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Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist, Second Edition
by: Diana L. Walstad |
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Features:
- ISBN13: 9780967377315
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Price: $23.07
Used Price: $29.85
List price: $34.95
Savings: $11.88
Average Rating: 4.5
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Published: 2003-01
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| Reviews
from people who have bought this book:
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5 stars. Amazing!
Full of information and yes, it works. So happy I can maintain a beautiful aquarium full of thriving plants and fish without CO2 injections, halogen lights, etc.
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5 stars. excellent book
a bit technical - but easily the most easily understood, thorough , and hobbyist friendly book on the subject - a must have for anyone trying to grow aquatic plants in aquaria
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4 stars. More than a guide, almost a textbook...
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not a chemist by training or trade, I found the info to be clearly presented, if a bit on the academic side. But the equations and premises are needed to understand the point - that a low maintenance planted aquarium is possible under the right conditions - allowing nature to take its course.
br /I would encourage you to read this, and then check out the real world experiences of people attempting it (and other methods) at http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/
br /- a forum dedicated to this method.
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5 stars. A very qualified 5 stars
What an outstanding book!
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br /But unless you are a veteran aquarist or have a science background, as I do, it is VERY dense and you are likely only to take away a few bullet points. The author concedes that this book is not for novice aquarists (which I am) and the only thing that kept me afloat was my science education. Thus, I rate it a QUALIFIED 5 stars.
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br /But, wow, I learned an AMAZING amount.
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4 stars. It's a jungle in there!
I have the first edition of this book along with a dozen others on tropical fish and nearly 40 years of experience. It's only since reading "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium" that this hobby has really become satisfying.
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br / First of all, I'm a lazy aquarist. I hate spending my weekends changing or testing the water, or cleaning filters. If you want live plants, there is daily dosing of ferts, fancy substrates, CO2 injection and every six months you need to swap out your aging light bulbs for new, brighter ones. None of this stuff is inexpensive or any fun.
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br /So... along comes Diana Walstad and she says you don't need to do any of those things. She recommends a soil substrate, cap it with a little gravel, add plants, fish and fish food, toss in a little light for a low maintenance, healthy aquarium. It's a little more complicated than that but essentially she's completely correct. The fish mulm fertilizes the plants, the plants pull the toxins from the water and you remove the toxins from the tank when you prune the plants. What a simple concept that really works!
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br /Right now I have three tanks (30, 45, 55 gal) set up the Walstad way. One is two years old and the other two are nearly a year old. They house over 100 fish. They almost never get their water changed. By order of time consumption, my chores go like this: pruning plants, adding water lost to evaporation, adding fish food, cleaning the sponge pre-filters for the submerged circulating pumps. That's it. If we're having company, I might scrape the thin coat of algae off the glass to receive rave reviews.
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br /To be honest, none of my tanks are carefully manicured aquascapes. If you want that much control, you might need to go the hi-tech way. My aquariums are a mish-mash of Amazon Swords, Crypts, Anubias, Wisteria, Hornwort, Frogbit and Ludwigias (plant names). They don't look shaped by man, but slices of real nature captured in a small footprint. It's a jungle in there. More importantly, the plants equalize most of the chemical imbalances which occur within a closed ecosystem. It's great when your fish die of old age instead of some mysterious malady.
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br /If I have one criticism of this book it's the level of technicality. Ms. Walstad goes to great lengths to justify abandoning traditional aquarium techniques for her low-tech, low maintenance methods. To that end, the book will appear a bit overwhelming to some. I think she should issue a companion book which focuses on what to do and leave out most of the why (and add more pictures for the reading impaired...wink). This will more effectively capture the beginner who far too often tries and fails, or gives up due to burdensome maintenance routines. With her book, there is no reason we can't ALL get it right and enjoy fish keeping at the same time.
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