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Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #465
Aquatic Plants Digest wrote:
> Aquatic Plants Digest Sunday, August 23 1998 Volume 03 : Number 465
>
> In this issue:
>
> Re: comment on lumens (V3 #s 461 & 464)
> Fluval 203
> Any plant suppliers in Hawaii?
> substrate question
> Eggs
> Thanks, Frank
> Ghost shrimp
> Re: Activated carbon and trace elements
> filters, snails and impellers
> Re: Cannister Filter
> Algae eating shrimp napulii
>
> See the end of the digest for information on unsubscribing from the
> Aquatic Plants mailing list and on how to retrieve back issues.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 14:04:27 -0700
> From: Wright Huntley <huntley1 at home_com>
> Subject: Re: comment on lumens (V3 #s 461 & 464)
>
> "K. A. Bryant" wrote:
> >
> > Thu, 20 Aug 1998 14:42:32 -0700 (MST), Roger Miller wrote:
> >
> > <snip>
> > >This difference is because the lumen measure is weighted toward green
> > >light - the light to which our eyes are most sensitive. Light of that
> > >color is near the minimum in the photosynthetic action spectrum. That
> > >makes lumens nearly irrelevant to whether or not a light is good for
> > >growing plants.
> >
> > Are lumen measurements any more helpful if you are comparing the light
> > output of two lamps with the same color temperature?
>
> Not much, if any. Generally, the *lower* the lumens, the more light is
> going into the useful action spectrum of many plants (all other factors
> being equal).
>
> >
> > Can anyone supply a reference on how lumens are measured? I'd like to
> > understand how it is that "the lumen measure is weighted toward green light"
> > and what this weighting amounts to.
>
> Lumens are based on measurements done back in the 30s by the
> International Committee on Illumination (ICI or CIE in French) where a
> large number of people were tested to determine a "standard observer."
> Lumens are a *psychophysical* measurement, describing how "bright" the
> light looks to the "standard observer."
>
> Your eye is at least ten times as sensitive to green as to blue-violet
> or deep red. Hence, a good bright-looking lamp will be quite rich in
> green. Your visual acuity is higher in green, so reading under
> "cool-white" flourescents avoids the 1/8 diopter of chromatic aberation
> you have in blue or red. Everything is just brighter and clearer.
>
> Color Temperature is another psychophysical measure, describing how a
> source "looks" like a blackbody of a given temperature. It has nothing
> whatsoever to do with the *actual* blackbody temperature! [The standard
> reference is _Science of Color_ by Optical Committee on Colorimetry,
> BTW. About $50 at Amazon.com]
>
> Both measures are great for picking the lamps to illuminate your store's
> window display. That's *all* they were designed to do. Using them to
> pick plant lights is misleading in the extreme, at times, and fairly
> worthless otherwise. They do tell you quite a bit about how your tank
> will "look," but not very much about how well your plants will grow.
>
> Exceptions abound. My *Riccia fluitans* flourishes under cool whites.
> Its action spectrum is different, apparently, from many other plants. I
> suspect several more of Amano's favorites may be in this category.
>
> Wright
>
> - --
> Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntley1 at home dot com
> SPAMBOT food: fraudinfo at psinet_com and psi at govt-aff_senate.gov
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 16:45:16 -0500
> From: "Kudzu" <Kudzu at airnet_net>
> Subject: Fluval 203
>
> I have a Fluval 203 and 303 on two different tanks. I have had no real
> problems with them except for one constant aggravation.
>
> I have DIY CO2 on both. I drilled a small hole in the hard plastic
> return line and stuffed the Aquarium tubing in there. Works like a
> champ! EXCEPT when I make a new bottle up and the it starts out
> bubbling a lot. Then for some reason the darn thing looses its prime
> 2-3 times a day. After about 1-3 days it works just fine.
>
> I am still not sure what is happening. I have watched the CO2 bubbles
> and there doesn't appear to be enough to cause a problem. My 203 has
> never done this! So overall for the money I am pleased. Easy to clean
> and no other problems but that one is sure aggravating!!
>
> Jeff <*\\><
> "Consider carefully what you hear", he continued "With the measure you
> use it, it will be measured to you -- and even more. Whoever has will
> be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken
> from him." Mark 4:24,25
> www.airnet.net/kudzu/ "Kudzu's Christian Clipart Collection"
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 12:24:34 -1000
> From: "David & Lynne" <davidst at aloha_net>
> Subject: Any plant suppliers in Hawaii?
