Re: BBA, now for a curve ball -- Or is it legal to add substances before the pitch?

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

Thomas Barr said, in part:


>. . .I think everyone here stands to
> learn a great deal
> about planted tank NOT using any CO2.
> 
> While most, the lion's share, etc come to these list are
> pro CO2, there is a
> certain distinction that perhaps should be made here
> concerning CO2 vs non
> CO2 set ups and methods.
> 
> Few folks do both. But I'd like to encourage folks to do
> so, even if it's a
> little 5 gallon Killi tank(Nice fish for the tank
> anyway!).

Here Here!  These slow-grow tanks can be a lot of fun
without fuss, especially for something like a tank at the
office, where you can't spend much time on maintenance.

> . . .The non CO2 takes a bit longer to stabilize, but IS
> limited, nothing is add
> except some fish/food.
> There is no need for other dosing, water changes etc.

Here's a knuckleball:  I've done a couple of small tanks as
slow-grow (no added CO2, low light levels).  They are 12
and 15 gallons. But I do water changes and some slight
additions of chems:  traces and some phosphate and K to
balance out the KNO3 levels.  Without adding anything and
no water changes, the nitrate tends to build up and the
phosphate depletes (well, I could remove some fish and feed
less but I won't) and algae needs to be cleaned up at least
once a week.


With the chem additions, these small tanks don't have algae
problems now, only run about 1.5 to less than 2
watts/gallon.  They do better when I add the chems,
especially the phosphate, that seemed to "knock out" (back)
the algae.

Light hungry plants don't care for these tanks, but many
plants do very well and Marble Queens take a couple of
years to become unneighborly large.  In my CO2-injected
aquaria, even my 150g,the Marble Queens become overgrown
and beg to be removed after a much shorter time ;- )   .

I suppose I could forgo the water changes and a few fish
and then add less chems (not that I add much as it is) --
then I'd more faithfully follow a true slow-grow regimen. 
But these are small tanks and water changes are so easy to
do *and* water changes with dosing is such an easy way to
maintain chem levels, even in these little tanks.

I guess you could call these inbetween tanks -- or just
poorly done non-CO2 tanks.

But if, when you got into aquatic gardening, you jumped
right up the CO2-injected fast-grow tanks and you haven't
done slow-grow tanks, you ought to give it a go.  Not only
are they less work, but when you get that aquascape to grow
in just the way you want it, it remains that way for a long
time.  Of course, if, like me, you're not very artistic,
that kind of quascape hangs around longer too, but then,
that still looks good to me.


Regards,
Scott H.

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