- Make sure you are using a decent fertiliser which provides what your plants need. If you have demanding plants that means they need CO2 and lots of ferts (both trace and macros). Dose the ferts on a daily basis (not weekly) as you'll get better results this way.
- Algae is caused due to fluctuating levels in your aquarium so keep things stable - add ferts every day, perform large water changes every week (yes every week) and keep on top of maintenance. When you slack off, algae rears it's ugly head.
- Limit your lighting. The longer your lighting is on for, the more problems you may have. I suggest no more than 8 hours a day and if you're having problems with algae, drop it down to 6 hours until it levels off.
- Use a liquid carbon which helps to get rid of algae. Super popular (for that reason) and if you dose according to the bottle instructions you'll be pleased with the results.
- Ensure you have enough plants in your tank. Having a tank 30% planted is just not enough and creates instability (then algae...). Look to have a tank about 80% full of plants and you'll find everything a lot easier.
![Damn aquarium plants won't grow](http://aquaessentials.co.uk/cdn/shop/articles/2.png?v=1673282280&width=3000)
Damn aquarium plants won't grow
Richard Cale 3 comments
I hear this all the time and I know it's a big issue for you guys. The good thing is you don't need to sweat about it as it's easily solved. Here are my top tips:
3 comments
I have had the same 29 gallon tank with the same plants in it for 14 years or more. The plants grew rampantly and I would have to
thin them out every few months. A couple of years ago I went from having larger fish to the small schooling kind for a change after a heater killed the big fish off one night. (didn’t bother the plants) I had a huge algae bloom starting about a 8 months ago that I have gotten control over several weeks ago. I believe that is what caused the ferns to have developed holes in the leaves, ragged edges and some black spots on them and they are Still not recovering weeks after I got control of the algae. I hate to lose these plants. They make the acquarium. Any ideas? Thank you, Bonny Stephens
Thanks Tony! Much appreciated :)
Fantastic blog Richard… Will be retweeting this for you