Home  Articles Aquatic Plants Starting A Planted Aquarium: Part I - Extra Efforts
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Starting A Planted Aquarium: Part I - Extra Efforts |
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Saturday, 17 September 2005 |
 In this series, I hope to help some of you to start your own
planted aquariums. I believe many of you out there are keeping fishes
in bare tanks. You always admired fellow hobbyists’ planted aquariums,
but never dared to dive into the planted world. You’re afraid that you
might be unable to dedicate enough time and effort to maintain the
aquarium at its prime.
It is true that planted aquariums do require more time and effort. And
it will definitely cost more, as additional equipments are required,
compared to a bare tank.
So in this Part I of the “Starting a Planted Aquarium” series, we’ll
discuss about the additional “efforts” that are required in starting
and maintaining a planted aquarium. This will help you decide if you
really want to turn your existing dull but easy-to-maintain aquarium,
into a stunning new planted aquarium!
Gravels
Gravels are a necessity in planted aquariums. Gravels are the pebbles
and stones that will cover the whole of your tank floor, holding your
plants in place.
The trouble here is:
- Having to relocate your current tank inhabitants into a temporary tank or tub.
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Unless you purchase pre-washed gravels, it is
important that you wash it many times over to make sure it is clean.
Gravels will be the layer above your base fertilizers (described below), and below your water column.
"It is true that planted aquariums do require more time and effort."
Base fertilizers
These are the soil-like fertilizer that will occupy the bottom-most
layer of your planted aquarium. It is possible to do without any base
fertilizer, relying solely on water column fertilizers. But I would
certainly recommend that you put them in while you can. These are great
for rooted plants, and if you ever decide that you want base
fertilizers at a later time, you will certainly regret. Why? Because
now you have to relocate your tank inhabitants again, dig out all your
gravels, and put your base fertilizers in.
The good news is base fertilizers do not need to be washed.
Layout
Before you start planting your plants, you definitely should do a bit
of research. Plants can mostly be defined into these 4 categories:
- Foreground
- Mid-ground
- Background
- Floating
Look at fellow hobbyists’ tanks and take note of which plants they use
and at which part of the tank. Which plants you find attractive and
what are the conditions they need. This will help you avoid the
situation where your plants grow too tall for your tank, or the plants
in front blocking the plants behind from view, or simply having the
plants die on you.
Planting
Depending on what plants you are getting, this can be a rather involved
process. Especially for tiny foreground plants, which tends to float
straight to the surface if not held down properly by gravels. This also
brings about another problem if you plan to have such plants. You must
keep your tank inhabitants in their temporary location for a couple of
weeks so your plants may have time to root onto the gravels. Otherwise,
they can easily be pulled out, wasting all your planting efforts.
What about floating plants? Well, those require some effort too. Take
for example Java Moss. They are typically grown on driftwoods and
rocks. But it takes time before they securely attach to the object by
itself, so it is necessary to tie them up to keep them from detaching.
So if your knot-tying skills are no good, this will not be easy
(Usually, fishing lines are used, as they are difficult to notice).
Pruning
Now for the maintenance part, tasks that you will need to perform religiously to keep your plants healthy.
First we have pruning. Why is pruning necessary?
-
To remove dead or bad leaves.
- To shape your plants.
- To encourage your plants to grow
This should not be a difficult task, unless you did not heed my advice
and gotten yourself plants that keep growing too tall for your tank.
Water Column Fertilizer
Now, fertilizing through the water column is not as straightforward as
it seems. In fact, it is the most important factor in keeping a planted
aquarium beautiful, because an improper amount of fertilizer will
quickly cause an algae outbreak.
In another part of this series, I hope to explain in detail what causes
algae. But in short, algae blooms when there are excess nutrients in
the water for them to make use of. So dosing your fertilizers in the
right amount, and in a timely fashion, is very crucial.
"...all that hard work will soon
pay off, when you sit down, relax, and enjoy the mesmerizing view of
your fishes swimming happily among the plants."
Carbon Dioxide
Finally, we have the carbon dioxide to take care of. There are two
methods of introducing carbon dioxide into your planted aquarium:
- Natural carbon dioxide produced by fermentation.
- Carbon dioxide stored in pressurized cylinders.
The latter costs much more when you first purchase the whole setup. But
the cost of refilling is actually quite low, and you will only need to
do so every few months. Furthermore, if you purchase one that comes
with a solenoid regulator, you can practically leave the system alone
till your next refill (no need to fiddle with the knob to shut it at
night).
As for the former, its advantage is its low-cost. But every few weeks,
you have to refill it with a fresh mixture. This may not be a lot of
effort, but when you already have pruning, fertilizer-dosing,
water-changing, and fish-feeding to do, the above-described cylinder
suddenly looks very attractive!
Conclusion
Now that you’ve gotten an idea of what kind of additional efforts you
need to put in, do you still want to have a planted aquarium? Three
cheers for you if you answered YES! For all that hard work will soon
pay off, when you sit down, relax, and enjoy the mesmerizing view of
your fishes swimming happily among the plants. And just imagine all the
praises you will get when your guests visit you. It’s all worth it!
Now, take a break, drink some coffee, and continue with Starting a Planted Aquarium: Part II - The Costs
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