How to Setup a Planted Aquarium

Setting Up an Aquarium With Plants
When you add plants to a freshwater aquarium you are actually creating a miniature underwater environment that copies the original pretty close. Setting up a planted aquarium is a great hobby to get into and if you add fish, this will aid them in their survival. What is the key to success?

Here is some advice that will aid you in doing that. The success of an aquarium that has plants starts from the bottom. What I mean by that is you will succeed if you have good substrate. A good substrate will allow your plants to root well and if you choose a substrate that has a good level of iron, this will cause the plants to thrive.

Fish need to have stable water chemistry to survive and so do plants. If you choose plants that require the same ph and kh levels as the fish you are going to put in, then you should be ok.

You will also want to consider adequate lighting. Too much light will cause an outbreak of algae, whereas insufficient lighting can hinder growth of both your fish and plants. You will need to make sure that the lighting you choose is sufficient for you tank environment. In real life, the sun does not shine 24 hours a day, nor should your lighting be on 24 hours either. And the opposite of that fact is true as well.

It is best that you add your plants before adding any fish, but if you do have fish already, then you may want to put them in a separate tank until the plants adapt and adjust to the tank. After this takes place, you can then add them back in.

Constant monitoring of the water is going to be needed to make sure that the plants are getting enough of what they need, and that they are not leeching anything dangerous into the water to harm your fish. Sometimes plants need additional nutrients to help them grow, but only add chemicals if it is absolutely needed.

Keep an eye on your plants and if you have setup your aquarium correctly you will enjoy them and your fish for a very long time.