For your aquarium plants to grow healthy, soil or substrate is a vital consideration. Aquatic plants are found to record enhanced development using this simple method of creating a two layer soil.

1. Lower layer
For the lower layer, add sufficient water to some vermiculite so as to wet it but not so much that it begins to float. Press and pound the vermiculite to make sure there is no air trapped inside and also to make the layer as thin as can be. Now, put in some soil that you have dug up from the garden. Make sure the concoction is not gooey or your tank will have a cloudy appearance when you fill it with water; if not, add more vermiculite and soil. It should look like cake batter ready to go into the oven. This becomes the lower layer of the soil which provides the aquatic plants with a great medium through which their roots enter and absorb nutrients. Make this layer as thick as possible, but then, not so thick that it mars the beauty of your tank.

2. Upper Layer
For the upper layer, you can use about an inch or two of sand only to act as a shield and prevent the lower layer from making the water cloudy. The most highly recommended is the sandblasting grit number three which is normally available for US$10 per bag of 100 pounds. You may use any sand as long as it is not too fine and not from the sea. Number 3 sand is approximately 2mm in size. If you think the sand is dirty, you may wash it first. Then put it in on top of the first layer. This second layer of sand can be between one and two inches thick.

Lasty,
Fill water into the tank with the utmost care. Keep something like a flat tray down in the tank while filling in water to make sure that the soil doesn’t rise up and make the water muddy. The water will be extremely clear if you have been cautious. Else, if the soil does muddle up the water, it might take anywhere from two to five days for the soil to settle again. Whenever you dig up an aquatic plant, a little bit of soil might come up, but it poses no problem.

After you finish putting in your aquarium plants, you may add a bit of fertilizer to the lower layer.

Read here to find out how to make a moss wall for your aquarium tank, or
Read here to understand how to choose the combination of plants and fish in your newly setup tank

David

I had come across this very interesting article from Aimee Amodio, on the topic DIY Aquarium Backgrounds. It was indeed a very interesting idea to have a DIY Aquarium Background.

I suppose that after you have get your Aquarium background done as described by Aimee Amodio, the next “upgrade” of your aquarium tank would likely to be the aquarium tank bottom or we call it aqua-scaping in some cases. To design a nice aquarium tank, you could not do without a layer of Substrate.

If until today this may have been an unfamiliar word to you, read here for more information on aquarium substrate.

These are the important points in DIY Aquarium Substrate:
1. Substrate material should be between 3 and 8 mm thick.

2. Large granules will block root growth and smaller ones can actually crush the roots.

3. It is recommended that when starting the tank you add the substrate in phases.

4. Mix the first layer with the solid fertilizer and place that in the tank. The bottom layer should be high enough to cover the roots of all plants. Approximately two inches is optimal.

5. One or two additional layers with the finest granules on the top layer. Vermiculite is good for the bottom layer since it releases nutrients slowly over time.

6. Place a bowl or plate on the bottom when filling with water in order to avoid churning up the substrate.

7. Select plants (including java moss and other aquarium plants) based on estimated size and height at full growth. An attractive arrangement has the shortest plants at the front, next highest in the middle and tallest ones at the back wall of the aquarium. Variety of heights is most attractive.

8. Consider things like how many fish you plan on having and choose the plants accordingly. Some breeds of fish co-exist better with some plants more than others. Some breeds of fish will hide in the plants and others prefer to swim at a higher level. Browse the Internet to look at pictures and read blogs by fish keepers for good ideas. After you have an idea of what fish you want you can select plants. Certain fish and plants co-exist well together. Most fish will nibble on the plants occasionally but don’t select any that are taste tempting enough to be devoured completely.

9. Possibly sketch out a plan for your underwater garden. Keep in mind it’s best to avoid overcrowding of plants and fish.

10. Some plants can be anchored to driftwood or mesh (especially good for java moss and other aquarium moss) and don’t need to be planted in the substrate. These include Christmas moss, Java moss and Java fern. Other good choices for the beginner are Anubias and Cryptocoryne (hardy plants which can thrive in the same tank).
- For plants that do require rooting make sure the roots are covered by the two inch (5cm) bottom layer of substrate.

11. Finally, make sure the aquarium has adequate light. Aquarium moss including Java moss required suitable amount of light intensity for fast growth (it can survive with slower growth in low light).

Visit AquaticMagic store for more information. Under the product pages, most of them comes with indication if your plants will thrive on low, moderate or high levels of light. Low is one watt per gallon of water. Moderate is 2 watts per gallon and high is three to four watts per gallon. Use those guidelines.

David