How to properly plant aquarium plants. How to plant plants in an aquarium

12.06.2019

Aquarium plants not only add beauty and liveliness to the aquarium, but also serve as a nutrient medium for its inhabitants, purify the water, increase the level of oxygen, and, one might say, heal. Therefore, the question is: ‘How to plant aquarium plants?' very important.

An aquarium is not a jar of water, it is a microsystem in which a lot of processes take place simultaneously among the inhabitants of this microcosm. And no two aquariums are the same. Therefore, aquarium plants must be chosen carefully enough so as not to change the existing ecosystem - the inhabitants of the aquarium are extremely conservative in this matter.

The planting plan for aquarium flora should be thought out in advance, since frequent plant transplants have a detrimental effect on root system , and not every plant can quickly adapt to new living conditions (even if everything happens in one aquarium, its own aura forms around the plant, so to speak, to which it is already accustomed)

If you look at root system , then it is easy to understand how deep the plant needs to be buried in the ground.

Aquarists often face such a problem - you try to root a plant, but it does not want to and pops up. And here is a life hack: take a stainless steel nut, tie the root zone of the plant to it, and can be planted. Now the plant will definitely sit securely in the ground.
A prerequisite is that the nut must be made of stainless steel (it is easy to check - stainless steel is not magnetized).

At the stage of planting aquarium plants, you need to take care of decorative elements . How and in what quantity to place decorative details is a matter of taste, but please note that due to the decorations, the volume of water is reduced, and in addition to shelters, the fish still need space for swimming.

How to plant rosette aquarium plants

Rosette plants are easy to identify, they are similar to a broom. Popular are:

Echinodorus
Sagittaria
Cryptocoryne
Aponogeton
Samolus

This is enough big plants with dense roots. The choice of rosette plant is based on the size of the aquarium. When planting medium plants, a step of 10 cm must be observed, otherwise the plants will interfere with each other's growth and development (the larger the plant, the greater the step). If the aquarium is small, then a single rosette plant will also look very good.

The scheme of planting an aquarium plant with rosette roots.

Usage decorative elements, such as stones. They are wrapped with fishing line or thread and an aquarium plant is tied.

glass rod. It performs the function of a "weight" very well, and also has small size, which makes it easy to disguise it in the aquarium.

How to plant aquarium plants with horizontal roots

The main problem with planting this type of aquarium plant is the constant attempt to float. First, take a look at the plant, you need to determine how deep we will sink into the ground, the beginning of the green part serves as a guide - it should be above the ground, everything below is deepened into the ground. On top you need to put a pebble (pebble), which a little later, when the plant is strengthened, can be removed.

Other aquarium plants

Planted directly in the water, they do not have a root system. They are unpretentious and grow quite quickly, so they need to be sorted, thinned out and monitored so that they do not cover the entire surface of the water. The correct amount of floating plants is one third of the surface of the aquarium. The most popular floating aquarium plants are duckweed and frogwort.

There are also types of plants that grow simply on snags, stones and other objects. No problem in how to plant this type of aquarium plants , no, for them the main thing is to cling to the object.

What to consider when planting plants

The roots of plants should be freely located in the ground. The root must not be allowed to bend up or stick out of the hole - so the plant will not take root.

After planting aquarium plants is completed, it is necessary to fill the aquarium with water.

The location of each aquarium plant should be chosen according to its needs. Light-loving plants are planted at the most illuminated wall of the aquarium. Volumetric plants occupy the background, corners or side walls. The middle part of the aquarium is given to small plants.

Live plants provide a natural healthy aquatic environment for any aquarium, providing protection and shelter for many small fish species and fry. Each plant has its own conditions for successful growth, some are very capricious and require special care, others are unpretentious and adapt to various water parameters. The latter are the best choice for the beginner aquarist.

Step #1 Choose plants that require the same conditions as your fish. Lighting is usually set at a ratio of 2 watts per 4–5 liters of water. So for a volume of 100 liters, you will need light bulbs with a total power of 20-25 watts. These are approximate average numbers!

