From Diana Walstad @ AB

[Fei Miao]

Thought this might be of interest to some:

http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.c...p;m=8456062965

[budak]

er.......

[Fei Miao]

[quote:21bdf402a8="budak"]er....... [/quote:21bdf402a8]

Yes.. she wrote a thesis on" The Ecology of a Planted Aquarium" advocating keeping plants in tanks without all the high tech stuff--No filter, No CO2, hardly any water change, natural sunlight etc.. No fertilzer /I think she used clay/mulm as substrate in the other tanks as well

Not everyone's cup of tea huh? especially the potted plants!

[juggler]

I read her book "The Ecology of a Planted Aquarium" like a bible. But only practise half of what she preached.

[TanVincent]

Yeah, think there is a latest version to the "ecology of planted aqauarium"

Cheers
Vincent

[Fei Miao]

[quote:247a475835="juggler"]I read her book "The Ecology of a Planted Aquarium" like a bible. But only practise half of what she preached. [/quote:247a475835]

...so..KF are you the one who kept extending the loan on the book from the library...

..no wonder when I do a search the library catalogue, it kept saying the book is on loan..on loan...on loan!

[TanVincent]

I extended and re-borrowed 3 times ...Now its in the safe hands of the library..

Cheers
Vincent

[budak]

haha... at least not like some people.... who want to borrow the book and mass-zap it for their "frens" Who would want to write books only to get ripped by cheapos?? :P

[Fei Miao]

[quote:4602c39d92="budak"]haha... at least not like some people.... who want to borrow the book and mass-zap it for their "frens" Who would want to write books only to get ripped by cheapos?? :P[/quote:4602c39d92]

Who's the guy.. I oso want to be his fren leh...

[apistoinmytank]

I really agree with budak, its blatant disregard for copyrights. I think the law should come down hard on shops mass printing from text knowing its wrong. I guess I am only one and can only do so much. I can empathize with a writer, imagine you're one, and find out someones been mass duplicating, how would you feel??

[d2hpeter]

I hv also placed a reservation for the book from the library.
Search thru the local bookstore online but they dont seems to carry it.
Might consider order online.

btw, if i were the author, i would be rather glad knowing many are "zapping" cos it shows that the book is useful and demand is high. And more people would most probably purchase it too and even those who had zap may eventually decided to purchase one. I think the price of the book is nothing compared to the amount we have spent on our beloved hobby. Don't you think?

[d2hpeter]

...and for those zappers-to-be, why not treat the purchase of the book as another purchase of your tank equipment, only that this pcs of equipment will be so much more useful in terms of understanding more on the biology and ecology of our hobby. Knowledge is power and personally I think it is also quite meaningful. The line between aquarist and naturalist should not be too distinct. It is also part of the enjoyment other than admiring at the beauty of nature.

[budak]

Is that so? Were I a writer doing it for a living, i would sue the panties (and more) off any cheapskate who thinks a nicely-bound, full colour volume can be replaced by a ring-bound B&W undertoned copy......

Actually, some books ARE really quite overpriced (TFH should have way recouped the cost of its 4 Amano volumes by now )...... but I see plenty of good aquarium books, even specialised ones such as the Barron's series on barbs, bettas, plants, tetras, cichlids, etc..... going for less than $20 at good bookshops. And many people who readily spend $200 on their setup can't bring themselves to buy even a cheap paperback that explains all about the nitrogen cycle, filtration, plants etc....

Diana Walstad's book is actually a special case. I understand she published the book privately (as in no existing publishing company was interested in signing her on) so the writer herself would have borne all the costs of printing, offsetting, graphics/layout etc...... apart from the incredibly meticulous research detailed in the book. That was why when certain folks trumpeted their zapping idea in a rather more fanatical forum, I went in guns a blazing.

[d2hpeter]

They should be BLAZED. No doubt about that!
I do not support zapping too. Just a comment that since we are not able to totally eliminate the problem, perhaps we could treat it as a compliment on the popularity of the book.
You are right that some books are way too expensive eg those from Amano. Bought 2 from Kinokuniya half a year ago for nearly $150. Though consist of lots of inspiring colorful pics, but not much depth of methodology and functioning of an enclosed ecology. Nobody will zap his book for sure, unless they use a color zapper

[mordrake]

just checked out www.amazon.com.
it's selling for USD 24.47 excluding shipping.
anyone bought books online before?

[vinz]

Alternatively, order from the Aquatic Gardeners Association, where Diana is a the bookstore keeper.

Click here. If you guys get organised, maybe you can save on shipping. She'll even autograph the book for you if you request.

