Aquatic Plants

This section of the articles library aim to help those interested in planted aquariums, and also discus the pros and cons of plants in the aquarium. This section has two subcategories; the “Care” category contains more general information about plants and their maintenance, while the “Species profiles” is where you find detailed information regarding popular aquarium plant species. Please note that we also have a larger species database for plants, with basic information about more than 300 different aquatic plants. You will find this plant species database in the menu to the left.

Some fish species will require plants to do well, while others will harm the plants and are best kept in an unplanted aquarium or with artificial plants. With a number of fish species it doesn’t really matter and keeping plants is instead an aesthetical choice or a way of keeping the water quality up. In order to find out what is best for your particular species it is always a good idea to visit the articles library here at AC Tropical fish or look up your fish species in the species database.

A planted aquarium will usually require more light than a fish only aquarium, since plants depend on photosynthesis in order to produce their own energy. Some plants have developed in waters where light is scarce and will survive even in a poorly lightened aquarium, while other have extremely high demands and require the very strongest forms of aquarium lighting. Generally speaking, a planted aquarium with moderately demanding plant species will require twice as much light than a fish only aquarium. A commonly used rule of thumb is 20W for each square foot of tank surface area. Another guideline is 2W per gallon. In order to provide their plants with enough light, many aquarists use fluorescent lighting instead of ordinary aquarium lights. If you want to have a densely planted aquarium or keep very demanding plant species, metal halide lights or mercury vapour lights is an even better solution. These types of light are stronger and will penetrate the water better. If your aquarium is deeper than 24 inches, these forms of stronger light are almost always required. 

Your plants will also need nutrients and CO2 in order to live and thrive in the aquarium. Balancing light, CO2 and nutrients can be a complicated task at first, but you will soon get the hang of it. Nutrients are seldom a problem in the aquarium since nutrients will be present in the substrate and produced by the fishes. Some aquarists prefer to add extra nutrients to the aquarium, but this is a risky choice since excess nutrients can pollute the water. Before you add any extra nutrients to your planted aquarium you should ideally read more about it in order to provide your plants with exact amounts. You will find more information in the articles library. CO2 on the other hand is frequently added to heavily planted aquariums in order to promote plant growth. You can by a special CO2 injector or use the so called yeast method.