Re: [AGA-Contest] "Natural/Soil-Based" category for AGA 2005?

["S. Hieber" <shieber@yahoo.com>]

Just my guess, but they won't be often redecorated -- too
messy or irf pots are used they look like a pot rack; they
will mostly be new setups or mostly one plant that
eventually took over all the space; and they will show slow
growing plants -- even DW adds ferts for swords.  In fact,
the robustness of certain plants would be a "tell" that the
fabric of the honor system had been slightly rent.

A problem with having lots of categories is that you get
fewer entries in each and the contest is not so large that
that's a good thing.

Otoh, I think it's tough for a soil-underlayment tank
*without* added CO2 to compete against CO2 and added fert
tanks. So this might be an exception to the problem and
actually bring in more entries.

sh
--- Phil Edwards <biotypical@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I was just commenting over at APC regarding our/their
> 2005 contest and came 
> up with some thoughts about soil-based/natural
> aquascapes.  What do you 
> think?
> 
> My definition of a natural aquarium is one where there is
> no external 
> supplimentation to un-naturally stimulate growth.  Some
> supplimentation is 
> necessary to maintain plant health dependant on regional
> water chemistry.  
> ie: Charlotte water is really soft and lacking in
> minerals so I may have to 
> add a little calcium or something to make up for an
> essential deficiency.   
> This rules out regular/sustained use of CO2, PMDD, and
> any commercial plant 
> suppliments.  We're already on an honor system, this
> would just have to be 
> an extention of that.
> 
> ...I feel it would be good to have a separate
> category/system for soil-based 
> "natural" or "no-tech" tanks.  There are things that one
> just can't do in a 
> natural tank that are taken for granted in artifically
> supplimented tanks.  
> Natural tanks also have their own flavor/traits that are
> separate of 
> "artifical" aquariums.  A spectacular natural aquarium,
> one that is a true 
> achievement of its type, would/could look very different
> than an artificial 
> tank simply because the metabolic limitations prohibit
> the excessive 
> grooming that an artificial tank can withstand.  I've
> been putzing around 
> some fish forums and am finding these "Walstad" tanks to
> be gaining 
> popularity with people.  Having a separate grouping for
> tanks like this 
> could introduce a whole new demographic to the hobby.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> 
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