jodip Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Where would anyone recommend to buy floating plants such as red root floater or Amazon frog bit? I tried my lfs and he did say there would be duckweed mixed in, but when I got it home to weed out the duck weed, I also found a ton black segments and a million little bugs in the water as I was cleaning it. Decided not to put that in my tank. Couldn't find those floaters on aquariumcoop website so I am on the hunt for a reputable online resource. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitecloud09 Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Hard to say as I think we are not able to share anything from other websites competing with AC, I would say lots but idk if I can give a link or no….. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodip Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 I believe you are correct, I remember that now. Don't need anyone to get anyone in trouble here. It's hard to figure out based on reviews who is reputable. There always seems to be negative reviews and not as many positive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 If you have any fishkeeping friends, and if their floating plants grow as fast as mine do, they'd likely be quite happy to just give you handfuls of whatever species they've got. I bring a lot to my LFS, but even so, I sometimes end up having to throw out/compost handfuls of it at a time. If not, a local fish club might be your next best bet, but I understand that there are lots of places that don't have one, which is a shame. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodip Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 I have yet to make any fish keeping friends around my area, nor do we have a local club that I am aware of. I'm not on any kind of social media so I'm out of the loop on a lot of things. If anyone knows of any clubs around Sioux City, IA area or northwest Iowa feel free to mention one please 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitecloud09 Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 On 3/26/2024 at 9:21 AM, jodip said: I have yet to make any fish keeping friends around my area, nor do we have a local club that I am aware of. I'm not on any kind of social media so I'm out of the loop on a lot of things. If anyone knows of any clubs around Sioux City, IA area or northwest Iowa feel free to mention one please 😀 Same, I have like, one friend who has a 20g with a couple of fish, but he is not a hobbyist tho…. Sorry don’t live in Iowa @jodip, I would search and see who sells the best floating plants @jodip. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodip Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 I will do that. Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 On 3/26/2024 at 9:21 AM, jodip said: I have yet to make any fish keeping friends around my area, nor do we have a local club that I am aware of. I'm not on any kind of social media so I'm out of the loop on a lot of things. If anyone knows of any clubs around Sioux City, IA area or northwest Iowa feel free to mention one please 😀 I don't know Iowa geography all that well, but ACO has a club finder: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/apps/store-locator 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 (edited) Unfortunately, I'm on the complete other side of Iowa. However, floaters seem to grow pretty quick. The problem I've had is that they need to constantly be managed or they'll choke out all the light for your other plants. They do not ship very well, but as long as you can get some to survive, they'll usually grow and make it worth buying in short order. They seem to slurp up nitrates like crazy as well. I've bought from a few different shops on Etsy. Edited March 26 by jwcarlson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 BAND app is another option for finding local sellers, fellow aquarists, or clubs. Frogbit usually grows like mad once you get it established since the leaves have access to much more CO2 than is in the water. Red root floaters are slightly more finicky but once they establish they can choke out a tank, too. I’ve thrown away gallons worth of both when I’ve had tanks that were producing like mad. I sometimes use their growth rate to help determine how often I need to change water. 😆 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodip Posted March 26 Author Share Posted March 26 That is good to know. I have the band app for my kids school activities. I will look there. Could you explain how you use the plant to determine water changes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricksonAquatics Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 I got a pack of a bunch of different varieties off of Etsy! If you can’t find any from your LFS of course 🙂 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Hello @jodip, I’m located in central Iowa. Try joining the “Iowa Aquatic Hobbyist” group on Facebook. Good folks who can point you in the right directions locally. I have tons of Amazon frogbit. Bought it online, and as @jwcarlson mentioned, mine shipped poorly too. But once what survived got comfy with my water it went haywire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodip Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 On 3/26/2024 at 10:23 PM, EricksonAquatics said: I got a pack of a bunch of different varieties off of Etsy! If you can’t find any from your LFS of course 🙂 Thank you! On 3/26/2024 at 11:35 PM, Chad said: Hello @jodip, I’m located in central Iowa. Try joining the “Iowa Aquatic Hobbyist” group on Facebook. Good folks who can point you in the right directions locally. I have tons of Amazon frogbit. Bought it online, and as @jwcarlson mentioned, mine shipped poorly too. But once what survived got comfy with my water it went haywire. I will keep that in mind, I haven't been on Facebook in several years. I'll try a couple