Learning Center

Aquarium Green Water - Causes and how to get rid of it

One of the plagues for new aquarists is the dreaded green water algae. Green water algae is the accumulation of microscopic photosynthetic organisms called phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are a species of tiny crustaceans. These have chlorophyll cells stored within them allowing them to use photosynthesis as an energy source. Because of this, once they have a foothold in your aquarium, they're extremely persistent and hard to get rid of.
The primary cause of greenwater algae is ...

How to get rid of black beard algae?

It grows like crazy and covers every inch of your aquarium, both decorations and plants, at an alarming rate. Killing the plants and forcing you to scrub your decorations to remove this troublesome algae. This article will detail why this algae occurs and how to address the underlying causes of this algae. A few aquarium fish species will consume this algae. By the end, you should be able to easily modify your aquarium to either get rid of or prevent the growth of the dreaded black beard algae.

Light Spectrum: A look at what wavelengths are most utilized

An important concept when talking about the light spectrum is this. If a plant is green it'll reflect large amounts of green light. If a plant is red it'll reflect large amounts of red light. The other spectrums of light will be absorbed at a higher rate compared to the color of the plant. This is why as light intensity increases, plants will often turn bright red to protect against heavy red and blue light and intense par output.

The Truth about Liquid Carbon: What is it and how does it work?

Throughout this article, we will look at some of the ingredients of liquid CO2 and break down what they do. One very important piece of information I want to point out is that there is no such thing as liquid CO2 in a plastic bottle. Carbon dioxide is only liquid in high-pressure environments, like when it's put in a CO2 canister.

Carbon Dioxide Supplementation: What plants need it and what plants don’t.

Carbon dioxide, also known as CO2, is the most important macronutrient for an aquatic plant’s health. A macronutrient is a group of essential nutrients that plants use in large amounts. The 8 essential macronutrients are carbon (carbon dioxide), nitrogen (nitrate), potassium, phosphorus (phosphate), calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. These are the most heavily utilized nutrients that aquatic and terrestrial plants need for growth.

PAR, a look at photosynthetically active radiation.

PAR refers to the range of light wavelengths which plants can utilize in the physiological process of photosynthesis. Not all light can be used in large or any amount during photosynthesis, only a portion of the visible light spectrum is utilized in large amounts. The range of wavelengths which plants can utilize is 400 nm to 700 nm.

A Beginners guide to the aquarium nitrogen cycle.

The nitrogen cycle is a bacterial process that takes approximately 6-8 weeks to fully establish. The main indicator that you are fully cycled is when ammonia and nitrite levels are consistently zero. Ammonia and nitrite are highly toxic to aquatic organisms and keeping fish in an uncycled system can be deadly. Some fish do tolerate the process of cycling better than others.

Top 5 Red Plants you can grow without Co2 supplementation

The red coloration seen in plant species is directly proportional to the amount of light it is being exposed to. Coloration and pigment in plants are similar to a tan in humans. It protects the plant from increased light levels. This means that the brighter the light the more red of a plant you'll grow.