Earlier, this hobby used to be limited to only small ponds or considerably large water bodies. However, with time and with advent of many innovative concepts, water gardening can now even be enjoyed in the comfort of ones apartment. As with soil gardening, water gardening also has some specific requirements that need to be adhered to.



Primarily, you will need a big container that can hold minimum 15-20 gallons water. This will be sufficient to cultivate a mini water garden. Plants will then be planted inside the container with the soil type varying from plant to plant. The plant may also be settled on a certain level inside the container depending on its depth requirements. All this information can be accessed either online or at your nearest garden center.

It is advisable that you don't make use of the tap for water gardening purposes. Many cities have special water treatment plants that mix chemicals in water to make it drinkable. Chlorine is one such chemical that is commonly added to water. Such chemicals can be devastating for your water garden plants and thus you should first get rid of them to make the water usable for water gardening. Chlorine normally burns out in 24-48 hours and hence you must wait until then to put any plants in the container.

The containers meant for water gardening can fit anywhere from one to three varieties of basic plants. They are classified according to their behavior while in water. While some of them may grow out of the water line and would want to reach skies, the others may remain grounded inside the water. There is a third type as well which keeps floating in the water, and hence is called, "floater". What all varieties of plants and how many of them should you cultivate will depend on the container size and the attention they will require.

Now coming to the marine life, you can have fishes and snails in your water garden. Mini water gardens can even accommodate guppies that normally can endure any temperature. They can also feast on the mosquitoes that may try to test the waters. If you have opted for a large container then you can even flash couple of goldfishes to your friends. Snails can also be kept as they play an important role in clean up operation by eating away the decaying plants and the fish waste.

Creating and maintaining a water garden is not as easy as taking a container, filling it up with water and plants and then adding a little marine livestock. You will need to maintain your water garden well by providing it with regular fresh water supply. A method will need to be devised to periodically drain out stale water and add fresh water without harming the inhabitants of the water garden.