Today it has become fashionable to have an aquarium at home. Buying it is not difficult, but leaving can be puzzling to anyone. Beginners have hundreds of questions regarding the fish themselves, water, soil and plants. Having spent a lot of time choosing beautiful fish, we often forget about plants. But they are extremely important for creating a favorable environment in the aquarium.
Aquarium plants for beginners
Do not chase the exotic. Start with something simple. Choosing the right plants is not as easy as it might seem. However, having done everything correctly, you will greatly simplify your life. What are plants for:
- serve as food for fish;
- provide shelter and a resting place for fish;
- saturate water with oxygen;
- inhibit the development of lower algae;
- reduce the concentration of ammonia;
- serve as an aquarium decoration.
First, pick up unpretentious aquarium plants. They are hardy enough, and even if you do something wrong, you still save them. By survivability, they can be compared with weeds. These types of plants grow very quickly, live long and look good. In addition, they cost a penny. And even if you manage to destroy them, then material resources will not be a pity. All plants can be divided into three groups: root, floating and unrooted.
Root species
Such aquarium plants for beginners are planted directly in the ground. Outwardly, they can be completely different, but often similar to ordinary plants. They are planted in soil with a thickness of 4 to 6 centimeters. They have an extensive root system, which must be considered when planting. Some plants can bloom under water. This is an incredibly beautiful sight. Examples of root plants include cryptocoryne, wallisneria, arrow-shaped arrow-leaf.
Floating aquarium plants
Recognizing them is easy. These plants float on the surface of the water. The root system goes deep, but the bottom does not touch. They take all the necessary nutrients from the water. These are unpretentious aquarium plants. Outwardly, they look very beautiful and unusual. Often produce flowers on the surface. The most common representatives are duckweed, wild urchin and frog.
Unrooted species
They grow on stones, snags and any objects that adorn the aquarium. If you plant them in the ground, then soon they will die due to insufficient contact of the rhizome with water. Among their representatives can be distinguished ferns, mosses, hornwort.
Aquarium Plant Care
In order to enjoy the beauty of your aquarium and have healthy plants, you need to provide them with proper care. Do not be scared and expect a long list of some rules. Aquarium plants for beginners can grow well both in low light conditions and in the open sun. For them, the level of oxygen saturation does not matter much. However, no one is stopping you from helping your wards. To do this, use special fertilizers for aquarium plants.
Feeding
For good growth, all living things need a certain set of nutrients. All should be contained in water. However, this usually does not happen. Fertilizers for aquarium plants are selected so that they contain all substances that are not in the water. Identify the presence of certain substances using tests that are sold in specialized stores. Top dressing can be liquid or in tablets. Their composition is indicated on the packaging. In addition, dosages and methods of application are signed there.
What plants need nutrition
This question often worries young aquarium lovers. The answer to it is very simple. All plants need to be fed from time to time. The exception is only artificial plantings. Determining which fertilizer you need is very simple. This is written in the instructions for use. Be careful. Some fertilizers are suitable for some plants, but are contraindicated in others. Consider this when choosing.
Feeding with liquid fertilizers
This type of chemicals is used to power plants floating and without roots, eating only through leaves. Liquid fertilizers for aquarium plants are presented in stores in a large assortment. Using them is easy. This will not cause any difficulties even for beginners.
To feed plants with their help quite often. This is due to the fact that beneficial substances are partially removed through filters. Special care must be taken in dosage. Having poured more fertilizer than necessary, you will not harm the inhabitants of the aquarium, but the algae will begin to grow at a tremendous speed, and soon they will fill the entire tank. No difficulty in making aquarium fertilizers with your own hands. To do this, you need to find out what macro- and microelements are needed, and calculate the dose. By making them yourself, you can regulate the content of certain substances in the water, thereby controlling the growth of plants.
Feeding through the substrate
Such fertilizers for aquarium plants are laid in the ground or directly under the roots of plants. This method has its advantages. Nutrients gradually dissolve, enter the soil and are absorbed by the roots of plants in small doses. Algae do not have access to these fertilizers, therefore, the latter do not affect their growth. The substrate itself can be enriched with any set of elements. Often, laterite clay rich in iron is used in aquariums. It is perfect for most plants.
DIY fertilizers
Novice aquarium lovers prefer to buy ready-made fertilizers. This is justified by a lack of knowledge and skills. However, over time, you will learn how to use homemade aquarium fertilizers. They have many advantages. You yourself choose the composition and number of elements. In addition, they are much cheaper than ready-made mixtures. One of the most important elements is magnesium. If the water is hard, then it may be enough. But in most cases, magnesium is not enough. It is used as sulfate and is sold in pharmacies and flower shops.
Another essential element is potassium. It is added in the form of carbonate, chloride or potassium sulfate. This element can be used together with potassium nitrates, which serve as a source of nitrogen. Such a mixture will look like this: 0.5 liters of water (from a tap or distilled), a tablespoon of trace elements (6% iron), two tablespoons of potassium, a tablespoon of magnesium. To prevent the growth of bacteria, hydrochloric acid is added.
The mixture is stored in a dark place. This is due to the fact that some elements decompose in the light. Do not make a large supply of the mixture dissolved in water. Keep it dry. Homemade fertilizers for aquarium plants are added gradually. Concentration is increased every day. The first two weeks it should be 1 milliliter per 100 liters of water. Then the dose is reduced three times.
