Fluval Stratum and Whether the Budget Alternative Actually Delivers
# Fluval Stratum and Whether the Budget Alternative Actually Delivers I bought my first bag of Fluval Stratum because I was tired of fighting my tap water’s pH of 8.2…
Aqueon Plant and Shrimp Substrate and What Reddit Actually Thinks of It
# Aqueon Plant and Shrimp Substrate and What Reddit Actually Thinks of It I’ll be honest – I picked up a bag of Aqueon Plant and Shrimp Substrate because it…
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…
Monte Carlo vs Dwarf Baby Tears and the Carpet Debate That Never Ends
# Monte Carlo vs Dwarf Baby Tears and the Carpet Debate That Never Ends I’ve watched this argument play out in aquascaping forums for years now, and honestly, it’s becoming…
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…
Seachem Flourite and the Gravel Based Substrate That Lasts Forever
# Seachem Flourite and the Gravel Based Substrate That Lasts Forever I’ve been using the same bag of Seachem Flourite for three years now. Not three bags over three years…
Chihiros WRGB II and the Light That Serious Aquascapers Actually Use
# Chihiros WRGB II and the Light That Serious Aquascapers Actually Use I wasn’t looking to spend three hundred quid on a light. I was perfectly happy with my clip-on…
Dwarf Sagittaria and the Grasslike Carpet That Spreads by Runners
# Dwarf Sagittaria and the Grasslike Carpet That Spreads by Runners I started with six small plugs of dwarf sagittaria in a 40-litre cube, thinking I’d have a nice patch…
How to Add Live Plants to an Established Aquarium Without Disrupting Everything
# How to Add Live Plants to an Established Aquarium Without Disrupting Everything Your tank’s been running smoothly for months. Fish are healthy, water parameters are stable, and you’ve got…
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…
Cuba Pearl and the Tiniest Carpet Plant That Demands Perfect Conditions
# Cuba Pearl and the Tiniest Carpet Plant That Demands Perfect Conditions I spent £40 on what looked like a handful of grass clippings and promptly watched them dissolve over…
Riccia and the Floating Plant That Aquascapers Decided Should Live Underwater
# Riccia and the Floating Plant That Aquascapers Decided Should Live Underwater I discovered Riccia fluitans the way most people do: I was looking for something completely different and ended…
Rotala Rotundifolia and the Stem Plant That Goes From Green to Red Based on What You Feed It
# Rotala Rotundifolia: The Stem Plant That Goes From Green to Red Based on What You Feed It I’ve killed plenty of plants trying to get them red. Spent months…
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…
Amazon Sword and the Centrepiece Plant That Takes Over Your Entire Tank
# Amazon Sword and the Centrepiece Plant That Takes Over Your Entire Tank I bought my first Amazon sword because I needed something green and substantial for the back corner…
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…
Alternanthera Reineckii Mini and the Compact Red Plant That Belongs in Every Nano Tank
# Alternanthera Reineckii Mini and the Compact Red Plant That Belongs in Every Nano Tank I spent two years trying to get red plants to stay red in my nano…
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…
Water Lettuce and the Floater That Looks Brilliant Until It Takes Over
# Water Lettuce and the Floater That Looks Brilliant Until It Takes Over I’ve been keeping water lettuce in various tanks for about three years now, and I still haven’t…
Dwarf Hairgrass and the Classic Carpet That Still Looks Better Than Everything Else
# Dwarf Hairgrass and the Classic Carpet That Still Looks Better Than Everything Else I planted my first dwarf hairgrass about six months after I started keeping fish, back when…
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…
Pearl Weed and the Carpet Nobody Talks About That Grows Faster Than All of Them
# Pearl Weed and the Carpet Nobody Talks About That Grows Faster Than All of Them I’ve been keeping planted tanks for eight years now, and I still remember the…
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.…
Bucephalandra and the Slow Grower That Became the Most Collected Plant in the Hobby
# Bucephalandra and the Slow Grower That Became the Most Collected Plant in the Hobby I’ve got a confession: I started collecting Bucephalandra because I thought it would be cheap.…
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…
My £3,000 Mistake That Made Me a Quarantine Convert (And Why Every Fish Gets the Full Treatment Now)
So you’ve decided to bring home some new finned friends? That’s great! But wait, have you set up a quarantine tank yet? If you’re scratching your head wondering what I’m talking about, let me break it down for you.
A quarantine tank, often overlooked by many aquarists, is a vital part of introducing new fish to your existing aquarium community. It’s like a separate room for your new fish to chill
Why My 20-Gallon Tank Keeps Me Coming Back – Hard-Won Lessons from Five Years of Aquascaping
You know what’s funny? After setting up tanks from 5-gallon cubes for desktops, to 75 gallons that nearly cracked my floor, I always find myself coming back to a 20…
Why I’m Obsessed with 5-Gallon Tanks (And You Should Be Too)
You know what’s funny? Most people assume the larger the tank, the simpler the task; however, I’ve found that my five-gallon setups (a 5-gallon) have taught me more about aquascaping…
Why I Started Using Weird Stuff in My Fish Tanks (And What Actually Worked)
As a former corporate sales professional for fifteen years, I’ve spent years following playbooks that other people wrote. After discovering aquascaping as a hobby, I quickly became skilled at replicating…
Why My Fish Hated My “Perfect” Aquascape (And What I Learned About Actually Designing for Them)
So I thought I was super cool and clever with my first real shot at aquascaping. I’d seen (probably) 50 YouTube videos; I’d spent a fortune at the pet store;…
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.…
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…
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…
Nature Aquarium Style and What Takashi Amano Actually Meant by It
Walk into any halfway decent aquatics shop and you’ll find tanks labelled as “Nature Style” or “Amano Style” that have no business wearing that name. To complete ignoramuses, they will…
Chaetomorpha in a Saltwater Aquarium and the Macroalgae That Doubles as Filtration
Living in San Jose means your flats aren’t always big. After setting up my reef in just four square feet of living space, I learned to appreciate every piece of…
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…
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…
Iwagumi Aquascape and the Minimalist Rock Layout That Looks Simple but Isn’t
If you’ve never seen a good Iwagumi aquascape up close, they can seem deceivingly simple. Some strategically placed rocks, a perfect green carpet, maybe a pair of tiny fish darting…
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…