Freshwater - Plants
Plants give the aquarium a natural look and support the quality of the water. They produce oxygen and clean the water by absorbing nutrients which are otherwise consumed by algae. They are also important to the welfare of fish: they offer a place for the fish to lay eggs and provide shelter.
Adding plants to the aquarium
In order to create a good contrast in colour, shape and height, it would be best to first draw a plant plan. This means typical foreground, middle group and background plants, which, just like the substrate of the aquarium, gradually increase from a low to a higher level. This way, you create a beautiful depth effect, and the plants will not block light from one another. In order to make create an organised look in the aquarium, place plants of the same species together in groups. Make sure there is enough space between the plants so that each plant gets plenty of light, and that there is still enough room left for the fish to swim around.
Liquid food
Depending on the species, plants get their nutrition from the substrate as well as directly from the water. In addition to adding a nutrient substrate of HS aqua Humalit 5 plus, it is also advisable to start adding HS aqua Floracell about a month after starting up the aquarium. This is a solution containing minerals and trace elements which improves plants’ growth. For plants with an extra high iron requirement, add HS aqua Ferrocell to the water. Red-coloured plants in particular need a lot of iron.
Carbon
Apart from minerals, carbon is also very important to optimum plant growth. You can add carbon compounds to the water in liquid or CO2 gas form. HS aqua FloraCarbo is a source of carbon and a nutrient system in one bottle. You simply add HS aqua FloraCarbo to the water as a liquid. Using the HS aqua CO2 Starterset, you can add CO2 to the water in gas form. Both systems are suitable for use in the HS aqua Quadro Aquarium. For larger aquariums, a more even and efficient addition of CO2 to the water is desirable. We recommend using the HS aqua Professional CO2 Sets for this purpose. There are two models of these sets available: the HS aqua Professional CO2 Set 1 for aquariums up to 200 liters and the HS aqua Professional CO2 Set 2 for aquariums up to 500 liters.