Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38535 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover

Customer Reviews

certainly the best book I've ever read about aquatic plants
As an experienced aquarist with a flair for biotop-aquariums I have a huge library of aquarium and ecology books at home. Most of them are printed with luxury paper and coverage including breathtaking pictures. But very few of them include key information that I exactly need. Can fish food alone cover all the nutrient needs of aquatic plants, if yes how? Do I really need additional CO2 and fertilizers? How can I maintain healthy low-tech natural aquariums free from algae with sun light? What are the most significant bio-chemical reactions that take place in the aquarium gravel & soil and how do they affect the general aquarium ecology, pH, KH, CO2, Iron-levels etc? Do plants really purify water, if yes how and which plants are better purifiers? Why are emergent plants better water purifiers? What does this heavy metal talk mean concretely? Do plants consume ammonia, nitrit and nitrate? Why do they generally prefer ammonia over nitrate? etc... etc...The author of this book apparently anticipated my unanswered questions of past and answered all of them in a step by step manner without a single logical gap. Don't let yourself negatively impressed by the modest look of the book. Its content is perfect!

I couldn't put it down, took pages of notes.
A few years ago, my brother and I owned pet shops, so I thought that I knew a bit about water chemistry.
This book showed me that I didn't.

So much information that has practical relevance. e.g.:
If pH is quite low, nitrification stops and ammonia takes the form of non-toxic ammonium.
If you raise the pH under these conditions, the ammonium converts to toxic ammonia, and you'll be countin' the floaters!

Want beautiful pictures? buy Takashi Amano.
Want beautiful plant tanks? buy Diana Walstad

One warning!

I found that the soil-underlay method tends to produce a lot of Hydrogen Sulphide (=rotten roots) during the first few weeks.
Don't supplement this type of tank with any Sulphate containing fertilizers! I think I'll try a tank with just a 1/4" of soil, or try soil that's not quite as rich.

By far the best Aquarium book I've read
I've read possibly over 100 books on keeping aquariums from all perspectives. The information in this book is real (though possibly exaggerated at times) and the results are real.

The information provided by Walstad was sufficient to allow me to turn a high maintenance hobby into one where fish and plants thrive with minimal work.

I have seen some authors dispute the theories that Diana puts forward, but I have seen nothing practical that supports their opinions either.

The bottom line is people walk into my house and are stunned by the beauty of my tanks, and the truth is, all I do now is add water.