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