in rivers and lakes ive seen Vallisneria carpets and other plant carpets and amazing plant growth is it because thers dirt underneath this substrate giving the plants nutrience and can i do this in my aquarium with some type of dirt and sand and gravel on top.
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why do plants grow well in rivers and lakes
- Thread starter Benji k
- Start date
Other than light and CO2 plants need 14 element (nutrients) to grow. 7 metal and 7 none metals. If just one is missing the plants will not grow. but these elements need to be soluble in water for the plants to use them. In soil plants release eek acids that break down rock and soil making the element water soluble. But in an aquatic environment the acids released by the roots are often sweptsdd away by the current. But often water is naturally slightly acidic. So the aquatic plants mostly absorb nutrient from the water. flowing past them.
In an aquarium the nutrients can come from fish waist or they are already in the tap water you used to fill the tank. People then often use fertilizers to supplement the nutrients. Or people us nutrient rich soil as their substate. Some people need use a soil plus fertilizer. While others use just fertilizers Nutrients in the substate can however eventually run out. Also not all fertilizers have all the 14 nutrients. Manufactures often assume some are in your tap water. So just using a fertilizer is not a guaranty of success. The hard part with plants is figuring out what combination of fish waist, soil, and or fertilizer will give you good plant growth without algae. Getting everything right can be difficult.
Plants need Nitrogen, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Posphate, Sulfur, chlorine, Iron, Boron, Zinc, Copper, molybdenum, and nickel. This is in addition to the carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen the plants can extract from water and air.
In an aquarium the nutrients can come from fish waist or they are already in the tap water you used to fill the tank. People then often use fertilizers to supplement the nutrients. Or people us nutrient rich soil as their substate. Some people need use a soil plus fertilizer. While others use just fertilizers Nutrients in the substate can however eventually run out. Also not all fertilizers have all the 14 nutrients. Manufactures often assume some are in your tap water. So just using a fertilizer is not a guaranty of success. The hard part with plants is figuring out what combination of fish waist, soil, and or fertilizer will give you good plant growth without algae. Getting everything right can be difficult.
Plants need Nitrogen, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Posphate, Sulfur, chlorine, Iron, Boron, Zinc, Copper, molybdenum, and nickel. This is in addition to the carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen the plants can extract from water and air.
Even if you use some kind of dirt substrate, eventually it will run out of nutrients. I just use play sand with root tabs and get good results.
Things grow good in nature because that’s their natural habitat. We can try to duplicate it but we will never improve on it.
It is questionable just how much "amazing growth" actually occurs in habitats. There is certainly no freshwater tropical habitat looking anything like the high-tech planted tanks we see in the hobby. But as already mentioned, there is a complex level of nutrients and light involved.
With respect to aquarium substrates...it is not "soil" that is the benefit, but what can be in the soil. But this is negated by the very significant detriments that will likely occur with any type of dirt which in my view does not justify using soils. The benefit of soil is the organic matter it contains, which produces CO2 and ammonia as it decays and is broken down by various bacteria. These however can easily kill fish. And within a year, these soils are depleted of anything valuable anyway.
I have grown several aquatic plants that were much more vibrant and thriving than the majority in the natural habitats. I did this with an inert sand or fine gravel substrate, then depending upon the entire biological system adding nutrients via substrate tabs and/or comprehensive liquid fertilizers.
The other important fact to remember is that the aquarium is not "nature" per say. Yes, the same species may be present, and yes the biological and chemistry will follow the natural rules. But this can be positive or negative in the closed system of even the largest home aquarium. Things are often less of a detriment in the natural habitat because of the comparative expanse of space in which all this plays out. A simple example told me by the curator of freshwater fish at the Vancouver Aquarium several years ago. He collected a dwarf cichlid species from a creek where this fish is endemic, and as it uses the dried leaves that litter the substrate to spawn he brought some back with the fish. All seemed well, until after several months suddenly the fish began dying. Analysis showed that the leaves that litter the natural habitat contain a toxic substance that kills fish. In the habitat it never did this because the water flow carried it away. But in the confines of the aquarium, it was deadly.
With respect to aquarium substrates...it is not "soil" that is the benefit, but what can be in the soil. But this is negated by the very significant detriments that will likely occur with any type of dirt which in my view does not justify using soils. The benefit of soil is the organic matter it contains, which produces CO2 and ammonia as it decays and is broken down by various bacteria. These however can easily kill fish. And within a year, these soils are depleted of anything valuable anyway.
I have grown several aquatic plants that were much more vibrant and thriving than the majority in the natural habitats. I did this with an inert sand or fine gravel substrate, then depending upon the entire biological system adding nutrients via substrate tabs and/or comprehensive liquid fertilizers.
The other important fact to remember is that the aquarium is not "nature" per say. Yes, the same species may be present, and yes the biological and chemistry will follow the natural rules. But this can be positive or negative in the closed system of even the largest home aquarium. Things are often less of a detriment in the natural habitat because of the comparative expanse of space in which all this plays out. A simple example told me by the curator of freshwater fish at the Vancouver Aquarium several years ago. He collected a dwarf cichlid species from a creek where this fish is endemic, and as it uses the dried leaves that litter the substrate to spawn he brought some back with the fish. All seemed well, until after several months suddenly the fish began dying. Analysis showed that the leaves that litter the natural habitat contain a toxic substance that kills fish. In the habitat it never did this because the water flow carried it away. But in the confines of the aquarium, it was deadly.
