Aquascaping with live plants has many benefits. Live plants are not only more appealing in your aquarium, but can help offer a healthier environment. Live tropical plants produce oxygen (O2).

To do this, they absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), and ammonia (NH3), which can be harmful to your fish. Imagine a tropical river in Southeast Asia. The water is flowing, fish are swimming, and plants are growing. With live plants, you are trying to create that same environment. By introducing live plants, you’re creating that same ecosystem in your aquarium, that works in nature.  Nttrbx does an excellent job of this as you can see in the fully planted aquarium above.

Now, visualize your aquarium with nothing but fish in it. It’s pretty bare isn’t it? Adding live plants will provide security and shelter to the inhabitants of your fish tank. Your fish will become less stressful, knowing they have a secure environment around them. Live plants also improve water quality. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t continue your routine water changes! It does mean though, that your fish tank’s water should stay cleaner. Live plants will compete with algae for food and nutrients. Your goal is to have a planted tank in which your live plants are the winners in the fight for food.  This means you’ll be cleaning a lot less algae off of your tank! Clay mask chose to go with a subtle approach in the picture of live aquarium plants to the right.

To have a successful aquarium you’ll need to do a little research on which plants will fit best, and combine well with your fish. Some plants can be harmful to certain fish, so take a quick peek at their descriptions before stocking your tank. We’ve provided most of the basic aquarium plants for sale or bid here, to get you going, or keep your fish tank looking great.

Here are some tips to use when stocking your aquarium with live plants.

Try not to line your plants in any specific order. While you want to have most of your tall plants in back, a few in the mid-ground will make it more natural looking.

To create a sense of depth, place a few shorter plants in the background.

Use different colors. The hint of red on the leaves of the Ludwigia, or the shades of Violet on the Rotala, mix well with the green colors of many other plants.

Add a variety of different species. This is another way to make your tank look more natural.

Consider using a centerpiece plant. Amazon sword plants, or Thai onions are generally larger and taller than most other species. You could use one of these as a focal point, and surround it with other varieties. Remember, don’t place your centerpiece tank in the center of the tank. Make it look natural, by placing it off center.

Other aspects to consider, which help to keep your planted tank healthy include the following:

• Use enough lighting to keep your plants growing, but your algae under control. Some plants need more light than others.
• Keep the temperature of your aquarium between 74 and 88°.
• Continue with regular water changes.
• Include a proper substrate below your gravel will help with a plants root growth.
• Consider adding carbon dioxide CO2. Low levels will help your plants, and not harm your fish.
• Keep your pH levels between 6.5 and 7.5.

After you’ve done some preparing and thinking about which live plants you want to use, have fun! We have a wide variety of life fish tank plants to choose from. Try adding some of the Grass, or Cabomba plants in the background. Mix it up with Moneywort, Sword plants, Ludwigia, or Hornwort in the middle, and Sagittaria or banana plants placed around the front.

Most fish tanks come with adequate lighting for many aquarium plants. Some plants however, need a higher spectrum of lighting than the stock lighting can provide. You should consult the information for each specific plant you put into your tank to determine if you have the proper lighting needed.

Remember to maintain the lights in your fish tank as well. Periodically clean the tubes with a damp paper towel, or soft cloth. Make sure you do this when the lights are cool. Clean any debris off of enclosures that may surround your lighting system. Be sure to keep any electrical cords away from water whenever you’re setting up or maintaining the lights of your aquarium.

Avoid setting your fish tank in naturally sunny spots, as this tends to promote algae growth. It’s easier maintaining the time your lights are on in the fish tank, which gives your plants good growth, without creating excessive algae.

Get yourself an automatic timer to run your aquarium’s lighting system. This way you won’t have to worry about turning lights on and off. You’re aquarium will run on an even schedule. Your fish will be happy, and so will the live plants in your aquarium.

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Cleaning plastic aquarium plants is quite simple. Remove the artificial plants from your fish tank, and run warm to hot water over them. If the plastic has too much algae stuck to it, take an old toothbrush, and scrub them thoroughly with it. This should clean your plastic aquarium plants right up!

The first way to feed your aquatic plants is by using a liquid fertilizer. Liquid plant foods contain trace elements and essential nutrients necessary to keep your plants thriving. Some liquid fertilizers include iron, which your plants need. An indication of lack of iron occurs when your plant leaves start turning yellow. Flourish liquid fertilizer by Seachem Laboratories is a popular choice by many planted tank owners. It’s advisable to add liquid fertilizer to your tank during your routine water changes, but remember to follow the directions.

A second way to feed your life freshwater plants, is by giving them fertilizer tablets. These are designed to be inserted into the gravel of the freshwater planted aquarium. Like liquid fertilizer, they provide the important nutrients that many of your plants need. Tablets should be replaced every three to four months.

Another way to feed your live fish tank plants, is by in initially laying a substrate down beneath the gravel in your aquarium. If you’re planning on having healthy plants, you really must use a nutrient rich substrate. You can’t forget the roots of your plants. Placing a mineral rich layer of substrate on the bottom of your aquarium, and a layer of decorative gravel on top, will ensure that your plants’ roots are also fed.

Feed your plants as needed and you’ll have a planted tank that both you and your fish will enjoy!

Adding carbon dioxide to your fish tank produces some highly noticeable effects immediately. It’s like giving them a boost of energy, which helps them grow.

Depending on your goals for the planted tank, there are many carbon dioxide systems choose from. If you’re just starting out you could make a do-it-yourself system, or buy a fairly inexpensive one. Serious growers of live aquarium plants could spend up to $150 or more for a powered system. Higher-end systems include a CO2 tank, dual gauge CO2 regulator, needle valve, silicone air line tubing, and the CO2 reactor. Here’s an example of a higher end set up.

The optimum level of CO2 in your aquarium should be between 5 to 15ppm (parts per million). You can best determine this with a CO2 testing kit. Too much carbon dioxide in the tank could be harmful to your fish since they intake oxygen like humans.

So if you want to give those aquatic plants of yours that extra boost of growth, consider adding carbon dioxide to your aquarium. Just be warned, you may be doing a lot more clipping soon!

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