Frequent Aquarium Questions

• My 55 gal tank is deeper than it is long. The height of the tank is two feet high. Will I have problems getting light to plants on the bottom of the tank, and how tall will some common aquatic plants grow?
  
  
• What is the best way to keep plants in my aquarium healthy?
  
  
• Would it be harmful to have non-aquatic plants in a fish aquarium?
  
  
• Can silk plants in a craft store be used in a tank? Someone told me if the plant had a wire rod it could rust and affect the tank.
  
  
• My amazon sword plants are growing well but have almost transparent leaves. How can I fix this?
  
  
• Other than bottled CO2, what is another acceptable method of adding carbon dioxide to my 55 gallon plant tank?
  
  
• I have a small 6 gallon reef tank with a couple small corals 3 fish and an anenome the store said i can have seaweed in the tank but will affect the water or fosh at all?
  
  
• I recently noticed a strange hair like growth on my sword plant, which later spread to all my plants. It is not green algae, it almost looks like a number of bare stems but gets very dense like hair if left alone. It seems colorless, like an opaqe grey, and only spreads on onto other plants. What is it, and what should I do about it? Thank you, Reza
  
  
• I have a planted aquarium and several of my plants have black spots on them. How can I get rid of them?
  
  
• I have a 10 gallon tank. What kinds of plants do you recommend and how many should I get?
  
  

• My 55 gal tank is deeper than it is long. The height of the tank is two feet high. Will I have problems getting light to plants on the bottom of the tank, and how tall will some common aquatic plants grow?
  
  It should not be too difficult to light the tank properly for aquatic plants provided you use either multiple fluorescent or power compact lamps. I would recommend about two to 3 watts per gallon. Many aquatic plants can grow much taller than your tank, but will probably stop growing when they reach the water surface, or else will grow across the wtaer surface requiring periodic pruning.
  
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• What is the best way to keep plants in my aquarium healthy?
  
  The first thing you need is a good book on aquatic plants, as different plants have different requirements. Here's the basics: Good light, deep layer of fine subtstrate (gravel), aquarium plant fertilizer mixed with the gravel, and a good source of soft water (distilled or reverse osmosis water unless your tap water is soft) are the primary basic needs. One aquarium lamp is not going to be enough for the majority of species, so make sure you have enough light. That is the most important factor. If you are setting up a larger tank, and really want a knockout planted tank, you should invest in a good CO2 system. Another factor for growing more sensitive species is a supply of heat to the roots. This may be accomplished by using expensive cable heaters, or by simply burying some peat below the gravel where it will rot and produce heat as it decays.
  
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• Would it be harmful to have non-aquatic plants in a fish aquarium?
  
  The answer is: It depends on the plant! Some plants can be quite toxic to both humans and fish, and other plants can be toxic to fish but not humans and vice-versa. We have seen some plants that are actually terrestrial sold as "aquarium plants" when they really are not. Examples include Spatophyllum (the Peace Lily) and Acorus (Sweet Flag). These plants rot when they are placed in aquaria because their leaves have to be exposed to air.
  
  The bottom line is that true aquatic plants will live and thrive underwater and terrestrial plants will not. So our question for you is: Why bother?
  
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• Can silk plants in a craft store be used in a tank? Someone told me if the plant had a wire rod it could rust and affect the tank.
  
  Somone told you correctly. If there is a metal wire in the plant, it will rust and that will have a negative impact on fish. If you can bend the stem of those silk plants and they stay bent, don't put them in an aquarium.
  
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• My amazon sword plants are growing well but have almost transparent leaves. How can I fix this?
  
  This may have several possible causes. Amazon Swords (Echinodorus sp.) need strong light and soft acid water as well as loose fine gravel. They also need aquarium fertilizer tabs tucked into the gravel near their roots.
  
  Translucent leaves mean the chloroplasts in the leaves are dying. This could be caused by not enough light (should have 2 to 3 watts per gallon), or an iron or potassium deficiency (use fertilizer tablets). If your tap water is hard and alkaline, consider using distilled water for water changes.
  
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• Other than bottled CO2, what is another acceptable method of adding carbon dioxide to my 55 gallon plant tank?
  
  There are a few liquid carbon supplements avialable for planted aquariums, such as Flourish Excel by Seachem. A number of other products use CO2 tablets that dissolve and slowly dispense CO2 to the aquarium.
  
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• I have a small 6 gallon reef tank with a couple small corals 3 fish and an anenome the store said i can have seaweed in the tank but will affect the water or fosh at all?
  
  Seaweed, or marine macroalgae, is both beautiful and helpful to your mini ecosystem. Calerpa (in many species) is very popular, but can overgrow or die off if not checked regularly. Halimeda is a very pretty slow grower. The many brown macroalgaes can be more light-demanding, but are never very expensive. Unless the algae is let to grow unchecked, your water quality should only improve , and your fish should love it.
  
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• I recently noticed a strange hair like growth on my sword plant, which later spread to all my plants. It is not green algae, it almost looks like a number of bare stems but gets very dense like hair if left alone. It seems colorless, like an opaqe grey, and only spreads on onto other plants. What is it, and what should I do about it? Thank you, Reza
  
  It sounds like you have some fungal growth. You can either physically brush it off by hand or stock the tank with various algae grazing fish or grass shrimp.
  
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• I have a planted aquarium and several of my plants have black spots on them. How can I get rid of them?
  
  You should have a dosing schedule comprised of Iron and vitamin supplements.
  
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• I have a 10 gallon tank. What kinds of plants do you recommend and how many should I get?
  
  You can try filling your tank with Java Moss and Java Fern.
  
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