All plants need a combination of light, carbon dioxide (co2) nutrients and trace elements in order to ensure healthy growth. This is a common knowledge for everyone, but more people do not know that plants need those things in fixed proportions. For instance, if a plant had unlimited amount of light, co2, nutrients and most trace elements but lack of a specific trace element, the plant would not have a healthy growth. The excess nutrient will be wasted and might contribute to algae growth. In general plants need a balance of all its need in order to stay healthy.
Lighting
Light is required by plant for photosynthesis. It gives the plant energy for the chemical reaction involved. Without light, plant will die after all its carbohydrate storage has been fully utilized. Correct spectrum of light is also needed to ensure healthy growth. Plants use light primary in the blue and red spectrum but an aquarium will look better to people if full spectrum lighting is use.
Sunlight contains the full spectrum of colour and would first see as the best choice. But a more experienced aquarium hobbyist (myself) would say that this method has several notable disadvantages. The indirect source is often either too weak or short for plant functioning. Sunlight may also cause significant temperature fluctuations which is bad for both fishes and plants. Another side effect of sunlight is that they usually encourage algae growth.
Artificial light is therefore a more advisable alternative for plants in aquarium. Full spectrum or broad spectrum fluorescent light is the best recommendation from me.
For a sparely planted aquarium, I recommend 1.5w of light per gallon (1gal ~ 3.8L). If you have a densely planted aquarium, you will need somewhere between 3w to 5w per gallon for optimum performance. 10 - 12hrs of light supply per day is necessary for plant growth.
Carbon Dioxide (Co2)
Co2 is another essential component for photosynthesis, without sufficient quantities, photosynthesis cannot take place. During photosynthesis, dissolved Co2 is transformed into carbohydrate which is the energy needed for plant growth. Most tanks will have some Co2 due to fish respiration but it is definitely not enough to get a lush plant growth.
A non Co2 supplemented aquarium usually have between 1-3 ppm of Co2 and most plants will only flourish with an amount between 10-20ppm. Thus, Co2 supplementation is essential if you are serious about having a planted aquarium.
There are generally 2 type of Co2 which are:
Co2 tank which purchase from local fish shop. It is easy to use and need for bigger aquarium. Down side of it is will be expensive in the long run.
DIY Co2 reactor is made by combining Yeast, Sugar and Water. The by product of this mixture is Co2. This Co2 setup is suitable only for smaller aquarium (under 50g) as it is not enough for bigger ones. DIY set up is cheap, easy and most importantly fun to do. A guide of how to set up a Yeast co2 reactor will be posted next week.
Nutrients (Macro Nutrients)
The first three elements necessary is Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorus. The plant requires these in large quantities. If you introduce a lot of macronutrients to your aquarium, it can lead to an undesirable 'algae bloom'.
Nitrogen is usually available in sufficient quantities from fish waste in the form of ammonium (NH4+). Most plants will prefer ammonium but some will use the end product of the nitrification cycle, nitrate (NO3-). Ammonium is the preferred source since it takes less energy to use that form of nitrogen. A good test for ammonium levels is to monitor nitrates. If the nitrates are 0 ppm, you know that all the nitrogen is being used. This may indicate that some plants are starving for nitrogen. It also might indicate that a perfect balance has been achieved, but that is unlikely.
Potassium (K+) is also usually available from fish food. Unfortunately, potassium is difficult to measure in the water. If there are enough nitrates, there is usually enough potassium. Some fertilizers contain additional potassium and can be used to be on the safe side.
Phosphorus (PO4) is another Macro nutrient that is sufficient for plant from fish food. It is usually not a problem in getting enough Phosphorus, excess of it can encourage algae growth.
Trace elements (Micro Nutrients)
Nutrients like iron, copper, zinc, sulphur calcium and magnesium are some of these. Excessive amounts of these can prove harmful for the plants.
Iron may be present in tap water in the correct ionic state (Fe++) but will quickly oxidize to a form unusable by plants. To prevent this, chelated iron mixtures can be used. The chelator prevents the iron from oxidizing and makes it easy for the plants to assimilate. The iron concentration should be less than 0.2 ppm.
Sulphur, calcium and magnesium are usually found in tap water. If the water has too little hardness (less than 3 degrees dGH), calcium and/or magnesium may be in short supply. This can be remedied by adding calcium and magnesium sulphate in small quantities.
Other trace elements are needed in extremely small quantities and can usually be provided in fish food or specialized trace element formulations. Note that some of these elements are toxic in anything but trace amounts so the addition of trace elements should be done very carefully.
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