>
> Just wondering if there are any plant suppliers in Hawaii. Alternatively
> has anyone in Hawaii had any problems getting plants in from the mainland
> using mail order. I take it the state quarantine people check all plant
> material coming into the state and wondering is this typically a long delay
> while they do this. I'd also be interested if anyone has experience with
> mail order fish, for the same reasons.
> thanks
> David
>
> - -----Original Message-----
> From: Aquatic-Plants-Owner at actwin_com
> [mailto:Aquatic-Plants-Owner at actwin_com]
> Sent: Saturday, August 22, 1998 9:48 AM
> To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
> Subject: Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #464
>
> Aquatic Plants Digest Saturday, August 22 1998 Volume 03 : Number 464
>
> In this issue:
>
> Re: canisters
> Re: comment on lumens (V3 #461)
> re: Activated carbon and trace elements
> Fluval 203
> Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #463
> RE:Canister Filters
> Re: gravel, carbon, crustaceans and impellers
> Re: Activated carbon and trace elements
> Re: Plants going south
>
> See the end of the digest for information on unsubscribing from the
> Aquatic Plants mailing list and on how to retrieve back issues.
>
> - ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 04:22:10 EDT
> From: DENYSTA2 at aol_com
> Subject: Re: canisters
>
> I have had problems with ehiems impellers heating up and melting in a short
> time, the magums I have had, had impellers that were torn up pretty bad but
> they still worked great, and I've never had a problem fuvals let, but I'd
> have
> to say the ehiems that have the heater in the canister keep the tank at a
> pretty constant temp.
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 07:27:12 -0400
> From: "K. A. Bryant" <smskahj at netacc_net>
> Subject: Re: comment on lumens (V3 #461)
>
> Thu, 20 Aug 1998 14:42:32 -0700 (MST), Roger Miller wrote:
>
> <snip>
> >This difference is because the lumen measure is weighted toward green
> >light - the light to which our eyes are most sensitive. Light of that
> >color is near the minimum in the photosynthetic action spectrum. That
> >makes lumens nearly irrelevant to whether or not a light is good for
> >growing plants.
>
> Are lumen measurements any more helpful if you are comparing the light
> output of two lamps with the same color temperature?
>
> Can anyone supply a reference on how lumens are measured? I'd like to
> understand how it is that "the lumen measure is weighted toward green light"
> and what this weighting amounts to.
>
> Regards,
> Kim Bryant
> smskahj at netacc_net
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 07:34:57 -0400
> From: "Christopher Coleman" <christopher.coleman at worldnet_att.net>
> Subject: re: Activated carbon and trace elements
>
> Thanks for your most interesting though tentative analysis.
>
> I noticed that to achieve your results, you utilized inductively coupled
> plasma emission spectrometry equipment.
>
> I know this is perhpaps asking a lot but would it be possible to use
> this equipment to perform "just a little" analysis of the ingredient
> composition of some commercial fertilisers?
>
> Many on the list have questioned exactly what the ingredients are in
> some of the popular fertilizers such as Dupla and ADA products.
>
> Even if this is not convenient, your research was most interesting.
>
> Christopher Coleman
> christopher.coleman at worldnet_att.net
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 14:53:32 +0100
> From: "Andrew Holmes" <andys.plants at btinternet_com>
> Subject: Fluval 203
>
> Hi,
>
> I have just started using a Fluval 203 in a new planted tank with about 120
> litres of water column. The fluval works by syphoning the water down the
> outside of the cylinder and then pumps it up through media in the center of
> the canister with an impeller. The impeller chamber leads to the 'out' pipe
> which leads to a spray-bar (or in my case a CO2 reactor). Snails shouldn't
> get into the impeller because it is after the filter media and the water
> should be clear of debris at this point.
>
> My tank is still very new so I cannot make any other comments about the
> Fluval except that it came with loads of cool little plastic things for
> doing different arrangements of pipe :-) (I used the bits to customise my DI
> unit a bit :-))
>
> Andy Holmes West Sussex, ENGLAND
>
> andyholmes at btinternet_com
>
> "They invade our space, and we fall back.
> They assimilate entire worlds, and we fall back.
> Not again. The line must be drawn here.
> This far, no farther.
> And I will make them pay for what they've done."
>
> Picard, Startrek: First Contact.
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 08:08:02 -0700
> From: Frank <andermahr at earthlink_net>
> Subject: Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #463
>
> Aquatic Plants Digest wrote:> ------------------------------
> >
> > Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 21:22:53 +0700
> > From: "jim" <jim at pontianak_wasantara.net.id>
> > Subject: Crustaceans
> >
> > Anybody has experience to share about having friendly crustaceans in a
> > community planted tank?
