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floating plant recommendations

Hooky

Hooky

Member
Joined
29 Aug 2014
Messages
108
Can someone recommend a floating plant that will be suitable for my Juwel Rio 125 (not open top). I had some floating plants from my local LFS that were sold as frogbit but think they are actually water lettuce. These seem never seem to grow to the size of the original plants I am not sure if this is because the aquarium is not open top or that the internal filter tends to blow them around the aquarium. is there a floating plant that would be suitable for my aquarium or any suggestions how i can redirect the filter outlet to reduce surface movement but not reduce good flow around the tank?
 
Floating plants tend to not like your situation (closed: hot and dry through the lamps) (blows around: getting submerged all the time).
You could try to float Ceratopteris thalictroides, it's an easy plant wich grows fast when floated.
 
If you want floating plants in a Juwel Rio with flow, you'll need to add a good amount for them to thrive.
I have a Juwel Rio 240 and struggled to get the floaters going... then I decided to add a bucket of them at once and they started growing well.

I would send you some, but don't have enough to remove at the moment.

My advice is:
  • Get a few floaters you like (Frogbit & water lettuce would be my choice)
  • Put them in a few containers by a windowsill or in another tank if you have one and propagate them for a few weeks. The gunk you remove from filters will help a lot as fertilizers, or just add some fertilizers to the containers.
  • When you have enough add them to the tank. Enough meaning, enough for them to make a barrier on the surface and stop moving around.
Option 2 is to DIY a "barrier" yourself. Grab 2 suction cups, attach some air tubing to them and with it create a corner in the surface to keep the plants to move around too much.

Something like this:
 
I use Ceratopteris too. I feed hard and it grows well. I end up giving to my LFS when it spans the tanks 18" and keep the young plantlets from it. nice leaves too.
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Duck weed, i was sent some accidentally but I’ve let it grow. it’s tiny grows pretty quickly and the roots aren’t so intrusive. Larger roots are nice in open top rimless tanks. Where as in a topped tank, they’re less attractive in my view. I have high flow and surface agitation. They move about quickly but don’t seem to submerge easily. Where as my red roots are really struggling.
 
Heteranthera zosterifolia floats on surface (if grown up to it) don't know if it floats if just dumped in.. but @dw1305 will know ;)
 
Hi all,
Hooky said:
is there a floating plant that would be suitable for my aquarium
Click to expand...
I'm a <"Frogbit"> fan.
Chubbs said:
Where as my red roots are really struggling.
Click to expand...
I didn't have much joy with these, they always <"eventually went under">, and I gave up taking them out perking them up a bit and putting them back in.
castle said:
don't know if it floats if just dumped in.. but @dw1305 will know
Click to expand...
Not would be my guess, but I don't know, when I had it it grew like @Tim Harrison's <"Windswept eternity">, from rooted in the bottom and eventually developed floating leaves, but only after it had formed a lot of plant near the water's surface.

cheers Darrel
 
I keep frogbit (LImnobium Laevigatum) in a closed-top tank. It grows just fine.
 
Edvet said:
It floats submerged, while ceratopteris emerses.
Click to expand...

Does ceratopteris grow well emerged? If anyone reading this happens to be growing some, any chance I could buy some from you?

My first experience with floaters was frogbit that Darrel sent me, it did grow a bit but didn't do so well under my hood with T8 lighting. Next up recently I bought a tub of 1-2 grow Salvinia auriculata and my experience has been miles better, no hood this time just an old glass panel that roughly fits the tank with crappy hidom led's. Get a pot and you want be disappointed, mine had about 50 plants that's about doubled in about a month.
 
Nice one Darrel. I have been meaning to pm you about something and I definitely will now.

Cheers.
 
I have duckweed in my outdoor tank, it is a nightmare, at first it was fine but once it is established it grows so fast and is impossible to eradicate, stay away from duckweed, frogbit is one of my favourites
 
I think one of the main reason's my floating plants never thrive is due to surface movement, but never too sure what the consequences are if any if i redirect the outflow so I get minimal surface movement?

I might see if I can get hold of some frogbit to try as I am sure what I have is water lettuce
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all, It could be all right if you just angle the spray-bar down a little bit.

cheers Darrel
Click to expand...

I have to do this. I have it so one end of the spray bar is closer to the surface and the other angled down. It means I still get surface movement but on less of the tank which seems to work.
 
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