duckweed & current

[pygo]

Hello all,

will duckweed still grow fast (or at all) if there 's quite a lot of current in the tank?

[KevinC]

I made the mistake of putting some in my small (1.5gallon) tank once. Current flow from my in-tank Whisper filter didn't matter. The only thing that slowed down the duckweed was lack of nitrates (and the subsequent BGA that showed up). If nitrates were up the surface would be covered (and thus current reduced) in less than a week.

Kevin

[pygo]

Originally Posted by KevinC

I made the mistake of putting some in my small (1.5gallon) tank once. Current flow from my in-tank Whisper filter didn't matter. The only thing that slowed down the duckweed was lack of nitrates (and the subsequent BGA that showed up). If nitrates were up the surface would be covered (and thus current reduced) in less than a week.

Kevin

and did you notice any nitrate reduction after introducing the stuff?

[KevinC]

Yes - nitrate sponge! Problem is you can't get rid of it later. The smallest leaf will reproduce, so you can't really count on hand-removal if you decide later you don't like it.

Kevin

[jesstray]

Originally Posted by KevinC

Yes - nitrate sponge! Problem is you can't get rid of it later. The smallest leaf will reproduce, so you can't really count on hand-removal if you decide later you don't like it.

Kevin

I agree that it is nearly impossible to get rid of it later. I started out with 4 and within a month there was barely any light getting to the rest of my plants. I tried to skim it from off the surface with a net, but just a few very tiny leaves brought it all back.