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When you set up an aqua terrarium tank, I guess many of you want to retain it healthy as long as possible. However, more times than not, beginners encounter some issues and shut their tanks down. To prevent the issues, there are a few things you can try before you give up. If you are reading this before you set up the tank, you are lucky because most of the troubles can be steered clear by setting it up in a proper way.
- Choose Tough Land Plants
You might have seen aquatic plants used in aqua terrarium scapes, but growing them emerged is never easy for beginners. They need moisture but if the humidity is too high, they change their forms to adapt to underwater environments. Also, aquatic plants grow vigorously in the first few months, so occasional trimming is required in order to keep the light for every leaf.
So, if you are setting up your aqua terrarium for the first time, Choose land plants. Here are my recommendations.
1) Parlour Palm (Chamaedorea elegans)
Parlour Palm is one of the most popular indoor plants. You can plant them into your tank by simply putting the roots in the water. Many plant information sites do not introduce this way of planting, but Parlour Palm is strong enough to live without soil as long as the root is connected to water somehow. It also makes the water clean.
2) Monstera
Monstera is also a tough indoor plant. Just like Parlour Palm, as long as the root is kept wet, you are fine. I am not using any soil material but both Parlour Palm and Monstera are growing really fast. These plants give a sense of tropical jungles, and I’m sure they will look awesome in your tank.
3) Begonia
Begonia is the best choice for those who want to add some colours to your scapes. Place the roots in the wet area of the scape, and your tank will look gorgeous. One of the benefits of using Begonia is that they are capable of living in low-light environments.
2. Use Appropriate Lighting System
For details of choosing the light, read ‘LED vs Fluorescent vs Metal Halide (2020) Comparison of Aquarium Lighting’.
Light plays a vital role in growing plants and keeping fish healthy. Nowadays basically any light made for aquarium is fine. However, brightness is crucial. When you are choosing your lighting system for your tank, make sure it is bright enough for plants. Besides, I personally think the appearance of the light unit is also important for designing your cosy rooms.
3. Trim Your Plants
An aqua terrarium built with proper equipment is nothing but a heaven for the plants. Strong plants will cover the whole space and cut off the lights for the other plants. To keep the plants as long as possible, occasional trimming is required. Also, you must trim some old leaves so that they won’t get rotten.
4. The Biggest secret
I have written three of my secrets for retaining aqua terrarium. But to be honest, I have struggled a lot. It is practically impossible to keep every plant alive forever. Just like in real nature, strong plants indirectly kill others by taking up space. Besides, the strongest is not always the same. I believe that this is how nature works and it is an ideal style of maintaining an aqua terrarium. The most important thing is to take it easy, and enjoy the rise and fall of your plants!
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