Step #2 Beginners are advised to purchase undemanding plants, such as Hygrophila heterophylla, Java moss, Anubias dwarf, Cryptocrine, Vallisneria.

Step #3 Use fine gravel or coarse sand as a substrate. Reliable rooting is possible with a soil thickness of 4–6 cm. If possible, mix the new soil with a part of the old one from a mature aquarium in a ¼ ratio (for example, you can ask friends or acquaintances). This is true for a new aquarium and will provide initial feeding to the plants.

Step #4 Before placing the plant in water, carefully examine the leaves, they may contain snail eggs. Uninvited guests will be out of place.

Step #5 Most root plants are sold in pots/containers. Carefully remove the plant and use a toothpick to untangle the roots.

Step #6 Use a pencil or wooden dowel to make a hole in which to place the root system. Fill in the roots. Floating plants can simply be placed in the aquarium.

Step #7 Plants need 3 to 4 weeks to acclimatize, during which time they will live off the stored nutrients. Therefore, adding fertilizer does not make any sense, they will not be absorbed and will only pollute the water. In the future, the fish themselves will fertilize the soil, no worse than expensive additives.

Live plants in an aquarium are the best decoration. At the same time, they participate in the oxygen saturation of water, reduce its hardness and neutralize the waste products of fish. In this article, we will look at how to care for aquarium plants and properly plant plants in your aquarium.

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planting

Planting and growing aquarium plants should be approached as responsibly as the maintenance of fish. When choosing them, you need to pay attention to the color, which should be bright green. You should also look at the integrity and absence of rot.

After buying plants, it is not necessary to immediately place them in water. For them, a warm temperature and a humid environment will be enough. For transplanting to a new place, young shoots should be chosen, as larger specimens may not take root.

Before planting aquarium plants, they should be thoroughly rinsed with water. Each bush must be cleaned of caviar, small algae and areas with rot. It is recommended to carry out disinfection by lowering the sprout for several minutes in a 2% manganese solution. After this procedure, it must be washed under running water.

from seed

In an aquarium, growing plants from seeds is quite easy. The most popular are chastukhovy and aponogetone. Seed germination persists for a different time, depending on the selected species.

For germination, it is enough to place them in a humid environment with plenty of oxygen. Some species need certain temperature, especially when it comes to a representative of the flora middle lane who need low temperatures. For successful cultivation, you need to create conditions that are as close to natural as possible. This can be achieved through the wise use of light, heat and the optimal amount of nutrients.

Seeds are sown in the ground in grooves that can be made with a glass rod. As for the depth, it all depends on the composition of the soil and the size of the seeds. In the presence of clay in the gravel, the seedlings will come to the surface very slowly, so the planting depth should be minimal.

Large seeds have a lot of nutrients, so they break through more easily. Planting depth should not exceed 10 mm, for small grains - 5 mm. It should be noted that during the germination period it is important that the plants do not develop algae fouling, which can kill them.

cuttings

Before planting plants in an aquarium, you need to prepare the cuttings. If they have an elongated stem, then the lower part must be removed. However, at least 4 knots must remain. Before planting, the cuttings are treated in a saline solution.

Planting can be carried out in moist soil before or after filling the aquarium with water. The cuttings are easier to strengthen in the first case. When planting a plant in a pond with water, the roots are clamped with tweezers, after which the seedling is placed in the ground. Next, the tweezers should be removed at an angle. The root neck should be covered with soil.

To prevent it from floating up, its root can be previously tied with a thread to stones or other decorations. After rooting, the thread is cut off. Plants should not be planted very densely, especially for those species that have accelerated growth. They will grow very quickly, and the aquarium will have to be cleaned. Light-loving species must be placed in the place where the strongest light. Large bushes are recommended to be planted in the corner of the aquarium or at the back wall.

Proper plant care

Aquarium plants need constant care. It can be provided in this way.

