Plants in an aquarium perform several important functions. First, they oxygenate the water and absorb carbon dioxide. And secondly, underwater vegetation “takes” nitrates harmful to fish for their own nutrition. And, of course, a landscaped aquarium looks very impressive and can become a real decoration of the interior.
Choosing the most suitable varieties
Of course, many beginners would like to learn how to plant plants in an aquarium correctly. But before embarking on such a procedure, of course, one should take care of choosing, in fact, the representatives of the underwater flora themselves.
There are many types of aquarium plants. Some of them are unpretentious, others require careful and constant care. In any case, when choosing plants for your home decorative underwater corner, be sure to consider the following factors:
- water hardness;
- aquarium capacity;
- water temperature.
Before you go to the store for plants, of course, you need to decide what the design of the aquarium will be. There are many ways to design containers with fish. But in most cases, aquariums are decorated in accordance with the following rules:
- high plants are planted near the back wall;
- middle-length flora are distributed in the center of the aquarium;
- very small plants can be planted throughout the aquarium, including in the foreground.
Pick up time
Many novice fish lovers are often interested, of course, when plants can be planted after starting an aquarium. There are no special rules for this. Unlike fish, underwater plants are not afraid of ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates. So you can even plant them simultaneously with the launch. It will not cause any harm to the green underwater "inhabitants".
There are therefore no restrictions on when to plant plants in a new aquarium. The only thing is that water must be defended for a day before planting representatives of the flora. Chlorine and other reagents used in cities to disinfect it can still harm plants.
Water characteristics
The most suitable for most types of aquarium plants is soft water. In a tough environment, representatives of the flora develop, unfortunately, not too well. The owner of such an aquarium will therefore have to approach the choice of green spaces with maximumresponsibility.
The answer to the question of what plants can be planted in a hard water aquarium is, for example:
- anubias;
- cryptocorynes;
- dwarf saggitaria;
- lemons.
In soft water, you can successfully grow almost any kind of underwater plants.
Choice depending on the volume of the aquarium
Dimensions of underwater plants may vary. Therefore, among other things, they should be chosen taking into account the depth of the aquarium. For large containers, of course, almost any representatives of the underwater flora are suitable. For an aquarium of 15-50 liters, it is worth picking up not particularly tall, slowly developing plants. These can be, for example:
- dwarf barterie;
- Caroline bacopa;
- Cryptocoryne Beckett, etc.
Growing temperature
Most aquarium plants prefer, of course, warm water. In a tropical heated aquarium, for example, almost any representative of the flora will feel good. For cold water, plants should be selected individually.
In such conditions, they will develop well, for example:
- hornwort;
- cladophora;
- fontinalis moss;
- Vallisneria.
Such plants are able to withstand a drop in water temperature to 16-18 °C.
Where to start: disinfection
How to plant plants in an aquarium correctly, consider below. First, let'swe will also deal with how to prepare green products purchased at a pet store. In no case should plants that have just been bought into the aquarium be planted immediately. This can lead to the spread of infection among the fish. Before planting, purchased plants must:
- remove snail eggs, if available;
- disinfect thoroughly.
Also, all damaged and rotten parts should be removed from the acquired representatives of the flora. Treatment of a plant before planting in an aquarium can be done:
- by soaking for 20 minutes. in a weak (pink) solution of potassium permanganate;
- by washing the stems, leaves and roots with a solution of hydrogen peroxide (1 tsp per glass of water).
Growth Stimulation
Plants treated with potassium permanganate or peroxide should be thoroughly rinsed with warm clean water. Further, in the acquired representatives of the underwater flora, the roots should be slightly shortened. This in the future will become an incentive for their active development. At the final stage of preparation, the plants are lowered into some kind of container with water and transferred closer to the aquarium.
What should the soil be like
Actually, the planting of aquarium plants in the aquarium itself is carried out according to a simple technology. But growing underwater flora at home, of course, is necessary on the “right” soil. The quality of the substrate in this case is simply of great importance. In order to get a beautiful aquarium in the future, the choice of soil must be approached with all responsibility. The purchased substrate must contain all the microelements necessary for the purchased plants. In any case, the soil must be present without fail:
- calcium;
- magnesium;
- iron;
- phosphorus.
The thickness of the soil layer for successful plant growth should ideally be 10 cm. But in a small aquarium, you can, of course, lay not too much substrate. In any case, the depth of the soil, even in a small container, should not be less than 3 cm.
