this is nothing new but used a bit differently.

[Steve knight]

this is a combo floating feeder and plant control. but I am not worried about the plants getting eaten but that they are out of the way and the water surface is smooth so my wife can see the fish. so I used the floating planter ring and the feeding ring all in one fell swoop.
Now she can see them well without having to push the plants out of the way.

 

[addy1]

Neat idea Steve

 

[fishin4cars]

That will work! good thinking!

 

[j.w]

Cool idea, and I see you don't have any problems growing the water hyacinth and water lettuce and you aren't that far from me. Where do you get yours? And also I see you have water hawthorne which I have been looking for for a few yrs. I understand that there is a right time and a wrong time to plant it and size to plant also. Would be glad to hear how you keep your plants growing so nicely.

 

[Steve knight]

I bought the hyacinth off of ebay they are nto growing fast but most have bloomed. the lettuce at a local nursery and it is growing pretty well. I only bought one. The hawthorn I got this weekend and I have left it in the original pot and just added food.
so I have not done anything really but I think they would like more warmth.
the ring sunk I was hoping it would work without gluing so I could fit it and not worry. well no biggie to glue it.
I had checked ebay for the water Hawthorne and I only found one and with shipping it was 16.00 the same as local. I bought it at 7 dee's

 

[j.w]

Thanks Steve I think you are right about the warmth..........we need it badly. I'll check around for the plants and see what I can find but I better hurry cuz w/ this crazy weather, fall may be starting next month

 

[Steve knight]

sounds like I was lucky on the hawthorne. the blooms smell great. glad I did not transplant it.

 

[j.w]

Yes I have heard they are touchy about being transplanted and you will get babies from them and then you can transplant those. I have found the following info on the net that I had saved: One option for potting Water Hawthorne is to plant it in the same pot as a water lily.Since the 2 plants grow in opposite seasons this will lead to near continuous growth from the same pot. The first flowers generally appear from mid-spring onwards with a break in mid-summer. During a mild winter the flowers may continue to appear intermittently. In deeper water the dormant plants survive the winter at the bottom of the pond, but where winters are severe it is a good idea to lift them and overwinter indoors. They can be divided from November to April. Seeds can be found floating on the surface of the aquarium / pond and can be sown in the Spring in about just over an inch of water (3cm) on a peat / loam substrate at about 20C (68F) where theywill germinate in 1 - 2 months.Pot on into individual pots and grow in a sheltered spot for the first year in shallow water.

 

[stroppy]

i might have this wrong but are you saying you now have all the fish in that square floating thing ? i know your wife has trouble seeing the fish, but cant help thinking they dont have much room to swim about

 

[j.w]

I think he's just trying to keep the plants out of that area so when he puts the food in the square floater they can view the fish w/o the plants being in the way.

 

[stroppy]

i thought i had it wrong ... thanks jw

 

[Steve knight]

right it just keeps the plants out of the way. they are already in a box.

 

[sissy]

gosh jw wish I could send you some of this heat .They keep calling for rain it gets cloudy thunders then windy but so far not a drop of rain .It is getting cloudy out again and thundering again today but still hoping for that rain with this storm .Plants need it bad

 

[j.w]

Thanks sissy, we had a nice day today of high 70's........felt hot to me

 

[sissy]

Over 95 again today but boy did we have one heck of a storm and rain came down to the point where even the over flow can't keep up .