Every week, it is necessary to thin out the amount of floating greenery so that its amount does not exceed 1/3 of the entire surface. Thus, normal is provided.
If observed a large number of large leaves, then they must be removed so that they do not drown out other plants.
Old plants in the process of growth can take out rhizomes from the soil. As a result, the roots may not reach the soil, and their nutrition is disturbed. To avoid this, the plant is taken out of the ground, the old roots and part of the lower leaves. Then they are planted deep in the ground so that all the roots are completely immersed in the soil.
With dense growth, old specimens should be removed.
If there are shoots that have penetrated into the area of \u200b\u200ba different species, then they need to be wrapped and rooted or simply cut off.
The growth of some types of vegetation may be inhibited over time, and the condition appearance get worse. In this case, it is necessary to transplant the plant to another place.

It happens that all conditions of detention are met, and the flora of the aquatic world looks bad or its growth is disturbed. This indicates a lack of nutrients. It is necessary to fertilize aquatic plants occasionally, and they will always look healthy.

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Fertilizer and top dressing

Any type of plant grown in an aquarium needs certain nutrients. These include nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron. Most often they are obtained from the water, however, some species feed through the root system.

The need for trace elements for each representative of the flora in the aquarium is different. However, experts recommend periodically feeding them through the use of special mixtures. The presence of iron in water is necessary for photosynthesis, as it promotes the formation of chlorophyll. Copper and zinc are involved in metabolic processes.

Fertilizers are useful in plant rooting because they can speed up the rooting process. There are several types of dressings: micro- and macronutrients. The former contains calcium, iron, sulfur, chlorides and others. Macronutrients include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. This fertilizer is available in liquid or solid form.

You can feed the plants at any time of the year. The main thing is to follow the dosage. The inhabitants of the aquarium will endure a large dose of nutrients, but the number of algae will increase greatly, which is not always good.

Video "How to fix plants in an aquarium"

Instruction

Prepare the plants for planting Carefully inspect seaweed. Remove rotten or diseased parts. Clean the dirt off the roots. Prepare a weak saline solution at the rate of 1 teaspoon of salt per liter of water. Rinse each thoroughly and then leave in the solution for at least five minutes - this is necessary to destroy harmful organisms. Rinse with running water. Trim excessively long roots.

Choose the method of planting algaeThere are two methods of planting that take root in the ground. Can be planted seaweed already partially filled with water, or you can first plant the plants in the ground, and only then pour water. Each of these methods has its pros and cons. In the first case it is much easier to give seaweed the desired position, in the second - it is easier to fix the plant.

Consider a place for planting algaeIt should be remembered that plants, as a rule, should occupy no more than 1/3 of the area. thick and seaweed it is recommended to land at the far wall. If planted forward, they can block the view and crowd the fish. Size plants will look good on the sides and in the middle. Freestanding seaweed it is recommended to place in the center. In the foreground, plant undersized seaweed, leaving part of the front wall free. Make sure that light-loving plants are located as close as possible to the light source and do not shade each other.

When planting algae in a dry aquarium, it is necessary to make small indentations in the previously planned places of the soil. Gently lower the plant into the hole, making sure the roots are pointing down and not coming to the surface. Lightly tamp the soil around the planted plant.

Purchased plants before placing them in the aquarium, they must be treated with a disinfectant solution to rid them of the bacteria living on them. Prepare a solution table salt, consisting of 1 tsp. NaCl and 1 liter of water, rinse the acquired sprouts in it.

But for some sprouts, this is not enough. Plants with increased buoyancy should be tied to a stone with a nylon thread and dug with sand. After rooting, the thread can be removed.

Fill the aquarium to the top with water, straighten plants give them the desired shape. After that, you can launch surface water into the aquarium. plants. Place them in the corner where you want them to be. If plants blurred, build a small nylon network and limit the area of \u200b\u200btheir distribution.

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aquarium plants how to plant

If you are an avid aquarist and just breeding fish is already getting boring for you, then it's time to start growing plants for the aquarium. This is a very exciting activity, because creating a mini-garden in an aquarium will make it unique.

