FlyTrapCare Forums

So i have been playing around with floating plants this summer I have 80g tub just for them that i dose fertilizer. i have dropped hand fulls of water spangles(small floating fern) in my large treys of CP's. They grow smaller and decline in health but they really reduce the TDS.

My tap water is 24 TDS so when i add water i over fill to counter build up of solids over time, still my tubs can hang around 50 or so. After adding water spangles the TDS is much lower. Yesterday it was 15 and i have not been overflowing the water in the past few fill ups.

I picked water spangles(Salvinia minima) for the test because they have shorter roots and double there population daily when i use ferts in my water plant tub.

I don't have the means to test what the plants are removing and what they are not removing but the TDS is really dropping

Plants in general take up NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), magnesium, sulfur and calcium. Compare that to your local water quality report to see what's left https://www.greenvillewater.com/2020-wa ... ty-report/

@optique, How is your floating plant project coming along? I am having trouble keeping my water spangles alive. I have them in small bowls with different types of water, distilled and tap, with small amounts of maxsea.

they seem to be doing great, they are taking over my CP and rain water collection tubs. I was thinking about trying azolla next year because its symbiotic bacteria can make use of atmospheric nitrogen, i think that would be a big advantage growing in such low TDS water.

optique wrote:they seem to be doing great, they are taking over my CP and rain water collection tubs. I was thinking about trying azolla next year because its symbiotic bacteria can make use of atmospheric nitrogen, i think that would be a big advantage growing in such low TDS water.

Oh, so spangles prefer low TDS water too? I must have overdone it with the maxsea. Will try again

I think spangles prefer nutrient rich water. what i was trying to say is azolla has a symbiotic bacteria that feeds on nitrogen gas in the air breaking it down into a form the azolla its self can use, kind of like coral in the ocean that have symbiotic algae. I think that would help it grow in low TDS water.

optique wrote:I think spangles prefer nutrient rich water. what i was trying to say is azolla has a symbiotic bacteria that feeds on nitrogen gas in the air breaking it down into a form the azolla its self can use, kind of like coral in the ocean that have symbiotic algae. I think that would help it grow in low TDS water.

Wow, your spangles look great! I assume that is low TDS water, since your CPs are in it?

its a little late of a reply but yes.

my winter time refuge.

@optique your plants look amazing! Are the fish living with your CPs, or is that a separate tank?

That's my aquarium, it gets to cold here in the winter for the floating plants to live outside. I have to remove 1/3 to 1/2 of my plants every other week to keep them under control but i don't have to do water changes.

COOL! I have water spangles, azolla, duckweed, and red root floaters in my trays. I don't do water changes anymore, either.

Ok so I am completely new to this concept. What is the main purpose of the water spangles? To keep your water cleaner? How do you get your plants to float and how deep should the tub be?

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@tracieh, water spangles and other aquatic plants absorb nutrients/minerals to prevent TDS buildup. They naturally float, like tiny lilypads. I don't think the depth really matters as long as there is some amount of standing water.

cleaning out my tubs and arranging things for winter. This spring i put a few water spangles in each tub this is how the summer ended.

I think I need spangles.