| rdfs:comment
| - Aquatic plants are used to give the freshwater aquarium a natural appearance, oxygenate the water, and provide habitat for fish, especially fry (babies) and for invertebrates. Some aquarium fish and invertebrates also eat live plants. Hobbyists use aquatic plants for aquascaping, of several aesthetic styles. Most of these plant species are found either partially or fully submersed in their natural habitat. Although there are a handful of obligate aquatic plants that must be grown entirely under water, most can grow fully immersed if the soil is moist.
- The player can buy Cattail at Crazy Dave's Twiddydinkies for $10,000. In the Zen Garden, these plants, with the exception of Cattail and Guacodile, must be placed in aqua pots or moved to the Aquarium Garden.
- Some fish species will require plants to do well, while others will harm the plants and are best kept in an unplanted aquarium or with artificial plants. With a number of fish species it doesn’t really matter and keeping plants is instead an aesthetical choice or a way of keeping the water quality up.
|
| abstract
| - Aquatic plants are used to give the freshwater aquarium a natural appearance, oxygenate the water, and provide habitat for fish, especially fry (babies) and for invertebrates. Some aquarium fish and invertebrates also eat live plants. Hobbyists use aquatic plants for aquascaping, of several aesthetic styles. Most of these plant species are found either partially or fully submersed in their natural habitat. Although there are a handful of obligate aquatic plants that must be grown entirely under water, most can grow fully immersed if the soil is moist.
- Some fish species will require plants to do well, while others will harm the plants and are best kept in an unplanted aquarium or with artificial plants. With a number of fish species it doesn’t really matter and keeping plants is instead an aesthetical choice or a way of keeping the water quality up. A planted aquarium will usually require more light than a fish only aquarium, since plants depend on photosynthesis in order to produce their own energy. Some plants have developed in waters where light is scarce and will survive even in a poorly lightened aquarium, while other have extremely high demands and require the very strongest forms of aquarium lighting. Generally speaking, a planted aquarium with moderately demanding plant species will require twice as much light than a fish only aquarium. A commonly used rule of thumb is 20W for each square foot of tank surface area. Another guideline is 2W per gallon. In order to provide their plants with enough light, many aquarists use fluorescent lighting instead of ordinary aquarium lights. If you want to have a densely planted aquarium or keep very demanding plant species, metal halide lights or mercury vapour lights is an even better solution. These types of light are stronger and will penetrate the water better. If your aquarium is deeper than 24 inches, these forms of stronger light are almost always required. Your plants will also need nutrients and CO2 in order to live and thrive in the aquarium. Balancing light, CO2 and nutrients can be a complicated task at first, but you will soon get the hang of it. Nutrients are seldom a problem in the aquarium since nutrients will be present in the substrate and produced by the fishes. Some aquarists prefer to add extra nutrients to the aquarium, but this is a risky choice since excess nutrients can pollute the water. Before you add any extra nutrients to your planted aquarium you should ideally read more about it in order to provide your plants with exact amounts. You will find more information in the articles library. CO2 on the other hand is frequently added to heavily planted aquariums in order to promote plant growth. You can by a special CO2 injector or use the so called yeast method. One of the most important things when caring for aquatic plants, is to find the perfect balance between light, CO2 and nutrients. Some aquarium plants have adapted to a life in murky and low-light waters, but most aquarium plants will require plenty of light to thrive. All plants relay on photosynthesis, and without sufficient amounts of light they can stop growing or even rotten away and die. Fluorescent lights are common in planted aquariums since they provide a more potent light than the standard aquarium lighting. Two even stronger options are the halide and mercury vapour lights. These are typically found in densely planted aquariums or in aquariums that contain plants that require very large amounts of strong light. They are also a good choice for deeper aquariums, since their strong light will be able to penetrate the water all the way down to the bottom. Additional CO2 is often added to planted aquariums in order to promote plant growth. CO2 is an essential part of the photosynthetic process. Fish, bacteria and any other animals that inhabit the aquarium will produce small amounts of CO2, but these amounts can be too small to promote truly flourishing plant growth. If you provide your plants with strong light without simultaneously giving them more CO2, they will not be able to benefit from all the new light. There are several ways of increasing the CO2 levels in the aquarium. You can purchase a CO2 tank and let it release its bubbles into the water. A common way is to connect the CO2 tank to a canister filter. Another method that does not involve any CO2 tank is the yeast method, where yeast is used to produce CO2. In addition to light, oxygen and CO2 your plants will require small amounts of other compounds, just like a human needs small amounts of vitamins. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Iron, Hydrogen, Magnesium, Calcium and Sulfur are all examples of compounds necessary for plant growth. Most plants will also need even smaller amounts of Chlorine, Molybdenum, Manganese, Zinc, Cupper and Boron. A lot of plant species will thrive in an aquarium even if you do not add any extra nutrients via commercial fertilizers since the plants will be able to obtain nutrients form the substrate and from the waste products excreted by the fish. Some aquarists choose to use fertilizers, but before you add any extra nutrients to your aquarium you should ideally read more about the subject in order to add the proper amounts and avoid disturbing the delicate balance in the aquarium.
- The player can buy Cattail at Crazy Dave's Twiddydinkies for $10,000. In the Zen Garden, these plants, with the exception of Cattail and Guacodile, must be placed in aqua pots or moved to the Aquarium Garden.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)