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List vs Newsgroup & Water Hardness



Noel Llopis wondered in APD V3 #313...

[Discussing the need for both the APD and the USENET newsgroup
rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants]

> Which brings the issue of why there is the need to have both.

Does the word diversity mean anything? Having more than one source of
information on any topic, even if there is some overlap in
membership/readership is, at least in my mind, A GOOD THING (sorry to those
who are Martha Stewart phobic ;-) ).

> Why am I reading the mailing list right now? It's more annoying because
> it comes in the mail, doesn't support threaded discussions, and it's in
> digest format (a major pain).

Nobody is forced to subsrcibe to this list, nor is anyone forced to stay.
This list provides a place where like minded people can discuss a common
interest. Our "list mom" ensures that we generally stay on topic (thank you
Cynthia...) most of the time. The newsgroups can get quite far off topic and
stay that way for an extended period of time - just start following the
killies newsgroup to see what I mean.

> But it's where the quality discussions
> take place.

Sometimes...

> So why not move over to the newsgroup? Give the list a month
> of life to finish any threads, and just start new ones in the
> newsgroup.

If you don't mind, I'd prefer to have BOTH sources available to me. If you
want to go, so long, bye, catch 'ya later, see you in the newsgroup
sometime...

> Afraid of spam in the group? Most ISP do very good filtering these
> days, and we'll get little more than in the list. Just look at the
> current r.a.f.p and you'll see it's a very spam-free group. If things
> get worse, we can turn it into a moderated newsgroup. It won't be any
> harder than supporting a mailing list.

Oh, excuse me - are you involved with the management of this list? If you
are, thank's very much for your effort, but if you aren't, don't sweat it.

> The only reason I can see for maintaining the list (other than inertia,
> which seems a big issue with some folks), is that some people might not
> have news access. That might have been an argument years ago, but not
> really today. If you have web access, you can get to DejaNews or some
> other free news server.

Don't get me started on inertia...

As I see it (and this is only MY opinion) this list is one of the MOST
valuable resources that aquatic gardeners can have. Reading this list and
being able to rub elbows with and ask questions of people of the caliber and
reputation within the hobby as Gerorge Booth, Karen Randall, and many many
more is worth the price of my ISP connection each month.

> So, what do you say, should we jump over to Usenet?

See above...

---------

Also in the same issue, Chlayne is wondering about pH fluctuations in
response to CO2 input:

> I also have one more question:  My tap water has a pH of 7.4, 3dKH, and 3
> dGH yet my tank has a pH of 7.6, 4dKH and 6dGH.  Why the difference?  Is
> something in my tank raising the pH and hardness levels or is this normal?
>
> The only decoration I have in my tank besides live plants is a piece of
> bogwood and a lava rock.  My substrate is plain old aquarium gravel.

How often do you change your water? Do you only replace evaporated water
with more tap water rather than doing regular partial changes of water where
you physically remove a portion (10-20%) of the water on a regular basis
(like every 2 weeks) and replace it with fresh water? If you are not
carrying out regualr water changes, the hardness level of the water in the
tank will tend to rise over time as only pure H2O is lost during evaporation
(the hardness causing salts remain in the tank).

If you ARE doing regular partial water changes and your hardness levels are
consistently higher than your tap water, I'd tend to suspect your "plain old
aquarium gravel". Much of what is sold (or has been sold in the past) as
"aquarium gravel" is in actual fact finely crushed marble - and that will
certainly raise your water hardness. You could subject a handfull of the
substrate to the acid test to see if it fizzes (outside of your tank!)

But remember, the "hardness" of your water has only an indirect effect on
the pH of the water. pH is dependent upon the Alkalinity of your water and
the CO2 concentration (and as we all know Alkalinity and Hardness, while
related, are NOT the same thing).

Do you add anything to the water in the way of additives? pH adjusters,
softeners, etc.?

James Purchase
Toronto, Ontario