Recent content by dw1305

Hi all, It isn't the plant itself, it is just that it might bring in hitchhikers, Snails, Planaria or Hydra. If you are concerned some time in <"sparkling water"> will safely cleanse them. The plant itself is fine, I often take <"bits from outdoors"> and put them indoors. cheers Darrel

Hi all, The flocculant (from the aluminium sulphate addition) is aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)3) <"High flux water purification using aluminium hydroxide hydrate gels">, which forms the wall paper paste like gel (coagulant), in harder water. I'll be honest I can't imagine any use for it...

Hi all, I really don't know, but it has to be one or the other. "Death by luxury uptake" is quite common in higher plants. As well as PO4--- <"in Protea spp."> etc, it is one of the problems of ferrous iron in water logged soils...

Hi all, Too much good living on all the sweet corn and boilies that the carp fisherpeople have thrown in? cheers Darrel

Hi all, Don't let that stop you, I've only really made four different posts, but <"re-posted each of them thousands of times">. I've always enjoyed your posting, and <"I've learned new things">. The search is pretty good, it maybe to do with the <"search terms you use">? You can always...

Hi all, I think that is right to some degree, the oceans are a very stable environment, in terms of water chemistry, and freshwater is much more <"shades of grey">. I'll accept that <"I'm a pretty lazy and shoddy aquarist">, tight with my money and that I have <"no interest in aesthetics">...

Hi all, Fantastic. <"I really need"> to have another go with RRF (<"Phyllanthus fluitans">). I got <"fed up of rescuing it">, but they may just suggest that it wasn't very happy with <"the growing conditions">. cheers Darrel

Hi all, It is likely. Scientists use the <"encephalization quotient"> (the ratio of predicted to actual brain size against log^10 body weight) to differentiate between species "intelligence". I have no idea how well it works for fish (scientists aren't keen on "Fish" as a classification...

Hi all, That is one advantage of the <"Duckweed Index">, you just need a floating plant that grows happily in your tank <"Giant duckweed - Spirodella polyrhyza"> & <"Id on floating plant">. The actual plant isn't that important, just that it has floating leaves and grows happily under your...

Hi all, We think it probably does (via <"resource partition">). My plants tend to have relatively small leaf rosette, but long and bountiful roots, which I think is a response to fairly lean rations. It is really the ratio of rosette to root that is important, <"if you have a very large plant...

Hi all, To answer your question, "yes leave them". Personally I would let them grow for a lot longer before I pruned them*. There are some mosses, but plants like Cryptocoryne & Bucephalandra spp. are exclusively from the Old World. Echinodorus (and the plants split from it) are all New...

Hi all, It <"does get a mention">, I've tried it a couple of times, but it needs harder, more nutrient rich water than I have to offer. If you can provide that? It should work fine. cheers Darrel

Hi all, The variability is the issue. Potentially you can do the same with <"sediment nutrients"> as you can with water column ones, all the way from <"Triffid to running on petrol fumes">. That is why I like Oak (Quercus spp.) or <"Beech (Fagus spp.) leaf mold">, it is going to add <"slow to...

Hi all, That is an advantage of a dry salt straight away, you aren't paying for any added water. I'm <"proud of it"> and it works. I want people to keep planted tanks, both because I like plants (I'm a botanist by training), but also because they make fish keeping a lot easier and more...

Hi all, It should have done, conductivity is a linear scale. I still use a conductivity datum, although I don't actually <"measure conductivity regularly"> any more. Exactly that. If you stabilise pH you no longer have soft, acid water. Yes, probably to 50 microS, you can carry on with the...