# Ok to trim waterborne roots



## ngp (Feb 24, 2013)

Hi all, my 5g shortie tank is growing great with DIY CO2. I have a little hair algae and a little weird mushy white algae on the driftwood...it's week four and i think maybe another 2 weeks of testing and the system may be ready to get some shrimp in to handle the very little algae i have.

I notice on the ludwigia repens(?), which are very long but i don't want to trim them until the cycle finishes, i have a lot of long waterborne roots at the leaf nodes (along with leaves). Can i trim these off? At this stage i just want the plants to grow as vigorously as possible so that they out compete any algae whilst the tank is cycling.

thanks for all the help and advice..

kindest

ngp


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

A lot of people don't like the look of the roots in the water column and trim them off. No problems with removing them.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

That mushie white algae on the driftwood usually goes away over time. Plus if you have algae eaters they'll eat that stuff.


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