Basic Aquarium Plant Care

Most people who purchase an aquarium do so for it’s visual appeal. People are known to spend more money on decorating their tanks than the fish and tank itself. It’s a good idea when purchasing these decorative pieces that you consider buying pieces that are both gratifying to the eye, but also useful tools for the balance and maintenance of your tank.

Before resorting to plastic green pieces stuck into the gravel, consider using live plants. Aquatic plants are functional in many ways. Most importantly, the live plants will add oxygen to the water and will help to maintain the water chemistry. They also serve as a place where beneficial bacteria can colonize. This bacteria is essential to have and helps in breaking down waste products in the tank. Overall, the use of live plants aids keeping your aquarium clean and healthy while adding a perfect visual effect.

Once the decision to use live plants is made, you must familiarize yourself with how to grow and care for these plants. The key to growing healthy live plants is the balance between lighting and nutrients within the tank. It is best to use more lighting than what is included with standard hoods. The one bulb that comes with a hood is not enough to promote healthy plant growth. When adding extra lighting, be sure to compensate that with a nutrient supplement to stimulate plant growth and at the same time reduce the chance of algae build up. Algae eating fish will make a great addition. They will keep algae levels low and will not damage the live plants.

The decision to use live plants should be a primary one and steps need to be taken to prepare the tank for later use. It is suggested to add all your plants in the beginning and let them become established. By doing this, you will eliminate the chances algae utilizing the nutrients added and the extra lighting. Quick growing plants are recommended as well as some floating plants. Certain types of fish, such as a catfish, like to seek cover from direct light. The floating plants will provide this escape for the fish and will add a pleasing effect to the design and decoration of the aquarium.

Once your plants are established and growing well, add the fish of your choice and enjoy a beautiful tank. While keeping live plants in the tank, it is important to care for them as you would any other plant. Always remove decaying leaves as they tend to drain the nutrients out of the healthy parts of the plant. Dying roots will rot beneath the gravel. Be sure to remove any part of the plant that is dying or appears diseased. Many plants that are seeded into the gravel will reproduce. The new plant growth can be removed and planted in another part of the aquarium. If you are using a live plant that is primarily a stem plant, try to remove the lower leaves. These low leaves tend to not get the amount of light needed to remain healthy.

The use of live plants will definitely help in creating a masterpiece aquarium that is pleasing to the eye and is a happy and healthy environment for your fish. Always remember to clean your aquarium on a regular basis and inspect plants weekly for decay. Scheduled maintenance is the key to keeping a beautiful and healthy aquarium.

Making Your Home Saltwater Aquarium Picture Perfect

Imagine the joys of being able to take the picturesque beauty of the Baltimore National Aquarium and bring it into your home. Unless you are a true enthusiast of the aquatic world you probably do not have the resources required to install a twenty foot tropical fish tank in your walls or an open shark tank in your living room (and really, why would you want to?) but with some creative aquascaping you can make your home saltwater aquarium every bit as picture perfect as the ones designed by the professionals in Baltimore.

When selecting decorations for your home aquarium you will be given an option of decorating with either plastic accoutrements or bringing nature into your home by installing live plants and other organisms in your aquarium. The choice is certainly yours; however, bear in mind that the fish you will be installing in your tank undoubtedly would be using the types of things that you would consider decorations for shelter when out in the wild. Therefore, it is in the best interests of your fish (and your aesthetic senses) to go the natural route.

Live rock is an invaluable addition to any saltwater aquarium, serving not only as an aesthetically pleasing ornamentation but as a vital part of the aquarium’s ecosystem. Live rock is rock that is covered with both micro- and macroorganisms which will help filter the waste products out of the water, making it a safe habitat for its aquatic inhabitants. Driftwood and sand are also essential elements of a saltwater fish’s natural habitat and provide a beautiful backdrop to showcase the glorious beauty of your saltwater fish.

Live plants are also a beautiful, functional addition to your saltwater aquarium, as they serve to help oxygenate the tank and provide the fish with a spot to inhabit and, if you are incredibly lucky, lay their eggs. There are a variety of choices for you to choose from, and it is very helpful to choose the breeds of fish which you wish to place in your tank prior to making a decision. They will thrive best with the same types of vegetation which would be present in their environment had they been allowed to stay in the wild rather than coming to grace your home aquarium. It may be necessary to make some special concessions in order to assure the well being of your saltwater plants. Plants need carbon dioxide and light to perform their photosynthesis process, so your tank is going to need to be well lit at least part of the day and may require the addition of an artificial carbon dioxide producer. The sand, silt or gravel which you choose to cover the bottom of your aquarium with must be of an adequate depth to allow the roots of the plant to take hold; around 8 cm is generally adequate, although this may vary from plant to plant. These adjustments may seem like a great deal of extra work but will be well worth the end results.

The beauty of a well decorated saltwater aquarium is incomparable, and will bring pleasure to its owners for years to come. For further assistance in selecting tank accessories that are both beautiful and functional consult with your local vendor of tropical fish.