[erijnal]

I wonder what *your* sources are because I can't find anywhere that Amano says he has .1mg/l CO2. What is your source? Are you suggesting that Amano's plants don't get enough Carbon?

Check some TFH magazines that came out during the summer. Would you say that having less than 1 ppm of NO3 is "normal"? If you don't, then I guess you've been "tainted" by EI because that's what Amano lists as his NO3 concentration. Want to know what his PO4 concentration is? It's listed as 0 mg/L. Having 0.1 ppm of CO2 along with these numbers doesn't sound very far-fetched to me.

Further, his water quality certainly doesn't translate to the rest of Japan, nor the world.

I brought up that point because of the relationship between pH and kH, something that's relevant to the initial post. Also, some people in the US have had problems with CRS-related products because of the difference in general water parameters, mainly kH if I remember correctly. If CRS-related products are being successfully marketed in Japan (see some posts from users who visited some Japanese LFSs), then I think it's safe to say that Japan as a whole probably has soft water, with exceptions of course.

I'm really curious what you mean about the ADA contest demographic.

Sorry, but weren't you the one that brought up the AGA contest in the first place? I'm assuming you first brought that up as an indication of the planted tank world in the USA. If that was the case, and it certainly does seem to be, that explains why I brought up the ADA contest. In any case, you answered your own question in the first sentence of your last post lol..

This is about growing plants, not aquascaping as you pointed out. I'm trying to keep this on topic.

So if this is about growing plants, then why would you mention the AGA contest, which largely judges the layout of the tank? Sure, plant growth is important in judging, but it's pretty much a given that almost every tank will have healthy plants. For that reason, I brought up aquascaping, since you seemed to be going in that direction. This thread was initially about Amano's advice on CO2 levels. You didn't comment on whether or not you agreed with the advice in your posts. All you did was say how great and untouchable Amano was.

We do it because it's stimulating for our brain and easy on our eyes, beautiful for our living room, etc... At least I do. If I'm alone then I'm guilty of being a blowhard. Still... Chasing a ball is "fun". Looking at an aquarium isn't really. There are 1000 other adjectives, but not "fun".

I really hate to do this to you, but I'm going to have to post a definition of the word "fun".

fun (fŭn)
n.

1. A source of enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure.

Gee! That sounds exactly like what you just described!

And my point was that they don't feel like they *need* 30 parts CO2 in order not to have algae, or to grow plants best, etc...

And yet, many people seem to do very well with 30 ppm of CO2. I don't think people are going around saying it's an absolute necessity, and if they are, they're going on their own experiences, and depending on how they convey that advice, it's perfectly acceptable.

"The pics of average folks' tanks on forums from other countries FAR surpass ours, and, IMO, the main reason is not technology, or substrates, or any of that garbage"

If the beginner has access to the best resources possible, he's going to have great success and will likely go further in the hobby. In the same light, many people have great success with the EI method of fertilization, and if they're willing to, will be more likely to experiment and see if they can create their own methods. Of course it's not the gold standard, but so far as I know, EI is easy to do (very important), and gives results (also important). The ADA method of fertilizing is just as easy, if not easier, in fact. I think the directions tell you to do a certain number of "squirts". Sounds simple to me. Why start off the hobby in a complicated fashion? Do you teach someone how tag a runner before they know how to catch a ball?


Anyway, I hope you don't mind bro, but I'm not going to reply to anything else you might have to say in this thread.