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| PET GAZETTE | AQUATIC
AQUASCAPING; HOW TO EDUCATE YOUR
CONSUMERS AND GET THEM INVOLVED
By Simon Strode, key
account manager,
Tetra UK
T
he best way to
describe aquascaping
to your consumers
is by comparing it to
gardening, but in your
aquarium. Just like
gardens can look very different, so can
aquascaped aquariums. Some fishkeepers
like to create a natural look as you would
find in the wild, while some will want to
create more detailed landscapes such
as mountainous regions. By using plants,
rocks and driftwood, consumers can create
wonderful homes for their fish, and it can
become a central part of the fishkeeping
hobby.
Aquascaping doesn’t just make aquariums
look amazing, it comes with a wealth of
benefits for fish too. As well as providing
shelter and hiding places for the fish and
creating a surface for friendly microorganisms
to grow, introducing natural products, such as
plants and bark, produce valuable oxygen and
use up carbon dioxide.
HELP PLANT LIFE THRIVE
IN AN AQUARIUM
There are one or two things consumers can
do to make sure their aquarium is suitable
for encouraging healthy plant growth. For
retailers this is an opportunity not to be missed
as making sure you have the right products
www.petgazette.biz
to help consumers maintain healthy plants
will give you additional sales, providing an
incremental category that can be built upon.
Just like fish, plants require oxygen for life,
but getting the balance just right is important.
Too much oxygen, or not enough, can be
detrimental to plant growth. Most aquariums
should have sufficient oxygen, but if more
is needed an air pump can be added and
switched on during the night when plants stop
producing oxygen. Be careful not to overstock
your aquarium though, as this can cause too
much oxygen to be produced on a level that’s
harder to control.
Plants also need carbon dioxide for
photosynthesis. In most aquariums, there will
be sufficient carbon dioxide for a few plants,
but for a good display it is necessary to provide
additional amounts. It is easy to add carbon
dioxide to the aquarium with a CO2 system,
which are available in different sizes and
formats depending on the size of aquarium
they are required for.
Ideally, the CO2 level in the aquarium
should be maintained between 5 and
15mg/l. The amount of carbon dioxide in the
water is influenced by temperature, pH and
carbonate hardness and these levels should
be measured during the day when the plants
are using up carbon dioxide, as at night they
stop photosynthesising and therefore do not
require it.
May 2018