> >
> > Jim.
>
> Hey Jim,
> I have 9 algea eating shrimp that are thriving. I'm not sure if they are
> "Wood shrimp", "Singapore shrimp" or what. But they dont seem to bother
> anybody and from what I can tell they leave my plants alone. They are
> constantly shoving bit of algea or bits of fallen food into their
> mouths.
>
> Frank
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 10:40:36 -0500
> From: "Kenneth S. Bruno" <kbruno at bilbo_bio.purdue.edu>
> Subject: RE:Canister Filters
>
> Hi,
> I have had my Eheim 2011 for 14 years. Although my tank was not set
> up for about four of those years during my undergrad. It works perfectly
> and I have never had a problem, nor have I had to replace any parts. Eheim
> may be a little more expensive but, in my opinion, well worth it.
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 10:56:26 -0600 (MDT)
> From: "Roger S. Miller" <rgrmill at rt66_com>
> Subject: Re: gravel, carbon, crustaceans and impellers
>
> John Lemons asked:
>
> > P.S. Why in the world does gravel cost so darn much from a lfs?
>
> Because some people are willing to pay it.
>
> > ------------------------------
>
> Shawn Kesler wrote:
> >
> > The first round of study involving activated carbon and trace element
> fertilizer
> > in FW tanks is done.
> >
>
> Very cool! Thanks a lot. This probably will squelch a lot of (my)
> speculation.
>
> Q: Do you recall what Plantex CSM is chelated with?
>
> Comment 1: If I were to change your test conditions any, I'd
> probably ask for more "aquarium-like" conditions, but I have no reason to
> believe that there are non-linearities involved that would seriously
> effect your results,
>
> Comment 2: Good luck trying to identify the organic coloring agents.
> There may be some published information in European technical/
> environmental literature. I guess my main questions about it would be
> "What is the mean molecular weight?" and "How does it effect alkalinity?"
>
> > ------------------------------
>
> Jim asked:
>
> > Anybody has experience to share about having friendly crustaceans in a
> > community planted tank?
>
> Friendly? The shrimp I've kept are friendly in about the same way that
> cockroaches are friendly. I haven't tried other crustaceans.
>
> I'm having some success keeping ghost shrimp. They breed in the tank and
> I think I'm now in a third generation following an original purchase in
> December, last year. Success keeping them alive and molting in my water
> seems to require that I add iodide to the water.
>
> > ------------------------------
>
> Chistopher Coleman asked:
>
> > Do others have an opinion about impeller motors in a planted
> > tank? What do the Eheim and Fluval use for circulation?
>
> To the best of my knowledge, all of the water pumps sold in the hobby for
> filtering and circulation use impellers - in fact I've only seen a couple
> pumps that didn't use the same basic impeller design. "Dosing pumps" are
> peristaltic pumps and don't use an impeller, but for higher flow rates
> there aren't many alternatives.
>
> Other non-impeller designs include propeller pumps (good for circulation,
> but not used in the hobby), gear pumps (like many automobile oil pumps),
> screw pumps (used for moving thick suspensions sometimes against high
> pressure), piston pumps (not used in the hobby- I think the seals would
> wear out too quickly), bladder pumps (low discharge, high pressure, too
> much hardware), bellows pumps (I guess these are Walter Adey's favorite
> plankton-friendly alternative) and variations on these.
>
> Some of these designs might make fun DIY projects.
>
> Roger Miller
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 20:39:10 +0200
> From: Luca Specchio <luckyluca at mclink_it>
> Subject: Re: Activated carbon and trace elements
>
> >Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 17:05:00 -0400
> >From: "Shawn Keslar" <keslar at wvunrcce_nrcce.wvu.edu>
> >Subject: Activated carbon and trace elements
> >
> >Ok....
> >
> >The first round of study involving activated carbon and trace element
> fertilizer
> >in FW tanks is done.
> >
> >Check it out at http://www.fayetteonline.net/users/sdkeslar
>
> WOW !! That's GREAT !!! REALLY COOL !! I'm so glad ! Not because your
> results give confirmation of what I wrote in this list and in the newsgroup
> is right but because finally we _all_ have clear, real, sure results !!!
> :)))
>
> >Questions/comments are welcome!
> As I wrote to you, it's important to work on organic source of N and P, and
> see which effects AC has on them.
