Getting Started with Planted Aquariums: Why Soil Matters When Aquascaping
When you’re growing a garden outdoors in the ground or indoors in containers, you know that your plants need good soil to perform well and stay healthy. Whether you’re growing vegetables or landscaping, this is always true. Did you know that the same is true when aquascaping in planted aquariums? Yes, the plants are underwater, but they still need good soil to survive and thrive. What are some common issues that arise when getting started with aquascaping and planted aquariums? Let the experts at AquaBed help you get set up for success!
What Is Aquascaping?
Before we can get into why soil matters when aquascaping with planted aquariums, we first need to establish what aquascaping is.
The catchy term “Aquascaping” refers to underwater gardening–the increasingly popular hobby that focuses on arranging aquatic plants, rocks, stones, wood, substrates, soils, lighting, and other elements to create planted aquariums that are beautiful while also being functional. Indoor gardening has taken the world by storm, and the next natural step is to bring in water and animals to the equation.
With aquascaping and planted aquariums, you can create miniature worlds that you can then nurture and watch grow. If you’re nature-obsessed like we are, there’s nothing better!
How to Use Soil Underwater
Soil? Underwater? Really? Yes! Most plants need soil or some sort of substrate to stabilize their roots and supply them with the nutrients that they need to survive and grow. This includes aquarium plants. But you can imagine how messy it could be to try and use regular outdoor soil or even potting mix in a planted aquarium–water and soil make mud! And muddy water is not what you want in an aquarium. Not only is it unsightly, but it also makes an unhealthy environment for fish or any other aquatic creatures that your aquarium houses. Dirty water also obscures the effort that you put into your planted aquarium, and it can make it hard for plants to photosynthesize.
So how can you ensure that your aquatic plants get the nutrients from soil they need to thrive? AquaBed offers planted aquarium owners a novel way to provide a soil substrate without dirtying the water or making a mess.
AquaBed is a self-contained aquatic plant earth bed. It’s made using a fiberglass screened bag that allows for penetration from plant roots through the inner paper sleeve into a parcel of nutrient-dense soil. It’s fairly small–roughly 5" x 6"–and can sustain 3 or 4 plants for well over a year. AquaBed is held down by the sand, gravel or stones in the bottom of your aquarium, a plant is situated on top, and it eventually puts its roots down into the pouch of soil. The result is a natural aquascaping look and a mess-free way to ensure that your plants stay happy and healthy. AquaBed is non-toxic, does not affect water quality, and is safe for fish and other aquatic animals. Individual sales of AquaBed are available on eBay listed under Aquarium plant soil, Aquarium soil or AquaBed. Or contact us today if you're looking to be a wholesaler of AquaBed!
