[APD] Re:Re: substrate

["Robert H" <robertph3 at comcast_net>]

>>Hmmm. didn't say dose liquids, said dose the water column.
Buried ferts can be very troublesome for newbies. Move a
plant, get green water, that kind of stuff.
Tom's way made more sense for newbies, imo.<<

Depends on how you look at it. Toms way is more mega dosing the water column
and using frequent large water changes to get rid of the excess. Thats
pretty time consuming, and if you are lax on the water changes, it can
really back fire on you. How many newbies do you know that are religious
about water changes? By having a richer substrate with more moderate water
column fertilization and more moderate water changes, I found the margin for
error is less critical. It also depends on what you are putting in the
substrate. There are many definitions of a rich substrate, but as long as
the primary emphasis is on trace rather than macro I do not think there is
much danger of an algae bloom just from pulling up a plant. I look at
Walstads approach and Barrs approach as extremes on the opposite ends. I try
to come more to the middle by providing a semi nutrient rich substrate with
low organics and moderate dosages of macros to the water column with small
water changes. To me, this allows the tank to mature and stabilize.

Robert Paul Hudson
www.aquabotanic.com


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