Elodea Indoors

MXR said:
I was lucky that i had one snail piggybacking on the pondweed- now I have a million. I've just moved the tank into a cooler room that gets less direct sunlight than it's usual position. Only had it since Christmas so I've not had to move it before... Will let you know after the hols!
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Million! Can we have one? Do you guys take it home in holidays to look after?
 
Rupal said:
Where can i get the snail from? I looked in some ponds but no luck. Also where do you put the tank in hot sunny weather?
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I got mine at a local garden centre with a ponds and aquatics section. :)
I leave mine exactly where it is, but the combination of the paper on the window-side and the fact that I don't get direct sun all day means it doesn't overheat.

ETA: The whole tank is self-sustaining, the snails eat any algae and the old parts of the pondweed, so they don't need holiday care beyond tank top-ups, which I come in and do every 2 weeks in summer.
 
Rupal said:
Million! Can we have one? Do you guys take it home in holidays to look after?
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I bought 5 corkscrew snails after a while the million would appear everywhere when the lights went off at 3:30

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I am about to embark on the elodea journey.
We had some pondweed in before half term and when I wanted to get rid before the break, I saw a tiny little snail, so I had to keep it :D
It's been sat in just a small container since and is happily bubbling and lots if new roots and a few more snails.

Last weekend, I picked up a free glass fish tank (21 L) and I've ordered the rest of the stuff mentioned in the first post.
Hopefully it'll all thrive once I move it in the big tank.

I won't be in school for the summer, so will have to ask if one of the site staff is in to add a bit of water every two weeks.
 
Snorlax said:
I am about to embark on the elodea journey.
We had some pondweed in before half term and when I wanted to get rid before the break, I saw a tiny little snail, so I had to keep it :D
It's been sat in just a small container since and is happily bubbling and lots if new roots and a few more snails.

Last weekend, I picked up a free glass fish tank (21 L) and I've ordered the rest of the stuff mentioned in the first post.
Hopefully it'll all thrive once I move it in the big tank.

I won't be in school for the summer, so will have to ask if one of the site staff is in to add a bit of water every two weeks.
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Sounds really promising! I hope it thrives for you :D
 
Snorlax said:
I am about to embark on the elodea journey.
We had some pondweed in before half term and when I wanted to get rid before the break, I saw a tiny little snail, so I had to keep it :D
It's been sat in just a small container since and is happily bubbling and lots if new roots and a few more snails.

Last weekend, I picked up a free glass fish tank (21 L) and I've ordered the rest of the stuff mentioned in the first post.
Hopefully it'll all thrive once I move it in the big tank.

I won't be in school for the summer, so will have to ask if one of the site staff is in to add a bit of water every two weeks.
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Probably an obvious tip - Over the summer I'd recommend keeping it out of the sun. I left mine in my warm and sunny prep room over the Easter hols and lots of it went brown, even though the water level was fine. It seems much happier (and greener!) in the darker, cooler side of the building.
 
Last time I tried this, the elodea refused to do anything whatsoever from the beginning, no roots nothing. I had basically given up, however this year my elodea sprouted roots while literally in the class experiment so I've tried to rescue them, and now they are thriving in a tank!!!
 
Rupal said:
I have mine set up as explained in the post. I wanted to know if your elodea gets slimy green all around it at some points. I noticed that, and I keep clearing it away. What do you do?
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That sounds like photosynthetic bacteria. D: horrid stuff. I had it in a fish tank but not the pondweed. *touch wood*

The only control for it I've found that works is to clean out the whole tank and start over, limiting the amount of light (aka dimmer window or more paper stuck to the tank sides).
 
Not sure what to suggest for that. Might be worth starting again.
Mine has thrived after being ignored in a shady cool room over the holidays! Only topped up the water once which has remained very clear.... I'm not bragging I'm just still in shock! This is my second attempt. My first was getting too much sun and got too warm. The water kept going green so I was changing it weekly. Gave up and started again.
 
Emma said:
I keep seeing people struggling with this so thought I would share my successful setup! Ideally you want to set this up in the spring so that it has a period of good strong growth before winter.

To exactly replicate my setup you will need:
  • A 21L plastic critter keeper without a lid.
  • Some fine aquarium gravel (enough for an inch and a half depth over the whole base).
  • Aquarium water treatment (I use Tetra because it's relatively cheap but other brands are available).
  • A bit of cuttlefish bone (two inch square pieces will do).
  • Some decorative bogwood.
  • An A3 sheet of paper (why not print a decorative pond scene on it?)
  • A few sprigs of fresh elodea that haven't been used in experiments yet. These should come with a ceramic weight but if they don't you will also need...
  • [optional] A clean stone and some cotton
  • Three freshwater pond snails (you will end up with more!) from your local pond or pond supply store- you don't want to order them online (from whence they will arrive very sterile and packaged without water) because you will also need...
  • Some freshwater minibeasts- these will come in on the snails.

  1. Soak your bogwood for a few days in treated water, with periodic water changes, until the water no longer goes brown.
  2. Tape the piece of A3 paper to the back of the tank and cut to size.
  3. Place the tank on a windowsill that gets a moderate amount of sunlight. Mine has a radiator underneath but I have this set very low. You don't want the tank above room temperature and ideally you want it a little below.
  4. Thoroughly rinse the gravel with treated water to remove dust, then place it evenly in the bottom of the tank.
  5. Place your bogwood on the gravel.
  6. Fill the tank with treated water and allow to settle overnight.
  7. Add your elodea (if it didn't come with a ceramic ballast, tie it to a stone with a bit of cotton so the cut end sinks. I would remove any lead ballast if that's what it comes with).
  8. Add your pond snails and their associated hangers-on, plus the cuttlefish.
  9. Neglect the heck out of it. Top it up when the water level drops, but do nothing else to it whatsoever. If it goes a bit stagnant, the pond snails won't care and nor should you: it will resolve itself as it cycles. If algae grows, likewise.

View attachment 7648
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Thank you, I will look into this
 
MXR said:
Not sure what to suggest for that. Might be worth starting again.
Mine has thrived after being ignored in a shady cool room over the holidays! Only topped up the water once which has remained very clear.... I'm not bragging I'm just still in shock! This is my second attempt. My first was getting too much sun and got too warm. The water kept going green so I was changing it weekly. Gave up and started again.
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Mine has formed a bit of an algae layer on top but the rest of the water is still pretty clear. All the pieces of pondweed have grown roots downward into the gravel at the bottom too! It really thrives on neglect XD
 
Wonderleah said:
Mine has formed a bit of an algae layer on top but the rest of the water is still pretty clear. All the pieces of pondweed have grown roots downward into the gravel at the bottom too! It really thrives on neglect XD
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It does! XD We were all trying too hard for years lol.
 
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