My boss put a buncha duckweed in the 180planted discus tank in the front of the store. is this in any way harmfull?? she got it out of her pond at home. it really looks awesome and we have been giving it away to customers who want it. it gives a cool effect. doesnt block out too much light, but some. anybody else doing this? im thinking of adding some to my 30 gal.
Duckweed in tank.
- Thread starter messiner
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I can't seem to keep duckweed in my tanks for very long. My fish love to eat it! It also tends to get stuck in my filter intakes and clog them up. It is a cool plant though, especially when the roots start to get long.
It grows very quickly with a lot of light. If you want a really cool effect mix it with some crystalwort. It makes it clump together. Word of wise though when it gets too thick start tossing it out b/c it will start to decompose in the center and makes your tank smell really bad.
Duckweed is a big problem for plants that need moderate to high lighting. Under the proper lighting for a planted tank, duckweed can cover a 125 in only a couple of days, completely choking light to high and moderate light plants. When it does this it will also suck up tons of nutrients. Coupling these two problems can devastate a planted tank.
It is useful when used as a plant filter concept. Some countries (germany I think?) have experimented with duckweed as a filter for purifying sewage. It can clog filters and become a nuisance in the home aquarium but ... It might work well in a discus tank as they do not generally tolerate alot of bright lighting.
Once you've got it its hard to get rid of (like a weed)
Once you've got it its hard to get rid of (like a weed)
duckweed will take over your tank like MC Hammer took over the rap industry. i actually use it for clarifying purposes somewhat to get rid of phosphates. but i also have to add other supplements to keep my other live plants alive because it sucks up all their "food" too. and when it gets out of control or i want rid of it, i feed it to the silver dollars. duckweed v. silverdollars... duckweed loses. fast. just regulate it and make sure your filter is safe if you think it looks good and lighting isnt a problem.