Aquarium herbalist: features and recommendations for making

Beginner aquarists even before they have their first tank, think about what it will be. The design of the aquarium is an interesting direction, and today there are many ways to decorate it. One of the more interesting tank decorating options is the herbalist's tank design.

This is the name for a container with an abundance of various underwater plants, the main emphasis is placed on vegetation, and not on fauna. Moreover, there may not be any fish in such a container at all. But growing underwater gardens is no less interesting than watching the life of marine life. The herbal aquarium is a broad concept, it also includes a traditional artificial reservoir with live species of flora., and a Dutch-style container, where vegetation is grouped by shape and color. Refers to herbalists and beautiful aquascape - manual imitation of underwater landscapes.

This effect can be achieved if the carbon dioxide supply is reduced to a minimum (or completely eliminated). And also in the aquarium structure, you can install moderate lighting, limit the introduction of fertilizers into the water, or even cancel them altogether if there are enough fish and other inhabitants in the aquarium. In the popular slow herbal, not all plants can survive: long-stemmed and fast-growing variants die in such conditions. Ferns and mosses can be considered the best choices, which are not very fast growing and have little demand for lighting.Any kind of Cryptocoryne, Anubias, and Vallisneria can also be the graceful decoration of the herbalist.

A reservoir for a herbalist is usually taken no higher than 50-60 cm. If the height is greater, problems with plant care will begin, and the light will not be able to penetrate the entire depth. A round aquarium is not the best option for beginners. Aesthetically, it is beautiful, but in terms of operation it is inconvenient. A rectangular container is preferred. Typically these aquariums are sold with built-in lamps. But if they are not there, you need to install the lamp so that there are no darkened zones.

If the aquarium is presented with a capacity of 40–50 liters, the species diversity of plants and fish will be more scarce in it than in a tank of 100, 150 liters, and even more so - 500 liters. The herbalist is usually arranged in a fairly large container, rectangular, well-lit, easy to clean. Most often they make it from the former classic aquarium, in which the main emphasis was on the fauna. It is great if you do not buy a ready-made version, but make the herbalist yourself. It is difficult, requires a thorough informational preparation, but the result is worth it.

The step-by-step guide for beginners involves several subtopics that describe the requirements for each element of the herbalist.

Lamps should be with a predominance of the red spectrum, which is responsible for the growth and development of plants. The blue-violet spectrum is responsible for flowering. It is customary to install a blue lamp at the front wall of the aquarium, and a red lamp at the back wall and in the center. They are usually combined with full spectrum fluorescent lamps.

This is done using a combination of light sources (using LED spotlights and so on). LED lamps are installed according to the rule 1 Watt is needed for 1 liter. Daylight hours - 10-15 hours. By the way, the illumination of a freshwater aquarium is considered to be in lux - lumen / area.

The herbalist should include heating motors and a thermostat. Their use provides an optimal temperature range - + 24– + 26 degrees. This temperature organizes the required concentration of CO2 and oxygen. If the temperature indicator in the herbalist is increased, the latter will overgrow with algae. For a tank with plants, the carbonate hardness is important, and not the total hardness of distilled water, its indicator is 4.

From time to time, fertilizers (liquid and mineral) are added to the water, with their help the concentration of iron is maintained. You can control the quantitative indicator of nitrites with test strips - if the ammonia parameter is excessive, this can destroy the biosystem. You need to change the water every 8-10 days (about 40%). Such actions can reduce organic savings.

A nutrient pad, nutrient-rich soil and a standard substrate are used to fill the container. Basalt chips, quartz sand or pebbles are considered empty soil; there are no nutrients in it. For a herbalist, a medium-sized soil is optimal, in which beneficial bacteria develop well. It is imperative to rinse the soil before starting it into the aquarium (to eliminate impurities and third-party substances).

When the substrate is filled up, settled water is poured into the aquarium - the planting of vegetation is carried out after some time. Aquatic design involves the launch of both decorative and nutritious soil. In the future, there you can create a whole composition with the installation of stones, snags, pick up sunken ships and so on.

The whole process can be roughly divided into 6 stages. Each of them is multi-stage, but the general sequence is unchanged. The beginner's instructions for starting a herbalist include several steps.

A blank sheet of paper and a pencil is where the work begins. Sketch how the aquarium will look like: where to plant tall plants (along the back wall), where to put decorative elements, where to plant small green grass. You can get interesting ideas from aqua designers or even contact them for advice.

First we fill up the substrate, then the nutritious soil - this is the basis of the herbal aquarium.

After filling the substrate, a nutritious soil is applied, which will stimulate plant growth for a long time. And only on top of this layer - decorative ground. The base is ready.

Now you can install driftwood and stones, ships (whatever your plan suggests). The water that you will pour in must be left to stand for at least a day in order to erode the chlorine from there and warm it to room temperature. You can use special water conditioners to remove harmful impurities from the liquid. Reverse osmosis is required for aquascaping.

The aquarium is filled with water up to about half to avoid soil erosion.

The main requirement for a stream of water is not to destroy the litter and soil in the herbalist. Now you can add a bacterial preparation to the water, forcing the establishment of a healthy biobalance.

Planting of plants is also carried out according to the plan. To model the height of the future composition, wooden sticks are taken, which are fixed to the places of future plantings.

You need to plant the plants with special tweezers, which simplifies the already painstaking process. If the aquarium is large, then the flora should be sprayed from time to time with water from a spray bottle so that its leaves do not dry out.

Now you need to fill the aquarium with water completely. A filter is being connected (preferably an external one). Further, if you are going to add fish, then you need to wait three weeks. After this time, conditions suitable for their existence will be formed in the herbalist. You can add shrimp after three weeks. The lamp in the herbalist first works 6 hours a day, then the time increases to 10-12 hours. The compressor works at night without fail, during the day - if the fish require it.

To grow a beautiful herbalist, you need to monitor compliance with the biobalance in him. Even a lack of potassium or putting the wrong fish (such as goldfish) into the tank can negatively affect the state of the entire ecosystem in the tank. Check the condition of the water, evaluate its clarity, use test strips to determine the composition. Evaluate the performance of lights, filter, and so on. Carry out water changes in a timely manner.

It is worth adhering to the following rules for planting vegetation:

• the requirements for the content of the planted flora must be the same;
• before planting, the plants are inspected for rot and deformation;
• first, the center of the aquarium is filled with plants, then the foreground and background;
• the leaves and roots of the planted flowers are cut;
• water is fertilized in a timely manner.

The herbalist may also have room for moving decorations.

They are made of special silicone, jellyfish are attached with nylon threads or suction cups. In the dark, these figures phosphoresce, so it seems that real jellyfish are swimming in the aquarium.

In an aquarium with picturesque and lush vegetation, harats will feel good, the most preferable are schooling species. This list includes neons, rasbora, tetras and rhodostomuses. In order for the walls of the tank to be cleaned of algae in a timely manner, ancistrus catfish, as well as Siamese algae eaters, can be put into the herbalist. It is important that the fish do not touch the plants and are in a good neighborhood with each other.

A huge number of those who took up this work quickly turned their rods off. To maintain all the conditions necessary for the growth of plants and the life of fish, it is necessary to constantly monitor the condition inside the tank, the indicators of water and CO2, lighting and soil. For those who are not ready to take up aquarium keeping so seriously, it is better to turn to artificial (dry) aquariums, which have also become popular recently.

See further about the intricacies of keeping the herbalist's aquarium.