Tell me about... Your Most Successful Duckweed Removal Efforts

[Torrey]

On 1/6/2022 at 3:04 PM, Streetwise said:

have used combs, hair picks, nets and skimmers. My issue is trying to save snails and shrimp fry during removal.

I use my fingers to go under and move the plants around. If I feel movement (the squirmy tickle of fry, fish, or shrimp) I shimmy my fingers back and forth to encourage the fauna to vacate the flora.

Any that don't vacate, Karma thanks.😅 Turtle snacks.

[2000tetras]

Add 2 Hob filters

[Levi_Aquatics]

Great work @PineSong I know that removing duckweed by hand is a pain! Way to stick with it!

[Torrey]

@PineSong what kind of fry?

I have been blaming Karma for zero plants succeeding in the turtle pond, but Karma is brumating and all the duckweed I put in last weekend is gone. The frogbit is thriving. 

At first, I assumed the Tetra Reptifilter was the duckweed culprit, but I just cleaned it and nowhere near as much duckweed in there as I put in the pond.

For the first time since before my surgery, I was able to sit and watch the pond... and low and behold the endlers are eating duckweed and wolffia...

I'm thinking a population explosion happened due to Karma brumating, and I didn't sufficiently increase feeding the fish. The endlers are also hunting snails😳

[PineSong]

On 1/8/2022 at 1:59 PM, Torrey said:

@PineSong what kind of fry?

I have been blaming Karma for zero plants succeeding in the turtle pond, but Karma is brumating and all the duckweed I put in last weekend is gone. The frogbit is thriving. 

For the first time since before my surgery, I was able to sit and watch the pond... and low and behold the endlers are eating duckweed and wolffia...

1) Thank you for teaching me new word: brumating. I had a box turtle for years and did not know the word for this stage of cold-weather snoozing in the bottom of the laundry pile (I was young, don't judge!).

2) I have platies, guppies and endlers in the tank. The fry are platy fry, but some of the juvenile fish in there are guppies and endlers. I am going to keep trying to feed less and less so they will consider duckweed snacks.

I tackled the 20g long today. This time it took only a half an hour of combing, because I did not try to remove literally EVERY piece of duckweed. I know it's a good absorber of nitrates and I am overstocked so I'm compromising.

I'm out of airline so I can't set up the second sponge filter yet, but I'm hoping that increase in surface agitation will help keep it less thick and crusty, too.

The "before" picture is after I had removed duckweed twice this week just so I could feed the fish and they could breathe. The "After" is after removing it with a comb:

 

 

 

[Torrey]

On 1/8/2022 at 1:46 PM, PineSong said:

I'm out of airline so I can't set up the second sponge filter yet, but I'm hoping that increase in surface agitation will help keep it less thick and crusty, too.

You will need more than a sponge filter to prevent complete surface coverage. My Walstad inspired 10 gallon has 2 air stones (too many mosquitoes this past summer) and the duckweed couldn't care less. I grow duckweed in the WI10 to move to the turtle pond to get decimated. 

I suspect that the combination of the Tetra ReptiFilter, the hungry endlers, and the turtle combined are responsible for no surviving plants in the turtle pond.

Karma by herself can wipe out the duckweed... the endlers do damage, just not enough damage if thats the only "duckweed destroyer".

This is the top of the WI 10g after 6 weeks of no maintenance 😬

[JettsPapa]

On 1/6/2022 at 12:43 PM, EVoyager31 said:

Doesn't really solve your problem but after much frustration trying to remove it I once used a shop vac to get it all out. Was very effective..and very loud. lol at past me doing stupid stuff. But hey, if it worked...is it stupid? 😄 

I wouldn't call that stupid.  I can't find it right now, but I'm pretty sure I saw a youtube video where @Cory did the same thing.

Edited January 10, 2022 by JettsPapa

[Maggie]

I had duckweed in my 45 and 10 gallon tanks. The 10 was my betta Cosmo's tank, and had only low light plants, the duckweed came in on some crypts I bought at a tailgate sale. I removed most of it but there were a few stragglers. I nornally kept the light on low and many days it was never turned on at all, and I guess it wasn't enough light or nutrients (only Cos was in there) for the duckweed to survive, because it disappeared. I was amazed! The 45 was a whole different story. Duckweed took over the whole top and I scooped out regularly, at least 2-3 times a week, as well as made a feeding corral out of silicone straws and airline tubing, and just lived with it like that, after spending too much time trying to get rid of it and there being a tiny piece left. I washed and soaked those plants in different containers repeatedly before putting them in the tanks, too.

[Streetwise]

I have also used the Eheim skimmer without any foam, so it just macerates the duckweed. This is obviously not safe for shrimp or small fish!

[H.K.Luterman]

I used to have duckweed in my 40, but decided to remove it once I added more flow (it was swirling around in the water column like a green snow globe and I didn't like it). All I used was a large net and some persistence. Now and then I check for it, lid completely off. All my other tanks have duckweed, so when I do water changes, the 40 goes first with thoroughly rinsed off tubing and whatnot. So far I've been able to keep it duck weed free for a year or more (I've lost track). 

[Jorgey]

 Most of the time I use a small shrimp net for scooping up tons of the duckweed (if there is lots).  Then use my Python without the gravel vac, just the hose only, and carefully skim the surface and suck up any stragglers that I can find in the corners and elsewhere.  Does not get rid of it 100%, but hardly anything shows up if I keep an eye on it and do it regularly.

 

[Gumbo99]

My solution to the duckweed apocalypse I suffered was to reset my tanks entirely from scratch, discarding a bunch of plants, and then ruthless remove any more I saw literally every day for a few weeks. I only had two tanks at the time so I wouldn't recommend it that for a fish room but it worked well for my limited collection.