Planting your Tank

Why Have Plants?
Apart from their aesthetic appeal, plants serve a number of useful functions in the aquarium.

• They provide shelter and natural hiding places for the fish.

• They produce oxygen and use up carbon dioxide.

• They help to remove ammonium from the tank.

• They help to remove nitrate and phosphate, which would otherwise build up and encourage algal growth.

• They create a surface upon which beneficial microorganisms can attach.

• Some species produce substances that help to reduce numbers of harmful bacteria in the tank.

• The root systems of aquatic plants release small amounts of oxygen, thereby helping to avoid stagnation of the substrate.

There is a huge range of plants available for the tropical and coldwater aquarium, some of which are very easy to care for and others that take more work.

Preparing Your Tank For Plants
There are one or two things that you can do to make sure that your tank is suitable for encouraging healthy plant growth.The substrate should be slightly deeper than in a non-planted tank, in order to accommodate the root systems and any planting media.An ideal depth would be 5 – 7 cm (2 – 3 inches) of well-washed gravel.Avoid using very fine gravel or sand, as it tends to compact and create stagnant areas, reducing water circulation around plant roots. For optimising plant health and growth, a 2cm (3/4 inch) layer of TetraPlant CompleteSubstrate should be added beneath the gravel. This contains natural plant fertilisers that improve the quality of the substrate.This must be added when setting up the aquarium, before the main layer of gravel is added.

All plants require light as a source of energy and so it is important to provide them with sufficient amounts. Most people start with standard fluorescent tubes, which in most instances are sufficient to encourage good plant growth. Plants require light from the blue and red areas of the spectrum and so it is important to select a bulb that is specifically designed for encouraging plant growth.As a general rule of thumb, for most standard tanks each litre of water requires 0.5W of power. For example, a 60 litre aquarium would require a 30W fluorescent tube. Installing a light reflector into the lid of the tank can greatly increase the amount of light hitting the water.

Light tubes should be replaced approximately every 6 months, as over time the amount of light they emit drops, even though they still look bright.

What Do Plants Need?
In order to thrive, plants require a number of different elements to be available. Just like fish and other animals, they require oxygen in order to respire and release energy.A healthy tank with healthy fish should have sufficient oxygen for good plant growth. However, vigorous aeration is not necessarily a good thing in planted tanks as it drives off carbon dioxide, which plants also need.Therefore, wellplanted tanks should not be over-stocked with fish, as this increases the need for constant aeration.

Carbon Dioxide
Plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. This is the process by which they trap sunlight using the chlorophyll in their leaves, and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water to simple sugars. In most tanks, there will be sufficient carbon dioxide for limited plant growth, but for a really good display it is necessary to provide additional amounts. It is easy to add additional carbon dioxide to the aquarium with a TetraPlant CO2 Optimat.This consists of a carbon dioxide (CO2) canister along with a diffuser that sticks inside the aquarium. Simply fill the diffuser each day to ensure lush, healthy plant growth. Ideally, the CO2 level in the aquarium should be maintained between 5 and 15mg/l.The amount of carbon dioxide in the water is influenced by temperature,pH and carbonate hardness. The Tetratest Laborett test kit contains the necessary test kits and charts for determining carbon dioxide levels in your aquarium.These levels should be measured during the day when the plants are using up carbon dioxide, as at night they stop photosynthesising and therefore do not require it. In fact, it can be beneficial to aerate the aquarium gently at night using a TetraTec APS air pump. This is because the plants do not produce oxygen at night, but continue to consume it along with fish and filter bacteria. In heavily planted tanks, or those with a lot of fish, nightime aeration can prevent the oxygen level from falling too low.

Nitrates and Phosphates
Plants require a variety of other essential nutrients in order to thrive and grow well. Ammonium and nitrate are natural products of fish excretion and biological filtration, and are both utilised by plants. Ammonium tends to be scarce in mature tanks as it is rapidly broken down into nitrate. Nitrate is the end product of biological filtration and is therefore present in quite high quantities in tanks that are well stocked with fish. However, it also encourages the growth of unsightly algae and therefore it ideally needs to be presented in a form that makes it accessible to plants but that does not promote algal growth. Phosphate is also very important for plant growth and photosynthesis, although again it is important that it is in a form that does not encourage algae. TetraPlant PlantaMin is a liquid plant food that provides all the essential nutrients, without encouraging the growth of algae.