Most suitable for aquarium plants, of course, is a special purchased substrate. However, you can buy such soil, unfortunately, in pet stores far from all cities. In the event that it is not possible to buy a substrate saturated with microelements, ordinary steamed and washed river pebbles can be laid on the bottom of the aquarium. This soil is very inexpensive and is sold in almost any pet store.
When using such a substrate, however, it is better to plant the plants in plastic cups or special pots filled with ordinary garden soil. Such containers are subsequently simply dug into the pebbles for disguise.
How to properly plant plants in an aquarium: lighting
Any underwater representatives of the flora have one feature: they develop very poorly in the dark. Therefore, the owner of the aquarium will have to purchase, among other things, powerful enough lamps to illuminate it. The most suitable variety for growing plants like thisequipment are T5 blue and red phytolamps.
Planting plants in an aquarium in pots
After the green spaces are prepared and disinfected, you can actually start moving them to a permanent place. Of course, you need to perform this procedure correctly. So, let's see how to plant plants in an aquarium. When using cups or pots, this operation will look something like this:
- planting container is rinsed with warm water;
- a little garden soil is poured into the bottom of the pot;
- plant roots are placed in a glass and straightened;
- tank is about a third filled with garden soil;
- a layer of river pebbles is laid on top of the ground and compacted.
At the final stage, the pot is installed in the aquarium in the right place and dug into the ground. Pebbles laid on top will prevent garden soil from washing out and polluting the water in the aquarium.
How to plant in the ground
Using cups allows you to grow he althy and beautiful plants in your aquarium. But the best result can be achieved, of course, by using special soil for green spaces. In this case, a substrate of a special composition is usually poured onto the bottom of the aquarium. Then, in order to avoid erosion, it is covered on top with a layer of pebbles or sand. After that, some water is poured into the aquarium and, in fact, they begin to plant plants.
Perform this procedure in compliance withfollowing recommendations:
- for plants with vertical roots dig a deep hole, with horizontal roots - a long groove;
- plants that can get nutrients from water are planted without roots, after removing the lower leaves.
Fit density: expert advice
Place plants in the aquarium, of course, also need to be correct. The planting density of such representatives of the flora depends primarily on their variety. Between lush plants, experienced aquarists are advised to leave more space. Small representatives of the flora are allowed to be placed more often. Creeping plants are planted several at a time in one hole. Simply put, when planting, the aquarist should, among other things, try to make sure that the plants do not shade each other during the development process.
What to fertilize
How to properly plant aquarium plants in the aquarium? The answer to this question is thus not too complicated. But do you need to fertilize green spaces immediately after they are in the container?
Like any other plants, underwater, of course, should be fed from time to time. It is best to use purchased formulations from a pet store for this. But if you wish, you can fertilize the plants and, for example, with clay - ordinary red or blue. The use of such top dressing in most cases leads to the rapid growth of underwater flora. The fact is that clay contains almost all the microelements necessary for plants. Among other things, such top dressing is in no wayharms most species of fish.
When planting plants in cups or a substrate, clay, as well as purchased fertilizers, can not be used at first. Feeding representatives of the underwater flora immediately after they are in the aquarium is only worth it if they are planted directly in the pebbles.
Clay before using as a fertilizer just needs to be crushed into powder. Next, it should be moistened with a small amount of water and rolled into small balls from it. The feed obtained in this way can be stored in any convenient place and used as needed. To fertilize plants, clay balls are placed under their roots. Purchased dressings are used according to the instructions from the manufacturer.
Plant care: is CO2 needed?
So we figured out how to properly plant plants in an aquarium. But what can be done to ensure that representatives of the underwater flora subsequently develop as best as possible? As you know, any plants in the process of photosynthesis absorb oxygen and release carbon dioxide. Underwater flora is no exception in this regard.
In most cases, aquariums are purchased, of course, for keeping fish. Plants in this case play only the role of a pleasant addition. But sometimes in the apartments you can see the so-called herbalists. In such aquariums, the emphasis is on the underwater flora. The owners of such containers grow original, difficult-to-care plants, carefully select the lighting power and monitor the water parameters. ATaquariums of this type, among other things, carbon dioxide can also be supplied. This technique allows you to get unusually lush, brightly colored, completely he althy plants.
Served CO2 Usually, of course, mostly only in herbalists. But if you wish, you can try to use this gas when growing plants in an ordinary aquarium. However, in this case, it is worth being, of course, still as careful as possible. After all, fish, unlike plants, do not need carbon dioxide at all, but oxygen.
