Estimative Index
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 Frequently Asked Questions
Can I dose LCA Carbon Plus and Seachem Excel at the same time? No – the active chemical in both products is Glutaraldehyde, and using both products at the same time could be harmful to livestock. Is LCA Carbon Plus shrimp safe? Yes. When dosed correctly, LCA Carbon Plus should not harm shrimp or fish. Is LCA Carbon Plus “liquid CO2”, or a replacement for pressurised CO2? No. LCA Carbon Plus provides bio-available carbon and micronutrients to boost plant growth. However it is not liquid CO2 or a replacement for pressurised CO2.  Algae Guide Part 1
Excess organics? Excess ammonia? Not enough water circulation, too much light.  Algae Guide Part 2
Discover the 10 different types of 'common algae' - appearance and how to tackle it.  Flow Strength - What’s the right amount – and can you have too much?
Most people will recommend your filtration should have a turnover of around 10x the total volume of your tank per hour. So for example, a 100 litre tank should have a 1000lt/h filter running on it (if not 1200lt/h to make up for filter media/hose length reducing this rate).  Caring for slow growing plants
Anubias, Java Fern and Buce are attractive slow-growing plants, often praised for their hardy leaves and relative ease of care. They flourish in a variety of water types and are tolerant of most lighting levels, growing happily even in very low light. Their slow growth speed makes their demand for nutrients low, requiring very little care for beautiful results.  Growing Low Tech Carpet Plants
A carpet of delicate green plants covering your substrate always looks fantastic. In high-tech aquariums, they’re generally easy to achieve, with intense lighting and CO2 allowing for rapid growth and a wide selection of plant species.
In low-tech, it’s a little more difficult, but not impossible! With the correct plant choices and a suitable low-tech setup, you too can have a carpet in your planted tank.  Root vs Water Column Fertilisation
You can provide plants with the nutrients they need using a good quality aquasoil, an inert substrate enriched with root tabs, or even a DIY soil like those used in the popular Walstad method..
 Algae in Low Tech Tank
So - you’ve started a new planted aquarium, it’s cycling away, you’ve put in some plants and hardscape and everything is looking great.
Then one day you look in to admire your hard work and there is algae on your leaves, diatoms on your substrate, and generally things just look like a huge mess. |
 Choosing the Right Fertiliser
Some people will try to tell you their planted aquarium gets on just fine with no fertilisation. They’ll tell you that their livestock and the uneaten food provide all the nutrients their plants need. While this can be true for certain setups, usually where plant mass is low and the selected species are very slow growing and not nutrient-demanding, relying on fish and food waste to provide nutrients will simply not be enough in most planted tanks.  Ideal Temperature
If you’re keeping a planted aquarium, you know your plants need a stable amount of light, nutrients and CO2 to really thrive. So what do you do when all of these parameters are perfect, but your plants are not looking their best?  Red Plants and Iron
It’s commonly asserted by planted tank hobbyists that dosing increased amounts of Iron in your aquarium will improve the red colouration of your plants, or make them more vibrant. Unfortunately this is a myth, although it is not altogether incorrect. 
The Estimative Index (EI) Method
The EI method of aquarium fertilising, using products such as LCA All In One Premium, aims to supply an excess of all nutrients so that plants can grow without deficiency. At the end of each week of fertilising, a large (50%) water change is performed to reset levels back to baseline.
So why use the EI method of fertilising?  Plant Maintenance
Planted aquariums can be a beautiful addition to your home, but the plants require regular maintenance to keep them looking their best.
Avoiding Non-Aquatic Plants
It’s a common mistake for beginners. You buy an attractive plant from the pet shop, bring it home and plant it in your aquarium, only for it to start rotting away over the course of a week or two. You assume you’ve done something wrong and try again, only to have the plant die again – so frustrating! 
Red Plants & Iron
It’s commonly asserted by planted tank hobbyists that dosing increased amounts of Iron in your aquarium will improve the red colouration of your plants, or make them more vibrant. Unfortunately this is a myth, although it is not altogether incorrect.
The role of Iron in planted aquariums is complicated, but two of the main metabolic processes it contributes to is the production of chlorophyll and the ability to produce pigmentation. 
Caring for slow growing plants
While true that these plants are generally tough on the outside and easy to care for, they are still susceptible to algae and deficiencies, and can sometimes appear to die suddenly for no perceptible reason!