> For this 1st round, I think it's important to understand which type of AC
> (pores dimension, average surface, type of activation, if it's phosphate
> free, whashed in acid or not?) has been used. That's important for
> understanding better how the different types of carbons work. Then I'd like
> to know which chelant agent was in CSM.
>
> THANKS VERY MUCH! :)
> Luca
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 14:39:09 EDT
> From: IDMiamiBob at aol_com
> Subject: Re: Plants going south
>
> > I looked for dead bodies and found none. The fish are fine and behaving
> > normally. Ammonia and nitrites are zero.
> >
> > Other readings using Lamotte kits are:
> >
> > Phosphates 0
> > Nitrates 0
> > Iron .4 ppm after dosing with fertilizer. It was at .2ppm before.
> > Carbonate Hardness 2.7 dkh
> >
> > General hardness is 10 ppm using a hobbyist kit. Ph varies from 6.2 to
> > 7.0. I tried talking to my plants, but they swore at me
>
> >
> > I would appreciate any suggestions members of the list might have. At
> > the present rate, I expect to have a compost pile in about 2 weeks.
> >
> Hardness of 10ppm sounds low, but plants will do okay at that level. But
> they
> need phosphates and nitrogen in some form. The trick is to provide it
> without
> putting it in the water column, where it will cause an algae bloom. Try
> Jobe's plant spikes for ferns. Put half a stick in the gravel at the base of
> the plant.
>
> Bob Dixon
>
> - ------------------------------
>
> End of Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #464
> ************************************
>
> To unsubscribe to aquatic-plants, send the command:
> unsubscribe aquatic-plants
> in the body of a message to "Majordomo at ActWin_com". Archives are
> available on the web at http://www.actwin.com/fish/aquatic-plants
> or via FTP to ftp.actwin.com in /pub/aquaria/aquatic-plants.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 19:09:14 EDT
> From: anggrek at juno_com (Tsuh Yang Chen)
> Subject: substrate question
>
> i have a question re: the substrate in my 55-gallon tank. when it was
> set-up about 5 years ago, i used the tetra soil additive mixed in with
> the gravel. right now this tank supports a huge growth of java fern
> attached to driftwood on one half. the other half is almost all taken up
> by 3 huge amazon swords. there is also a barclaya which in years past
> had grown huge and flowered but recently only grows a few leaves and
> never grows very big any more.
>
> this tank is my amazon tank, with tetras, dwarf cichlids and catfish. it
> is lit by 2 40 watt bulbs. i don't do any co2 or fertilizing. water
> changes are 25% almost every other week.
>
> my question is does the substrate need more fertilizing since the initial
> set up with the gravel additive? is the fact taht nothing has been added
> to it why the barclaya won't grow? thanks for any info.
>
> tsuh yang chen, new york city
>
> _____________________________________________________________________
> You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
> Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
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>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 08:01:48 +0700
> From: "jim" <jim at pontianak_wasantara.net.id>
> Subject: Eggs
>
> My tank is (300cmX60cmX40cm). It is a community tank. I keep mostly local
> fish whose English or scientific names I don't know. I have some angles,
> and yesterday evening I saw one of them laying eggs on one of the broad
> leaves of an aquatic plant I recently took from the swamp nearby and
> planted in my tank. This morning I noticed that the eggs are still there
> and the parents are guarding them. I am afraid they will be eaten up by the
> other fish very soon.
>
> Anyone share the know-how to keep these eggs safe, hatched, and to raise
> the fries?
>
> Please, don't tell me to look up the archives! It will be like searching
> for a needle in the haystack.
>
> Thanks for reading.
>
> Jim.
I have never replied to this before, so here it goes, hope that I'm doing this
right. I have found a site that pertains to Angelfish Breeding and should have
answers to all your questions. it is located at http://colorpro.com/angels
Best of luck.
Janna
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 08:36:08 +0700
> From: "jim" <jim at pontianak_wasantara.net.id>
> Subject: Thanks, Frank
>
> Frank.
>
> Wow! I would like very much to know how these shrimps look! But I am sure I
> can not go to your place, so do you think it is possible that you can send
> me color pictures of them? I have Adobe Pohtoshop and I can view jpg, bmp,
> or gif.
>
> If I have the pictures, I will be able to ask my nephew to look for them
> when he goes to the interior of West Kalimantan. :-)
>
> Thanks for helping.
>
> Jim.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 08:43:27 +0700
> From: "jim" <jim at pontianak_wasantara.net.id>
> Subject: Ghost shrimp
>
> Roger.
