Re: Ecology of the Planted Aquarium

["George Booth" <gbooth at frii_com>]

Brian Rippon writes:
> . . .I
> suggest you invest in a copy of Diane Walstad's 'Ecology
> of the Planted Aquarium'.

At long last, we invested in a copy and we are pouring through it. I was
pleasently surprised to find ourselves (the long lost George and Karla)
actually mentioned in Chapter One.  I was also pleased to note that Diana
was of the opinion that subtrate heating cables may play a part in reducing
alleopathic effects in planted tanks. In essence, the gentle convection
currents move the nasty alleochemicals from the substrate before they can
affect other plants.

If I may so bold as to quote her without permission (Chapter 3, page 51) [I
take full credit for typos]:

-------------------
Q: Do you see any advantage in setting up a High-tech' aquarium?

A:  Yes and it is because alleopathy is reduced in these tanks. Generally,
high-tech systems advocate frequent water changes. Also, many tanks have
substrate heating cables, which induce water circulation into and out of the
substrate. In essence, the substrate is continuously 'washed' so that the
alleochemicals are brought into the overlying water where they can either be
metabolized or diluted out.
Thus, alleochemicals are prevented from accumulating in both the water and
substrate in high-tech systems. Auto-inhibition is lessened and stroingly
alleaopatheic plants are prevented from dominating other species..
Generally, a much wider variety of plant species can thrive within the tank.
Thus, hobbyists with 'High-tech' aquaria can indulge in aquascaping and
carefully controled plantng schemes.
---------------------

I believe this is what I was referring to in item number 4 of the "Six
Benefits of Heating Cables"
(http://www.frii.com/~gbooth/AquaticConcepts/Articles/PAM_Substrate.htm).

See y'all in Texas!

George Booth in Ft. Collins, CO (gbooth at frii dot com)
The website for Aquatic Gardeners by Aquatic Gardeners
   http://aquaticconcepts.thekrib.com (mirror)
   http://frii.com/~gbooth/AquaticConcepts/