Fertilizers from improvised materials
Homemade fertilizers for aquarium plants are easy to make. All components are bought at the nearest stores. You will need boric acid (at the pharmacy), MgSO 4 * 7H 2 0 (garden store), potash (photo store), potassium nitrate (garden store), calcium (garden store). It is very important to find the right hardware. It must be divalent; any other will not do. You can also use iron sulfate. This substance is added at the rate of one gram per liter. The concentration of the remaining components is calculated similarly. The shelf life of this mixture is unknown. Aquarium fertilizers should be made at once. Thus, you will always be sure of their effectiveness.
Lack of micro and macro elements
Breeding aquarium plants requires some knowledge. In order to help and make the right mixture of elements in time, you must be able to recognize their lack. Even the best fertilizers for aquarium plants will not help if you incorrectly determine the composition. One of the main symptoms is stunted growth. As a rule, this is easiest to notice. There are two more groups of symptoms:
1. Appearing on old leaves. They indicate a lack of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and nitrogen. Elements move from old parts of the plant to new ones that show no signs of starvation. Symptoms may affect the entire leaf (lack of phosphorus and nitrogen) or be local in nature (lack of potassium and magnesium).
2. Appearing on young leaves and growth points. This is evidence of a lack of boron, calcium, sulfur, copper, iron and manganese. These elements are not able to move from one part of the plant to another. If there are not enough of them in the soil or water, then the young parts get sick and can die. These symptoms, in turn, are divided into three groups:
- with a lack of copper, leaf wilting is observed;
- lack of boron and calcium leads to the death of the upper kidney, loss of leaves and color;
- as a result of a lack of sulfur, iron or manganese, discoloration of young leaves occurs without the death of the upper kidney.
Before proceeding to the search for the causes of malnutrition of plants, it is necessary to pay attention to where the problems appeared. Thus, you can easily identify a group of symptoms.
Excess micro and macro elements
- Nitrogen. Exceeding the required amount of this element entails a delay in ripening and flowering. The tops become dark green and the stems thick. The growing season is significantly lengthened. The accumulation of organic forms of nitrogen compounds leads to the fact that the tissues become soft and juicy. Fertilizers for aquarium plants containing too much ammonium nitrate can cause poisoning. Having received such top dressing, the plants stop growing, the stem rots. For several days, the disease spreads to all the veins. In this case, the leaves look healthy. If treatment is not started in time, the leaves will die and the plant will die.
- Potassium. An excess of this element prevents nitrogen from entering the plant. A large amount of potassium significantly inhibits growth, the leaves begin to lighten, the internodes are lengthened. After some time, spots appear on the leaves. Plants wither and die.
- Phosphorus. The high phosphorus content in the plant leads to the fact that it turns yellow, spots appear, leaves fall. Plants grow very quickly and grow old. Salts of phosphoric acid are poorly soluble. Because of this, many trace elements (manganese, magnesium, copper, iron, cobalt, zinc) can precipitate and become inaccessible to plants. As a result, they may be deficient.
- Calcium. When making home-made fertilizers for aquarium plants, you should carefully calculate the dosage of calcium. Its excess causes tissue chlorosis. Necrotic spots appear. In some cases, concentric circles form in them. Rapid leaf growth may begin. However, the shoots die off. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between toxicity and deficiency.
- Iron. With an excess of this element, chlorosis appears between the veins, the leaves turn pale and yellow.
- Magnesium. In this case, the leaves become noticeably darker and curl. In some cases, they are reduced in size.
- Manganese. An overdose of manganese manifests itself as inter-vein chlorosis of young leaves. They turn yellow and turn pale. Necrotic white or dark brown spots appear. Affected leaves are covered with small red-brown dots. They wrinkle and bend.
- Copper. This element in large quantities causes the development of chlorosis of the lower leaves. Brown spots appear on them. As a result, the leaves fall away. The disease affects young leaves, which also have chlorosis.
- Zinc. An excess of zinc contributes to the appearance of transparent areas at the base of the main veins. The leaves remain green. Subsequently, chlorosis occurs between the veins. Old leaves fall off, the upper buds die, the veins turn black or red.
- Chlorine. In this case, the leaves become stiff, coarser and finer. The stalk hardens. Old leaves are covered with purple-brown spots and fall off. The harmful effects of chlorine are neutralized when magnesium is added.
- Bor. Under the influence of boron, the leaves become deformed and turn yellow. They wrap around and become domed in shape. Studies have shown that boron accumulates most in old tissues. In this regard, the old leaves are primarily affected. The top is curled along with the leaves. In advanced cases, an overdose of boron can be taken as a deficiency of this element. In this case, you should be careful not to completely destroy the plants.
- Sodium. No toxic sodium concentration is found in natural freshwater bodies. Most water plants can feel great in a fairly wide range of concentrations of this substance. You can get its excess in the aquarium using ion-exchange resins. They are used to reduce water hardness, as well as in the case of using preparations containing sodium (used to treat fish and regulate the chemical composition in the aquarium). Sodium is involved in supporting the osmotic state of cells and sodium-potassium metabolism, and successfully replaces potassium in some reactions. Often, most of the potassium needed by plants can be replaced by sodium. In this case, the plant does not suffer at all. A strong concentration of sodium in water has a detrimental effect on metabolism and disrupts the structure of chloroplasts. Sodium has a positive effect on plants in the event of a lack of potassium. If the latter is sufficient in water, sodium can have a toxic effect. Recognizing this phenomenon is very difficult, since its signs are not currently described.