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Re: Duckweed, Water scum



Greetings:
David Cooke wrote:
> [clip] 90 gallon at home and it also does well, but when I put it in a 
>bucket and put it outside, it turns brown, and starts dying.
>[clip]
>Could it be that direct sunlight is too much for duckweed/salvinia?
>Maybe there's not enough nutrients (although I use the water from the 
>pond, which should be *full* of nutrients)?  Any other 
>thoughts/ideas/suggestions?
I believe part of you problem is a matter of acclimation. Plants grown in 
artificial conditions(whether that is light or optimal water fertility) 
must be 'hardened' to the conditions of full sun and all the natural 
environment. Years ago I had the opposite problem ie bringing duckweed 
from the pond into the aquarium. They simply did not thrive. I knew the 
plant would survive under artificial light because I had done it before. 
There needs to be a period of transition from nursery softened specimens 
to outdoor hardy plants or visa versa.

David Aikens wrote:
>I've been bothered by "cloudy" surface film on the water on and off for 
>some time and have noticed similar comments from others over past months. 

Our tap water is quite 'hard' (what ever that means now ;-) and I noticed 
when I did partial water changes in my DIY CO2 injected aquarium it 
resulted in a very thick and unsightly layer of 'scum' at the surface. I 
assumed this was a precipitant caused by the clash of water chemistries. 
It usually went away after 24 -48 hours but I was left with a rather 
tough ring of deposit at the water line. Mostly calcium I presume maybe 
more. After I switched to water changes with captured rain water (yes it 
is) the problem disappeared and the plants are doing quite a lot better 
possibly because of the lower solute content.
           Thanks...... Lyle Babberl