[rcs0926]

FYI, I have 2 tanks - a 2 gallon and a 20 gallon. The 2 gallon has duckweed to keep the water stable for my shrimp. My 20 gallon has frogbit with a bit of duckweed. The frogbit grows prolifically. I'd say that I easily get a square foot of new growth on a weekly basis. Originally, I had a barrier in place that relegated my frogbit to about 1/3 the surface area of my tank. However, I started having algae issues, so I removed the barrier in order to allow my frogbit to outcompete the algae. I'm glad to say that this worked.

Since then, I've gone to a proper fert dosing schedule (EI). I was previously just dosing Flourish Comp, which I think may have led to a nutrient deficiency and, therefore, led to my algae outbreak. The issue I'm having now is that the frogbit blocks out too much light, so I'm looking to switch to a different floater that will let more light in.

Duckweed isn't going to work because there's too much surface agitation in my tank given the fact that I'm using an HOB filter rated for a 50 gallon tank. I'd appreciate some suggestions. Thanks in advance.

 

[Centromochlus]

The only floating plant that i can think of that might let more light penetrate to the bottom of the tank is Hygroryza aristata. However, all floating plants tend to block a lot of light.

I've always been a huge fan of Salvinia cucullata, but it definitely doesn't like a whole lot of current.

 

[rcs0926]

I used to have red root floaters, and they did well for a while but eventually lost out to the frogbit. I may just go back to sectioning off a floater area and see how the uncovered part of my tank does with the new photo period and EI dosing.

 

[JMN16150]

Water sprite or ceratopteris sp.

 

[lochaber]

I'm not sure any floater is going to really let in much light if unchecked.

I think the key is probably to try and maintain it at a certain acceptable level by pulling out some every couple days or so.

I've got some Amazon frogbit I'm pretty happy with, and a couple days a week I'll pull out a plant (usually the one with the most/longest roots - as they tend to trap a fair bit of particulates) and toss it in a nearby potted houseplant. Seems to work fairly well, I've got pretty constant growth with the frogbit, it keeps it in check in terms of coverage and roots and stuff, and last time I tested, I had pretty low nitrates (I really do need to test again sometime soon...).

 

[rcs0926]

I'm not sure any floater is going to really let in much light if unchecked.

I think the key is probably to try and maintain it at a certain acceptable level by pulling out some every couple days or so.

I've got some Amazon frogbit I'm pretty happy with, and a couple days a week I'll pull out a plant (usually the one with the most/longest roots - as they tend to trap a fair bit of particulates) and toss it in a nearby potted houseplant. Seems to work fairly well, I've got pretty constant growth with the frogbit, it keeps it in check in terms of coverage and roots and stuff, and last time I tested, I had pretty low nitrates (I really do need to test again sometime soon...).

Yeah, I think you're right. I'll just have to do maintenance on the tank every 2-3 days. This morning, I pulled out 10-15 plants and will probably have to do so again this weekend.