[APD] Appropriateness of Marine Plant disscussion on the APD

[Thomas Barr <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

The list rules folks:

"The aquatic plant mailing list is intended to be a medium for exchange of information about all aspects of growing aquatic plants as a hobby. Postings on both aquarium plants and pond plants are welcome. Topics of discussion include (but are not limited to): 
Individual plant species (identification, cultivation, propagation, etc) 
Aquascaping 
Substrates - pros and cons of commercial substrate additives, potting soil, peat, etc. 
Water conditioners and fertilizers 
Hardware - heaters, filters, surface skimmers, etc. 
Compatibility of fish and other organisms with aquatic plants 
Trades/exchanges between hobbyists 
Advertisements from commercial-scale operations are not permitted."

As marine plants are plants and algae are also kept as plants, I see no conflict here and in contest rules etc. We had rock tanks in the AGA contest. It does say ALL aspects of growing aquatic plants.

Ever tried rock farming? Ask my deceased friend Marty, bless his soul:)
They are downright difficult to prune, I'll tell ya. Slow growers for sure. Them corals, now thems are weeds. Always having to frag em. It never ends! Too high maintenance. 

For folks wanting a more SW approach, I've been over at Reef Central for sometime. See the specialty forums under macro algae etc.

Also go there, read up on how's and why's. SW is somewhat easier in some respects, cost more intitially but 10-55 gal tanks can be done well on the dole.

You folks also may want to know some of my good friends have been doing reefs and SW for many years and I have about 15 years in SW as well.

So while it might look easy when I do something, the failure rate with Macro's is going to be quite high for awhile I believe. 

Refugiums have been all the rage for the last few years since Eco mud filters came out and enslaved the Caulerpa's and Chaetomopha's of the world into coral reef keeping servitude. 

I believe they should be set free, true to my past abolitionist grandfathers in the 1820's and 1830's before it was "popular" to say such things(one was hanged). 

Tongue in cheek, but still serious and true.

My tank does not cost much.
25 gal tank
Skilter(no skimming)
HOT Magnum run every so often with micron cartiage
Powerheads for circulation

Aragonite DBS(Deep Bed Sand) about 3 cm in front, 12-15cm in the rear(Home Depot carries southdowns play sand, it's aragonite and cost about 3$ for 50lbs instead of 30$ for 15lbs).

Rocks, well most any CaCO3 will do fine. 

Lights, DIY A&H 2-3x 55w.

Salt(Red sea or whatever is cheapest, trade for marine plants)

CaCl2, Kalk, trace metal, KNO3, fish waste etc(all cheap)

Picking, cleaning etc.

I have the notion that PO4 from fish waste alone is enough for these systems. I'm still out on that one. 
But NO3 needs added for good dense growth in a small tank without a main reef tank supplying the nutrients.

So you'll see no CO2 here. So that makes up for the cost differences right there.

Some folks with larger systems or that already have CO2, heck, use a Kalk reactor to add CO3 and Ca intio solution.

The CO2 can be used by both marine(Dissolve CaCO3 at a controlled rate) and FW(Fix Carbon) system for different purposes.

If you consider a chiller, most folks living within 100 miles of the Sea can get many species, there are many species all over the world. 

Macro algae are very tough to ship.
Best to come here and get it and take it back on the plane.
 
So come here for the FW and the Marine plants and all the "mud" and driftwood you can fit into the luggage and the back seat:)

Regards, 
Tom Barr










 




 













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