Easy Tricks to Making a Planted Tank Look Amazing
- Aug 13, 2023
- Anshika Mishra
- 470 0 0
If you are starting a new planted tank or want to level up the aquarium setup, consider these few simple ideas and tricks that make any aquarium stand out and look impressive.
Plant Sizes
When it comes to setting up a plated tank, choose plants of different sizes and arrange them in the tank according to their size and height when fully grown. Plant smaller and shorter plants towards the front of the aquarium. Then place larger and taller plants towards the back.
Sometimes when you buy plants, they come in small. But think about how large they'll get when it's grown in and planted accordingly. Large and tall plants like Amazon swords, for example, make great background plants.
For short, plants like Monte Carlo, micro sword, and dwarf hair grass look great in the foreground. Plants like Java fern and many Anubias species are more medium-sized. So, they'll fill our mid-ground well and complete the tank.
Substrate Placement
Another good way to make a planted tank look more eye-catching is to think about how the substrate and gravel look. Keeping it more shallow in the front of the aquarium and deeper in the back is a good way to add visual appeal.
Simply slope towards the back using your hands or tool and even out the surface. This creates visual depth and allows room space in the front for plants rather than looking at a deep bed of substrate. Another step is to even out the substrate in the front so it's smooth across rather than wavy. This automatically adds a more professional and cleaner look to the aquarium.
Lots of Plants
Use a lot of plants and a mixture of plants. A good reason to use a lot of plants, especially from the setup of an aquarium, is to lessen the chance for algae to grow out of control. Plants and algae are in competition. So, you can starve out extra algae by allowing the plants the opportunity to take up all the nutrients.
Using many plants helps achieve this. With strength and numbers, they can take up nutrients before algae even have a chance.
Different Plant
In nature, we often see many different plant species growing together. A perfectly manicured lawn may only have one type of grass, but in nature, grass fields are a mix of many different plants. To mimic this, we can use all different types of plants in an aquarium with different textures and colors. This is sometimes called nature aquarium or jungle aquarium style.
Mixing plants is an easy way to create a more realistic piece of nature.
Natural Colored Substrate and Decor
It doesn't matter what type of substrate, but using natural colors such as white, gray, tan, brown, and black may enhance the overall visual appeal of the planted aquarium. Especially when paired with neutral-colored decor like driftwood and stone.
Additionally, using one type of stone or wood gives the aquarium a cohesive look rather than mixing many different colors and textures.
Two-Handed Planting
To make planting easier, use two hands when planting with tweezers. Sometimes tweezers can make things more frustrating if you can't get the plant to stay down in the substrate. Using both hands can get eh plants closely placed without lifting them right out.
Place the plants in between the tweezers can push them firmly into the substrate as deeply as you want the plant. Keep the tweezers in place and use your other hand to hold the plant down hike lifting up the tweezers. Give the plants a little shake or wiggle to let the substrate settle around them.
Over time planting will get easier with practice as well.
Hide Equipment
Even though some equipment may be necessary to keep the tank running smoothly, hiding it even a little bit may help make the tank pop more. Using a black or opaque background can help hide any wires or tubing running along the back of the aquarium.
It will also hide any light reflections or shadows, giving the tank a clean and clear backdrop so the plants can really shine. To help camouflage any equipment inside the tank, we can use plants or decors for this.
A large rock hides a sponge filter or even a lush plant like an Amazon Sword. Tall plants can hide filter intake tubes or heaters.
To get the most out of your plant and see them really take off and thrive, use an aquatic plant fertilizer regularly. Consistency is key when it comes to plant fertilizers. Plants thrive in stable and favorable conditions. This is also the secret to getting the most vibrant colors out of the plants.
Using an all-in-one fertilizer, even once per week, can give your plants the building block to produce lunch and vidi growth on a consistent basis. Nutrient deficiency can stunt plant growth, produce malformed leaves, cause melting, and can give plants an overall pale and lackluster appearance. That's why regular and consistent access to all the necessary nutrients is so important to healthy plant growth and can transform the look of the planted aquarium over time.
Research Plants
If the aquarium is low-tech with low lighting and no CO2 added, make sure that the plants being added don't have high demands. Anubious, Jave Fern, and Crips all don't mind low lights and will go well together.
In contrast, plants like Dwarf grass, Baby tears, and some stem plants may prefer higher lights and even CO2 to really take off. So, they might be better paired together in a high-tech tank. Either way, it's important to know the needs of the plants you are using before placing them into a tank and to plan your plant selection ahead of time to set the tank up accordingly. This will lessen the chance of losing plants and money due to not having the proper setup.
Natural Sunlight
Use natural sunlight to your advantage. Sunlight can be beneficial for planted aquariums. This works best for planted tanks that are established and getting fertilizers on a regular basis to balance the light. Even a small amount of sunlight from across the room can make your aquariums sparkle.
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