Note: any purchase from overseas below S$400 (including shipping, I think) is eligible for personal import tax rebate and exempt from GST. If you exceed S$400, you have to pay for GST and probably self collect at Paya Lebar Post Centre.

[d2hpeter]

I hv just email her on the shipping cost details...

[d2hpeter]

reply from Diana below...anyone interested?




Hi Peter,

Single copy of the new second edition is $25 plus $17 shipping for total
price of $42.

Now if you want a cheaper alternative, I have 5 copies left of the first
edition that I will sell for $15/copy at $17 air-mail shipping. They are
entirely fine books plus I'll include autograph and color plate that is
incorporated in second edition. If you want to buy all 5 copies, cost of
books ($75) plus air-mail parcel post shipping would be $125.

Thanks for comments about my book.

Sincerely,
Diana Walstad

----- Original Message -----
From: <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 11:10 PM
Subject: book purchase


> hi Diana, we are interested in your book "Ecology of the planted
aquariums".
> Like to have more info on the shipping cost...
>
> for single copy
> for multiple copies
>
> what is the min number of copies for discount/least shipping cost?
> We are a bunch of Planted aquarium hobbyist in Singapore who like your
book very much.
>
> thanks.
>
> Peter.

[wahboy]

Hello Peter,

I am interested in getting a copy of the 2nd edition of "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium".
If you are mass ordering, please count me in.

Thanks
Wayne Wah

[RobertH]

This is her 50 gallon low tech tank, and her account of it
What amazes me is she does a 10% water change once every month or two. Do you see a trace of algae? Compare this to those who push 50 to 70% water changes on a weekly basis just to keep algae down. Amazing



50 Gal Tank Setup

I reset up this 50 gal tank in May 1993. I layered the tank bottom (1.5
ft X 3 ft) with 3 gal of topsoil mixed with 3 tablespoons of powered
dolomite lime (to bring soil pH up). Soil was top layer from a nearby
pasture and is a typical Southeastern red clay soil, nothing special. I
covered soil with about 1.5 inches of gravel.
Lighting is from a window (Western exposure) and two strip lights containing
a miscellaneous assortment of three 30 watt fluorescent bulbs (Phillips Home
Light, Sylvania DayLight, and a Penn-Plax "aquari-lux").
I use well water, which is quite hard (GH = 17).
I filtered the tank for many years with an Eheim canister filter, but about
3 years ago I substituted it with a $15 internal pump (Aquarium Systems
"Mini-Jet 606"). I made my own "hose return" by attaching and stoppering
plastic tubing (with drilled holes) to the pump's outlet. The hose return
provides a moderately strong current across the tank.
Amazon swordplants have always dominated this tank making it difficult to
keep anything else in the tank except Anubias, Java fern and Cryptocoryne
wendtii. About a year ago I took a razor blade to the most dominating
Amazon swordplant and sliced off the entire top part, in essence, killing
it. I left the root system intact, because I didn't want to create a
mammoth mess in the tank (I don't mind uprooting smaller plants). Not
unexpectedly, there were consequences. Within a few months there was
significant algal growth in the tank and an opaque film on tank's surface.
I'm sure that the dying root matter released plenty of organic matter and
chelated iron.
I added an apple snail, floating water lettuce, potted plants, and just
waited. Tank is recovering nicely (as expected). Fish were fine
throughout.
Now I keep the 3 remaining Amazon swordplants either in pots or severely
pruned. Cryptocoryne usteriana, which has beautiful leaves of 2-3 ft
length, has reproduced despite the swordplants into 3 thriving specimens.
Recently, I added a small clay pot containing a couple stems of Rotala
macrandra. The plants, which have done poorly in the past when simply stuck
into the substrate, have surprised me with their good growth in the pot (see
photo).
The Rotala are potted in a small clay pot containing a brand of potting soil
that seems to work very well for plants, at least in pots (I haven't tried
it as a tank substrate yet). The potting soil I used is: "Miracle Grow"
Potting Mix listed as containing 50-60% Sphagnum moss, composted bark fines,
perlite, wetting agent, and inorganic fertilizers; N:P:K =
0.18%:0.06%:0.12%. Although it contains fertilizers, I detected (after 3
days submergence) no significant ammonia or nitrite release in a "bottle
test".
For potting plants, I generally, cover the bottom hole of a clay pot with a
stone or a big gravel piece (from the driveway), then about a ½" layer of
aquarium gravel, about 1-2 inchs of potting soil, and then a top ½" layer of
gravel.
Unlike my 45 gal, mulm collects in this tank. So I gravel vacuum about
every month or two resulting in a 10% water change.
The Rainbowfish have thrived in this tank for many years and haven't "missed
a beat" since I replaced the canister filter with the Mini-jet pump.