Areal Advantage in the planted aquarium

One of most over looked aspects in the aquarium hobby is how do things actually grow in nature?

As you know, plants don't always grow underwater in the wild. Things happen and plants can grow up out of the water and up onto the shoreline ect.

But why should we concern ourselves with this if we are keeping plants in our tanks? The answer is that the plants will thrive given the opportunity to grow above the water line. This is called the Areal Advantage.

What do plants need a lot of? CO2. And guess where they can get a whole lot more of it? Yep, in that wonderful atmosphere. Heck, I'd go as far to say that your normal close up house probably has more CO2 in the air then being outside.

It is interesting to look at just how plants grow on there own in an attempt to climb up out of the water. As I type this I am staring at a 125 with Amazon Swords that have shot runners up and are heading to the surface. This can be seen with all kinds of other plants.

Bryan had a tank at the old fish store that had a piece of Anubias that was growing out of the tank. Though I have never witnessed it with my own two eyes, I believe that the major aquatic plant nurseries use this as well