High tech vs. Low tech (El Natural) - Page 7 - El Natural

gr8nguyen1 · 06-26-2009, 05:18 PM

i have a kh test kit that measures in whole numbers i.e 1,2,3,4,5,. the gh test kit measures in ppm. so how can i tell which one to go by my water parameters for hardness are kh 6 and gh 130....i'm a little confused. please help clarify. i'm relatively new to the whole npt thing. i just started about 3 months ago. my first attempt was a disaster...i mean algae everywhere within a month. so this time i decided to learn as much as i can bf starting again. i reread your book in its entirety and i've been reading as many of this posts as possible to learn what i did wrong. at about now the only thing i've learned is that i still have a lot of learning to do

dwalstad · 06-27-2009, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gr8nguyen1

i have a kh test kit that measures in whole numbers i.e 1,2,3,4,5,. the gh test kit measures in ppm. so how can i tell which one to go by my water parameters for hardness are kh 6 and gh 130....i'm a little confused. please help clarify.

Your GH kit may be expressing hardness in terms of ppm CaCO3. 130 ppm CaCO3 is fine. See chart in my book on page 185. So I would scratch water hardness off as the cause of your problem.

If you set up a new NPT, I would post pictures on APC as you go along. Sometimes NPTs can be sabotaged by something as "innocent" as an airstone that degasses out all CO2.

Philosophos · 07-07-2009, 12:09 PM

I feel as if high tech is getting turned in to a straw man here.

What high tech is not:

High tech does not have to mean high light, or high growth. It doesn't even mean huge fert doses all the time; some are lean. It does not mean worrying about part of the system failing, striving for stability is a very important part. It does not necessarily mean high upkeep; PMDD with 1.5wpg or EI with an automatic water change system and dosing pump can make it so some technophiles hardly have to touch their tank outside of trimming.

What does it mean then?

It's the use of CO2 methods, measured fertilizer doses, man made substrates, etc. Some times this involves some fancy test kits, drop checkers, par meters etc. depending on how involved one wants to get. Some of us have small labs sitting around in cupboards because we enjoy it. Others of us have complete labs because we're insane.

Most people don't go insanely high tech, it's not for everyone. What I do find is that people who are capable of running a high tech system are far more competent planted tank keepers than those who stay with low tech the entire time.

By having the understanding and skill required to run a high tech system, low tech becomes effortless. I have low tech tanks that never see algae problems, and require hardly any upkeep. I did not plan them, and they didn't even have a nutrient rich substrate until yesterday. These are grow out and quarantine tanks.

Some people aren't quite so serious about the hobby. High tech will never be their thing, and low tech will always keep them happy.

-Philosophos

yungreefer2410 · 07-17-2009, 11:11 AM

i have a medium tech tank (due to costs) 2 wpg diy co2 flourite and 2 hob filters is all my equipment for this tank

Brilliant · 07-17-2009, 07:34 PM

High tech seems to have gotten a bad rap. I have a beautiful anubias tank with co2, expensive substrate, custom slr based lighting to name a few specs. The tank requires hardly any maintenance at all.

Heck my Tonina tank is the not too far off. The tank requires pruning and weekly doses.

My most outrageous high tech tank with high light has an autodoser. I have to change water once in a while thats it. I grow plants of all colors and the tank takes less maintenance than most low tech tanks.

I am tired of people mentioning "required" maintenance and giving high tech tanks a bad rap.

f1ea · 07-19-2009, 08:31 AM

I don't think High tech = high maintenance; you could equip yourself to the point of needing very little maintenance. To me high tech simply means more equipment. Low tech means less equipment. But both are interesting and appealing.

Low tech doesnt have to be sloppy, or 'simple'. And High tech isn't inherently beautiful... after all, the very same processes have to take place, its just a matter of whether your allowing them to occur naturally or getting equipment to do it.

Some people just love their gadgets... a brand new 100GB iphone, the 2 oz laptop that costs a fortune, a 20 Mega pixel camera, 9.1 surround sound... etc etc. High tech is definitely for them. Others (myself included) fall asleep when their friends show them the stats on their PCs, or the millions of functions their cell phone has. They are likely to prefer low tech.