Clint
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Posts: 808
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Post by Clint on May 26, 2007 21:19:09 GMT
My aquarium had plenty of algae and it had a low PH.
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Post by SilverKiento on May 27, 2007 5:19:27 GMT
For some reason, the algae has almost completely disappeared.. something wiped it out.. and very FAST. It could have been the heat I guess? It did get a lot hotter hear and the water temp probably got in the low 80s.
On another note, I got my aldrovanda! I actually got like 5 little stolons, each about an inch long. I spread them all out in the water, hopefully they'll take over soon. I will have to keep a very close eye on them. The only major thing I'm worried about now is the heat. I'm wondering how warm is too warm.
And who'd have thought that aldrovandas can survive a week in nothing but a baggy wrapped in damp sphagnum? Curiously tough little buggers for being so hard to keep alive!
I will try to snag some pictures soon.
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Post by rsivertsen on May 27, 2007 14:42:36 GMT
Aldrovanda can take it pretty hot, even promps it to flower when water temps are in the low to mid 90's(F). In the wild, algae goes into decline in the presence of Aldrovanda.
But growing Aldrovanda is very different than growing a stunning Nepenthes, or a spectacular D. regia, (where you can grow a single specimen plant for five or ten years); when Aldrovanda grows well, where they truly thrive, (and not just barely survive, and exist), will increase exponentially, doubling the number of apical growth points almost every week (5 to 7 days)!
This is yet another reason why I've dismissed the notion of growing them in containers. Your container conditions, replete with a few companion monocot plants and a small population of snails may be suitable for perhaps a few strands of Aldrovanda for a week or two, perhaps even a month; but by the next few weeks and months, they will outgrow their artificial environment, and will show signs of stress.
You will have to manually change the water at least once a week with local pond water, (refreshing the zooplankon) and manually remove the filamentous algae that WILL form on the Aldrovanda strands; create more containers, with their own companion monocot plants, snails etc., very maintenance intensive! I’ve already done it many times myself over the years, and can't recomend it.
In the natural conditions, there is (for all practical purposes) an infinite supply of snails and zooplankton creatures, including copepods, and monocot companion plants whose roots absorb the nitrogenous matter, and give off CO2, (the term “infinite” here is used in the context of physics, where these is no significant difference between doubling the number, or by reducing it by half). Containers are inherently finite, and have a built in physical limit to support an Aldrovanda population. It’s not just growing a specimen plant of Aldrovanda, it’s managing a population of Aldrovanda.
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Post by SilverKiento on May 27, 2007 23:33:57 GMT
I already know of the problems that will occur as you've mentioned them already. I will be dealing with a lot of these things by hand. The algae returned today and with a couple quick swipes, the algae was gone from the aldrovanda. They did not seem bothered by the increased temperature either. I think the increased CO2 in the water triggered the algae since I added a fizz tab yesterday. When they get too big, I'll trim em and trade em, or just give em away! I am aware of the maintenance that I will have to perform and it doesn't bother me at all. I have plenty of time on my hands, the joy of simply having them in my collection is more than enough to outweigh the time and effort that I will and already have put into this project.
My main goal is to simply get one of them to flower. I will not give up so easily.
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Clint
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Posts: 808
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Post by Clint on May 27, 2007 23:39:15 GMT
You aren't putting the fizz tab directly into the water, are you?
It's just alka-seltzer lol. Hope you aren't over-paying lmao
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Post by SilverKiento on May 28, 2007 0:29:33 GMT
Nah it was like 10 bucks for the whole kit. I did it eBay. And NO I'm not putting them directly in the water. That plastic thing on the back of the tub is where the bubble forms and disperses and there's a small bottle thing connected to a tube that I put the tab in.
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Post by rsivertsen on May 28, 2007 13:35:51 GMT
CO2 outgasses very quickly from water as anyone who has ever consumed a carbonated beverage knows when it's left open for an hour or so, and the rate increases with temperature; try opening a seltzer bottle that is room temperature or more, and see what happens. However, in a natural setting, in warm conditions, repiration also increases directly with temperature, so that CO2 is increased by the zooplankton, and by the respiration of the roots of large monocot plants.
It's been my experience that Aldrovanda can be sensitive to various "fizz" chemicals that give off CO2, and some standard aquarium pH additives, which often release sodium, or nitrogenous ions into the water; but I've noticed that they do better in neutral pH (=7.0) than acidic conditions.
The large green forms flower for me every year since 2003 by mid July, sometimes with 3 or 4 flower spikes per strand.
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Post by SilverKiento on May 28, 2007 15:56:04 GMT
I shall be switching to yeast very soon, since it's more prolonged release and more effective. Really I just don't feel like doing it right at this moment. I'm thinking of just putting a bit of the water from my pool in with the aldrovanda. It's been closed for like 4 years (long story) so there's no chemicals or anything left in there. Probably tons of zooplankton and copepods. It's inhabited by a family of bullfrogs at the moment. Edit: Pictures... Funny how you can see the camera in the reflection. Larger Versions (56k Warning) i6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/SilverKiento/Aldrocloseup.jpgi6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/SilverKiento/Aldrovandacloseup2.jpg
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matti
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Post by matti on May 29, 2007 11:50:47 GMT
By the looks your plant has come from hot temperatures and gone into cold ones (top pic), keep that bloody algae away, aldrovanda and algae are not the best of friends!.
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Post by rsivertsen on May 29, 2007 13:28:43 GMT
Good luck! Algae only seems to be a problem in container growth. In a natural setting, algae goes into decline in the presence of Aldrovanda. When I scoop up the strands, every functional trap has some prey in it, (just like Utric's.), from small snails, mosquito larvae, to red and black copepods, etc.
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gregh
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Post by gregh on May 29, 2007 18:52:19 GMT
An unused pool and the need for more Aldrovanda space sounds like a match made in heaven!
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Post by SilverKiento on May 31, 2007 4:07:40 GMT
Ha, you'd think so but my mom would kill me.. and i still have hopes for it actually being fixed some day...
Actually it's going to be almost 90 degrees for the next couple of days.. it's been pretty hot ever since I got the aldrovanda.
I've been fighting the algae off by hand, and it's effective, but it's not permanent... as for a permanent solution... Well let's just say that the mail lady should be bringing me about 400 tiny algae eaters next week. >: D
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Post by rsivertsen on May 31, 2007 13:42:45 GMT
Actually, the pool would be way too deep for growing Aldrovanda, which does best in only a few inches of water, from ankle deep, to knee-deep, no more. Some strands are growing in just a thin film of water, in loose detritus, and they have to survive being out of water sometimes for a week or two, (maybe even longer) when it dries up all together. I hope we get some rain soon!
I also recently noticed that there are carpets of tubiflex worms dancing just under the Aldrovanda strands in most spots, which I'm sure also helps contributes CO2.
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Post by SilverKiento on Jun 1, 2007 5:42:10 GMT
Yes, when I received the aldrovanda they were just with some moistened LFS in a baggy. I was surprised.
I'm hoping once the daphnia get here.. the tub will really "come to life" more!
I need to chop up those water hyacinths too. They're multiplying WAY too fast, no wonder they're invasive. I've had them for 2 weeks and they've already tripled in number.
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Post by rsivertsen on Jun 1, 2007 14:11:42 GMT
I send out Aldrovanda and aquatic Utric's just wrapped in a damp paper towel, in a zip-loc bag, with no water at all.
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