Dustin's Blog — pond tricks

Read Time: 4 minutes Okay, sure, the title sounds kinda clickbait-ish. Most people hear "fungus" and think either "athlete's foot" or "mushroom," but what if we told you fungi might help you grow aquarium plants?  Mycorrhizae: Pretty Fly for Fungi Land plants have a well-documented symbiotic (mutually helpful) relationship between their roots and a huge range of fungal species naturally found in soil called mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae actually translates from Greek to "fungal root." The fungi infects the plant's roots, obtains "food" (carbohydrates) from the plant and, in return,  increases the plant's root absorption and nutrient uptake by increasing root surface...

Read Time: 9 minutes Freshwater aquatic plant anatomy and physiology, and how you can make easy botany work for your planted tank Welcome back to another installment of the Aquarium Science Series! Got some epic aquarium plants growing, but wondering how they work and why that matters? This post will give you an overview of some botany basics, with more specific posts on roots, plant genetics, leaf physiology and photosynthesis/respiration, etc. to follow later when we really dig into it. Aquarium Plant Classifications Scientific Names/Taxonomy Want to get to know someone? Start with a name. Aquarium plants are no different....

Read Time: 6 minutes If we had to pick the easiest category of aquarium plants to grow, it'd be this one. Floating aquatic plants grow quickly, they propagate quickly, they come together quickly, they don't need a lot of work...you don't even have to plant them since you can just toss them into your tank. It doesn't get much better than that. Not sure which one you want? Welcome to Floating Plants 101. The Do's and Don'ts of Floating Aquarium Plants DO: --Imitate nature when trying to grow them. Most of these grow on or close to the surface of...

Read Time: 9 mins AKA: More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Algae and Then SomeAlgae and pond/aquarium hobbyists have been at war for centuries. It's not always the ultimate opponent like many people think, but it can be a royal pain if it takes hold. Fortunately, we have an analgesic (an-algae-sic?) with the info in this article. We'll cover why and how algae takes over your tanks and ponds, types of algae, and treating/preventing excess algae.  Why Algae Can Cause Such a Headache First off, understand that algae is kind of a plant, kind of not, so you have to...

Read Time: 4 minutes One of the funniest comment threads I've ever read came from a guy who said, "Everyone has a ratio of swimming water to urine they're comfortable with." The immediate reaction to his post was a unanimous "Absolutely not." Then he explained it further: if someone pees in your hot tub, you’re climbing out and pissed off (Or, pissed on, maybe). On the flip side, we all know people and marine life urinate in the ocean. But no one goes running for the shore even knowing that. So the guy made the claim again, this time to...