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Re: Luca's ADA speculations



Luca Specchio recently posed some of his early experiences with ADA products
in his tank and his efforts to try to figure out the proper use for some of
them in order to combat problems he is seeing in the tank.

First of all, I guess I should say that I've never USED the ADA substrates
and/or fertilizers because they were available for such a short period of
time here in North America and were exceedingly expensive when they were.
But I think that Luca is pushing things when he attempts to draw conclusions
based on a tank which has been set up for only a few weeks.

He's not alone in this - many posters here seem to worry over-much when a
newly set-up tank has teething problems. No system, and I don't care who
markets it or how expensive and/or exclusive it might be, can overcome the
fact that each aquarium is individual and each will take a period of time to
stabilize. Adding "secret" ingredients or exotic compounds will not hasten
the length of time required for each tank to reach it's equilibrium point.
The hobbyist can only practice patience and good husbandry during this
time - regular water changes, limited (if any) fertilization, no
over-stocking or over-feeding of livestock, etc.

I would venture to guess that one of the prime reasons ADA has so many
different liquid fertilizers is more a marketing ploy than anything else.
Since they don't disclose the exact nutrients included in each nor their
proportions, it is rather hard to tell what each is doing - and their
published literature seems to have been prepared by a marketing department
and not a botanist. This isn't a slam against what might be a very good
product line, just an observation from someone who has grown aquatic plants
for over 30 years.

I find it odd that ADA has not responded to Luca's e-mail query's - they
have always been very promt and detailed whenever I have had a question. I'm
sure that they will give him an answer.

Persevere Luca, your tank will stabilize, just give it a chance....

James Purchase
Toronto