I want to start keeping live plants in my aquariums...what do I need to know?

Question

I've been keeping aquariums since I was a wee lad but I never got the drive to take live plants for a spin...I've done very little research to this point...I know they need a light that mimics real sunlight opr sunlight itself...but thats about it. The part that terrifies me the most is...how in gods name do you clean the gravel when you have live pants growing in it? I'm very used to my cleaning routine of removing everything from the tank (just the decorations), cleaning, and putting it all back in. What else do I need to know? What are some of the pros and cons of live plants? Will they help or hurt breeding (chiclids)? Any advice will be greatly appreciated :)

Answer 1

You're right about planted aquaria being more difficult to clean because of the potential to damage of the plan'ts roots by traditional cleaning methods (gravel vacuum).

It's handy to have animals that can help out with this, like corydoras catfish, kuhli loaches and particularly Malaysian trumpet snails. They can get between plants and into gravel around the roots where a siphon can't without risking any damage.

The biggest pro to live plants is that they will help remove nitrates and phosphates from the tank (competing with algae for them), so your tank appears cleaner. They also provide cover for the fish (especially fry), reduce the light for species that don't like it brightly lit (black ghost knife), and break up sightlines for territorial fish.

It may mean that you'll need stronger lighting (this will depend largely on the plant species chosen). Plants in general aren't a good mix with most cichlids - cichlids like to "redecorate" and will dig the plants up, or even eat them. You can try planting in pots and covering the bases with larger stone or driftwood to help keep them where they belong, but this doesn't always work.

If you really want a spectacular planted tank, you almost need to go with a CO2 injection system. These can be built yourself from some airline tubing and soda bottles. All you need to supply in addition to the equipment above are yeast, sugar, and water, plus a valve to control the rate of injection: http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

Also see the planted aquarium articles listed on this website: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/

Answer 2

Basics:
1. Lights: 3 watts per gallon and above for high light loving plants, atleast 1.5 watts for low light loving plants. They should be around the 6,500 spectrum. If you expose your aquarium to real sunlight, you will have a spectacular Algae collection :) and that is bad because they will outcompete your plants for natural resources.
But the higher the light, the more essential the CO2.

2. Substrate: Plants need something to grow in. The gravel etc used are not the best thing. I use eco-complete and I have been very happy with it as it doesn't crush the roots of delicate plants. Some people use heating coils to keep the soil warm, I don't.

3. CO2: This is actually not that difficult. You can make a DIY kit with yeast and sugar quite easily, and it works well for small tanks. If you have a very large tank you may want to consider a DIY compressed CO2 set up. Discussing this will take pages, so here is a link that will help.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/2637/DIY_CO2.html

Remember, a lot of plants will grow without CO2, but they won't be as lush.

4. Stocking: Some plants are just hardier and I recommend them highly as beginner plants (some swords, anubias) Once you have them thriving, you can always return the fast growing, but boring plants for credit at your local fish store and get the gorgeous ones. Or you can auction your plants at aquabid.com. Bigger plants equal bigger money.

5. I use ferts especially iron because I have plants that require them. It depends on your selection of course. Fishfood provides phosphate, and fish provide some um...fertilizer. It is always good to add a bit.

Pros and Cons

Pros: You can cycle with just plants. Inspite of CO2 addition, my dissolved oxygen levels are off the charts because of plants and that is doing wonders for my fish (greater color and vigor). Even the "ugliest" of plants swaying in an aquarium look pretty. They control Ammonia and nitrites. They provide shade and hiding places for fish. I did it first for the visual effect, but my fish ended up enjoying it a lot more than I did. Water parameters have always remained more stable in terms of ammonia, nitrates and nitrites. That is a great thing.
Cons: They are messy. You need to maintain every week - pruning, cleaning dead leaves. I found that the "python" hose did help clean up a lot of the mulm (yukky stuff at the bottom of the tank) without dragging up the substrate if I kept it a few inches above. Avoid overfeeding your fish, keep a few bottom feeders and you are set.

Does it help cichlids? Some cichlids, esp the south Americans like plants. These fish feel more secure in their environment, less stressed and more eager to breed. If you are speaking of the African Cichlids, they will just uproot your plants, and maybe eat them :)

Answer 3

Aquatic plants are tricky to keep. As you know, plants need light. Some more, some less. Some plants will do fine under standard lighting that comes with the aquarium. Others will need lighting that cost hundreds (some even thousands) of dollars, just to keep the plants alive.

Now plants also need more than just light. Some need nutrition to help them stay alive. Most common are Nitrates, Potassium, and Iron. Some plants require more, others less.

Also a possible additive is CO2 (carbon dioxide). This will help plants grow, and some plants even NEED it to live. CO2 can a tricky, and if not maintain properly, can kill your fish, and even your plants. A safe way to add CO2 is through a DIY CO2 system. These are pretty cheap, easy to use, pretty safe for your aquarium, and much easier to maintain. This method involves a 2 litre bottle and yeast (the yeast ferments and creates CO2). Just search for this method, there are plenty of sites with the info.

Now as for your cichlids, this could possible pose a problem. If they are african cichlids, you'll have trouble growing plants as african cichlids are primarily herbavores and will eat the plants (its actually good for them). If they are large south american cichlids, then they will most likely dig them up and tear them apart. If they are dwarf cichlids, then you'll probably be fine.

As for cleaning, just do partial water changes with a gravel vac in spots you can get to. Plants will, to a degree, help to keep the water a clean. You still need to do 10 to 25% water changes regularly (weekly to monthly), but comepletly emptying your aquarium out isn't the best way to do it, especially with plants.

Good luck!!

Answer 4

Holy smokes, a intense-high quality day for misreading and caps lock, eh? probable the main needed area of keeping vegetation is the lighting fixtures. They do perfect decrease than fluorescent. something and that they only turn to mush and vanish. the 2d element to maintain an eye fixed out for is species and shade. something with reds on it is going to be greater well-off than a good green plant. some good hardy vegetation that i've got no longer been waiting to kill are Anubis, java moss, and java fern. the keep can probable additionally provide you some techniques on what to do on your tank so a techniques as vegetation pass. in simple terms pay attention of PetCo, they decide for to adhere tropical domicile vegetation decrease than water and contact then aquatic vegetation. a keep that makes a speciality of fish will probable be greater efficient and ordinary with you. once you do get your vegetation, rinse them off. vegetation are aweful approximately carry snails, snail eggs, and that i had an infestation of scuds from stay vegetation. That advance right into a nightmare. Snail eggs look like jelly sacks with little sparkling circles in them. you could scratch them off with your nail and ditch them interior the rubbish. in case you're making plans on going forward and keeping your zebras, i could probable in simple terms upload as much as six of the glofish for now and notice how your tank does. upload them first so your water gets a risk to stability out beforehand you upload the greater well-off cories and pleco. Cories won't harm your vegetation. they are backside feeders and could %. in the process the gravel. they gained't tear stuff up like different fish. Pandas are additionally a number of the smaller of the cory species, i do no longer think of you will could hardship lots with them approximately something. The pleco could probable like driftwood in case you wanted to function a number of that on your tank. I heard they like chewing on it. i could additionally upload the pleco final so which you have time for the tank to advance into widespread, the water to age, and on your vegetation to advance as quickly as you have desperate on them. Algae will little doubt strengthen in this time too, so as that'll provide it some thing to pass after whilst that's extra. and don't ignore to function fish slowly. 2-3 a week so the water can alter and the micro organism colonies advance to fulfill the waste output. Too many too rapid and you have hassle. perfect of luck!