What is the “Duckweed Index” all about?

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Wow, @dw1305 you really are an expert

Thank-you for your kind comment, but not really, <"I've had a good memory"> and I've managed to <"cut and paste"> a lot of information from other sources.

cheers Darrel

 

[Suewi236]

Even so, you know where to find stuff and its invaluable to us heathens... thank you

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

you know where to find stuff and its invaluable to us heathens... thank you

Thank you. I'll be honest, I'm (<"probably absurdly">) proud of the <"Duckweed Index">.

It may not be <"ground-breaking Science">, or <"very exciting">, but it cuts <"straight to chase"> in terms of <"what is important"> and <"what isn't">.

....... That is why I've pushed <"plant and wait"> for cycling and the <"Duckweed Index"> for tank management. They are simple and robust techniques that aren't reliant on a magic number, but <"just what your eyes can tell you">........

cheers Darrel

 

[Bill the fish]

O M G my brain is hurting trying to understand this superb piece of research, and I have to admit to my shame that 99% of it went straight over my head. However this must of of great benefit to those smarter than I to maintaining a better aquaria.

 

[Bill the fish]

For years as a bog standard aquarist (pun intended)I was always advised to not allow duckweed into my tanks as its a menace, Now you far more enlightened folk than I tell me I should have it in my tanks to measure its health. None of the shops I normally use have ANY floating surface plants anyway.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

None of the shops I normally use have ANY floating surface plants anyway.

I think it is pretty unusual. I can see <"the reason"> for not having Duckweed (Lemna spp.), but something reasonably large and saleable (like Nile Cabbage (Pistia stratiotes), Water Fern (Salvinia "auriculata group") or Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium (Hydrocharis) laevigatum)) should be a win win situation.

and I have to admit to my shame that 99% of it went straight over my head. However this must of of great benefit to those smarter than I to maintaining a better aquaria.

It honestly is pretty straight forward, you don't need <"to measure anything">, all you do is observe the leaf colour and growth rate of your <"Duckweed">.

When growth rate slackens, or the leaves are no longer leaf green? You add <"a complete fertiliser"> - <"Raising Nitrate to 20ppm as an indication you are dosing enough ferts??">.

All the time you are happy with plant growth? You don't do anything (other than routine maintenance).

cheers Darrel

 

[Bill the fish]

It honestly is pretty straight forward, you don't need <"to measure anything">, all you do is observe the leaf colour and growth rate of your <"Duckweed">.

When growth rate slackens, or the leaves are no longer leaf green? You add <"a complete fertiliser"> - <"Raising Nitrate to 20ppm as an indication you are dosing enough ferts??">.

All the time you are happy with plant growth? You don't do anything (other than routine maintenance).

Now I did understand that bit, thank you very much. Cheers Bill

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

It honestly is pretty straight forward, you don't need <"to measure anything">, all you do is observe the leaf colour and growth rate of your <"Duckweed">.

When growth rate slackens, or the leaves are no longer leaf green? You add <"a complete fertiliser"> - <"Raising Nitrate to 20ppm as an indication you are dosing enough ferts??">.

All the time you are happy with plant growth? You don't do anything.

Now I did understand that bit, thank you very much.

....... and that is the important bit <"My new Oase 175 Styline">, in some ways everything else is just <"froth">.

As Zinedine Zadane said (in a slighty different context) <"The Pivot That Changed Football: How Claude Makélélé Revolutionized Modern Tactics -">

..... Why do you need to add a gold layer on a Bentley when you have already lost the engine?

The Duckweed Index is the engine and most other things are just gilding.

The "problems" (purely in commercial terms) with the Duckweed / Frogbit Index are that:

• It <"works really well">. So once you have Frogbit in your tank <"your problems go away"> and you forget that they ever existed.
• You only have to buy the <"Frogbit once">, so there are no repeat sales.
• It performs the <"dual roles of "Nutrient indicator" and "Nutrient reducer">, meaning you miss out on at least one further sale...............

cheers Darrel