When I was a young kid (many moons, and many tanks ago), my aquariums had bright colored gravel with under-gravel filters, plastic plants, and I really had no clue what I was doing. I’d never heard of the nitrogen cycle, which fish to keep together, and which ones not to. We put fish in the tanks the same day we set them up. Our parents gave us a book about aquariums, which I probably never read, except the pictures. As a result, I killed a lot of fish and other aquatic creatures, through my ignorance.

As an early teenager, I attempted a saltwater tank that had about $200 worth of fish and an anemone. After disaster struck from my 4-year-old niece dumping my whole jar of fish food in the tank and me not knowing what to do about it, I lost all my fish and totally gave up on having aquariums… until I was in my 50’s.

Maybe around 2019, I started watching videos and subscribing channels on YouTube to learn what I didn’t know. I learned how to reseal and repair tanks and I bought used aquariums from classified ads and marketplaces so I could reseal the tanks and sell them to make money. Turned out to be a pretty good side hustle when I could find them for the right price. From someone local, I bought a fairly new 36-gallon bow-front aquarium that had a leak that they didn’t know how to fix. I paid $18 and I fell in love with the tank. So, I decided that would be my first tank to fill up. It sat in the garage for several years and eventually, 3 years later,, my aquadiction began when I started looking at what plants and fish I wanted to put in it…. I dove into learning all about the live plants and aquascaping I wanted for my own tank, thinking just one or two would be enough. Now, I have 16 tanks operating, with 4 more waiting to be filled – including a 55 gallon, which is destined to be for breeding Reticulating Hillstream Loaches. Additionally, I’m growing nearly 20 varieties of aquatic plants, which definitely is… not enough plants, yet. We need more Frogbit.

All of the operating tanks are low-tech, with live plants, some shrimp (got to get more), and… snails. Yes, snails. Lot’s of ’em. Initially, I wanted to be completely snail-free. But as I learned more about having a complete ecosystem, I realized the benefits of having snails. For my interests, I liked the Ramshorn snails. From what I’ve observed and experienced with my snails, they will eat the unhealthy, decaying plants, and algae. But, so far, they leave my healthy plants alone, as long as… I’m taking proper care of my plants. The snails find the leftovers from what the fish don’t find first. Snails mostly just eat biofilm off the leaves and other surfaces. And Ramshorn snails breed like, well, Ramshorn snails. But I’ve found I can control their population by not over-feeding. I also decided to introduce assassin snails to a few of my tanks, which breed much more slowly and help control the population. The Ramshorns have such a variety of colors and with the lights on, they look like little gemstones scattered about the tank. Mostly, it seems that watching how much food I put in the tank is the best method, to me anyways. Plus, I put my lights on a timer to help control any algae growth. I’m still learning how to dial in the run-times.

The live plants grow readily, and if left unmanaged, can quickly overgrow in a tank. But it doesn’t happen overnight…unless you have common duckweed, haha. Those of you familiar with duckweed know what I’m talking about. My neighbors have chickens. And whichever plants grow in excess and what amounts I haven’t been able to sell online, I take to my neighbors and exchange for eggs. Selling plants has also helped feed and support my Aquadiction.

What I’ve learned along the way is there is a balance, an ebb and flow, to having a complete ecosystem living inside my glass box. Live plants have been essential to that, and definitely reduced my maintenance. The more plants (not excessive), and the longer your tank is established, the less water-changes you’ll need to do, and less algae growth. I’ve watched a whole lot of videos, over the last few years, and in fact…and I’m still learning in the process of doing all this myself, now.

If you really want to get serious about live plants, learn about the Walstad method (plenty of info on YouTube and books). Most recently, I set up 4 tanks using an organic seed-starting soil (Jiffy brand), blended with absorbent clay (Safe-T-Sorb), and capped with 2 inches of small gravel (2-4mm size). Above the gravel, I also added driftwood acquired locally, a few lava rocks, and some live plants. Thus far, this has produced my best results. The soil releases excess nutrients (which can cause algae blooms), and to counter the excess nutrients, the clay absorbs excess nutrients and makes them available for the plants to utilize as needed. Time will tell how well this really works. 4 months into it and still looking good.

So remember, try this at home. And if you get the ‘aquadiction’, seek professional help, join groups, read forums, and learn. I’m currently unaware of any 12-fin..um – step… program for aqua-addicts. Good luck. Happy planting.