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 New To Planted Aquariums
Low-tech tanks without pressurised CO2 injection can still grow beautiful plants, and the slower growth rate makes them low-maintenance and easy to care for. They don’t require intense lighting and are easy to fertilise. With the right plant choices, you can have a stunning, lush planted aquarium.  Aerial Roots
If you’ve ever kept stem plants in your aquarium, at some point you have likely noticed fine white roots growing sideways from stems into the water column. Sometimes stems put out quite a few! They’re unsightly, and might make you wonder if your plant is getting all the nutrients it needs. So why do they form, and do you need to do anything about them?  Do I Need Root Tabs
Root tabs suit many planted aquarium systems and can provide an excellent boost to plant growth over a long period of time, creating lush, healthy stems, vibrant colouration and strong leaves. For particularly nutrient-hungry plants, root tabs are an ideal solution to supply targeted nutrition directly at the root feeding zone. 
Leaf Holes – Deficiency or Delicacy?
The sudden appearance of holes all over plant leaves can lead many hobbyists to assume they have a deficiency in their planted tank. The problem is that it is difficult to diagnose a deficiency just by looking at a leaf – you would really need to measure all nutrient levels to confirm.
Substrate Depth
Can Subtrate be too deep?
Short answer – not really! You just need to make sure you set it up correctly, and don’t mess with it! Organic matter (food, fish waste, plant parts, etc.) will always sift down to the lowest point it can in your substrate, and begin decomposing in the low oxygen conditions. The decomposing matter encourages the growth of bacteria, which can potentially produce quite nasty toxins in these low oxygen conditions. Nitrates (not nitrogen gas) and ammonia will also be formed in decent amounts but remain essentially harmless under the substrate cap. 
The Problem With Upgrades
Making upgrades to tank equipment or changing to better quality fertilisers is always exciting. You expect an improvement in your plants – better or faster growth, brighter colours – but sometimes they unexpectedly start looking worse!
When is the best time to start dosing fertiliser?
Have you put any plants in your aquarium? Then start dosing!
Even if you have a nutrient-rich substrate, such as aquasoil or a DIY dirted solution, you need to dose liquid fertiliser to your water column. Why is that? |
 Water Change The Right Way
Maintaining a regular water change schedule is an important part of aquarium keeping.
Water changes help to remove organic waste (especially with targeted siphoning of detritus), inhibiting formation of algae.  Melting Plants
Plants melt when stressed, which can be caused by a variety of triggers. In this stressed condition, the plant starts to scavenge nutrients from older, unhealthy leaves in an attempt to grow healthy new ones.  Are My Plants Deficient?
The plants in your aquarium need a supply of both macro and micro nutrients to grow lush and healthy. Without sufficient levels of these nutrients and a host of other considerations, plants will deteriorate. But how can you tell what nutrients you are lacking? Let’s first have a look at the most important nutrients in planted aquariums so we can understand the roles they play, before examining the best methods for diagnosing issues... 
Replanting Stems
To ensure your stem plants always look their best and to create dense, lush hedges, you should regularly trim and replant the top portions.
Lower portions of stem plants naturally deteriorate over time, and they won’t recover. Lower leaves will develop holes and become ragged in appearance. Lower sections of the stem will become thinner and weaker, and less able to produce side shoots. Aquatic stem plants are always focused on creating new growth, and... 
Setting Up for Success
Beginner planted tank hobbyists will often set up their aquarium to look visually appealing to them, without taking into consideration a few of the most important factors. They tip in some gravel, put a big piece of hardscape in the middle, fill out the tank with slow growing plants and put on a HOB filter. Job done, right? 
Red Plants & Nitrates
Some varieties of “red” plants only reach their full colouration when availability of nitrate in the water column is limited. This is because a lack of nitrogen delays the development of chlorophyll, which is what makes leaves appear green. Without the chlorophyll, red or orange plants can become more intensely coloured.
Plant Maintenance
The thing about aquatic plants is that you can’t prune them continuously and expect new shoots. Aquatic plant species are always in the process of shedding old growth to put energy into new shoots and leaves. If you trim the top of your stem plants to keep them short, eventually those old stems might not provide any new growth as they will be too far-gone to do much of anything.
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