Plant Care & Nutrients

Successful plant growth requires a balance of light, nutrients, trace elements, and carbon dioxide (CO2). The light should be provided in a spectrum the plants can absorb, must be of great enough intensity to keep the plant alive, and should be consistently on 10-14 hours a day. Most nutrients are supplied by fish waste. Some trace elements might be supplied by your tap water, but are more consistently obtained using commercial trace element mixtures. CO2 is supplied partly from the air and partly by your fish, but can be enhanced by injecting it from an external source (for example, a compressed bottle). If your plants have a deficiency of even one of these factors, their growth will be limited. (Don't panic about this; most of us don't need optimal plant growth.) Overabundance of one factor over another may cause problems, such as plant malnourishment, undue algae growth or toxic buildup. Each ingredient will be discussed in detail in the following sections.