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Sunlight is why plants in the wild do better than those in aquariums. The amount of light coming from a standard aquarium light unit is tiny compared to full sunlight during the middle of the day. Most plant tanks that are photographed for books have high wattage lighting and even that isn't close to the amount of light coming from the sun.
A skylight in the roof will usually provide more light for an aquarium than a light unit will.
A skylight in the roof will usually provide more light for an aquarium than a light unit will.
Another reason they do better in the wild is that those that don't thrive in a particular environment simply don't grow there, so what does well is always in the correct environment. Many tank owners decide they want to keep particular plants (for whatever reason) and then struggle because their water is not suited to those plants. Personally I'm a bit lazy like this, if a plant grows in my tank it stays, if not I just grow something else.
why dosent it run out in the rivers
is that why plants grow well in ponds im setting up another pond with soil and gravel cap
Yep. Basically sunlight is the key to plant growth. They need nutrients as well but the main factor is light. Aquarium plants originated from wild collected specimens that grew in full sun light. The plant farmers usually have them in full sun too. It's only when the plants are at a pet shop or put in the home aquarium that they are put under artificial lighting, which is significantly less bright than the sun light they got outside.
Some plants are grown in a laboratory (tissue cultured plants) but even these have lots more light than the average aquarium. Tissue cultured plants are grown in glass containers on wire racks and have multiple rows of light above each rack of plants. The amount of light the tissue cultured plants get is way more than a normal aquarium light but way less than sun light.
Light is reduced in water too and the deeper the water, the less light penetrates it. In an aquarium that is 18 inches high a normal LED plant light will usually produce enough light to get to the bottom of the tank. But if the tank is 2 or 3 foot high, then you need higher wattage lights to get enough light to the bottom of the tank. In the wild, most freshwater aquatic plants grow in water that is less than 10 feet deep, and usually the water is only 2-4 feet deep. When the water is more than 20 feet deep, the amount of red light getting through the deeper water is reduced and other wavelengths (colour spectrums) of light also get absorbed by deeper water. Blue light tends to penetrate the deepest water.
Natural habitats are continually being replenished with natural nutrients, such as organic matter (leaves, plant matter, dead animal/fish matter) that covers the forest floor and in tropical climates decomposes rapidly. In an aquarium, we have to replace these, and rather than risk things by dumping in rotting vegetation, we use plant additives. These have to be controlled, and in balance with the light, or they will only result in problem algae.
The other thing to recognize though is that the majority of tropical watercourses are not full of aquatic plants. And in those that are, the plants often struggle. There are always a few exceptions, due to specific factors.
While I'm here, a caution on sunlight...this is a recipe for problem algae. Natural habitat is very different from enclosed aquarium. I had a small tank that only received natural daylight, including some sunlight (when it was shining). It is the only tank that ever had cyanobacteria, on the side closes to the sunlight.
TwoTankAmin
Fish Connoisseur
In the sunlight is not consistent year round. In many places we have seasons when both the intensity and the duration of sunlight changes over the course of a year. In an aquarium we can avoid that issue. In aquaculture done indoors this also applies.
I am most familiar with growing marijuana where it is legal. Many strains go to flowering as a result to changes in the day night cycle. This can be manipulated indoors, In nature pkants often reproduce by making seeds. Yes some grow underground and pop up a distance later (think mint) or bulb plants. In tanks vals are an example. But those that seed must sprout an grow, some must lay dormant over a winter. But indoors this can be circumvented by cloning and manipuoation of the light dark cycle.
In nature plants need water, in gardening we can water as required. Indoors it is even easier. In aquariums we control the light cycle and the provision of nutrients. If they need more CO2 we can add it, if they have too much of something that can do damage but we can prevent this with water changes. We can decide what ferts to add and both when and how. We can take action to prevent natural disaster for the most part. If my tank shakes off the stand from an earthquake...... If a tornado destroys my house....... If I cannot take care of the tanks due to serious illness or accident.....
So while sunlight is a good thing in nature, it is not required to grow thriving plants rapidly. Nature is what makes the world a place where we can live and other lifeforms can thrive as well. The fishkeeper can only keep a tiny space doing as well, or better, over a moderately short time frame. Our tanks will not be thriving in 100 years from now. Much of nature should be if humans do not mess it up. Even if we do, somethings will survive and thrive after we are done.
edited to fix typos
I am most familiar with growing marijuana where it is legal. Many strains go to flowering as a result to changes in the day night cycle. This can be manipulated indoors, In nature pkants often reproduce by making seeds. Yes some grow underground and pop up a distance later (think mint) or bulb plants. In tanks vals are an example. But those that seed must sprout an grow, some must lay dormant over a winter. But indoors this can be circumvented by cloning and manipuoation of the light dark cycle.
In nature plants need water, in gardening we can water as required. Indoors it is even easier. In aquariums we control the light cycle and the provision of nutrients. If they need more CO2 we can add it, if they have too much of something that can do damage but we can prevent this with water changes. We can decide what ferts to add and both when and how. We can take action to prevent natural disaster for the most part. If my tank shakes off the stand from an earthquake...... If a tornado destroys my house....... If I cannot take care of the tanks due to serious illness or accident.....
So while sunlight is a good thing in nature, it is not required to grow thriving plants rapidly. Nature is what makes the world a place where we can live and other lifeforms can thrive as well. The fishkeeper can only keep a tiny space doing as well, or better, over a moderately short time frame. Our tanks will not be thriving in 100 years from now. Much of nature should be if humans do not mess it up. Even if we do, somethings will survive and thrive after we are done.
edited to fix typos
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