SUIKEI vol.004

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Keep an Eye on the CO2 Injection Volume after Trimming Aquatic Plants

This is a 60 cm aquarium with a U-shaped composition with colorful stem plants. The plants were cut to the same height and then planted densely in the aquarium. In a few days, the growth of the plants showed some variations. Trimming is needed in order to regulate the growth of the stem plants. However, an adjustment of the CO2 injection volume is something that people often forget to make afterward. Although the causes of declining aquarium condition and algae outbreak right after trimming may be the result of leaves that were sucked into the filter and an inadequate amount of liquid fertilizers, an excessive amount of CO2 could be one of the causes as well. Such an excessive injection causes the bacteria inside the filter to suffer from hypoxia and the filtering capacity to decrease. Therefore, after trimming, it is important to check the pH of the water with a Drop Checker or a pH test kit and inject the amount of CO2 that matches the demand of an aquarium. In contrast to the stem plants, the low growing Glossostigma was trimmed short in the front of the aquarium and left somewhat taller toward the back of the aquarium. The merit of this method is that untrimmed Glossostigma spreads runners to cover the foreground and grows dense quickly, making it easy to maintain the balance with the stem plants. The repeated trimming causes the leaves to get smaller and makes the aquarium appear larger. Not only Glossostigma but also the reddish stem plants, such as Needle Leaf Ludwigia and Ceylon Rotala that are planted in the back of the center section, create a focal point and add depth to the aquarium, resulting in a layout that does not feel quite as small as a 60 cm aquarium.

The SUIKEI detailed data

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The SUIKEI detailed data

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The SUIKEI detailed data