# Floating plants and surface coverage



## beckyhiker (Mar 30, 2017)

I am wondering if there is some rule about the percentage of surface coverage provided by floating plants beyond which their presence becomes counter productive for a planted tank. I realize that this depends on the specifics of the type of planted tank, so specifically I'm wondering about one with a fairly large number of plants in the substrate, mix of both high light and lower light plants. 

Personally, I love the look of floating plants and have Amazon Frogbit, Salvinia minima, and dwarf water lettuce. The big pro for me, other than the look, is that under where they tend to collect, there is no algae. Additionally, if they start doing poorly, you know that something is wrong. Cons, plants under them don't color up as much as those with the light not blocked, they suck up quite a lot of fertilizer, they block water movement and surface space for bettas, and, if allowed to really get dense, they are a great place for blue green algae to start.

If things are going well, these plants multiply like crazy, so I have to pick them out a couple of times a week, which makes me feel bad because I have nothing to do with them other than throwing them out. I probably let them build up too much, so I that leads me back to asking, is there a point at which they become detrimental to the other plants, or even fish, in the aquarium? I there an ideal amount of surface coverage?

Thanks!


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

beckyhiker said:


> I am wondering if there is some rule about the percentage of surface coverage provided by floating plants beyond which their presence becomes counter productive for a planted tank. I realize that this depends on the specifics of the type of planted tank, so specifically I'm wondering about one with a fairly large number of plants in the substrate, mix of both high light and lower light plants.
> 
> Personally, I love the look of floating plants and have Amazon Frogbit, Salvinia minima, and dwarf water lettuce. The big pro for me, other than the look, is that under where they tend to collect, there is no algae. Additionally, if they start doing poorly, you know that something is wrong. Cons, plants under them don't color up as much as those with the light not blocked, they suck up quite a lot of fertilizer, they block water movement and surface space for bettas, and, if allowed to really get dense, they are a great place for blue green algae to start.
> 
> ...


i dont think there is an ideal ratio. 

more floating plants = less light going deep into your tank. 

its kind of like window curtains or shutter. up to how you feel.


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## Bananableps (Nov 6, 2013)

Agree with the above. More plants = less light. You can then counteract that by adding _more_ light. You just have to learn to eyeball how much light should be reaching the leaves of certain plants. Thinner leaved plants might be more forgiving. Having a little current on the surface can reduce the possibility of persistent dead spots.


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## beckyhiker (Mar 30, 2017)

Thank you both for your answers; that's kind of what I figured. I should probably reduce the population of floaters even more than I have. 

Is it true that floating plants are able to grab more nutrients from the water column because all of their roots are exposed? Do most people not use floating plants?


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## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

I do for my shrimp tanks for a couple reason. One is more cover it makes the shrimp feel more secure. Also the shrimp seem to like them. They are many times seen hanging on them foraging on them. Also the biggest reason is I notice the more I have the less nitrates and longer it takes for nitrates to build up. I tend to do a water change when the nitrates hit 10ppm and I notice if the top is pretty well covered I never hit 10ppm nitrates. When the floaters become too much and I leave say just 1/4 top covered I noticed that the nitrates get to 10ppm noticeably faster. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Bananableps (Nov 6, 2013)

beckyhiker said:


> Is it true that floating plants are able to grab more nutrients from the water column


Yup!



beckyhiker said:


> because all of their roots are exposed?


Nope.
It's because they have access to atmospheric CO2, typically the limiting factor for aquatic plant growth.


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## beckyhiker (Mar 30, 2017)

Bananableps said:


> Yup!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Of course, that makes a lot of sense. Left side of my 29G, and it seems to get this way very quickly. I can pick out what feels like a whole ton and within a day or 2 it looks this way again. I wish the rest of my plants looked this good.


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## Tinanti (Aug 25, 2005)

A little around the edges is good for cutting down on fish that map jump out. _Hygrorhiza aristata_ is one that's easy to thin down and keep in place.


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## Bananableps (Nov 6, 2013)

OP seems to already know this, but a note to any lurkers viewing this thread for info on floating plants: there are many different floating plants to choose from, but duckweed is not a good way to go. Too difficult to cull, too quick to die back if nitrogen levels get too low, and difficult to completely eradicate if you change your mind.


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## beckyhiker (Mar 30, 2017)

Bananableps said:


> OP seems to already know this, but a note to any lurkers viewing this thread for info on floating plants: there are many different floating plants to choose from, but duckweed is not a good way to go. Too difficult to cull, too quick to die back if nitrogen levels get too low, and difficult to completely eradicate if you change your mind.


On the two separate occasions that I have ordered floating plants there was some duckweed mixed in with the plants that were actually ordered. So, to anyone who is just checking out this thread, don't be surprised if you end up with some; it is pretty much impossible to pick it all out. It hasn't been much of a problem in my tanks any way, it's just a very minor population in comparison to the other floating plants, but it can get sucked into surface skimmers.


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## madness (Jul 31, 2011)

*Amazon frogbit*

I love Amazon Frobgit, especially for shrimp tanks. 

Provides cover, sucks out most ammonia/nitrogen/nutrients in the water due to fast growth (allowed by easy access to c02). Shrimp also seem to love hanging on the roots.

I actually used massive floating plant cover to compensate for having high light in a no ferts not co2 tank (shrimp tank with just moss and anubias) when I first started and bought a 2 t8 HO fixture not knowing what I was doing. Whole tank was in shadow but it worked and kept me from having to buy a different fixture. This was back when there weren't cheap effective low light planted fixtures like Finnex anyways so it was hard to find good low and mid light solutions. It was either old school regular flourescents with a planted tank bulb or high end HO T8s.

If you have the time to spare you might be able to sell the frogbit in large chunks either locally (check the forum for your state) or via the FS forum. Not many people bother selling frogbit since it grows like crazy once you have some but I have noticed that not many fish stores carry it and not many sell it online. Might only make $10 plus shipping for a bit batch but might be worth a try. Probably more useful locally though.


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## beckyhiker (Mar 30, 2017)

I'm realizing how hard this large mass of floating plants makes it to feed the fish, especially the shy ones that hang around the back of the tank.


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## Bananableps (Nov 6, 2013)

madness said:


> Not many people bother selling frogbit since it grows like crazy once you have some but I have noticed that not many fish stores carry it and not many sell it online. Might only make $10 plus shipping for a bit batch but might be worth a try. Probably more useful locally though.


Aquarists in non-temperate climates are warned to check local and state law regarding sale and distribution of Amazon frogbite. Though not as bad as European frogbite (not a free floating plant, and not used in aquariums), Amazon frogbite is becoming an invasive concern in warm weather regions like southern California.


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