Primer for aquarium plants: types, selection and application

Aquarium soil is a key element in building a tank. With its help, internal design becomes aesthetically attractive, any ecosystem depends on its choice. The material in this article will tell readers what the soil for an aquarium is, how to choose and use it correctly.

Few people thought that the empty bottom annoys the inhabitants of the aquarium. This is not a way to mask the unsightly bottom, but a powerful biological filter, the basis for creating an aquarium design with green spaces. It is necessary to maintain the health of certain species of fish and living aquarium inhabitants. With its help, comfortable conditions are created inside the tank for a certain type of ecosystem.

It is good as a means of mechanical filtration, it can change the water balance for the better, is the key to the long life of aquarium inhabitants. Soil for aquarium plants creates a natural environment inside the tank and water. It participates in the nitrogen cycle, acting like a medium for the colonization and growth of bacteria. It is in it that a large number of microorganisms are populated. It nourishes living plants, contributing to their rooting, and also masks and protects laid fish eggs, so that they remain invisible to the eyes of adult aquarium inhabitants, often eating such “food”. The strength of the root system of plants depends on its type.

The substrate purchased for the aquarium should help create the conditions closest to natural conditions inside the tank. Being the basis for rooting plants and the habitat of fish and other inhabitants of the aquarium, it is obliged to obey a number of requirements. Otherwise, beneficial bacteria that decompose food residues and fish excrement to minerals will not be able to settle in it. The list of mandatory requirements for aquarium soil includes several rules.

• The surface of the substrate must be porous. Otherwise, beneficial bacteria will not be able to settle in it.
• The fraction of the material should not exceed dimensions of 3-5 mm. Large particles of fish simply will not be able to turn.
• An admixture of stones and extraneous components is unacceptable, since the fish will not be able to get to the remains of the feed, as a result of which it will rot.
• Do not use too fine sand for aquarium plants, which cakes. This leads to the formation of methane and hydrogen sulfide.
• The substrate should be sufficiently rounded. The sharp components quickly coalesce, their angles injure the inhabitants of the reservoir.
• The fraction of planting material should be uniform and uniform in size. An admixture of sand is fraught with stagnation, which is unacceptable.
• Light soil is not suitable for an aquarium. You need to choose a substrate from a filler of 3 types: quartz, granite or basalt. All the rest are difficult to siphon, and these plants are better rooted and grow.
• The substrate, while buffering, must be inert with respect to chemicals.
• The soil must have the right supply of nutrients vital for vegetation.

All known varieties of aquarium substrate can be divided into 3 groups: natural, mechanical and artificial. Variants of the first type consist of materials of natural origin. These are crushed stone, quartz, pebbles and gravel. Such “soil” does not have nutrients, and therefore plants begin to develop in it only after they accumulate waste products that will serve as a kind of fertilizer.

A mechanical substrate is obtained during mechanical or chemical treatment of natural soil. Say, this includes burnt clay. The artificial version of the substrate is nothing more than a created mixed soil, enriched with nutrients and all trace elements necessary for plant growth and development. This type of flooring is considered the best if the main emphasis in aquarium design is given to plants.

Each type of flooring has its own nuances. For example, natural consists of what is at the bottom of rivers and freshwater bodies of water. Individual pebbles can be coated with a special resin or enamel. If sea sand is used for it, then such soil cannot be used in aquariums, since it contains many living microorganisms that, when dying, will pollute the water. Artificial fillers are often made of plastic and tempered glass. Nutrient soil enhances plant growth and contributes to a change in the hydrochemical composition of water.

The best soil for plants is considered to be a nutrient substrate, it contains minerals and organics. However, it must be used together with the neutral one from which the substrate is created. Do not confuse aquarium soil with garden soil: these are completely different substrates, in addition, ordinary soil provokes decay of the aquatic environment.

If you plan to create a design in the spirit of a herbalist, it is better to purchase a ready-made substrate of a well-known company, enriched with nutrients. It will not reduce the degree of hardness of the water in the tank, but will contribute to the development of more beneficial bacteria.If algae growth is excessively active, aquarium soil can slow it down.

When it is not planned to grow a lot of greens inside the reservoir, you can look at the products with special top dressing. They can be presented in tablet form, promote leaf growth, create a soil climate inside the tank. The composition of such dressings includes humic acids, which promote the assimilation of nutrients by plants.

As for the color scheme, this criterion is rather aesthetically practical. Against a dark background, the inhabitants of the aquarium look brighter, while even the smallest pollution stand out on a white or light. The size can be different, because you can use several types of material for laying.

As the ingredients of the flooring, you can use quartz sand, pebbles, coral chips, buying any of them in a specialized store. Neutral varieties of the substrate include both river and processed sea pebbles, as well as peeled granite chips. When buying, you need to take into account the fact that the soil for aquarium design is by no means universal: it can be designed for a specific type of ecosystem, it is not suitable for every tank.

