How to Plant Java Moss in an Aquarium and Get It to Actually Stick
# How to Plant Java Moss in an Aquarium and Get It to Actually Stick Java moss floats. That’s the problem most people run into when they first try to…
How to Pot Aquarium Plants for Easy Rearranging Without Uprooting Everything
# How to Pot Aquarium Plants for Easy Rearranging Without Uprooting Everything I learned about potting aquarium plants the hard way. After spending two hours carefully planting a Dutch-style layout,…
How to Plant Hornwort in an Aquarium and Whether It Should Float or Root
# How to Plant Hornwort in an Aquarium and Whether It Should Float or Root You’ve probably heard hornwort called the ultimate beginner plant, and there’s truth to that. But…
Guppy Planted Aquarium and the Low Maintenance Setup That Runs Itself
# Guppy Planted Aquarium and the Low Maintenance Setup That Runs Itself Setting up a planted guppy tank that practically maintains itself sounds too good to be true, but it’s…
30 Gallon Planted Aquarium and the Midsize Option Between Beginner and Serious
# The 30-Gallon Planted Tank: Finding Your Sweet Spot I bought my first 30-gallon tank because the 10-gallon nano was driving me mad and the 75-gallon seemed like something I’d…
Easy Green and the Aquarium Co Op Fertiliser That Simplified Everything
# Easy Green and the Aquarium Co Op Fertiliser That Simplified Everything I spent my first year of planted tanks mixing my own fertilisers. Had a spreadsheet, three different bottles,…
Guppy Planted Aquarium and the Low Maintenance Setup That Runs Itself
# Guppy Planted Aquarium and the Low Maintenance Setup That Runs Itself Setting up a guppy tank shouldn’t require constant intervention, expensive equipment, or a degree in aquatic chemistry. After…
How to Create a Planted Aquarium Using Only Low Tech Equipment
# How to Create a Planted Aquarium Using Only Low Tech Equipment The most expensive planted tank builds get all the attention online, but some of the most beautiful and…
How to Take Care of Aquarium Plants in a Low Tech Tank
# How to Take Care of Aquarium Plants in a Low Tech Tank When I started keeping planted tanks, I made the classic mistake of thinking that more equipment meant…
FZONE Pro Series and the Pressurised System That Most Beginners Start With
I bought my first CO2 regulator because I was tired of dosing liquid carbon every other day and watching my red plants turn green anyway. I had maybe £80 to…
Marimo Moss Balls and Whether They Count as Real Plants or Just Look Nice
# Marimo Moss Balls and Whether They Count as Real Plants or Just Look Nice I’ll be honest with you, I bought my first marimo moss ball because I thought…
Anacharis and the Cheap Stem Plant That Pet Shops Always Have in Stock
# Anacharis and the Cheap Stem Plant That Pet Shops Always Have in Stock I bought my first bundle of anacharis for £2.50 from a grotty pet shop in a…
How to Set Up a Planted Aquarium Step by Step for Complete Beginners
# How to Set Up a Planted Aquarium Step by Step for Complete Beginners If you’ve ever watched someone’s planted tank and wondered how they made it look so effortless,…
Barclaya Longifolia and the Red Crypt That Flowers Underwater
# Barclaya Longifolia: The Red Crypt That Flowers Underwater I bought my first Barclaya longifolia because the aquascaping forums wouldn’t shut up about underwater flowers. My daughter had been pestering…
The 10 Best Aquarium Plants for Beginners That Are Actually Hard to Kill
# The Definitive Ranking: Best Beginner Aquarium Plants According to Our Tank Keepers Right, so we finally sat down to hash this out properly. Took us two sessions and nearly…
Anubias and Why Every Shop Recommends It and Why They Are Right
# Anubias and Why Every Shop Recommends It and Why They Are Right I walked into my first aquatics shop to buy a goldfish bowl and somehow ended up in…
Cryptocoryne Wendtii Red and the Low Tech Red That Doesn’t Need CO2
# Cryptocoryne Wendtii Red and the Low Tech Red That Doesn’t Need CO2 I spent six months trying to find a red plant that would actually stay red in my…
Glossostigma and the Carpet That Made Amano Famous but Makes Beginners Cry
# Glossostigma and the Carpet That Made Amano Famous but Makes Beginners Cry I still remember the first time I saw a proper Glossostigma carpet. It was in a photo…
Hornwort and the Floating Stem That Grows an Inch a Week Without Trying
# Hornwort and the Floating Stem That Grows an Inch a Week Without Trying I picked up my first bunch of hornwort because it was cheap, not because I had…
Vallisneria and the Background Plant That Does All the Work While You Learn
