# Which Floater to Choose?



## Rhaethe (Jan 20, 2010)

Allrighty then. Here's the tank.



I would like to get some floating plants for the top, but am undecided on whether to get frogbit, dwarf water lettuce, or red root floaters.

Or if there is any other interesting floater out there.

I know I do not want duckweed. Nor any stem type plant that floats. I tink I'd like to keep the "lily pad" type look for the top. The tank has no CO2, nor does it get any extra fertilizer. The light is around 24W of T5 bulb-age. Nothing fancy. Around 5-6 inches away from the top, I think.

Thoughts and opinions?


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## Reeyia (Jun 13, 2009)

I personally like the look of a nice floating pad of riccia.


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## Rhaethe (Jan 20, 2010)

Hrm. I don't think I've ever seen a photo of that while used as a floater. Does it break apart and such and get all over everywhere?


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## boringname (Nov 11, 2010)

My red root floater is dying on me for unknown reasons but the frogbit it thriving so I would vote for frogbit. But on aquabid I usually see floaters offered as a package so I don't see why you need to only choose one.

I understand your hatred of duckweed, it is the herpes of fish tanks. But right now I have Giant Duckweed and its a lot better than common duckweed.

Floaters don't need CO2, they get that from the air. That is prolly the main reason why they usually grow faster than other plants. But they do need a lot of fertilizer and turn yellow pretty fast if they don't get it. If you don't want to dose ferts you might need to keep the number of floaters low.


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## monkeyfish (Jul 5, 2010)

My rrf died off, water lettuce grows like crazy with low light, no co2 or ferts. I take handfuls out on a regular basis, plus the root structure is really cool. 

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## Reeyia (Jun 13, 2009)

I have large mats of Riccia in several of my tanks, it holds together quite nicely. Occasionally a piece or 2 will break off but it floats so I usually just put it back with the group. My tanks are low to medium light, no fert, no co2 and I have no problem growing it. Not real great for a baby fish saver though, if that's what you want it for, shrimp like to hang out in it. (I'd put up a picture for you but mine has a little duckweed stuck in it that I'm trying to get picked out.)


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## celine (Nov 19, 2010)

i love the water lettuce in my tank! it's multiplied by double these last few weeks, but it's really cool looking so i don't care XD


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## Rhaethe (Jan 20, 2010)

I'll take a look about and see if I can find some water lettuce then ... Thanks!


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## ReefkprZ (Aug 21, 2010)

I like both the riccia matts (I have some in both my tanks) and the rrf, the only problem with RRf is it grows so darned fast constant harvesting is a must. I am currently using a circle of floating airline to contain my rrf and I prune whatever grows outside the boundaries of the air line. the invisible floating fence it works great.

but I haven't tried the rrf in my low(ish) tech tank but the riccia does great in it.


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## Vancover_WA_98683 (Nov 22, 2010)

I have lots of broad leaf sagitarus floating on top and some planted into the substrate for my 75. It grows easily without a lot of light. Any excess can be given away. But do a good job of aquascaping. Look at my profile pictures to get an idea. They've grown quite a bit since and look like little islands from the bottom. Plus, the fishes love it.


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## Vancover_WA_98683 (Nov 22, 2010)

Sorry, I named the wrong plant. There are some sagitarus, but primarily broadleaf watersprite.


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## liveforthis (Jan 2, 2011)

don't the floaters block a lot of light? Can someone link or post some pics of your floaters? I'm interested in trying some true floaters but I keep reading of people trying to remove theirs...


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## Vancover_WA_98683 (Nov 22, 2010)

Yes, they do block light. But they are great for inhabitants. In terms of pictures, I have this from a couple months ago. The watersprite have spread little. But for some, if it is somewhat heavily planted, it is not always a bad idea. I give away the new floaters on occasion. In my opinion, this enhances the aquascape. I am running a 75 gallon system without CO2 and just running basic three 50 watt ecolux plant bulbs,


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## Vancover_WA_98683 (Nov 22, 2010)

If the watersprite is not available. You can try using the smaller duckweed to see if you like it. It depends on your flow and intake from your filter. These small duckweed plants can clog easily. When it comes to your own planted tank. It is sometimes a "trial and error" thing.


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## monkeyfish (Jul 5, 2010)

Duckweed, Once you put it in, it's never leaving! You think it's gone, but you miss one little tiny bit and it's back with a vengeance. 

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## aquavert (Dec 19, 2010)

If you are interested in floaters I have some amazon frogbit for sale with no contaminents or duckweed...If interested PM me...


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## Clare12345 (Dec 20, 2008)

I have had two types of riccia. One type breaks apart easily and is not as green, the other type is strong and has never broken apart. Both kinds grow easily and quickly. I have even had both kinds in the same tank at the same time. 
PM if interested.


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## liveforthis (Jan 2, 2011)

Do you guys use glass lids on your tanks or are they open? What do you recommend?


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## Clare12345 (Dec 20, 2008)

Mine is open. Depends on what kind of light you get. If you are going low light/low tech, I'm sure riccia would do fine under stock aquarium bulbs that come with a tank setup, as long as you leave the lights on for 8 hours a day.


