The Golias AquaScience: Ecology of the Planted Aquarium
Journey to healthy aquarium plants grounded in ecological principles, scientific rigor, and logical thinking—not hearsay or guesswork.
Site's purpose
I'm an everyday aquarist passionate about unlocking the secrets to thriving aquarium plants. Frustrated by common issues like stunted growth, nutrient deficiencies or toxicity, and algae battles, I preferred a systematic, science-driven approach to the speculative and poorly justified advice of users on various aquarium forums. This site documents my journey—conducting controlled experiments, developing practical tools, and diving into key ecological factors—to help fellow hobbyists [who value logical thinking] achieve beautiful, healthy planted tanks based on evidence, not guesswork.
If you are such a hobbyist, my website will provide you with a unique resource. Here, you can delve into the scientific principles behind cultivating healthy, vibrant aquatic ecosystems. My mission is to move beyond conventional wisdom and provide a deeper understanding of plant preferences, water chemistry, and natural laws governing their behavior.
My Philosophy
I believe that the best approach to aquaristics is not about exposing plants to conditions that we (humans) consider best, but about creating optimum conditions that the plants themselves prefer. Our (human) ideas about what aquarium plants prefer are often incorrect (distorted), as a result of which we provide plants with insufficient, excessive, or unbalanced nutrients, unsuitable pH/KH, and an overall unsuitable environment for life. My philosophy, inspired by natural ecosystems, strives to provide plants with the ideal conditions for stable, long-term health and vitality, which would make them more robust and resilient to stress and less susceptible to disease and algae.
Aquarium plants follow natural laws, just like the ecosystems they come from. By understanding these principles—through experiments testing variables like CO2, nutrients, pH, substrates, and light—we can create balanced environments where plants flourish. I'm not a guru; I'm just committed to piecing together the puzzle, one hypothesis at a time. Whether you're dealing with soft-water oligotrophic species (like Rotala wallichii or Ammannia pedicellata 'Gold') that demand precise, low-nutrient conditions, or hard-water eutrophic plants (like Hygrophila corymbosa) that tolerate more variability, the goal is optimal growth without extremes.
What You'll Find on My Site
Experiments
Explore my detailed, carefully documented experiments (unparalleled in this hobby), like testing nutrient-poor vs. nutrient-rich water with/without CO2 and substrates, plant preferences for water hardness, or recipes for hard-water vs. soft-water ecotypes, accompanied by extensive laboratory analyses. My research provides data-driven insights to help you better understand plant preferences and achieve better results in their cultivation.
Tools
Access a suite of interactive tools and calculators designed to simplify and better understand complex aquarium chemistry and natural laws (principles). My tools include an Interactive CO2 Charts (created by Gábor Turu alias hax47), a Unit Converter (µM ⇌ mg/ℓ), Conductivity Calculator, Simple and Advanced Nutrient Calculator, Stock Solution Designer, and guides for measuring and dosing CO2 with simple and affordable methods.
Articles
In-depth explorations of key topics:
- Key Factors Affecting Plants: Vital substances vs. detrimental influences, with recipes for hard/soft-water species.
- Iron Behavior: Chemistry, uptake, and toxicity in acidic, high-oxygen waters.
- Organics Impact: Dissolved organic matter's effects on plants, algae, and sediment toxicity.
- Ecotypes: Eutrophic generalists vs. oligotrophic specialists—nutrient strategies and aquarium implications.
- CO2 in Nature: Concentrations in tropical rivers like the Amazon (2-9 mg/ℓ) and effects on macrophytes.
- Chelates: Comparing chelated vs. unchelated metals for bioavailability and risks.
- Water Chemistry: Simulating water chemistry, ion speciation, and precipitation using the Phreeqc software.
- Modeling Plant Growth: Visualizing plant growth curves and nutrient uptake with R scripts and real data.
- Tom Barr’s Journal: Thematic insights from Barr’s iconic aquarium—lighting, CO₂ & flow, fertilization, maintenance, plant lists, etc.
- Mindset: Reflections on critical thinking and changing opinions through logic.
Study database
For those who want to go deeper, my Study database is a curated database of over 500 scientific papers and books on aquatic plant ecology. This resource provides a foundation of knowledge to help you understand the "why" behind successful planted tanks.
About the Author
The Golias AquaScience was created by Marcel Goliaš (Marcel G), a dedicated amateur researcher and aquarist committed to applying a scientific and logical approach to the hobby, with significant contributions from Prof. Hana Čížková (Department of Biological Disciplines at fzt.jcu.cz) and fellow aquarist Martin Langer (Maq).