overwintering lettuce and hyacinths in an aquarium

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well as you prolly know im new to this pond thing but on the other hand ive been a total freak about aquariums all my life. i currently have 6 fish tanks all over 55 gal. up to 125gals with some really large fish i have had for yrs


my question i guess is ive read numerous articles that it aint worth trying to bring these plants inside for winter but considering i need to buy nothing or change anything besides maybe a better bulb for lighting why cant i just throw a few of these in one of my tanks

has anyone tried this or had any success with it thanks in advance
 
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I'll be watching this thread, cause I have the same question. I brought my hyacinths in a couple nights ago and put an LED blue and red growth light on them. When I get them in the Spring they are so small and don't get much larger by the time they die from one cold night. So it won't hurt to try :)
I'm going to check and see if I need an air stone. I think there is more information on the plant part of this forum...
 
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ah i see 65 degrees is when they start turning yellow i was wondering what was up with mine i thought they were all dying cuz the pond is only 3 weeks old well guess i better grab a few of them that still have some green to them and get them inside and go head and give my pirahna tank a shot on keeping them this winter wish me luck lol. and i already had a brand new grow lite i had from when i had my salt tank so im gonna give that one a try thanks for the thread
 
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Hi I have overwintered them before, but it was more difficult than i would have thought. I am seasoned with aquariums, so know the ins and uts of keeping the plants. Yes, you will need some type of artificial flourescent bulb (t8 or t12). Also, it would help alot if you had some type of nutrients to feed the plants with, especially if you would have no fish with them. Make sure the water temp is above 70, they seem to do best. i actually had frogs with mine. You can try Seachem products to fertilize the plants. Like i said, they will not stay alive with light alone...i had to experiment a little to find the right results. I was suprised because in the pond the grow like mad, but in the Aquarium they need special care. For me it was easier to go to the LFS which i work at and pick up some new plants...
 
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Water hyacinth by nature is not a petite plant, how it responds to indoor cultivation is pot luck. Something of a fertility hog and picky about humidity and light levels.. It's a fast growing or bust sort of thing, may well decide it wants to grow long, lanky, several foot tall in size. May well become prone to fungus, aphids, in the absence of natural deterrents.

Water lettuce tends to respond better indoors, though you may find it replicates at a small size and again, become a nuisance choking the surface or responding erratic to pests, making too much decomposing stuff triggering pests

As both are ridiculously cheap and easy to find for ten bucks or so on ebay in Spring and reproduce so easy outdoors in season you might consider scarce aquarium space given over to something more exciting and less volatile to keep through Winter more convenient, perhaps, tropical waterlilies, other exotic tender plants to plant out in Summer

Regards, andy
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I agree with andy, its so easy to find them for cheap, but i do understand a sort of pride thing to keep your plants going for years :razz:...
 

sissy

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I have water hyacinth that I have been over wintering for 3 years now and some I bought this year and I just put them in a tub in my basement and add fresh water once in awhile and put a small aerator on to aerate the water other wise it goes stale .Here just one water hyacinth cost over 8 dollars and just putting them in the basement is free .Not much trouble keeping them alive and healthy .I add some fertilizer once in awhile too
 

taherrmann4

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So I brought one mother plant of water lettuce with a few brothers and sisters attached, started out with them in an oil drain pan with water and a CFL bulb over them. Once my aquarium was up and running I stuck them in there and they have almost doubled in size with lots of brothers and sisters since bringing them inside. Since they were doing so well I went out into my pond and brought in a small hyacinth and thought I would see what happens with it since the lettuce was doing so well. Here is a pic.
 

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j.w

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Wow guess I should not have let mine freeze while we were gone. Maybe I'll try it someday cuz looks like it works for you and sissy tmann.
 

addy1

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How neat tmann! my lettuce did not even do well in the pond, so not trying it again lol
 

sissy

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yeh I have to sort out the darn tadpoles before I put mine in the basement I don't want frogs hopping around down there .I wonder should I dump them in the pond or take them down to the creek .Would they freeze there little tails off if it got to cold
 

addy1

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yeh I have to sort out the darn tadpoles before I put mine in the basement I don't want frogs hopping around down there .I wonder should I dump them in the pond or take them down to the creek .Would they freeze there little tails off if it got to cold

I have a bunch of tadpoles in the pond, stream, deck pond. They overwinter that way. So sissy they will be fine.
 

sissy

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I had no idea they were in there until I started moving the hyacinth to thin it out and put it into another holder .It was overflowing with them .So i guess I will add them to the pond and see if they make it or the fish eat them
 

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