the tank about 1/3 of the way down in the water.
Use a piece of fishing line or string to tie the loop of airline to the suction cup.
The airline floats on the surface and the string stops the loop from moving around the tank.
When you do water changes, the string allows the loop or airline to move up and down as the water level changes and keeps the plants confined.

You can also use a breeding net to confine Duckweed.

Ahh okay will give that a try.

 

[CHUA KOK TUNG]

Water Sprite (Ceratopteris cornuta is the best species here for floating), Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) and Frogbit (the true tropical species, Limnobium laevigatum).

Okay will give these species a try thanks.

There are two I know are at the top of the list, Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium, and Brightwell Aquatics' FlorinMulti. Both contain all necessary nutrients (except for those found naturally in the tank to begin with) and they are in proportion to each other which is very important. Too much of one nutrient can cause deficiencies in others as plants will shut down assimilation of the other nutrient. And this brings me to iron.

This is not a nutrient usually missing, certainly not in either product I mentioned, and iron is easy to overdose. Back when I got active in the hobby with planted tanks iron was often mentioned as the likely essential, but this is no longer the thinking; plants will develop problems from excessive iron. Twice in an experiment I killed my Water Sprite in one tank by using additional iron to what was already in Flourish Comprehensive.

Both products mentioned are safe for invertebrates. But don't over dose; less is usually sufficient, and better for the fish.

Ahh seems like there's quite abit of stuff to study up on haha. Will give seachem a try as I saw it in my LFS, will do lighter dosage than recommended on bottle and see how things goes thanks.