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If you have a HOB, forget it.

I've got 3 HOB's on my 29g and I've got duckweed in there...got 2 HOB's on one of my 10g's and got duckweed in there...I don't see any problem in either tank

If the water level drops well below the output of the filter during a waterchange or what not, then it'll get blown down into the tank and stuck to stuff (plants, under rocks, in filter intakes, etc)...but other than that there's no problem at all

What's wrong with HOB's and duckweed

I'm using a Penguin 330. I have a little tea strainer and only rinse a pinch a couple times a day. The goldies eat it before it clogs the intake tube. I finally finished aquascaping the tank and I'm dealing with green water at the moment. Eventually, I hope to be able to enjoy the fish and their home. (pics when the water clears up) Thanks for all the replies.

My HOB's outputs hang low 'nuff so that they don't blow the duckweed down into the tank...either that or my water level's higher

the HOB i had was pushing the duckweed down into the water so that it ended up coating the intake tube ]

Not happy Jan!

I suppose it would be ok if you didn't have much duckweed... *tehehe* now theres a joke, a small amount of duckweed.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Anacharis is easier to kill and it doesn't consume as much. I've got anacharis, duckweed, and hornwort in a 10g and the hornwort and duckweed are taking over...I've only got a little anacharis left in there, and I have to keep taking some from my 29g to replace it

That's why I take most of it out every day or so...and then my nitrates bottom out and it has to slow down. Then 90% of it'll die and my nitrates will go up to like 15ppm and then it'll start growing fast again and the nitrates drop...all of my other plants join in with the phases too...it's kinda scary

I don't think I'll have a problem with BGA because the nitrates rise back up in a few days to a week. It's been going like this for a good long while and I haven't had any problems ...yet

Those qualities also apply to anacharis... But anacharis is easy to get rid of if you want to. And not to mention how dark duckweed makes your tank when it grows over the entire surface in a few days...

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

That's the whole point of it Natalie...you can't kill it and it devours nitrates like there's no tomarrow

Who would intentionally put duckweed in their tank?

I have been battling for months to get rid of it in my tank.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

The only problem I hsve with the duckweed and HOB is when I'm trying to scoop it out... the current carries it the opposite direction that I want it to.

As long as the water doesn't get that low that it's being sucked into the filter, I can't see issues (that's just about the point when the filter's making funny noises too)

How do you clean duckweed? My order came today and the stench is horrible! I swear they packed it in sewerage!

Thanks for all your replies. The duckweed is healthy, nice and green with no extra "critters". I bought2pounds from aquariumplants. Also ordered 3 large anubias and they sent me 8! I've had duckweed before so I know it can get out of hand. I only feed a pinch at a time and it's gone in a few minutes. The duckweed was fine, but the water they sent it in was dark brown rotten crap!

A lot of it will be rotted, i'd just rinse it out and plonk the whole bag into a bucket of clean water for a few days, so the rotten bits fall to the bottom.


be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN you want it in your tank. I thought I did, but I was mistaken. I prefer Salvinia or something along those lines

If you have a HOB, forget it.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Did you lose much? As I mentioned (a couple times I think ) Duckweed is a quick grower. After you have it in your tank, it should be perfectly fine.

I actually never bought duckweed, it somehow came with some plants I ordered online. I didn't know I had it until a week later and saw all these tiny leaves.

Keep it in the bowl as long as you like... I'm actually doing an experiment on it in my bathroom right now. I scooped some out of the tank and placed it in a fishbowl in the bathroom... barely getting any light, and no fish or ferts. The duckweed is still growing strong after well over a month!

Just make sure that there's no bacteria when you add it to the tank. The smell was most likely plants that died during shipment. (And I can only imagine how bad that smell was) The last thing you want is <another> algae bloom... but then again duckweed is great for getting rid of that!


Last edited by harleysiber at 28-May-2005 09:33

I got a whole pound of it. Do you have any idea what a pound of duckweed rolled up in plastic smells like? I dumped it in a storage container outside and most of the junk settled out over a few days. Then I used a fish net to scoop out the healthy stuff.

Where did u buy it from?

HarleySiber, That stuff HAD to be rinsed! It was in a ziploc bag in the most putrid water ever! I had a fine mesh strainer that I used to clean it. It's in a bowl on my counter now and sure smells better!

A regular fish net works fine for duckweed. That's normally what I use to soop it OUT of my tank (the stuff grows like crazy in my 10g). Then, just like any other plant, I'd put it in a bowl and treat it for snails and any other nasties. You may not need to rinse as long as you kill any bacteria.

I wouldn't expect snails to be too much of a problem for duckweed, so you can probably just treat it for any bacterias with Clear Water solution. That's my normal plant treatment, and I've only had snail issues with the plants I never treated at all (so I guess it may also work for snail eggs). Then just scoop it out of the bowl with the fish net again.

Even if you lose a little with the net, the stuff grows quick.

Last edited by harleysiber at 27-May-2005 17:30

Maybe pour it into a fine mesh, like a brine shrimp net, and give it a good rinse with tap water? Just an idea. It would have to be very fine though, otherwise you'd have duckweed everywhere but your tank

><>Dani<><