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TWIWFC

I sent this yesterday, but it got chopped off with the rest of the
missing parts of the APD; so I'll give it another try.

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> Subject: Karen`s System ?
 
> 
> My system is not so different.  It is more a difference in philosophy and
> execution. (after all, plants have the same needs. no matter where they
> are)  I don't believe in the need to maintain nutrients at any specific
> level, or the need to test with expensive test kits to make sure they stay
> at those levels.  (I am _not_ saying that people shouldn't test if they
> enjoy doing that...to each his own)  It _is_ perfectly possible to watch
> your plants, and let _them_ tell you when they are iron deficient, or
> nitrogen deficient, and that's how I prefer to do it.
> 
> The other major difference between the way I manage my tanks and the
> Sears/Conlin method is that When I _do_ feel that my plants require a
> supplemental nitrogen source, I prefer to place it in the substrate, not in
> the water column.  That _does_ mean that, because my water is nitrogen
> poor, I can't grow mats of duckweed on to of my tank, but I can live with
> that.<g>
> 
> As far as the specific fertilizers I use, I'll tell you what they are, but
> I think that is completely a matter of choice.  I think that good results
> can be obtained with a number of different products as long as all the
> nutritional needs of the plants are met.  I personally use Dupla Laterite
> in the substrate at large and pot plants that need more than that with
> soil.  I use Tropica Mastergrow as my micronutrient supplement, and in
> cases where I need to supplement N, I use Jobes Plant Food Spikes for Palms
> and Ferns. (16-2-6)
> 
>
> Karen Randall
> Aquatic Gardeners Association

     Karen, thanks for the good start. Now, how about telling us more.
I'd love to hear you talk about filtration, lighting, substrates, ph,
CO2, UGF, UGH, stocking levels of fish and plants, water parameters, and
whatever else I might have left out. Seriously, how about a brief
overview of the "Randall Method". I realize that you must have covered
this at length before, but did you ever cover it all at once? George has
his web page to show us his methods, and I appreciate him for it. But, I
don't believe that I have read that much about your methods until the
past few days and now I'm intrigued. Just think, we could have even more
stuff to misquote you on. <G>
     Have you ever had any trouble with cyanobacteria in your nitrogen
limited tanks? For that matter, have you ever had any algae problems,
and if so, what kind?    

    While I'm at it, how about an overview from some of our other gurus
out there? I'd mention names, but I'm afraid that I would leave somebody
off that deserves to be there, and then I would end up offending them.
It doesn't have to be a book. Just a brief capsule of some of your core
beliefs. I'm sure that we would all benefit from hearing different
ideas. 

Thanks, Pat Bowerman
     
Oh, and .......That's What I Want For Christmas.

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