I started some lotus seeds recently. They sprouted and have put up some leaves. Roots are showing but the seeds are floating right now so the roots are not in the sand. I have them in a 16 gallon tub with sand in the bottom and about 8 inches of water
My lotus aren't doing that great. They have small leaves and seem to be yellowing. I tried adding more ferts but it didn't help. There is lots and lots of algae in the water.
Sounds like some parameter in your water is out of whack(Hence the Algae). What ferts are you using and how much? Just our of curiousity, are you aerating your pond? Lotus require oxygen getting to their roots. Also, do you know what the pH of your water is and are you using rainwater or are you using tap? How old are your seedlings? Here are a couple more suggestions if you are not already doing so:
Good sieved garden loam is a recommended base although some swear by pure unwashed river sand. It can be mixed with artificial fertiliser, or two parts loam can be mixed with 1 part well rotted cow manure or equal parts loam, compost and well-rotted cow manure can be used. If using cow manure and compost it is important that it not be allowed to come into direct contact with the water. Coarse ground hoof and horn or bonemeal can also be mixed in. However, it is a delicate balance because if too much nitrogen rich material or fertiliser is used, it can cause an algae bloom in the pond which will leave your fish swimming in pea-soupy water. Also, it may encourage your water lilies to over exuberant growth. If you are too stingy with fertiliser and the potted water lilies fail to thrive, a slow release fertiliser pill can be pushed into the soil near the roots.
The crowns of the lily (the part of the plant where the leaves all originate from) should be planted firmly just protruding above the surface of the soil and the soil should be covered with a layer of river sand and pebbles in order to keep the water clean. The container should be drenched, and then placed a few centimetres below the surface of the water or to where its leaves float naturally (i.e. to the level it was in the Garden Centre). If your pond is deeper, the plant will adjust as the petioles respond quite quickly to relatively small changes in depth. Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea requires about 30 cm, but no more than 90 cm. of water above its crown.
I hope this helps some. Good Luck :D
Hey Dergheist - Good to see you around.
Thanks for the tips, dergheist. I just have a little 16 gallon tub I picked up for 6 bucks. I think the algae will be inevitable with it being out in the sun. I'm using sand for the soil since I didn't want any junk floating in the water and I know most soil is full of floatable junk. I put 1/4 tsp of peters 20 20 20 in it and then later added another 1/4 tsp. I have not been aerating it but do not have any fish yet. I was thinking about getting a small fish or two in case of mosquitoe larvae getting in but the water gets fairly hot during the day and I'm not sure the fish would survive. The algae covers the surface but the lotus leaves push it aside. I'm using a combo of rainwater and tap, the ph is likely above 7. The seed bulbs seem to be floating, I have 4 sprouts. I just nicked the seeds and tossed them in and they sprouted.
I saw a website of someone growing lotus and he didn't use an aerator that I could see. Do you think that is important? What ph and fert level do you recommend? I don't want to mess with manure or stuff like that if I can help it.
I am sure a large problem that you have with the algae is that it not only robs your lotus roots of oxygen which is vital for any living organism, but the algae also is due to the fact that you are using a fertilizer that has phosphorus and this is usually found only in small amounts in the aquatic enviroment. For now, since you have a large amount of algae, I recommend aerating the water and use a fert that has no or very little phosphorus and make sure your water pH is below seven as aquatic plants cannot take up nutrients when the pH starts going above seven. Since you are using a 16 gallon tub, may I reccomend that you use aquarium plant fertilizers or pond ferts as both are suited for aquatic plants. Also try and use a pH buffer used in aquarium setups that will set your pH at 6.5 as most aquatic plants including the Lotus love this pH.
Howdy TooStone howz it going?
dergheist, those are interesting suggestions. I'm not sure if I'm going to put a bubbler out there. I could do it but running the air hose would be a little awkward. I could do it if it was going to really make a difference. I never thought about the low P ferts. I haven't grown aquatic plants before and am not surprised they have different requirements. I noticed lately that the algae on top of the water has cleared out some. I have no clue why that is. Most of the seeds are floating near the top along with the roots. The leaves look about the same, they are around 3" in diameter.
well.... when my lotus seeds come in...... white ghost boy will be in charge of the care.... i promise you that.... that boy knows his aquatics
howdy neighbor!
ps.... get a job
Yessa masta Iza goin. Don't beat me masta. :lol:
ha...... you play on the net TOO much!!!
Na, I am finally updating my Microshaft Winders Xponetially Poor system and she takes forever :x , so I might as well be spending some time around this site while I wait. No? :roll: By the way what are you doing on this forum for over an hour now? :wink:
hahah... im at my friends house...geekin broadband..... i go and do shit for a while.... and come and rest and chill....
i just ordered a pink ladies slipper and kiwi gold yellow raspberry origin... new zealand... hardy to zone 9...... most rasps are zone 8
so gonna give it try... got both for 22 with shipping....
hehehhehe
Well, before this post gets to far off topic, please just let me clarify that all of my suggestions are just that, my suggestions/opinion, but besides me and anti-light, I know somebody else around here must have some experience in aquatics that they would like to chime in on Stonehenge's question? BTW Stonehenge, how are your lotus doing?
