Thanks, all!
andyh said:
Have you seen any difference in the Cardinals behavior, better colours happier fish etc?
This is an interesting question, Andy.
I've kept cardinals about 6 years ago in a 30ppm CO2 injected, EI set up.
I have to say the fish in this biotope seemed to settle in much quicker and were a lot more active than I seem to remember. Also feeding with more vigour. This is purely anecdotal evidence though, of course.
It may be controversial but I do now consider that some fish may 'prefer' low CO2 and low nutrient-laden water. In the
majority of cases this is how the fish exist in the wild.
On the other hand, to provide an environment ideal for plant growth generally means that by default we are creating a good environment for the fish.
But I do wonder about pushing high (30+ppm) CO2 and the extensive use of liquid carbon products and consider this in future set ups.
It's also interesting when you read about Amano's CO2 levels - they're stated much lower than 30ppm. I think this may be because he uses CO2 mist where the actual dissolved CO2 is less than 'required' due to the plants obtaining sufficient qtys. throught the CO2 in its gaseous form.
Amano also records increbibly low NO3 levels i.e. <1ppm. This is presumably testiment to the incredibly rich substrate system.
It's something to think about, anyway. These biotopes are certainly making me think about things from the fish perspective, rather than the purely plant growth/aesthetic.