# A bit o' perspective



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Allright, this is a post just for the fun of it. Do not take anything in it seriously. It is all made up;

I was looking for information on how do you actually setup a Dutch planted tank. There is enough information how to plant the plants but even that information is very basic. The Dutch aquascapers' website (nbat.nl) is not helpful either. So far I have not found a good source on how exactly to setup the substrate, how much light they used/use, the usual maintenance, filtration, etc.

But I found something interesting. It is a pair of posts on The Krib dating from 1992. Before Amano, before 'high tech", before water column fertilizers became rampant. What I find interesting is that the author talks about setting up the substrate and lights in modern, 2014, terms - he talks about the relationship of root feeding vs. water column fertilizers, about the availability of water column fertilizers (from Dupla), special bulbs, and yes - he uses pressurized CO2. What a hack! That is about the time when our revered Takashi Amano was still loosing sleep over his fish suffocating while he was trying to get some much needed shut-eye laying there surrounded by empty soda water bottles which he dumped in his tank to see if CO2 will work or not. 









You see my point - for most of us CO2 was invented somewhere around year 2000, a bit later water column fertilizing was invented, and because of that we started to wonder if plants prefer to feed from the roots or the water. I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that *all of that* existed long before we learned about it from the internet. For now I call the feeling "unsettling".

Here's a proof - a picture of a vintage planted tank enthusiast looking for a CO2 refill in nature:









All that maybe mildly amusing and not really matter to anybody, and why should it? But what I saw in these 1992 posts was something funny which I mention on and off: Our understanding of how a planted tank works has not changed in the last 15 years. Now I think that 15 is probably more like 30. It looks like we can discuss things with someone from 1990 and he/she will never miss a beat. Except of course we'll beat them down with knowledge about algae, LEDs, Amano, how to treat many a deficiency by adding many a stuff to the water, and just for me personally - how to be a big time internet aquarist with all the answers and more.

Now, adjust your eyes to ignore "pastel blue" and click here:
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/People/kutty.html


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

LOL, Niko, and enlightening. I haven't been around here in a few months, so I am very late at responding to this. But as I was looking around here today, I was thinking how, if at all, the advice, instructions, suggestions, etc, to a newbie on how to set up a newly planted tank have changed over the last 10 or so years. I guess the answer is, they really haven't.


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## ChuckLawson (Jun 11, 2007)

(longtime lurker, first time poster, etc.)

Yep.

My last go-round with aquatic plants was in the late 80's - early 90s, and at that point it was all about Dupla (and various other Albert Theil ventures), substrate heating cables, metal halide lighting, laterite and CO2. Some things change, some stay about the same


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## Kerry (Sep 5, 2013)

Thanks for posting that, Nicko! I enjoyed reading it.


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## marcio (Jan 18, 2011)

"I took a bunch of 
slides and will probably sent to the magazines (AFM)."

ha! those were the days, eh?


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## Frags4Breakfast (Jun 28, 2014)

Maybe "learning from the internet " helps everybody. Anyone can be aquascaper without having to build up years of experience. Not sure if this is a good thing or not... 

Verstuurd vanaf mijn C5303 met Tapatalk


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi niko,

'The Krib' (www.thekrib.com) is one of the three websites I first found when I entered the planted aquarium aspect of our hobby in 2008. I found it a value source of both basic and advanced information and still refer back to it periodically.

It is still administered and hosted out of the home of Erik Olson (as it has been from the very beginning). Erik is an active AGA and GSAS member and currently on the GSAS BOD. He also does the AGA and GSAS videos.


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Niko,

If you're still looking for info on Dutch setups go to www.aquaplantexchange.nl or www.venividivissie.nl (or .com, I can't remember). There are lots of photos there that've helped me out a lot.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

www.venividivissie.org


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