Planting Plants at in the Home Aquarium
Have you been considering setting up an aquarium garden? Aquarium plants for office buildings are becoming very popular as well in 1-2 gallon bowls, without fish. Aquarium stores are also getting onboard with this idea. The follow brief article was written to help new hobbyists or aquarium gardeners plant our plants in their tanks with the best chance to flourish. Our plants also help to start the nitrogen cycle. Aquarium plants are beautiful additions to a home or work space, read on to see why.
At AquaFlora Nurseries, we grow our plants in mineral wool to protect the roots during shipping and while on display in stores. Bare root plants suffer damage to their roots and stems and this allows pathogenic, disease-causing bacteria and fungi to infect the plants and kill them. However, plants grown in mineral wool are protected from diseases this way.
Once our plants are ready to be planted in your aquarium, it is usually best to remove as much of the mineral wool as possible by gently rinsing under the tap. If the roots have over grown the pot, try cutting the pot away with scissors.
Once the roots are exposed, cut the roots back with sharp scissors, leaving about 4 cm. ONLY CUT THE ROOTS BEFORE YOU PLANT THEM! If the roots are cut in the pet store, this will allow disease to infect the plant; however, the home aquarium does not have the same amount of disease causing organisms.
Plant by making a depression in the substrate, placing the plant into the depression, and then covering with substrate. Hemianthus callitrichoides is an exception; we have found the best method of planting is to leave the shallow roots in mineral wool and plant directly into the substrate.
The mineral wool will not cause any problems in the aquarium if left on the roots; we recommend removing it for aesthetic reasons only. In fact, because the mineral wool has been in our tanks for weeks while the plants were growing, they are covered in beneficial nitrifying bacteria that will help establish your filter bed. This allows for much faster nitrogen aquarium cycling. The aquarium nitrogen cycle is very important to reduce ammonium in the water, please read more about this useful natural process from your local pet store or online.
Finally, give the plants everything they need, including fertilizers and CO2, for the best results. We want your tanks to be absolutely beautiful! Please view our articles if you need more information regarding these topics, or talk to any of the aquarium fish stores listed on our site.