Keeping water trays from getting narsty

Keeping water trays from getting narsty#386180

By elaineo -  Fri Aug 06, 2021 5:00 pm
Location:  zone 9
Posts:  1013
Joined:  Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:07 am

- Fri Aug 06, 2021 5:00 pm #386180

For those of you who grow in large outdoor bogs or kiddie pools, how do you keep the water from getting filthy? I grow in small water trays right now, but have to scrub them out weekly due to accumulation of dead insects, bird poop, tadpoles (?!), wind-blown debris, and general muck.

Thinking about switching to a larger tub and installing an aquarium pump/filter... any ideas?

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Re: Keeping water trays from getting narsty#386184

By optique -  Fri Aug 06, 2021 6:21 pm
Location:  Greenville SC
Posts:  1914
Joined:  Fri May 24, 2019 11:15 pm

- Fri Aug 06, 2021 6:21 pm #386184

I have just always over flowed the water every so often, but my tap is safe so i have water to spare. this year i put water spangles in the shallow water, they really seem to help.

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Re: Keeping water trays from getting narsty#386187

By elaineo -  Fri Aug 06, 2021 7:20 pm
Location:  zone 9
Posts:  1013
Joined:  Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:07 am

- Fri Aug 06, 2021 7:20 pm #386187

optique wrote:I have just always over flowed the water every so often, but my tap is safe so i have water to spare. this year i put water spangles in the shallow water, they really seem to help.

Cool idea! I remember in a previous thread you were adding various aquatic plants... are water spangles the best? Gonna order some now

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Re: Keeping water trays from getting narsty#386194

By optique -  Fri Aug 06, 2021 8:43 pm
Location:  Greenville SC
Posts:  1914
Joined:  Fri May 24, 2019 11:15 pm

- Fri Aug 06, 2021 8:43 pm #386194

Spangles seem to be the perfect size, small for shallow water but not so small you cant remove them all like duckweed. I prefer the looks of frog-bit from the top and dwarf water lettuce from below aka aquarium. Both get 10 inch roots so not good for very shallow water.

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Re: Keeping water trays from getting narsty#386198

By Panman -  Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:04 pm
Location:  Atlanta, GA USA Zone 8a/8b
Posts:  6386
Joined:  Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:41 pm

- Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:04 pm #386198

I like the looks of that. I may have to look into doing that.

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Toes in the water, ankles wet, and knees damp.

Re: Keeping water trays from getting narsty#386216

By MikeB -  Sat Aug 07, 2021 2:00 am
Location:  Clayton, NC, USA - Zone 8a
Posts:  1901
Joined:  Sat Apr 25, 2020 4:13 pm

- Sat Aug 07, 2021 2:00 am #386216

Water spangles = Salvinia species, which are classified as floating ferns. It's nice in aquariums, makes the surface-dwelling fish very happy. It also makes a good breeding ground for mosquitoes, so be sure to sprinkle some mosquito bits in the water trays every month during the warmer parts of the year.

Don't let any of these plants get into your local waterways; they can become an invasive pest with little effort.

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Re: Keeping water trays from getting narsty#386220

By optique -  Sat Aug 07, 2021 2:51 am
Location:  Greenville SC
Posts:  1914
Joined:  Fri May 24, 2019 11:15 pm

- Sat Aug 07, 2021 2:51 am #386220

MikeB wrote:Don't let any of these plants get into your local waterways; they can become an invasive pest with little effort.

Very true, floating ferns spreading out of control are directly responsible for the cooler climate of the earth leading to warm blooded life. check out the "azolla event"

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Re: Keeping water trays from getting narsty#387629

By elaineo -  Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:38 pm
Location:  zone 9
Posts:  1013
Joined:  Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:07 am

- Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:38 pm #387629

Salvinia is working surprisingly well. I thought the TDS would be higher because many of my spangles rotted, but I just measured 30 TDS in the tray with spangles, and 54 TDS in the tray without spangles. Water has been topped up multiple times with ~15 TDS RO water. Thanks @optique, you have the best ideas

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