by John Tullock
Back in December, 2017, I posted a photo of the demonstration tank I have set up to help explain how to grow aquatic plants. You can check it out here.
To recap my maintenance protocol:
I am also re-posting the picture from 3 months ago for comparison. The two images are not to the same scale, and the tank has actually been drained and moved once without disturbing the plants. Clearly, the method outlined above leads to the desired result. After the move, we did not experience the usual algae bloom and the tank was back to normal within 24 hours. We plan to scale up the system to a 30-gallon tank, in which we can try a greater variety of plants and ultimately add fish.
We will keep you informed on the progress of that project via future blog posts.
- Light on for 6 hours per day. Tank receives indirect sunlight.
- Fertilizer added daily, except on water change day.
- Carbon dioxide injection monitored with a drop checker.
- Weekly 50% water change.
I am also re-posting the picture from 3 months ago for comparison. The two images are not to the same scale, and the tank has actually been drained and moved once without disturbing the plants. Clearly, the method outlined above leads to the desired result. After the move, we did not experience the usual algae bloom and the tank was back to normal within 24 hours. We plan to scale up the system to a 30-gallon tank, in which we can try a greater variety of plants and ultimately add fish.
We will keep you informed on the progress of that project via future blog posts.