places online and see how it goes. Thank for sharing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 On 3/26/2024 at 10:23 AM, jodip said: That is good to know. I have the band app for my kids school activities. I will look there. Could you explain how you use the plant to determine water changes? I watch how fast it’s growing and how big each leaf grows. If the plant is growing gangbusters it’s likely getting too much nutrients so I dial back the feeding. I tend towards being too heavy handed on feeding. If it looks puny and it’s in planted tanks (vs the tanks where it’s the only plant) then I likely need to step up ferts for the sake of the other plants. Red root floaters can be used to roughly judge the amount of nitrates present - kind of an overall picture over time. They turn red better with somewhat scanty nitrates and plenty of light. It can be hard to get them to a nice red with too much nitrates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodip Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 That is great information to have. I'm currently at about 20ppm nitrates. I'm using the easy green all in one for now. I do have aquasoil so I know that releases some nutrients into the water column as well so I did a half dose of the easy green during the second week. My pH has dropped in that tank from the first day from 8.2 to about 7.6 and my KH has also dropped from 180ppm to 80ppm. My GH is 240 or higher I guess. Will those parameters have any effect on red root floaters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 On 3/27/2024 at 4:41 PM, jodip said: That is great information to have. I'm currently at about 20ppm nitrates. I'm using the easy green all in one for now. I do have aquasoil so I know that releases some nutrients into the water column as well so I did a half dose of the easy green during the second week. My pH has dropped in that tank from the first day from 8.2 to about 7.6 and my KH has also dropped from 180ppm to 80ppm. My GH is 240 or higher I guess. Will those parameters have any effect on red root floaters? I don’t know the exact number that gets the best color from red root floaters but that is likely a bit high to get maximum red. It’s a perfectly good number for most plants except for the plants that get their best color in “lean” waters. I’m definitely not a plant expert and I honestly don’t fiddle with my water chemistry much other than to blend RO with my very hard tap water to varying mixes depending on the fish species in the tank. My plants have to rough it! 😆 I know just enough to get a feel for the tank status based on hints from floaters and other various things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodip Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Well you sure know a heck of a lot more than I do, so I'll take any advice I can. Maximum red won't be my goal just starting out, but I'd like to get there some day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 On 3/27/2024 at 5:34 PM, jodip said: Well you sure know a heck of a lot more than I do, so I'll take any advice I can. Maximum red won't be my goal just starting out, but I'd like to get there some day. Then I’d suggest making some floating rings to corral the floaters since none of them like surface agitation. Some can tolerate it but none like it. Most dislike surface spatter or drips but frogbit tolerates it far better than red root floaters. If you get a sense enough mat of floaters they make their own surface calm and block spatters from air stones from getting to the top surface of the leaves. Most floaters tolerate undersurface water flow just fine as long as they aren’t just churning around. I’ve done rings to keep an area free of floaters and rings to keep them contained whichever you prefer. I do like the double diameter silicone airline and matching fittings for floating rings. More expensive but they work 10 times better than regular airline. They also last much longer than regular airline and are very re-usable. Here’s red roots in moderate light and a bit too much nitrates to get optimal color. See the lighter, greener streak across them? That's where the opaque hinge blocked the light. Plus a closer pic showing their adorable, tiny flowers. See the tiny spatter droplets on the surface? They can tolerate some as long as it isn’t too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodip Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 On 3/27/2024 at 6:50 PM, Odd Duck said: Then I’d suggest making some floating rings to corral the floaters since none of them like surface agitation. Some can tolerate it but none like it. Most dislike surface spatter or drips but frogbit tolerates it far better than red root floaters. If you get a sense enough mat of floaters they make their own surface calm and block spatters from air stones from getting to the top surface of the leaves. Most floaters tolerate undersurface water flow just fine as long as they aren’t just churning around. I’ve done rings to keep an area free of floaters and rings to keep them contained whichever you prefer. I do like the double diameter silicone airline and matching fittings for floating rings. More expensive but they work 10 times better than regular airline. They also last much longer than regular airline and are very re-usable. Here’s red roots in moderate light and a bit too much nitrates to get optimal color. See the lighter, greener streak across them? That's where the opaque hinge blocked the light. Plus a closer pic showing their adorable, tiny flowers. See the tiny spatter droplets on the surface? They can tolerate some as long as it isn’t too much. Wow, those are pretty neat! I had planned on getting some rings to contain them. I don't have very high flow at all, but I don't want them to shade out my other plants. They sure are pretty though. 😍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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