Micronutrients
There are a number of other elements that are important for plants, without which they will display poor growth and appearance. Iron is important for the synthesis of chlorophyll, the pigment that plants use to trap the energy in light.A deficiency of iron and other trace elements leads to a condition called chlorosis, causing leaves to turn yellow and brittle. Signs of deficiency will also occur if a number of other elements are not present in sufficient quantities, for example manganese, copper, zinc, molybdenum etc.

It is therefore essential to use a quality plant fertiliser that will supply the plants with everything that they need, without encouraging the growth of algae. TetraPlant PlantaMin contains all of the elements essential for healthy plant growth and it will not encourage the growth of algae. It is quickly and efficiently absorbed through roots and leaves for prolonged and healthy growth, and it encourages the production of rich and colourful leaves. It should be added after every partial water change or, alternatively, at monthly intervals. For 'marsh' plants, such as the popular Amazon Sword or Cryptocoryne species, it is important to add nutrients to the substrate from time to time.This is because they do not absorb nutrients across their leaves.TetraPlant Crypto tablets are ideal for doing this - you simply push them into the gravel around the base of the plants to keep them healthy.

Planting
Once you have obtained all of the necessary equipment and prepared the tank you can then set about buying your plants. It is important that you select plants that will not out-grow your tank and that will be happy in your water conditions. Often, they will be labelled with their potential size and temperature requirements.Traditionally, tall plants are used to create a backdrop to the tank whilst smaller ones are positioned in the foreground.You may wish to stick to this format or, alternatively, come up with your own planting arrangement.

New plants are usually transported in plastic carrier bags, which is fine provided that they do not dry out. If you have bought plants that are already in small baskets then these should be removed and the rock wool around the roots washed off. If necessary, you should cut the basket away in order to avoid damaging the roots.They are best washed in a bowl of water taken from your tank and at the same time they need to be checked for snail eggs.These look like small masses of jelly and need to be removed, as snails will eat some species of plant and add an extra biological load to the tank.

Any broken or damaged parts of the plant should be cut off,as should any brown and limp roots or dying leaves. Healthy roots should also be cut back by about a half, in order to stimulate new growth.A hole should be made in the gravel and the plant inserted, then this should be back-filled to cover it and hold it in place.The plant should be gently pulled up until its growing tip, or “crown”, is just visible.

Caring For Your Plants
Occasionally you will have to tidy up your plants and give them a feed.The frequency of this will depend on the type and number of plants that you have.“Stem” plants, so-called because they have very obvious stems that can be seen between the leaves, can sometimes grow to the surface of the tank and prevent light from reaching plants that are lower down. If this happens, they need to be cut back. Species that branch heavily will re-grow to their former glory after being cut back, but those that only exhibit sparse branching will not.The latter should be removed completely, and replaced with 20cm (8in) cuttings taken from the top of the plant.When re-planting these cuttings, remove the lower few leaves so as they do not become covered and decay.

“Rosette” plants do not have obvious stems and tend to exhibit quite dense growth.They should have any dying leaves removed and be thinned out from time to time.This can be done by cutting away the largest outer leaves, and if necessary cutting the roots back to around 15cm (6in).This will halt growth for a period of time but eventually new roots will develop.

In addition to tidying up the plants, a fertiliser such as TetraPlant PlantaMin and TetraPlant Crypto tablets should be added on a regular basis.

TetraPlant - complete care for plants
With TetraPlant products it is easy to have a healthy, wellplanted aquarium. Here is a reminder of what you need:

1. When setting up the aquarium place a 2cm (3/4 inch) layer of TetraPlant CompleteSubstrate at the base. Cover this with 5–7cm (2–3 inches) of pea gravel.
2. Use a proper light tube that has been designed for encouraging plant growth.
3. Install a TetraPlant CO2 Optimat to provide the carbon dioxide that plants need to photosynthesise.
4. Keep a check on the CO2 level using a TetraTest Laborett kit. It needs to be between 5–15mg/l.
5. Do not overstock the aquarium and avoid plant-eating fish (ask before purchasing them).
6. Ideally, provide gentle aeration at night with a TetraTec APS air pump.
7. Keep your plants healthy with regular fertilisation. Use TetraPlant PlantaMin for your finer aquatic plants (e.g. Myriophyllum, Cabomba, Hygrophila,Vallisneria), and TetraPlant Crypto tablets for 'feature' plants such as Amazon swords and Cryptocorynes.A combination of these two is ideal.