# Vallisneria and the Background Plant That Does All the Work While You Learn I planted my first bunch of vallisneria because it was cheap, looked green, and the shop…
Marsilea Hirsuta and the Clover Carpet That Thrives Without CO2
# Marsilea Hirsuta and the Clover Carpet That Thrives Without CO2 I bought my first batch of Marsilea hirsuta because I was tired of watching Monte Carlo melt in my…
Amazon Frogbit vs Regular Frogbit and Whether the Difference Actually Matters
# Amazon Frogbit vs Regular Frogbit and Whether the Difference Actually Matters I’ve been staring at two nearly identical floating plants for the better part of twenty minutes, trying to…
Water Wisteria and the Fast Grower That Makes New Tanks Look Established
# Water Wisteria and the Fast Grower That Makes New Tanks Look Established I bought my first water wisteria cutting for three quid at a local fish shop because everything…
Water Sprite and the Floater That Works Just as Well Planted in Substrate
# Water Sprite: The Floater That Works Just as Well Planted in Substrate I picked up my first water sprite cutting from a bloke on Craigslist who was practically begging…
Java Fern and the Epiphyte That Dies If You Plant It in Substrate
I’ve bought this plant six times over the years. Killed it four of those times by doing exactly what you’d expect anyone would do with an aquatic plant: planting it…
Anubias Nana and the Bulletproof Plant That Survives Anything You Throw at It
# Anubias Nana and the Bulletproof Plant That Survives Anything You Throw at It I bought my first Anubias nana because the bloke at the shop said it was impossible…
Java Moss and the Plant That Grows in Almost Any Conditions You Give It
# Java Moss and the Plant That Grows in Almost Any Conditions You Give It I’ve killed plenty of plants in my time. Expensive stem plants that melted overnight, carpeting…
Banana Plant and the Weird Looking Lily That Beginners Fall in Love With
# Banana Plant and the Weird Looking Lily That Beginners Autumn in Love With I bought my first banana plant because it looked like nothing else in the shop and…
Frogbit and Why Every Shrimp Keeper Ends Up With a Bucket of the Stuff
# Frogbit and Why Every Shrimp Keeper Ends Up With a Bucket of the Stuff I started keeping cherry shrimp in a 25-litre cube with a handful of Java moss…
Monte Carlo and the Carpet Plant That Made CO2 Optional for Beginners
# Monte Carlo and the Carpet Plant That Made CO2 Optional for Beginners I’ve watched more students kill Java moss than I care to count, but when I introduced Monte…
Marimo Moss Balls and Whether They Actually Do Anything Useful in Your Tank
# Marimo Moss Balls and Whether They Actually Do Anything Useful in Your Tank I bought my first marimo moss ball because it was sitting there looking like a small…
Crypts and the Low Maintenance Root Feeders That Hate Being Moved
# Crypts and the Low Maintenance Root Feeders That Hate Being Moved I learned about crypt melt the hard way. Three weeks into keeping my first planted tank, I decided…
Bacopa Monnieri and the Beginner Stem Plant That Actually Looks Good
# Bacopa Monnieri and the Beginner Stem Plant That Actually Looks Good I’ve been teaching middle school biology for eight years, and I’ve learned that the best way to get…
Java Moss and Why Every Planted Tank Eventually Ends Up Covered in It
# Java Moss and Why Every Planted Tank Eventually Ends Up Covered in It I started keeping a small tub of java moss as backup material for my classroom tanks.…
Anacharis and the Fast Growing Stem Plant That Doubles as a Water Purifier
# Anacharis: The Fast Growing Stem Plant That Doubles as a Water Purifier I walked into that aquatics shop eighteen months ago planning to buy a goldfish bowl and some…
Hornwort and the Floating Stem Plant That Grows Whether You Want It to or Not
# Hornwort and the Floating Stem Plant That Grows Whether You Want It to or Not I bought my first bit of hornwort for three pounds fifty from a local…
Monte Carlo and the Carpet Plant That Changed What Beginners Think Is Possible
# Monte Carlo and the Carpet Plant That Changed What Beginners Think Is Possible I’ve been keeping planted tanks for over two years now, and I still remember the first…
Planted Aquarium Ideas for Every Budget From Beginner to Competition Level
Don’t worry. I know that feeling too. Eighteen months ago I walked into that aquatics shop clueless about what was about to happen. Spending £340 on a tank you decide…