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…
Salvinia and the Surface Plant That Blocks Light Better Than Any Lid
# Salvinia and the Surface Plant That Blocks Light Better Than Any Lid I’ve been keeping planted tanks for eight years now, and I thought I understood surface coverage until…
Ludwigia Repens and the Red Plant That Doesn’t Need Expert Level Lighting
# Ludwigia Repens and the Red Plant That Doesn’t Need Expert Level Lighting I spent my first eighteen months in this hobby convinced that red plants were for other people.…
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…
The 10 Best Freshwater Aquarium Plants That Actually Thrive
# The Definitive Ranking: 10 Best Planted Tank Species That Actually Work in Real Tanks Right, so we finally sat down and hashed this out. Took us three sessions and…
How I Set Up My First Planted Tank (And What I Wish Someone Had Told Me)
I’m looking at a large 55-gallon tank sitting in my garage that my friend was about to throw away and I said, “What could go wrong?” Yeah, famous last words.…
Japanese Planted Aquarium Styles and What Makes Them Different From Everything Else
When searching for aquarium inspiration online, it doesn’t take long to come across photos of aquariums that look effortlessly beautiful. Perfect even spreads of mosses extending into the distance, stones…
12 Aquatic Mosses That Changed How I Think About Underwater Landscapes (Plus My Biggest Moss Disasters)
To make myself sound less like a total geek, I need to confess that I have over 300 photos of moss on my phone. This isn’t aquarium moss; this is…
Reef Aquarium Plants and the Difference Between True Plants and Coral
I’ll admit that when I started looking into reef tanks, I spent countless hours looking at pictures of gorgeous coral reefs completely enamored. “Coral trees? Brain coral? These things look…
Mangrove Plants in an Aquarium and Setting Up a Brackish or Marine Refugium
Keep mangroves! That’s right you vegetarians who inhale Marineland® vegetable slickcover™. I know mangroves seem intimidating, reserved for people with saltwater fishrooms and money to burn. I thought so too…
The Complete Guide to Keeping Terrestrial Plants in Your Aquarium
> **TL;DR: Start Here** > > Getting terrestrial plants to work in your aquarium comes down to understanding what survives partial submersion and what doesn’t. Start with pothos cuttings rooted…
Dutch Aquascape and the Plant Focused Style That Predates Everything
Go into any aquatics store today and you’ll find aquariums arranged as Japanese rock gardens or stacked mountain cliffs of stone. What you won’t find is tanks planted in the…
The Complete Guide to Planting Specific Aquarium Plants the Right Way
# The Complete Guide to Planting Specific Aquarium Plants the Right Way > **TL;DR: Start Here** > > 1. **Remove all rockwool from store-bought plants** and trim damaged roots before…
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…
Aquarium Plant Maintenance Schedule and What Weekly Care Looks Like
Establishing a planted tank is one thing. Maintaining that tank is something else entirely. More often than not the tanks that stay stable long term have a predictable weekly maintenance…
Simple Planted Aquarium Ideas for People Who Don’t Want a Full Aquascape
Simple Planted Aquarium Ideas for Those That Don’t Want a Full Aquascape I know what you’re thinking. “aquascaping” dominated by impossibly balanced stacks of driftwood, carpet plants trimmed to perfection…
Hardscape Planted Tank and Balancing Stone and Wood With Greenery
Few things make or break a planted aquarium like your hardscape design. Nothing screams “this isn’t a natural habitat” quite like poor planning and haphazard placement of rocks and driftwood.…
How to Glue and Tie Plants to Hardscape Without It Looking Terrible
There’s a certain pride that comes with watching your Anubias attach itself to your chosen driftwood after patiently waiting weeks for it to start doing so. Watching moss slowly soften…
How to Remove Dead Leaves From Aquarium Plants Without Making a Mess
It’s easy to look at those brown or yellow leaves decorating your aquarium plants and decide to leave them be for now. After all, there’s no need to stress your…
Aquarium Plant Supplements and Whether Extra Additives Are Worth the Money
Walk into any aquarium shop and you’ll be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled into a chemistry lab’s marketing department. Bottles upon bottles of every imaginable supplement promising faster growth, healthier…
