The square cornered aquarium as we know it today started to develop in the mid 1800's. The Victorians loved plants and nature and liked to find ways to bring nature into their homes. Wardian cases were created around the 1830's. These were ornate framed glass boxes that served as terrariums for ferns and other tropical plants for the Victorian collectors. Their aquarium counterparts were developed about 20 years later and were called Warrington cases. During this time the idea of balanced systems were popular. Fish, plants and invertebrates were thought to coexist in these aquariums to produce little fully functional natural systems. Plants listed in aquarium literature from the late 1800's included, several Sagittaria, Ludwigia, Cabomba, Myriophyllum, Riccia, Chara, Salvinia, and water hyacinth.
During the early 1900's houses were becoming electrified and so did the aquarium. Early equipment might look strange to us now, but by the 1930's many of the pieces of equipment used on aquariums looked very much like it still does today. The 1930's were really a decade where the aquarium hobby blossomed. The effects of pH in the aquarium were noted in the 1920's, and aquarium books of the 1930's discussed the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Equipment and knowledge of water chemistry and biology have enhanced. The smooth metal frame tanks and then frameless tanks developed, better filters, heaters and lighting and the introduction of CO2 for the aquarium have made incredible underwater masterpieces probable today.
Live plants will grow well only in established tanks. Determine what the plant is being used for. Is it for decoration or is it going to provide a hiding place for young fish fry? Let your requirements dictate what to buy.
Selecting Plants
Plants fall into 3 categories -- floating, rooted or bunch
Floating
They are not planted but float in or on top of the water
Rooted
They require individual planting and sold with roots
Bunch
Sold without roots but are planted in the gravel where roots will form.
Avoid plants with lots of brown or discolored leaves. It is wise to disinfect your plants with alum (aluminum sulfate) in order to get rid of leeches, snails and other pests. Pick off the small snail casings before soaking. Use one tablespoon per gallon and soak the plants for no more than an hour. Rinse plants in cold fresh water.
If desired, quarantine the plants for a week in a extra tank of jar of water. For best results, leave the aquarium light on for about 10 to 12 hours a day.
You may consider buying full spectrum or daylight tubes which are reasonably priced or higher priced specialized tubes.
Requirements to Grow Plants
- Sufficient Light
- A Substrate capable of holding nutrients and providing trace elements regular added trace elements to the water
- Correct Light Intervals: 10 to 12 hours a day
- Good Mechanical Filtration and Circulation with minimal surface splashing
Watts per Gallon Rule
There are different variations on this, but what I like to follow is:
1.5 to 2 watts of fluorescent light per gallon of water for low light plants
2 to 3 watts per gallon of water for moderate light plants
3 watts per gallon of water for bright level plants
This rule is based on the average lumen output, (brightness) of standard fluorescent light bulb. For more on lighting read: Choosing Your Lighting by Robert Paul H.
Substrate
The substrate is your gravel or rooting medium for the plants. It is important to provide a medium that can both store nutrients and be a source of nutrients for your plants. There are several different approaches to doing this. There are additives made for the aquarium to add to your gravel to provide iron and other necessary elements, and more complicated do it yourself recipes that include the use of soils, clays, peat, vermiculite or even clay kitty litter. The term laterite is often used in discussions about substrates. Laterite is an ancient soil made from decaying rocks and weathered by tropical heat and rain. The process has stripped the soil of all nutrients other than oxidized iron, which can be very concentrated. Land plants can not grow in this type of soil, but in tropical Asia Laterite soil run offs are found in waterways providing the iron that aquatic plants need to raise. The term clay and Laterite are often puzzled. They are not one and the same, however many substrate materials are either Laterite or clay based. Both for all practical purposes provide the same thing: a source of iron and the ability to hold nutrients it absorbs from the water.
Clay gravel is another alternative to Laterite. This should be used without adding Laterite to it. It is advisable to learn more about what nutrients plants need, and what's involved in a substrate method before getting involved in it. Do not blindly mix different approaches together without understanding the consequences. For example, too much organic material, peat or top soil, can cause severe problems. Kitty litter can alter your pH.
Adding garden fertilizers to an aquarium will dramatically raise the nitrate level, since the chief ingredient is nitrogen, putting your fish at risk and at the very least causing a huge algae outbreak.
Not all plants need to draw nutrients from the substrate. Floating plants obviously do not, as well as plants that anchor to rocks or wood. Most plants take nourishment from both the roots and the leaves, but some rely more heavily on root feeding than taking it from the water.
CO2 - Needed To Grow Plants
Yes and no. All plants will benefit from adding CO2. Some plants are nearly impossible to grow without it and the brighter your light the more of a demand there is for CO2. In general, most stem plants require bright light therefore have more of a need for CO2. There are some exceptions. Hygrophila polysperma and Egeria najas seem to hold up superior under lower light and CO2 environment.
Slow growing plants such as Anubias, ferns, and Cryptocorynes, which instead of having stems grow from a crown or rhizome will grow faster and more robust with added CO2, but can remain healthy and slow growing without it.
Type of Plant Tank
What do you want to achieve? In most cases the lights that come standard with an aquarium are not enough to grow most any plants. It is not the brand of the bulb that makes a difference, but not enough light bulbs. You have two basic choices: reaching the minimal level to grow easy and slow growing plants or reaching the level that will enable you to grow most anything. Lighting is the first most significant factor.
Low tech tanks use minimal lighting, no added CO2 or instead Do it yourself CO2. Choice of plants is more limited.
Higher tech tanks use lighting intensive enough to meet the needs of any aquatic plant, pressurized CO2 systems, and sometimes extra equipment for more optimal results. The difference is simply a wider choice of plants, namely hundreds of stem or "bunch" plants.
Often times cost is the biggest factor when determining the type of plant tank or approach. Lighting can be the most expensive component. It can be as simple as adding a dual fluorescent strip fixture, or a power compact fixture, or for larger tanks a much more elaborate lighting system.
Creative arrangements can be done with either a low tech or high tech approach as long as the growing requirements of the plants used are being met.