For example, it can be used for soil plants (hemianthus, eliocharis, glossostigma), moss, or even large plants (say, echinodorus, cryptocorynes). Groundiness in aquarium plants is different. Therefore, the fraction of the substrate is different, as well as its conditional solubility. Hissing options for vegetation are not suitable - they increase the hardness of the water. In neutral soil, a weakly acidic environment is formed, thanks to it, plants feed through the roots. Sintered clay will also be a good option for aquarium soil.

Do-it-yourself aquarium soil of the following components:

• activated carbon (granular or birch);
• clay and peat;
• sorbent as an active additive;
• shredded foliage or coconut fibers;
• coarse sand or coarse pebbles.

A mixture of the above components is laid out on the bottom of the tank, while the thickness of the layer to be laid should not exceed 2-3 cm. From above, the soil is covered with a layer of coarse-grained sand or fine-grained pebbles. Experienced aquarists choose the second option from two types of material, while the size of the pebble fraction does not exceed 3 mm. In fact, it turns out the soil, consisting of two layers.

Its lower part is nutritious, and the upper one performs a protective function, preventing organics from being washed away soon. In order for the created aquarium soil to act as a biological filter, a bacterial activator can be included in it. It will greatly contribute to stimulating the reproduction of a colony of denitrifying bacteria.

The soil must be prepared before use. For these purposes, it can be evaporated or fried. When evaporating it is placed in a pot or bucket, pour water and boil for about 20-30 minutes. If the substrate is fried, then it is laid out on a baking sheet and sent to the oven for 30-40 minutes at a temperature of 180-200 degrees.

The design of the bottom of the aquarium, in fact, is a kind of layer cake, a combination of substrate and the soil itself. At the same time, styling can be very different. For example, plants do not have to be located around the entire perimeter of the tank: they can grow in one of its corners. In other parts of the aquarium driftwood and other decorative elements may be located. For this reason, the nutrient substrate is put only where it is planned to grow plants. For design purposes, aquarium design professionals use partitions to separate zones. Soil in the aquarium can be located not only smoothly.It will look more interesting if you place it with a hill, a hill, a rise, for example, to the back wall of the aquarium.

Irregularities are good for creating a perspective effect, and these hills can be supplemented with “paths” and “stones”. At the same time, incorrect design formation will lead to design mistakes. For example, one of the common mistakes is raising the ground to the front wall of the tank. As for the tools that are used for aquascaping, this can be either a special kit for soil formation, or standard bristles made of bristles for painting.

It will be necessary to monitor the state of the soil constantly, as well as prune the plants. In order to improve the aesthetic qualities of the landscape composition, artificial colored can be added to the nutrient soil. It can be glass stones of different shades, made in the form of drops.

Unfortunately, over time a brown coating may appear in the aquarium with plants. As it grows, it captures all parts of plants and is the cause of their death. It appears when the aquarium liquid is contaminated due to an excess of ammonia in it and disrupts the photosynthesis reaction.

Also, one of the reasons for its appearance is the excessive content of organic matter in the soil used. To eliminate the problem, it is necessary to remove the soil from the aquarium and subject it to processing, calcining or boiling. In this case, plants should be replaced with new ones.

If the water becomes cloudy after start-up, this indicates that the material was not prepared before being placed in the tank. In other words, it was not washed, and therefore particles of dust and dirt began to rise, which led to turbidity of the water.

Often, on the packaging of the finished material, manufacturers indicate that it does not need to be pre-rinsed before being placed in the aquarium. but if tactile sensations indicate the presence of dust, you must immediately solve the problem by washing the soil under running water. If placed without preparation, a dusty “hurricane” will rise in the water. Even if in the future the dust settles to the bottom, when the fish move, it will rise again.

Soil is made by crushing stones, but far from always the manufacturers themselves spend time washing it, although on the packages they say the opposite. Someone, believing the manufacturer, when identifying a problem is trying to solve it by filtering, which takes 1-2 days. Others perform 2-3 substitutions, a synthetic winterizer saves someone.

It is worth noting that flushing the soil for planting a herbalist is a laborious affair. It takes a lot of time and runs until the substrate is completely clean. This takes more than an hour, and the aquarium soil is washed in a colander, making sure that clear water flows out of it. Pure product is poured into the aquarium, after which the plants are planted again, water is poured and the tank is left for a couple of weeks.

You can’t immediately populate fish in it, since the first days in the aquarium will be the so-called bacterial outbreak. This is a natural phenomenon, which is expressed in a slight turbidity of the water. It passes in a couple of days, and as much as possible - in a week.

See how to choose the right soil for aquarium plants in the next video.