| Stemmed plants: These can have several leaves, | | | | light. Fitting reflectors to the lamps helps but over 18" |
| pairs of leaves or single, alternate leaves growing | | | | deep really needs mercury vapour lamps. These are |
| along a stem. They are probably the easiest plants to | | | | cheaper than the metal halides used for marines but |
| grow and can be large and fast growing. Leaf nodes, | | | | slightly more expensive initially than florescents. They |
| where the leaf joins the stem, can produce leaves, | | | | are also very good over open topped tanks. With an |
| roots or new shoots. Simply snap the stem, plant it | | | | open top you can encourage many plants to grow up |
| with at least one node buried and you have a new | | | | out of the water where some of them will flower, |
| plant. The original plant will then grow a new shoot, | | | | adding another dimension to your aquarium. |
| or shoots, from the top node on the remaining stem. | | | | Co2 is plant food. Plants combine CO2 with other |
| One of the commonest, Cabomba can reach 6m. in | | | | nutrients in the water to produce sugars and tissues. |
| length if it has the space and can grow visibly in a | | | | A by-product of this photosynthesis is oxygen. The |
| day. | | | | oxygen produced in a planted aquarium is more than |
| Rosette plants: These plants grow from a crown in | | | | sufficient for the fish in the tank. There are a number |
| or around the gravel bed. Each leaf grows directly | | | | of commercial CO2 units available which dissolve the |
| from this crown. There are several types of rosette | | | | gas in the aquarium water. The amount of CO2 |
| plants. These include Vallis, a grass like plant, Amazon | | | | required varies according to the plant demand and |
| swords, Cryptocorynes, Aponatogens and Nympheas | | | | the hardness of the water. Soft water needs much |
| or lilies. Vallis, swords and crypts spread by throwing | | | | less than hard. In very soft water areas, like here in |
| off runners with young plants growing along them. | | | | Aberdeen, I get reasonable plant growth with no |
| When these plants reach a big enough size they can | | | | additional CO2. Even so the addition of CO2 turns the |
| be separated from the 'mother' plant. Vallis and | | | | plant growth from reasonable to spectacular. |
| swords (echinodorus) need to be planted with the | | | | Filtration for a planted tank should be slower than for |
| crown above the gravel surface; crypts need to | | | | a normal tank, no more than 1-1.5 times the tank |
| have the crown buried. Aponatogens and nympheas | | | | volume/hour. External or internal power filters are |
| grow from tubers. The plant can be removed from | | | | good. I like to use a larger filter with the return |
| the tuber and a new plant will grow again. Some of | | | | slowed down. CO2 is easily bubbled off in gas |
| these plants look good as individual specimen plants | | | | exchange at the surface so set the filter return |
| standing out against a background of stemmed | | | | about 4" below the surface. Air driven filters or |
| plants. Contrast leaf shapes, sizes and/or colours. | | | | bubbles are not a good idea. |
| Mosses, ferns and runners: There are only a few | | | | Substrate/plant food. Laterite clay is a very useful |
| aquarium plants in this group but they are easily | | | | addition to the substrate as it feeds the roots of the |
| available, adaptable and useful. The commonest are | | | | plants. Use a fairly deep gravel bed, min.2", to allow |
| Java fern, Microsorium pterops and Java moss, | | | | for good root growth, particularly for plants like |
| Vesicularia dubyana. Another plant, which is often | | | | sword plants and crypts. 4-6" is nor too much for |
| featured by Takashi Amano in his tanks, is | | | | some of the larger specimens. Again there are |
| Glossostigma elantoides. This plant produces single | | | | several commercial substrates available. If you use |
| leaves along the length of the runner but with | | | | one then try to get one that has a whole system |
| enough light it will produce a thick carpet of cover | | | | built round it. Each manufacturer adds different trace |
| over the aquarium gravel. Java moss and java fern | | | | elements to their substrate and then balances this |
| can be grown on rocks or wood. Tie them on with | | | | with other nutrients in their liquid or tablet plant foods. |
| black cotton initially and they will soon attach | | | | If you try to mix and match you may find you are |
| themselves by their own roots. Java fern can be | | | | overdosing one element while starving plants of |
| grown on gravel provided only the roots are buried. | | | | another. Some of these systems are fairly expensive. |
| The rhizome or stem must be above the gravel | | | | While they do give good results it is worth shopping |
| surface. | | | | around. |
| Floating plants: There are a variety of floating plants | | | | Under gravel heating cables. These low power cables |
| available. They can be very useful as nitrate reducers. | | | | are used to encourage a very slow flow of water |
| They tend to be fast growing and can provide useful | | | | and nutrients around the plant roots. Many plants |
| shade for fish like Discus that do not appreciate | | | | enjoy having their feet warm. An additional benefit of |
| bright light. They also provide good nest building sites | | | | this slow circulation is that the gravel bed becomes a |
| for bubble nesters like Gouramis. Please, for your | | | | very efficient slow biological filter. Some |
| own sanity, avoid Duckweed. This is less a floating | | | | manufacturers make an external thermostat which |
| plant, more a floating plague. | | | | controls two heaters, one a cable heater and the |
| Light, CO2, filtration and other accessories: Sufficient | | | | other a water heater. This gives preference to the |
| light is an essential for good plant growth. I find that | | | | UG cable with the other heater as back up if it gets |
| one florescent tube the length of the tank for each | | | | really cold. I achieve the same effect with a heater |
| 6" of tank width is sufficient, i.e. two tubes for a 12" | | | | stat set at 75F and a UG cable controlled by an |
| wide tank, 3 for 18" etc. Deeper tanks require more | | | | external Stat set at 77F. |