Aquario Neo Booster Plants

A liquid organic-carbon supplement to give your plants something to photosynthesise with, whether or not you're running pressurised CO2.

Plants build themselves out of carbon, which they normally pull from carbon dioxide dissolved in the water — that is what photosynthesis is. A pressurised CO2 setup is a gas cylinder that feeds carbon dioxide into the tank; this bottle is the simpler alternative, supplying carbon in liquid form instead.

Neo Booster Plants is Aquario's liquid organic-carbon supplement for planted tanks — the same broad idea as the liquid-CO2 boosters a lot of planted-tank keepers already dose. Carbon is one of the three things, alongside light and nutrients, that most commonly caps plant growth in a home aquarium, and a liquid carbon source is a straightforward way to top that up without installing a pressurised CO2 rig.

It works two ways in practice: as a stand-alone carbon source for tanks running on light and fertiliser alone, or as a supplementary boost alongside an existing pressurised CO2 setup on days growth needs a nudge. Either way it's an addition to a planted-tank routine, not a substitute for decent lighting or a proper fertiliser regime.

Dose it to the schedule printed on the bottle. As with any liquid-carbon product, introduce it gradually if you keep shrimp or other sensitive invertebrates — animals without a backbone, which includes every shrimp and snail — in the same tank.

• Liquid organic-carbon supplement for planted aquariums
• Works stand-alone, or alongside pressurised CO2 as a supplement
• Not a substitute for lighting or fertiliser — works alongside both