Re: [APD] filtration goals

[Stuart Halliday <stuart at mytriops_com>]

I believe Robert T. Ricketts wrote this email section below:
> Stuart Halliday wrote:
> 
>> I believe Jerry Baker wrote this email section below:
>>> Stuart Halliday wrote:
>>>> A heavily planted tank can only realistically a third to half of the
> normal
>>>> fish load.
>>> Are there any data? My casual observation has been that plants seem to
>>> eat ammonia much faster than fish produce it. It takes quite a while to
>>> build up a couple mg/L of ammonia without plants, but I need to add some
>>> every couple of days with plants growing - even with 20 or 30 fish in a
>>> 75G tank.
> 
>> I'm just going by memory from Diana Walstad's book.
> 
> Doesn't she argue that biofilters out-compete plants?  That is exactly
> contrary to my tank experience.  Plants, even low/moderate light low tech,
> easily out-compete the biofilters.  The plants do well within the limits of
> my care, the biofilters are weak/small for the tank sizes and stocking.

I wish mine did... I had to add a filter as I've had diatoms for 9 months 
now in my tank full of plants. Now that the filter is running I've noticed 
less diatoms covering everything. I'd hover up the pile of brown 'dust' one 
night and it's right back by the following night.
People keep telling me they only occur the first few months. Someone should 
tell my diatoms that!



-- 
Stuart Halliday
http://mytriops.com/
200 Million years in the making...
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