Instruction

Do not forget that in order for a plant to grow and produce new shoots, three components are necessary: minerals, carbon dioxide and light.

Adjust the lighting in such a way that it is as bright as possible, long enough and not much different from natural. The “light day” of aquarium plants should be from 10 to 12 hours. In order for the lighting to be bright enough, purchase lamps of the required power - from 1.2 to 1.5 watts per 1 liter of volume.

Pay attention also to lamps for lighting. According to experts, the growth of plants is most promoted by lamps that emit red and light. Of course, such lighting has a bad effect on, for this reason it is better to combine red-yellow lamps with, say, blue spectrum lamps. If desired, you can increase the lighting with reflectors, which are also available at the pet store.

Pay serious attention to the choice of soil for aquarium plants. As such, it is better to use gravel or sand. Also keep in mind that not all plants need a landing

Once you have purchased an aquarium plant, rinsed and disinfected it, it is time to start planting it. It is best to plant plants in an aquarium with soil and a small layer of water, about 5 cm above the soil. If your aquarium is not new, then we work with what we have. Beginning aquarists make fairly common mistakes when planting plants in an aquarium.

Always start planting from the rear window. This rule applies not only to proper fit how much to good tone and composition right design. The front of the aquarium should be free of plants, or planted with small plants that form a grass cover on the ground.

Avoid bending the roots to the sides. In plants with a strong root system, such as Cryptocoryne or Vallisneria, the roots should be straight and without bends. To do this, a deepening is made in the soil with a stick and the plant is planted deeper than the neck of the root, the root is covered with soil and then the plants are slightly pulled up to the neck of the root, so the root will always be straight and even.

When planting plants, it is very convenient to use special long tweezers for aquarium plants in cases where your aquarium is full of water or has already been started. With the help of tweezers, it is easy and convenient to grab the plant by the root without damaging it and immediately deepen it in the ground without first making a hole. This method can be used to plant a large number of small and large plants for a short time.

Arrange the root system of plants in accordance with its natural growth. As we have already described, and plants with a powerful root, it should be completely buried and directed downwards. Plants like Aponogeton and Echinodorus have flat roots growing in a horizontal plane.

For them, a wide, shallow hole is made, the roots are straightened in it like a fan and sprinkled with soil. Plants with a tuber or bulb are planted so that the tuber is not covered with soil on top. Mosses and ferns can be tied with a thread or fishing line to a stone or snag on which they will grow; after rooting, the fishing line or thread should be removed.

Do not plant plants of different species nearby. Young plants tend to grow and multiply. If two are planted side by side different types If the plants grow, one of them will be in excellent condition, and the other will be in a depressed state. A taller, faster growing plant will always dominate a shorter, slower growing plant. To do this, you should conditionally divide the aquarium into sectors and in each of them plant a certain type of plant in groups in accordance with your taste and preferences.

Do not plant dense fast growing plants. fast growing plants should be planted at a certain distance from each other, because. growing in a short time, they will prevent each other from receiving nutrients and light in the required quantities, which over time will lead them to a deplorable state. If you do not know how to properly plant a plant and at what distance from each other, then look in the directory for its adult size. Some especially large plants are planted in aquariums in a single copy at the back wall or in the corners, while the distance to neighboring plants can reach 20 or more centimeters.

Plants that feed exclusively through the root system should be properly planted in fertilized soil or in pots with specialized soil for aquarium plants. Such plants include cryptocorynes, aponogeton, echinodorus. Currently, there is a greater variety of fertilizers for aquarium soil, some of them are applied under the root of large plants directly at the time of transplantation, they should not be neglected, especially when growing these types of plants.

Remember that each transplant of a plant in an aquarium is a big stress for him and a temporary halt in growth. This stress can be avoided or minimized by using small plant pots. In them, you can periodically change the location of your spread without disturbing the root system, and if they are properly sized, they can be very well masked in aquarium soil.

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