Genre: Instruction

More information on a DIY CO2 set-up What about plant fertiler ? Try the PMDD article Question - Why do most of my plants die in around a months time ? Why do I have to keep buying some more ?!! Is it plastic fantastic for the rest of my life ? Hey , calm down , you can keep some of your plants alive even though your aquarium is low-tech . Yeah , certainly some can fail , and make no mistake , plenty of mine have . I 'm not saying that unless you have a degree in botany you will be successful , but it 's a whole lot helpful if you have some knowledge about aquatic plants . Plants need these basic few things : A good substrate ( Substrate ? You what ? ) : To start off with , you 've gone and bought some nice , coarse , gravel - no wonder your plants have problems rooting . A good substrate is really needed , and 2-3 mm , low-calcium beach gravel available from your aquatic shop will be a good start . Using this sort of substrate , allows the roots to penetrate easily , and anchors the plant - a big no-no to coarse gravel , as the plants will just give up and go home . Well , they 'll die to be precise . Other types of substrate are : Laterite : Iron-rich clays , in a reddish colour , you can buy some in your local pet shop . Why bother ? You do n't have to , but this will add some iron into the substrate . You can get it in a pellet form , where you just mix it with your normal gravel , and then add a 100 % gravel top layer . The roots can go directly into the substrate . By doing this , you do n't have to use so much fertiliser in the water column , minimise the risk of algae breakouts . And does n ' t everyone just love an algae breakout ? Sand : Using sand as a 100 % substrate can be detrimental to the plants , as it can compact quite tightly , and therefore roots can rot away in dead patches . Nutrients : A good mixture is needed if the plants are to thrive . Iron is one of the important elements , for the green pigment of plants ( chlorophyll ) . Other elements include : Manganese , Zinc , Magnesium , Copper , Boron , Potassium , Sulfur , Phosphorous , Calcium , Nitrogen . No mean list there - You may thinking , " what am I meant to do ? Go and buy a bloody laboratory to check the amount of nutrients in my water !! " No , its not realistic is it . Many of those nutrients will be free in your tap water , and you can buy a liquid fertiliser , or 2 , to make sure you are adding enough . Plants will also use the Nitrates in your aquarium , which is no bad thing at all . You have got to try to balance the fertiliser with the plants , and it 's a bit of a tricky old situation . If you go and drown your aquarium with fertiliser , algae can come a ' calling . For instance , Iron content does n ' t need to be anymore than 1ppm . Now what about Photosynthesis - light / CO2 ? Do I need it in a aquarium ? Of course you do !! Every plant needs this little bit of magic . And how much CO2 will be needed then ? And light ? Now its 's getting a bit trickier , you start delving into the more advanced side of the hobby . The fish in your aquarium will give off CO2 ( respiration ) , but it wo n ' t be that much . If you are really going for a heavily planted tank with some tough plants , You could add some CO2 , and place some extra bulbs in your tank . And how much CO2 would be needed for the average plant ? 15 - 30 ppm wo n ' t go too far off . A bit different from iron 1ppm hey !! And you could use a CO2 injection system . No , n o , do n't all run away , if you know what you are doing , you wont kill all of your fish in one fell swoop . I 'm not going to try explaining everything on this page , as this can be quite complex . One thing is certain - do n't go out and buy 100 lamps if you have no CO2 system , as Photosynthesis will only occur if there is a balance between light / CO2 . Water conditions : Is every plant a hardy one ? Unfortunately , no . Some need quite specific conditions - say , the " Isoetes Setacea " , needs these properties for it to thrive : KH : 2-5 , pH : 5 . 5-6 , and needs a lot of bright light . Now if I had a tank with the specs , let us say - about 8KH ; pH 7.5 , and one bulb , theres not much chance of me keeping this plant alive for a very long time , no matter how much fertiliser , or good substrate I have . Although plants will use Nitrates as a source of food , and your tank has levels of 20-30ppm or over , some plants can be affected badly . Only 20-30ppm ? That 's not right surely ? I hear what you say , but if you look around for pics for heavily planted tanks , often there will be a smaller population of fish compared to the normal stocking level . Here 's some info on some tough , low light plants , that anyone should be able to keep alive : Java Fern ( Microsorium pteropus ) : PH : 5.5 - 7.5 Temp : 20 - 25C KH : 2 - 12 Java Fern is very popular , you 'll probably have bought some of this already . In the natural enviroment , it creeps over logs and rockwork , attaching itself by roots . Its often used to decorate bogword , where the Rhizomes can be secured by wire or a nylon thread , until they become firmly attached . It can grow in subdued light Hygrophillia polsperma : Substrate : Plain washed gravel PH : 6.5 - 7.8 Temp : 15 - 30C KH : 2 - 15 Specs look good eh ? And it 's a very attractive plant as well . It grows rapidly in a range of water conditions , perfect to start off your aquarium with . It would like quite a bit of bright light , but you can get by with 1.5 Watts per Gallon . When it actually hits the surface of the water , it will start to run horizontally , and runners will pop out . You could cut the tops and re-plant it , it helps to rejuvinate it . Vallisneria spiralis : Substrate : Plain washed gravel PH : 6.5 - 7.5 Temp : 15 - 30C KH : 5 - 12 This is a linear , grasslike plant , perfect for a backgroud aquarium . They can grow quite rapidly , and could reach up to 60cm . Its another plant that would do well in bright light , but will tolerant light shade . It can be quite indifferent to water quality in your aquarium - buy it !!