This is a reference book on inexpensive and low-maintenance aquarium keeping. It offers an in-depth analysis of the role of plants in freshwater aquarium ecology. It shows how to promote vigorous plant growth so that the plants can purify the water, protect fish, and reduce tank maintenance. All information is backed up by scientific references from aquatic botany, limnology, and aquatic chemistry.

Diana Walstad is a long-time aquarium hobbyist. She trained as a microbiologist and spent many years doing medical research at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill). Her last position was as a cell biologist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Science.