water circulation

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I remember having had quite modest success with plants so far and I'm
guessing I'm getting my water circulation/aeration wrong. Most of the
time I had too much aeration and only afterwards I realized it harms
plants. But a few times I had fishless, plant-only setups without any
aeration or water circulation and the whole thing got smothered in
algae. The most successful I've managed must have been one setup with a
low power fully submerged powerhead (without venturi, mild flow), even
though my lighting equipment was very basic. Is this last one the best
kind for a plant aquarium then? Also is it a good idea to have an air
pump on a timer running when the lights are out?

Seb

[Dick]

On 19 Jul 2006 09:44:39 -0700, wrote:

>I remember having had quite modest success with plants so far and I'm
>guessing I'm getting my water circulation/aeration wrong. Most of the
>time I had too much aeration and only afterwards I realized it harms
>plants. But a few times I had fishless, plant-only setups without any
>aeration or water circulation and the whole thing got smothered in
>algae. The most successful I've managed must have been one setup with a
>low power fully submerged powerhead (without venturi, mild flow), even
>though my lighting equipment was very basic. Is this last one the best
>kind for a plant aquarium then? Also is it a good idea to have an air
>pump on a timer running when the lights are out?
>
>Seb
I have 5 freshwater, planted tanks ranging from 10 to 75 gallons. I
removed all my air pumps over a year ago. My plant problems involve
weeding. Air bubbles just aggravate tank maintenance by depositing
minerals on the tank and creating algae growth on the bottom of the
glass covers. My opinion based on my experience. Yours for what it
is worth.

dick