>
> Thanks for the helpful reply. :-)
>
> Once I kept shrimps I caught from the local waters and they dine on my
> fish! ;-)
>
> As I am sure I can not go to your place to look, please, send me color
> pictures of your ghost shrimp. It is so interesting that they breed in the
> tank. I will try to find such shrimp here. I'll remember to add iodide to
> the water. ;-)
>
> Jim.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 23:02:52 -0700
> From: Steve Pushak <teban at powersonic_bc.ca>
> Subject: Re: Activated carbon and trace elements
>
> Hi Shawn,
>
> Nice study. So far there are no surprises since you are using fresh
> carbon and the study period only covers a short period of time. After
> all, folks don't make a practice of replacing the carbon filtration
> every four days. Typically, I suspect the carbon is used in dirty
> filters for several months. During that time, it might be rinsed a few
> times but little other revitalizing is done to it.
>
> It would be more applicable to the aquarium situation if you used
> activated carbon that has been in place in an aquarium filter for a
> period of weeks and months and if instead of agitating the carbon, you
> simply allow the water sample to flow through it without mechanically
> disturbing the layer of diatomous algae which grows on carbon granules
> in a filter. You also need to use the appropriate ratios of water to
> carbon. Your results are skewed by the experimental method chosen.
>
> It might be revealing to see how pure metal salt solutions are absorbed
> (those without organic chelation). For that you might want to use
> copper, nickel, zinc and molybdenum solutions.
>
> Any chance of performing a study of Fe concentration in a planted
> aquarium as the plants use it up? You could do this for a plain
> substrate and also for an iron substrate with a small amount of peat in
> it. This should help to put the minor amounts of trace elements absorbed
> by the carbon in perspective relative to the amounts used by the plants
> or the amounts available from a suitable substrate.
>
> Please do continue your study.
>
> Steve Pushak Vancouver, BC, CANADA
>
> Visit "Steve's Aquatic Page" http://home.infinet.net/teban/
> for LOTS of pics, tips and links for aquatic gardening!!!
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 23:06:39 -0700
> From: Steve Pushak <teban at powersonic_bc.ca>
> Subject: filters, snails and impellers
>
> I find that I need to provide some sort of mechanical filtration or else
> my powerhead inlets become plugged with plant debris. I used to just use
> a plastic grill but this allowed the pumps to plug after a week or two.
> Once a snail did get into an impeller pump; it didn't damage the pump
> but it did make a strange noise until I figured out where it was coming
> from.
>
> Steve Pushak Vancouver, BC, CANADA
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 00:38:06 -0700
> From: ternay at dimensional_com (Andy Ternay)
> Subject: Re: Cannister Filter
>
> >I have three choices: Fluval 203, Magnum220, Eheim model 2211 and
> >Renaissance Priem 10.
>
> I have no experience with either the Renaissance or Ehiem, but hold Ehiem
> fairly high in my regard for the quality of their products. I have a
> Magnum 350 in a tank infested with Maylaysian Livebearing Snails and never
> had a problem with it; the same for my HOT Magnum 250. I had a Fluval 203.
> The reasons I disliked this filter were as follows:
> a) Could not sustain practical water flow if kept out of sight under
> aquarium. Only when elevated did it sustain a decent water pressure.
> b) Disconnecting the hoses for maintenance was very difficult.
> c) The clips holding the lid on broke easily.
> d) If you lost your siphon in the intake it was a real pain to restart.
> Such a pain, in fact, that this filter took a quick trip to the dumpster
> after I got the HOT Magnum--and I never throw filters away, preferring to
> use them for hospital tanks, etc.
> I did like the three tiered media containers though.
>
> Andy
>
> ************************************************
> *Of course you can trust the government; just ask any Native American!*
> ************************************************
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 00:43:36 -0700
> From: ternay at dimensional_com (Andy Ternay)
> Subject: Algae eating shrimp napulii
>
> Hey--I have a question--I work at an LFS in Denver and the algae eating
> shrimp (same ones Amano loves) spawned in our tank. I brought some of the
> napulii home and am keeping them in a small tank. They are less than half
> a millimeter long.
>
> Any feeding suggestions out there? Care suggestions?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Andy
>
> ************************************************
> *Of course you can trust the government; just ask any Native American!*
> ************************************************
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #465
> ************************************
>
> To unsubscribe to aquatic-plants, send the command:
> unsubscribe aquatic-plants
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> available on the web at http://www.actwin.com/fish/aquatic-plants
> or via FTP to ftp.actwin.com in /pub/aquaria/aquatic-plants.