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the old days

Doug

Doug

Member
Joined
14 Jun 2014
Messages
44
Location
Margate
I have kept tropical fish (and marine) on and off for over 40 years.

Some of my best tanks and fish keeping used to be when I had no really fancy substrates, I would use tap water with a tetra aquasafe (cold water brought up to temperature with a boiled kettle), T8 Grolux tubes, external canister filter and weekly 20% water changes. Plants would grow, clear water and happy fish.

However, in these current times, the expectation is that we have:-

- To be a chemist - RO water which I then have to remineralise, EI with numerous chemicals/ additives, CO2 injection etc
- lighting specialist- PAR, colour rendering, LED's, multiple controllers, etc
- hydrologist - water flow and movement, etc
- etc etc etc

My question is - with all the modern methods/ thinking....... Is it really any better than what we had?
 
hi

don't really think it's about "expectation" as such, there are just different solutions to the different challenges each individual faces.

The most important thing is to go the way you feel is right and suits you. There are as many "low tech" approaches as there are "hi-tech", worse thing is not go with your own experience...
 
True.

I guess anybody can, if they wish, join the arms race for more technically complex systems & equipment ( aided and promoted by manufacturers/suppliers ) but if I spend £1000 on a new digital camera, it doesn't mean I can take good pictures.... If I'm crap at photography, I might as well just spend £75 on a point and shoot....

But as in life, everybody has a choice.

Such a great hobby though.
 
I really don't see any manufacturer/supplier "forcing expectations" on you.......but several of them offer you help, if you want it.
Basically:
- if you just want to go to bakery on sundays.......a bicycle will do the job nicely.
- if you need to go 50 miles back amd forth to your job........a standard car will fulfill your needs.
- if you aim to attend the Monte Carlo Race.......you will need all the technical support you can possibly get.
Realize your capabilities, your resources and your goals........and then find the path, that suit your needs !! ;):)
 
I don't know if it's better/worse, but it's frustrating sometimes. My first tank was an all in one tropaquairum 55. Built in lights you turned on/off by switch so the light period was generally long and random, plain gravel, no ferts at all and the plants grew so well I was pruning handfuls weekly and zero algae.
 
The reason I love ukaps :) nothing is forced on you but there is so much info and inspiration available to make your own choice how you wish to proceed with the hobby, I only wish I'd discovered ukaps before upgrading my t8s to t5s :lol: but then all that tells people is lower lighting INTENSITY is the way forward, my 2p the answers are in the forums just make sure you read em ;)
 
Mick.Dk said:
I really don't see any manufacturer/supplier "forcing expectations" on you.......but several of them offer you help, if you want it.
Click to expand...

To be honest, I never said "forcing expectations", I said "aided and promoted", however, my question was not to rally against current thinking, it was purely seeking views as to what members of the forum felt compared to previous practice.

As it happens I am probably going to go down the high tech route and then I will be able to truly answer my own question...
 
Am awaiting delivery of a new 400 litre tank, so might be interesting to chronicle my journey into the high tech world in a journal.
 
Doug said:
- To be a chemist - RO water which I then have to remineralise, EI with numerous chemicals/ additives, CO2 injection etc
Click to expand...
This is not true at all. whoever said that RO water is a necessity is completely mistaken. Distilled, HMA or RO is only needed in specialist circumstances such as breeding certain fish. It has nothing to do with plants. As far as "numerous chemicals/ additives", this is short sighted. That salad you ate last night was grown on a farm that uses "numerous chemicals/ additives" in order to increase the yield and to improve the soil to help produce a higher quality yield. Pig manure, steer manure, chicken manure or any compost counts as "numerous chemicals/ additives" because those are exactly the same components found in "numerous chemicals/ additives" purchase at your local garden center or boutique aquarium supply shop. So why are "numerous chemicals/ additives" OK in other aspect of your life but are somehow a strange anomaly when you are performing underwater farming?

As mentioned in another post low tech tanks can be accomplished without the use of enrichment and there are just as many failures using this approach. And who says that overall, the success rate of growing plants 40 years ago was OK? There were plenty of failures in the old days and that's why it was not very popular. The use of CO2, "numerous chemicals/ additives", as well attention paid to flow distribution enhances the hobbyists ability to succeed. Incompetence or inattention to these constituent factors reduces the success rate.

I also don't see why chemistry, hydrology, or lighting should be excluded from hobby or be considered something arduous. Photographers who understand fundamental concepts of lighting can use that knowledge to become better photographers. Those who avoid the subject risk having a lower success rate. Understanding some technical merits of their camera is also a useful endeavor because as a tool, the camera can be made to perform better works.

Many people fail at this hobby exactly because they shun these basic disciplines. Many people who have failed at growing plants for 40 years have suddenly found that when they understand some of these fundamental principles, then their success rat improves.


Doug said:
My question is - with all the modern methods/ thinking....... Is it really any better than what we had?
Click to expand...
Yes, it's definitely better, and like the farmers who themselves don't need degrees in chemistry, crop yield, crop quality and success rate all have an easier path using a modern approach. No approach, whether old or modern, is foolproof however, because fools are ingenious.

Cheers,
 
As it happens I am probably going to go down the high tech route and then I will be able to truly answer my own question...[/quote]
Go ahead.........you will love the "new and improved" techniques of the hobby.
I am a "40+ in the hobby" too,so I know these "good old days" very well.....and consider my results then quite good.
I am VERY hapy, though, these results aren't on show anywhere, since I would hate having them compared to my results as today. I[DOUBLEPOST=1405246322][/DOUBLEPOST]- and just for the record: I actually hear, what you are saying..........and basically I too, refuse to let my hobby turn into " rocket science" :thumbup:
 
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I've both low-energy and high-energy tanks, and it's possible to get similarly great results the low-energy way it just takes a little longer. But then I tend to manage both tanks in the same way, the only difference is one isn't injected and has soil substrate.

I also know what you're saying about the old days...I'm a veteran when it comes to using soil to grow aquatic plants. Not sure how much is nostalgia - but when I first started I had plants growing quite happily in a few inches of moss peat under a couple of T12 bulbs, with minimal flow and water changes. And I don't especially remember any problems with algae...:rolleyes:
 
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