My lotuses are hanging in there, about the same. The leaves seem to die after a while and not get too big so I'm sure conditions are not quite right. There is not as much algae at the surface but the water itself seems green.
Since no one else seems to want to chime in, I guess I will keep on a suggesting from my own personal experience. Keep in mind all of this is just my opinion and what has worked for me. The green water means that the water is now populated with micro-algae which is not good at all, second the large algae that could be described as more plant like is macro algae and is much less harmful, yet it still sends your CO2 and O2 all over the place. The lotus seed is supposed to sink to the bottom of the water column, yet some of the seeds do not. Those that float should be planted in the substrate as soon as they sprout. Once they are planted they will send up their leaves to the surface and therefore use them for photosynthesis while the rest of the plant acts as a uptake of nutrients and an anchor. If it was me I would dump the water out, fill back up the container with as clean of water as possible (hopefully purified or rainwater) around neutral or lower pH and switch to a fert that is for ponds which you can get at almost any home improvement, garden center, or Wally World. I would get a bag of pea gravel (since you don't want to mess with soil) at about 4.00 a bag at Wally World. Rinse the gravel repeatedly in a separate bucket until the water comes out clear. I would then put the pea gravel in some pots for plants or any container will do as long as the top of the container is no more than a few inches below the surface of the water. Then, I would plant the seeds in the substrate and fert as necessary dependant of course upon which fert you use. If this still does not solve the problem look into lotus growing in your favorite search engine and see how the pro's grow them. The blue lotus has almost the identical requirements as any of the other lotus on those sites. I wish you the best of luck. If all goes well I recommend that you go with a bigger size container as these guys like room. If money is tight or you just wanna scrimp I would buy a kiddy pool since they are dirt cheap and paint it with spray paint if you want it to look good such as in a garden or such. Of course, this is all just a suggestion.
Those are good suggestions. I think what I'll do at some point is dump it all out and start over. I like the 16 gallon tub because it's sturdy. I could get more of them. I'll get some pond nutes but may keep using sand since I don't see any problem with it. Why would algae take away the oxygen? I thought algea, being a plant, would produce oxygen at least when there was light. I'd like to put a minnow or two in there in case mosquitoes start to hatch.
wild oxygen variation is what i would imagine....
eutropification.... is that the word im lookin for.....
algal blooms..... they suck up all the nutes... and throw the co2 and oxygen content all out of whack....
yup... take care yall
If I'm not mistaken, eutropification involves decay. The algae or other problem plant blooms, crowds out other plants and then dies. The dead plants rot which uses up oxygen. I don't see that happening here, it's just an algae bloom. The lotus is still growing but not very well. I might dump the water and put h2o2 in the new water to kill the algae then reseed.
ahhh... thanks for the clarification
the reason i said that... is because here in the swamps.... the ditches and bayous and shit get all mucky.... full of algae and other shit.... and it kills everything in the water .... i think its mainly due to fertilizer run off from the sugar cane industry...
but there aint no tellin.....
good luck stonehenge
Sounds cool stonehenge. That is also a good idea with using the H2O2, just make sure you let it decompose for a while afterwards so that it does not shock the plants with a high level, otherwise it sounds like a great alternative to a harsher chemical cleaning. Make sure that the sand you use does not come from an ocean beach as this will surely throw your pH into the basic range which is very bad for freshwater plants. Wish ya the best and keep us updated, especially in a couple years when they bloom. That will be so cool if you never have seen them before. :D
Oops! I forgot to answer your question about the algae. You are correct about the algae producing oxygen when there is light, which at too high of levels is also toxic to any living organism. But you also need to keep in mind that plants exhale at night when there is no light and that creates anoxic conditions in the water. This wild variation is very stressful on plants so it can be considered a contributing factor to your plants overall well being. And just as a side note, IMO bettas are really cool to put in a pond for the warm seasons and since they can breath oxygen from the air, they do not need the oxygen levels of other fish and if you put a male and female in there, they will not only eat anything that moves, but you will get lots of babies that you could sell or trade at a pet shop for aquatic ferts and other items, or just keep the fish for fun.
Hey guys,
I am going to be starting some Lotus soon also. I have an article in a growing magazine somewhere I have to dig up that tells you how to set up an aquatic ecosystem that would be perfect for Lotus. Within a few days I will post some tips but for now I remember reading about getting just a cupfull of natural pond water and adding it to your res. It gives you certain natural enzymes that are adapted to eating algea I think. and this guy uses 50 gallon barrels. when all the elements are there I think I remember reading about him not even needing an airstone.
There is micro and macro algae. Macro is good algae and micro is bad. "green water" is from waterborne microalgae and that means that you either have too much sun without enough leaf cover in the water, or too much nutrients. If you are serious about these and algae is a problem, get either algal killer that is safe for plants, or if it is a constant problem, then I suggest you invest in a UV sterilizer for the water.
what you could do is grow some duckweed and toss in some barley straw.
The duckweed is a tiny plant that proliferates to cover the entire water surface. It keepts the water very clean and helps keep pests and algea down.
The barley straw is a natural way to clean a pond of algea.
Hope this helps some,
Rife