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## potatoes (Dec 16, 2010)

I have Water Lettuce, duckweed, and frogbit. The watter lettuce and duckweed grow like mad and double in less then a week. The frogbit is spreading, but slower. I am going to get some red root floaters as well. The nice things about all of these is how easy they are to remove when they get crowded. just dunk your hand in and scoop some out!


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## liveforthis (Jan 2, 2011)

Clare12345 said:


> Mine is open. Depends on what kind of light you get. If you are going low light/low tech, I'm sure riccia would do fine under stock aquarium bulbs that come with a tank setup, as long as you leave the lights on for 8 hours a day.


I have the aqualight 48" double t5 strip. I don't have a lid and the tank is not setup yet..Should I get one or is it not needed?


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## Clare12345 (Dec 20, 2008)

How big is your tank?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

liveforthis said:


> I have the aqualight 48" double t5 strip. I don't have a lid and the tank is not setup yet..Should I get one or is it not needed?


T5HO or T5NO?


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## liveforthis (Jan 2, 2011)

Clare12345 said:


> How big is your tank?


55 gal with t5ho


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

That's way too much light for a low tech setup. You're either going to need to suspend your fixture at least a foot up off yoru tank or add pressurized CO2 and start dosing ferts. 

I think floaters will end up nutrient deficient unless you dose your water column with a comprehensive regimen on a weekly basis.


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## liveforthis (Jan 2, 2011)

that's not good.


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## Clare12345 (Dec 20, 2008)

Even one of those lights may be too much to handle without CO2.


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## liveforthis (Jan 2, 2011)

Clare12345 said:


> Even one of those lights may be too much to handle without CO2.



Thats really bad.....co2 is so costly. 

I really thought 2 t5's weren't a lot of light lol. I had a 125 planted with co2 close to 10 years ago and I had 8 x96m pc's running on it so 2 t5's seemed very minimal. I just left reefing cause I wanted to get away from that sort of maintenance.


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

ReefkprZ said:


> I like both the riccia matts (I have some in both my tanks) and the rrf, the only problem with RRf is it grows so darned fast constant harvesting is a must. I am currently using a circle of floating airline to contain my rrf and I prune whatever grows outside the boundaries of the air line. the invisible floating fence it works great.
> 
> but I haven't tried the rrf in my low(ish) tech tank but the riccia does great in it.


ohh, it grows just as quick in a low light tank too lol the leaves just stay green, and the roots turn white. I have mine restricted to 1/3 of a 10 gal. I have to thin it about two times a week lol. I also learned, if you let it grow on top of itself it will eventually form "stems" and grow vertical lol


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## monkeyfish (Jul 5, 2010)

liveforthis said:


> Thats really bad.....co2 is so costly.
> 
> I really thought 2 t5's weren't a lot of light lol. I had a 125 planted with co2 close to 10 years ago and I had 8 x96m pc's running on it so 2 t5's seemed very minimal. I just left reefing cause I wanted to get away from that sort of maintenance.


2 T5NO bulbs would be better suited to your wants than the HO bulbs. Will NO bulbs work in a HO fixture?



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## Vancover_WA_98683 (Nov 22, 2010)

To Liveforthis: I originally used the 48" aqualife stock double bulbs for my 75 gallon. It did average for the floating juvenile watersprite and some dwarf sags. Coverage was about 10-15% as seen in the picture in my earlier post. They clump up into islands. Once I switched it out to an affordable 50 watt GE Ecolux F40 T12 bulbs (Walmart $5 each). These floaters along with planted are at 60%. You would think it blocks light, but it actually penetrates through without any issues in my case. PM if you'd like an updated photo.


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## Vancover_WA_98683 (Nov 22, 2010)

Forgot to mention that mine had a lid during the stock double aqualife T5 (38watt).


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## Vancover_WA_98683 (Nov 22, 2010)

Correction - I got mixed up on the names of the lighting. I just bought a dual linear 4 x 65w Aqualife aqualight. Mine was just the stock double ALL GLASS strip light 38watt prior that came with my 75 gallon. Then, the ecolux ge F40 T12 switch.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

monkeyfish said:


> Will NO bulbs work in a HO fixture?


Yes, but it's the ballast that controls how much light is pushed through them, not the bulbs. Running NO bulbs in an HO fixture will just overdrive them, pushing them at least close to if not exactly the same light level as HOs.

If you want to stick with this fixture, then you can if you raise it up off the tank and/or do some other things to control algae such as incorporate floating plants and dose Excel.

Or you could switch to a T5NO fixture (like the Coralife T5NO) which would put you at a better light level for a low tech tank.


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## Vancover_WA_98683 (Nov 22, 2010)

I had a picture up that was a month+ old. The floating sprites have multiplied and give off a greenish reflective glow to compliment the inhabitants color. Here is a recent photo.


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## liveforthis (Jan 2, 2011)

Yea that looks nice!


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## agimlin (Sep 25, 2010)

if you like the lily pad idea i have banana plants and used to have a red dwarf lily they both put huge lily pads that float across the top. it also adds decor on the top and bottom of the tank


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## Baadboy11 (Oct 28, 2009)

I vote for Red Root Floater, really cool little plant that turns a neat pinkish color when it feels like it. It really hates strong water movement though as do most floaters so keep that in mind.


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