How We Hold Our Aquatic Plants

As you know we're a serious shop which specialises in the planted aquarium - a life long passion of ours. Plants as you might expect are very important to us and have always intrigued us due to the variety and the types of species available. But there are lots of other plants retailers in the UK, admittedly they're not specialists, but they 'hold' plants. The definition of 'holding' plants varies enormously and you may have visited these shops before, a metal halide on the ceiling and lots dead or poor quality plants floating about. Some are much better (not many) but you get the idea.

We're in business because we love what we do and strive to be the best. So why do some aquatic shops not look after their plants and why don't they care? They lose money every time a plant dies but for some reason this makes no difference. Even in the current economic climate few retailers are able to hold plants for longer than one week without them deteriorating or dying - the end result means chucking them straight in the bin. Of course the question should why are they not worried about throwing away money and why are they holding their plants in a tank anyway with no CO2 and fertilisers anyway? Because they don't really care....

It is perfectly feasible to keep plants looking great in aquariums, providing you know what you are doing, but there is also a better way. Have you ever wondered how Tropica and Aquafleur keep and grow their plants?  The answer is hydroponically - it's much easier. But shops will not embrace this way which is a shame as they would have so much more success, and if they really loved their plants they would care.

I find this really sad because I love plants and want to make sure they look their best at all times, particularly as they will be sent in the post and customers rightly have even higher expectations of plant quality when they are buying online - because you can't see the exact plant you will receive. Some shops will take advantage of this situation and maybe send a plant which shouldn't be posted in the hope that the customer won't be bothered to complain but we're different. You expect the best and when shopping with Aqua Essentials, and that is exactly what you receive, the best. So how do we achieve and maintain this standard? The answer is a simple one, and incredibly no other shop in the UK, holds aquatic plants like we do. That's right, no other shops in the UK, and possibly in the world. Intrigued? Read on...

We spoke to the growers of Aquafleur and Tropica plants and asked about their systems. We wanted to know all about humidity, temperature, air movement, nutrients and so on but the biggest question was how to replicate their conditions in our own warehouse. Because if we are serious about plants, which we are, why wouldn't we want to keep plants the same way as the growers? Makes sense doesn't it?

After taking on their advice, we invested in a climate controlled environment in which all plants are held hydroponically. This means that the pots are kept in nutrient rich water but the leaves are kept out of the water. The humidity is high, so we invested in equipment that creates humidity. We also needed to make sure that there is plenty of air movement so intake and extraction fans are used - this makes sure plants receive fresh air and oxygen. Temperature has to be specific for aquatic plants so, we've invested in equipment that maintains a specific temperature at all times. But the message is not what we have invested in, it's the dedication we make to ensure your plants (which is essentially what they are) are kept in the very best condition. Our plants don't have algae, they don't have snails but do have the strength to survive in the post for incredibly long periods of time because we have replicated as close as possible the growing conditions of the plant farms we buy from.

We want you to feel safe and secure that you're buying the best. We're proud to be the first aquatic retailer that has replicated plant farms in Europe and we wanted to share this news with you. In the future we will be holding at least 3 times the amount of plants we currently stock which is pretty exciting - this means you'll be able to get a wider range from us along with better stock levels meaning if you have an idea for a planted tank and specific plants, odds are you'll be able to get them from us and know that they are being held in the very best environment, just like the growers.

If you have any questions about the way we hold aquatic plants, ask a question on this blog :)