How to Keep Live Plants in an Aquarium Looking Good Long Term
You spend ages getting your planted tank looking exactly how you want it too. Your carpet plants are spreading into the open areas, your stem plants are growing vibrant red…
Water Changes in a Planted Aquarium and How Often You Actually Need Them
Arguably no topic causes more debate and argument amongst aquarists than water changes in planted aquariums. One website will tell you to change 50% every week, another that you never…
The 10 Best Aquarium Plant Fertilisers and Why Getting This Wrong Kills Everything
The Definitive Ranking: Best Aquarium Plant Fertilisers That Actually Work Ok so we finally got around to doing it. Four whole meetings, three arguments about liquid carbon, Bobby nearly quitting…
The Complete Guide to Cleaning and Maintaining Aquarium Plants
# The Complete Guide to Cleaning and Maintaining Aquarium Plants > **TL;DR: Start Here** > > **Three foundational steps:** First, establish a proper trimming routine using clean, sharp scissors to…
The Complete Guide to Setting Up a Planted Aquarium From Scratch
# The Complete Guide to Setting Up a Planted Aquarium From Scratch > **TL;DR: Start Here** > > Set up your planted aquarium in three foundational steps: First, establish proper…
The Complete Guide to Aquarium Plants and Fish That Work Together
# The Complete Guide to Aquarium Plants and Fish That Work Together > **TL;DR: Start Here** > > Get your tank fundamentals right first: establish proper filtration, cycle for 4-6…
Planted Aquarium Aquascaping and the Difference Between a Fish Tank and an Aquascape
If you walk into your typical fish shop you’re likely to find two completely different types of fish keeping happening. Rows of pragmatic tanks full of fish that are healthy…
The Complete Guide to Growing and Caring for Aquarium Plants
# The Complete Guide to Growing and Caring for Aquarium Plants ## TL;DR: Start Here > **The Essential Three Steps for Plant Success:** > 1. **Get the basics right first**:…
The Complete Guide to Dealing With Algae on Aquarium Plants
# The Complete Guide to Dealing With Algae on Aquarium Plants > **TL;DR: Start Here** > > 1. **Prevention first**: Start new planted tanks with 4-6 hours of light daily,…
Saltwater Aquarium Plants and Whether They Actually Exist or You’re Thinking of Macroalgae
One of the first questions I had when I started getting serious about marine aquariums was “what can I grow”? After years of successfully keeping “okay” freshwater plants, I wanted…
Planted Marine Aquarium and What Growing Plants in Salt Water Really Involves
When people think planted tanks, they automatically assume freshwater tanks with carpeting plants and CO2 dosing. However, there is a whole world of marine planted aquariums that I knew nothing…
Marine Refugium Plants and How a Separate Growing Chamber Cleans Your Water
Marine Refugium Plants: How a Separate Growing Chamber Cleans Your Water The first time I actually watched my refugium working I was astounded by how effective it was. This thing…
Aquarium Planting Ideas and Layouts That Use the Rule of Thirds Properly
Aquarium Planting Ideas and Layouts That Use Rule Of Thirds Properly It took me ages to build the same tank over and over again trying dozens of plant placements, hardscape…
Saltwater vs Freshwater Planted Aquariums and Why the Approaches Are Completely Different
Saltwater vs Freshwater Planted Aquariums (and why the approaches are completely different) I stopped dead the first time I walked past a proper reef tank display. Here were corals swaying…
Planted Aquarium Styles Compared and Finding the One That Suits Your Tank
There’s nothing quite like trying out a style of aquascaping before you’ve even looked at what styles are available. It’s kind of like deciding you want to program in Go,…
The Complete Guide to Aquascaping Styles and Planted Aquarium Design
I approach most hobbies through the back door. Spend significant time learning everything I can about it from people who are already passionate, dive head first, fail miserably, and start…
The Complete Guide to Saltwater and Marine Aquarium Plants
Saltwater Aquarium Plants: The Honest Beginner’s Guide (& What Works) TL;DR: Click Here Plant keeps turning brown in saltwater? Want marine aquarium plants that actually work? Add Chaetomorpha to your…