[rcs0926]

Simple question. Have any of you ever had to get rid of your floaters or at least remove large portions of them because they were consuming too many nutrients that would otherwise benefit the rest of your plants? I'm just wondering if this is a common issue because it seems that my floaters have benefited from my switch to EI dosing more than my stem plants have. My rotala and wisteria simply haven't seen the boost in growth that I was expecting, and while I know that other factors are involved (too much light and not enough CO2), I still think that I need to consider getting rid of my floaters or culling them extensively.

 

[rcs0926]

I have been slowly getting rid of mine, but I am more worried about the light they block and not that they use too much nutrients. Your stem plants would also probably benefit from more light if your floaters cover the whole surface.

I have my floaters sectioned off. I want them to suck up the nitrates in my tank due to being overstocked by guppies that won't stop having babies. I have low light plants growing in the area covered by the floaters (java fern, crypts and vals). My stems are in the uncovered section of my tank and have plenty of access to the light. I think that there's too much light at the top of my tank, which is causing algae problems for the plants near the surface. I'm going to try raising my fixture 6 inches and see if the algae issues go away. I really don't want to get rid of my floaters just yet, so I'll hang on to them while I try addressing the algae in other ways.

 

[rcs0926]

I have some of the same concerns but I just can't part with them. Nothing looks cooler than a tank with plants growing up and down. I am only a month in after adding frogbit so still evaluating impact.

After doing a little bit more thinking, I'm pretty sure my frogbit isn't stealing all the nutrients especially since my floaters aren't allowed to take over the tank. I've been dosing using the EI method, so there should be plenty of nutrients to go around. In the end, I think I just need to raise my light fixture a bit to prevent algae from growing on the plants near the surface of the water and directly below the lights.