Plants similar to frogbit?

[Rhaethe]

Does anyone know of a floating plant similar to frogbit, with the large lily-pad looking leaves, that doesn't have the open air preference that frogbit has?

I really like the look, but I have a fairly enclosed hood system, and was wondering if there was a decent look-alike replacement.

[Dave66]

I'm afraid all the commonly available floating plants need an open-top tank, or one with a lot of ventilation, in a warm room, plus bright light, to thrive (save for duckweed, which will grow in any light). Ludwigia helminthorrhiza would be what you'd be after for a frogbit-like leaf shape, but it isn't an easy plant to find.

Dave

[Rhaethe]

Hmmmm. I have all of that except for the open-top tank.

I can actually take half of the hood off easily enough, but that's the part with the light in it. Maybe I can fiddle with some DIY lighting.

Thanks!

[Sarkazmo]

I have a pretty high Watts per gallon ratio on all my tanks but I grow Frogbit, Dwarf Water Lettuce, and Duckweed like mad. I throw away tons of the stuff every week or two. I don't have much of a gap between the water and hood and have no trouble with 'em.

Red Root Floaters is another popular top water plant... and I can't think the other one that looks very much like Frogbit... sorry...

Sark

[Rhaethe]

I have a pretty high Watts per gallon ratio on all my tanks but I grow Frogbit, Dwarf Water Lettuce, and Duckweed like mad. I throw away tons of the stuff every week or two. I don't have much of a gap between the water and hood and have no trouble with 'em.

Red Root Floaters is another popular top water plant... and I can't think the other one that looks very much like Frogbit... sorry...

Sark

Really? Currently, the gap between water and hood is around 1-2 inches. And the flappy hood lid thing I usually leave open.

Perhaps I just need to change my bulb out. Incandescent, and I'm at about 2watts per gallon.

Was considering changing it out to a compact flourescent, and perhaps up it to 3 watts per gallon.

[Sarkazmo]

I use GE 6500k "Daylight" CFL lightbulbs in clamp light housings. The bulbs run about $8 for 26W (100W equivalent) and they come in two packs. I advise staying away from the 20W size as I've had bad luck with them burning out for some reason.

If you have an incandescent hood and need a longer, thinner bulb like the tubes in standard hoods of that type you'll probably have to go with the Lights of America bulbs sold in WalMart's pet dept. They're about 9 or 10W and are in the neighborhood of 6500k and about $5 each.

Sark

EDIT: an older pic of what I've been able to do with these lamps...

http://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pm5ISwIMPiOFI12OXp7qqXhaEmWwFrU8_1-gPvwA5lrXa3W5GAsd4q7iTRNv6-SAVHD3SSOUVb2B_2UcW8MrBDg/IMG_0424%20-%20Whole%20tank.JPG

[Rhaethe]

Gotcha.

I'll be lighting a smaller tank, around 5-6 gallons. The fixture itself has a deep well, so it doesn't have to be thin, but I believe it does need to be shorter.

I'll look into if GE makes any with a smaller wattage.

[Rhaethe]

Allrighty. I snagged a CFL that would fit my hood. Coralife Colormax 10 watt.

It says its full-spectrum, but I'm not seeing a "k" rating anywhere on the box.

It does seem brighter. It's definitely a different look.

As an aside, I noticed that ever since I put frogbit in the tank, I've had a lot of bubbles on the surface.

[Sarkazmo]

Allrighty. I snagged a CFL that would fit my hood. Coralife Colormax 10 watt.

It says its full-spectrum, but I'm not seeing a "k" rating anywhere on the box.

It does seem brighter. It's definitely a different look.

As an aside, I noticed that ever since I put frogbit in the tank, I've had a lot of bubbles on the surface.

That bulb is great for plants but I hate it. I have one, it was the first plant CFL I bought and everything looked pinkish purple. I love purple but not my whole tank, heh. The GE's that I use produce a very bright white light, very much like sunlight.

That said, I am glad that it's working out for you. If you like the looks then you should be very happy with the outcome. Good luck and let us all know how it turns out.

Sark

[Rhaethe]

I saw the pinkish bulb. I didn't buy that one. The one I bought was in a blue/black box.

It casts a white / blue(?) light of sorts. It's different. Still deciding if I like it :)

Now, I'm trying to decide if my painfully soft water (less than 1 gh and kh) is also causing an issue with the frogbit.

[Dave66]

I saw the pinkish bulb. I didn't buy that one. The one I bought was in a blue/black box.

It casts a white / blue(?) light of sorts. It's different. Still deciding if I like it :)

Now, I'm trying to decide if my painfully soft water (less than 1 gh and kh) is also causing an issue with the frogbit.

Lucky you with painfully soft water; would have saved me several thousand dollars on RO/DI units lol.

What's your pH then, within your water? Vast majority of plants prefer it slightly acid, say pH 6.6-6.8, to bright neutral, say 7.0 to 7.2. Soft water wouldn't be a problem with frogbit, since it's native water can experience zero hardness during the rainy season, and moderately hard and slightly alkaline during the dry season.

Dave

[Rhaethe]

What's your pH then, within your water?


Generally runs around 6-6.5. Highest its ever been was 7, if I remember correctly ... stays pretty constant, tho.

After the tipped over tank incident of this evening, I lost most of the frogbit to getting tromped on while I scrambled to catch fish. :(

But I am sending the brother in law to the LFS to procure more as it was his silliness that caused the tank to get tipped over. :evil: