[MatPat]

Hey Sean,

I'm actually going to try the Aspirin method since it seems Aspirin is much easier to find than willow branches
My test subject is coming along a bit slower than expected...I don't know if it is due to the Timed release fertilizer or the cooler night temps we have had the past few day. The green water is not where I thought it would be by now.

 

[ctmpwrdcamry]

Is the asprin supposed to be fine for the fish? I have the perfect test subject already

 

[MatPat]

I don't have a clue if Aspirin is safe for the fish! Does your test subject have fish in it? If not you could always give it a try too! I was going to put a single 81mg aspirin into the 10g and see how it works. I believe that will give me about 2ppm of acetylsalicylic acid.

If it works on the green water then I will try again with some feeder guppies in the tanks and see how it does with fish.

 

[swo21259]

did you ever finish your test ?

 

[MatPat]

did you ever finish your test ?

I did not finish and have actually abandoned this experiment. While the tank appeared to have cleared somewhat after about 4ppm of Aspirin it is hard to tell for sure.

I will be setting up two 10g tanks tomorrow (assuming I get over this cold) and growing out some green water over the next few days. This will give me one tank as a control and one tank to put the Apsirin in. That way I should be able to tell if one tank gets clearer than the other.

I will probably test it with 325mg (~8ppm) of aspirin versus the 162.5mg. If all goes well with the tests this week, I hope to add some Endlers to the tanks this weekend and see how they react to the Aspirin...

 

[Oleg]

I am very happy to mention that last week I succesfully battled a white bacterial cloudiness using willow branches.

For 3 months I could not get rid of this milky water, and by using willow branches it was gone in two days !!

Thanks very much for this unbelieveble method.
For me it is no magic, but comes pretty close to it

Sorry for the late response! Somehow I don't receive email notifications about new replies. Hm.. I definately had subscribed to this thread
Anyway, I really glad to hear that it helped you to get rid of white cloudiness! Congrats!

 

[Oleg]

blackout clears green water in 2-3 days...

Hi fishyface, are you working with Graham on Broadway? Right? Just wanted to say hello and mention that blackout will not get rid of the cause of GW, same thing about mechanical filtration or medicine. Also plants will definitely suffer from blackouts.
Anyways, see you soon in the store. Have you got Cardinals yet?

 

[Oleg]

OK, I am having extreme difficulties in obtaining any Willow brances. I have gone to a half dozen nurseries and no one here carries any willow trees. They all say it is just too hot and dry for them here. I am curious if anyone who has access to any branches would be willing to cut and ship some to me. I am looking for about 4-6 decent size branches about 24" long for my 80 gallon. I will pay whoever can do this plus the shipping ofcourse. I just cannot get any locally nor will the stores special order me a whole tree(I tried). Please PM me if this is possible. Thanks in advance.

Hi chiahead,
Sorry for the late response again. I missed it somehow.
Here is an article translated from Russian about Mangroves. I don't know if you have these things. If yes, and you are willing to give them a try, let us know how they work.
http://www.msaqua.com/html/aqua/plants/mangrove/mangrove_eng.htm

 

[Oleg]

Meh, I had the branches in my tank for 5 days. Still have green water and some dried out willow branches. About half of them died, and the ones that lived never sprouted leaves.

I gave up on trying that one, I'm too impatient. I borrowed a UV sterilizer from a friend... anyone know how long it'll take to clear up the water?

Hi Gumby,

Sorry to hear that. Did you use first year branches or older? Green branches (first year) probably will not develop roots and will just rot. This is what I have read, anyway.

 

[Oleg]

Daphnia tank

Here is my 5.5G Daphnia tank. It stays under direct sun light; and I feed Daphnia a lot (I mean A LOT) every day except weekends. There are also ramshorn snails in it; and I feed them with an organics-rich turtle's food.
I had a thick layer of algae on the glass and few nasty smelly kinds of algae at the bottom. I also had to change water few times a week.
Willow got rid of the algae quickly and I forgot when I last changed the water.
This was just a stick without leaves on it, and without roots. I picked it up under a willow tree.

 

[shalu]

Hi Gumby,

Sorry to hear that. Did you use first year branches or older? Green branches (first year) probably will not develop roots and will just rot. This is what I have read, anyway.

I have only used new branches. they worked fine, just dropped the old leaves and grew new ones.

 

[swo21259]

i cleared up my greenwater with willow branches, it took 14 days but it is clearer than i have ever seen it.

 

[AaronT]

Meh, I had the branches in my tank for 5 days. Still have green water and some dried out willow branches. About half of them died, and the ones that lived never sprouted leaves.

I gave up on trying that one, I'm too impatient. I borrowed a UV sterilizer from a friend... anyone know how long it'll take to clear up the water?

I wonder if you left the lights on when you put the branches in?

 

[Oleg]

I wonder if you left the lights on when you put the branches in?

Hi grandmasterofpool,
I left the lights on as usual. Haven't shorten the light period.
Oleg
PS: The willow in my Daphnia tank became a real tree . Today I had to cut lots of new branches as they reached the floor. I did cut most roots as well.

 

[apisto]

WEll,

I've have read this discussion in Holland to, but what if instaed that the willow consumes nutrients ( NH4 ), it is the acetylsalicylic acid from the willow (remember this is the stuff in aspirin), what indeed is doing the trick?

It would be a challange to see if that is the case or it is just the uptake of NH4, in that case there should be other plants that can do this to..

 

[AaronT]

WEll,

I've have read this discussion in Holland to, but what if instaed that the willow consumes nutrients ( NH4 ), it is the acetylsalicylic acid from the willow (remember this is the stuff in aspirin), what indeed is doing the trick?

It would be a challange to see if that is the case or it is just the uptake of NH4, in that case there should be other plants that can do this to..

Oleg - thank you for the response. I was actually asking Gumby if he had left the lights on. I was thinking perhaps he overlooked the willow branches needing the light to root as I would assume they do.

I would likely suspect it is the nutrient uptake because of the evidence that the green water does not start clearing until visible roots form on the willow branches.

As a side note I'm trying this now and I'll post my success or lack there of soon.

 

[houseofcards]

Hi All.

I have just started using willow branches to clear my 72 gallon planted tank.
It' seem from the discussion members have used both fresh (cut right off the tree) and old branches (dead) on the ground for this method. Doesn't the branch have to have some softness in it to grow new roots.

My only concern is do you think fresh branches are safe for plecos and otos since they will be sucking on them.

 

[Oleg]

Hi All.

I have just started using willow branches to clear my 72 gallon planted tank.
It' seem from the discussion members have used both fresh (cut right off the tree) and old branches (dead) on the ground for this method. Doesn't the branch have to have some softness in it to grow new roots.

My only concern is do you think fresh branches are safe for plecos and otos since they will be sucking on them.

Hi houseofcards,

I had one pleco and lots of otos and SAEs in the tank where I kept a willow. I noticed no problems Even my gouramies liked to nip the branches and later - the roots.

Please note that the branches shouldn't be dead even if they lay on the ground. You can collect them after a windy weather, for example.

 

[houseofcards]

Thanks Oleg, sounds like it shouldn't be a problem for he aglae eaters.

I actually cut some small branches off the tree this morning, took off the leaves and stood the bare branches in the tank. I guess the success is based on how quick and how many roots develop.

 

[Oleg]

Thanks Oleg, sounds like it shouldn't be a problem for he aglae eaters.

I actually cut some small branches off the tree this morning, took off the leaves and stood the bare branches in the tank. I guess the success is based on how quick and how many roots develop.

Hi houseofcards, let us know when you see new roots.