How to Care for Your Aquarium Plants?
Aquarium
plants bring ample benefits to the aquarium.
For instance, they maintain the aquarium’s beauty, remove impurities,
and help create a natural habitat for the fish. However, they have
certain requirements which must be fulfilled so that the plants can live and
thrive. Their main needs include full- spectrum light, clean and moderately
soft water, essential nutrients, carbon dioxide, and suitable substrate. Just
like the fish; freshwater aquarium plants also need a clean
environment for their optimal growth and require proper care and maintenance. Some
valuable tips in this regard are given below.
·
Maintain your aquarium’s
water quality.
Maintaining
water quality is the single most important factor that ensures plants and fish
health. Though, it is still a challenge for many aquarists; however, the
following tips can prove successful in this regard. These are:
·
Maintain the filter and keep
the aquarium’s temperature between 74-80 degrees of Fahrenheit.
·
Keep water pH between 6.5-7.8.
Most of the aquarium plants do their best in this range. If pH is too
high; it becomes more alkaline. Whereas, a low level indicates more acidity in
the water. Therefore, it is recommended to keep a balanced approach in this
regard so that plants can adequately grow and provide ample benefits to the fish.
·
Change at least 10% of the
water on a weekly basis. This helps to remove organic pollutants from the water
thereby aiding in enhancing the water quality.
·
Use the best quality fertilizers.
Fertilizers have
great benefits for the plants. For instance, they aid in their photosynthesis
process, develop their cells, promote their growth hormones, help in maintaining
their metabolism rate, and assist in nitrogen assimilation. Though, fish
poop can fulfill the essential requirements of aquarium plants; they also
need fertilizers for their optimal growth and development.
·
Invest in a favorable
light source.
Choose the right
light that can benefit aquarium plants. The type of light depends on
many factors, for instance, the length of your aquarium, the species
which you want to grow, their individual needs, etc. Some species require
intense light whereas others might require moderate light. Aquarium plants
do their best under a full spectrum light that ranges from 6500-8000 Kelvin.
They need light for about 10-12 hours per day.
·
Determine the substrate
as per your freshwater aquarium plant.
The material
used at the bottom of the tank is referred to as the substrate. Substrate
determines water quality as it affects water chemistry and filtration, and also
impacts the tank’s beauty. The right substrate helps in the anchoring and
development of rooted plants. Choose fine to medium grade gravel or coarse
sand. The ultra-fine sand and coarse gravel restrict proper root anchoring and
are generally not good for aquarium plants.
Bottom
Line:
It is vital to
care for aquarium plants so that they can grow and maintain the water
quality inside your aquarium. However, they can turn black or simply die
when they are short of essential nutrients. Therefore, uplift your aquarium
plants and buy healthy plants
whenever you shop.