Aquarium Co-Op

How to Pick the Best Substrate for a Planted Aquarium Welcome back to Part 3 of our Getting Started with Aquarium Plants series. In today’s article, we dive deeper into the topic of planted tank substrates. Substrate is the ground covering or “soil” at the bottom of the aquarium that many live plants need in order to grow roots and absorb nutrients. Interestingly, some aquarium plants (e.g., rhizome plants, floating plants, and most stem plants) prefer to absorb nutrients directly from the water, whereas others (e.g., sword plants, vallisneria, ...

Should I use dirt as my substrate in a planted aquarium? There are many pros and cons to dirted tanks using the Walstad method, so it might be worth trying at least once in your fishkeeping hobby to see if you like it. Based on our experiences with using dirt as substrate, here are some thoughts: Advantages Great plant growth Very cheap Takes years to run out nutrients in the ground Good option if you won't ever change the design (e.g., no moving around plants) Disadvantages Not as easy or beginner-friendly as planted substrate Makes a hug...

How to Use Root Tabs to Fertilize Aquarium Plants Is your live aquatic plant not growing or losing leaves, even though you’re giving it plenty of light and liquid fertilizer? Most aquarium plants can absorb nutrients from both the water and the substrate (e.g., gravel, sand, or aquatic soil), but some species prefer one method over the other. If your plant is a “root feeder” that favors consuming from its roots, then we need to give it a nutrient-rich substrate or ground-based fertilizers called root tabs. What Are Root Tabs? Root tabs are d...

Everything You Need for a New Aquarium (from 5 to 75 Gallons) One of the most common questions we get at the Aquarium Co-Op retail store is, “What do I need to set up my new fish tank?” The answer is a bit complicated because the exact type of aquarium light, heater, or other accessory that we would recommend can vary greatly depending on the size of the aquarium and other requirements. To help simplify things, we have itemized the most common things we use when setting up a new fish tank, ranging from 5.5 to 75 gallons in volume. Before You Begin… As a...

Can mangroves grow in freshwater or brackish aquariums? Mangrove trees are very hardy and can grow in freshwater, brackish, and saltwater tanks. We buy live mangrove seedlings from online websites and then hang them on the side of our aquariums using heavy duty plant wire so that the end of the seedling with leaves is out of water. Once it starts growing more leaves, we have a dedicated light source shining on the mangrove to make sure it gets enough light. If you have a brackish or saltwater tank, you may need to wipe off the salt spray on the le...

Where should I place my powerheads? Locate the dead spots in your aquarium by observing where debris is collecting the most or if blue-green algae is growing in certain areas. Using a power head can help disperse the decaying organics in those stagnant regions so that they get sucked up by the filter, thus making your water clearer overall. If your heater has a “low flow” indicator that constantly goes off, consider putting the power head near it so that the heated water can spread throughout the rest of the fish tank and elimi...

How do I get rid of blue-green algae or cyanobacteria? Blue green algae (BGA) is a turquoise slime that can cover your aquarium gravel, decorations, and plants. It's actually a cyanobacteria and therefore does not always respond to traditional algae-fighting techniques. It is very susceptible to antibiotics that contain erythromycin, like Fritz Slime Out. To begin treatment, scrub off as much of the blue-green algae as possible and remove it with a siphon. After vacuuming the substrate and refilling the tank, add one full dose of Slime Out (w...

How do I convert my established fish tank into a planted aquarium? If your fish tank has already been running for a while, it should be fairly easy to transition to a planted aquarium. Change the lighting to a planted tank LED light if needed. For example, if you have an aquarium hood and want to upgrade the light, you may need to replace the hood with a glass top so that you can use a planted aquarium light instead. See our LED Aquarium Lighting Guide for our recommended lights based on your tank size. Change the substrate if desired. Most beginner plant...

How often should I add more root tabs? Nutrients get used up over time (even if you’re using a nutrient-rich substrate) and therefore must be regularly replenished. To maintain healthy growth, we recommend adding more root tabs about once a month to continually build the nutrient base in the ground, especially if you are using an inert substrate like aquarium gravel or sand that doesn’t contain any nutrients on its own. Also, remember that as plants grow bigger, they will require more root tabs. A baby Amazon sword that is newly p...

Which aquarium plants need root tabs? Cryptocoryne plants (or crypts), sword plants, bulb plants, carpeting plants, and plants that produce runners all tend to feed from the substrate and will greatly benefit from root tabs. Stem plants like bacopa and moneywort can absorb fertilizer from the water or ground, but they seem to prefer the former. Plants that don’t need substrate to grow – such as mosses, floating plants, anubias, and java fern – typically do not use root tabs as much. For more information, read our full article on ...

What easy plants are best for beginners? We like to recommend slow-growing aquarium plants that require low light and little to no fertilizer. In fact, some plants like marimo moss balls, anubias, and java fern don't even need substrate. Read this article to learn about the top 10 easy aquarium plants for beginners.

How do I use root tabs to fertilize plants? Do you have cryptocoryne plants, sword plants, and other aquarium plants that feed heavily from their roots? Try feeding them root tabs in the substrate. Read this article for the full instructions.

Why is my java fern slowly losing its leaves and dying? Java fern is a slow-growing plant, and if it's not getting enough nutrients, it can also take a long time to die. If your java is losing leaves, has brown or yellow leaves, has leaves with lots of pinholes, is growing lots of plantlets from its leaves, or has stopped growing new leaves – it could be suffering from a nutrient deficiency. The first step is to make sure the rhizome of the java fern is completely uncovered (e.g., the rhizome is not buried in substrate or suffocating under too...

How to get rid of blue-green algae (BGA) Blue-green algae (BGA) is technically not a type of algae, but rather a cyanobacteria that grows like a slimy blanket coating the substrate, plants, and decor. It comes with a rather distinctive smell that many fish keepers learn to recognize before the bacterial colony is even visible. No one is 100% sure what causes BGA, but in general, improved aquarium upkeep and increased water circulation with an air stone or powerhead can help keep it away. Algae eaters typically will not eat the stuff...

How do I plant my carpeting plants? There are many kinds of foreground plants and even mosses that can be used to cover the ground in your aquarium, but this section is specifically referring to short, dense carpeting plants with lots of tiny leaves and very weak roots. Examples include monte carlo, dwarf baby tears, and pearl weed (not the grass-like carpeting plants such as dwarf sagittaria, micro sword, and dwarf hair grass). Most websites recommend breaking up a pot of carpeting plants into very small pieces and planting th...

How do I plant my stem plants? Stem plants are known for growing vertically from a single stem with leaves coming out directly from the stem. Think of bacopa, moneywort, and Pogostemon stellatus. To prepare the plant, remove the basket, ring, or rubber band wrapped around the base of the stems. Plant each stem deeply, at least 2 to 3 inches into the ground, which means the substrate may cover some of the bottom leaves. Don’t plant the stem plants all in a single bunch but rather individually with a little space between so ...