Floating plants and flow

[FishyJames]

I currently have water lettuce in my 29 gallon.  I added 2 powerheads to increase filtration through my undergravel filter and the water lettuce doesn't like the increased flow and is slowly dying off.

Is there a floating plant that will tolerate an aquarium with slow to moderate surface flow?

 

Thanks

[itsfoxtail]

Corrals are the way to go if you're attached to the water lettuce! If you're not, I've found Salvinia Minima doesn't mind higher flow as it just kind of blows around on the top, and Frogbit doesn't mind either once it really gets established in a tank. You'll see some die-off at first as it gets used to the flow but once it takes off it won't mind at all (give it a few weeks). I have a very high flow tank absolutely filled with frogbit and it couldn't care less!

[Odd Duck]

If you can corral the plants so they aren’t constantly swirling around, most floating plants will tolerate flow from underneath.  They just don’t like it at the surface.  I use double diameter silicone tubing (3/8” ID), get appropriate sized connectors so I can make a loop, then use zip ties and suction cups to hold the loop in place.  If you can get to a sufficient density of floaters, they will create their own “corral” for the inner plants which will grow fast enough it doesn’t matter if some of the outer plants are dying, the group will survive and prosper.  My outdoor frogbit grows so densely that I have to thin it regularly and the surface is quite agitated in that tub.  I’ve also had red root floaters (which are notorious for hating current) form such a dense mat that it was overflowing the sides of the tank despite having both a sponge filter with an airstone and a “20 gallon” HOB on the 10 gallon tank.  They overflowed right over the sides of the corral and completely filled the top of the tank.  I don’t let it get that dense anymore since it had a big die-off after it got that dense.

 

[Comradovich]

I have a 20G with DWL, frogbit, RRF and salvinia minimus. Most of it is contained in an airline tubing corral like @Odd Duckjust showed you. I've found pretty much the same thing to be true. DWL doesn't like to be moved around the water's surface, but seems to be okay if the below the waterline flow is still decent. The airline corral provides an anchor point, and the increased flow seems to promote bigger growth. I have a HOB in one corner of the tank, so the flow is high on one side and low on the opposite. I find that my DWL grows toward the higher flow, it's also a bit fuller on that side of the corral.

Most of my DWL is about 7" across. This is pretty good spread for the "dwarf" variety. If I transplant any of the babies to my 5.5G with a sponge filter they don't get anywhere near as big. But also helping is a weekly dose of Easy Green and Easy Iron. I also have a decent, (not spectacular), LED light. The Easy Iron seems to have triggered the biggest growth spurt. They were doing well with the EG + light, but as soon as I hit the right micro-nutrient... BOOM floating plants everywhere.

I wouldn't write that water lettuce off solely because of the increased flow. Try giving it something to anchor to, then seeing about your light. If it responds well to that, then see about a cheap fert. I'm doing about two floating plant culls a week. If you're getting it what it needs, it'll handle some flow.