tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58696926248969766622024-03-14T11:38:38.260+00:00The Living TankA free guide to Aquascaping and Planted AquariumManuel Arias Ballesteroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747120440316024389noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5869692624896976662.post-24700244940380297092021-09-29T17:22:00.005+01:002021-10-01T10:45:33.207+01:00The true nature of Nature Aquarium and Diorama Aquarium<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpeyTI7L0qzdk84TLKvZQ2MUGTI2lAT_6vLVh_WJ0mHCSp-tlmlYL4DYTKIga4otDIxedNXBPrEQDz-UFrY_qlYg7Uh4fIdzxspQqDU14ceAMcBPMNFY2LDOoYtWiSMonNFNhivrOESpQ/s840/Suikei_iwagumi2-1-840x276.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="840" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpeyTI7L0qzdk84TLKvZQ2MUGTI2lAT_6vLVh_WJ0mHCSp-tlmlYL4DYTKIga4otDIxedNXBPrEQDz-UFrY_qlYg7Uh4fIdzxspQqDU14ceAMcBPMNFY2LDOoYtWiSMonNFNhivrOESpQ/w640-h210/Suikei_iwagumi2-1-840x276.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In recent times, one of the most striking questions I found myself making is related to the actual differences between Nature Aquarium and Diorama Aquarium. Yes, I am doing explicitly this splitting between the two because they differ in the very roots of aquascaping, which are utterly ignored when considering both types of works. You may ask many hobbyists around, even professionals, and you will find rarely a coherent or clear answer about what separates both branches.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The reason why this happens is because, historically speaking, the Diorama Aquarium has emerged as a splint of Nature Aquarium, which has grown up to overpass in popularity to his former discipline. This splint has evolved so much in the basics of the Nature Aquarium that they are no longer connected.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For me, this calls for a proper distinction between these two branches of aquascaping, which in my view, should also be evaluated separately in contests, and considered as separated disciplines within aquascaping. And this family of two is growing, as a more timid, but relentless, third movement is also starting to appear, which combines Nature Aquarium with Biotope Aquariums.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwupzAWQ_0eE5iCCqEUk0MKQoAtt2Jr6SUA7sualZf5muptOwp3_nJYrSyzT7FkMTm_Cgf9lTZsBv4OtOHJbb0X4xTQpYbrTNFkCE2iL0fPAZgAkoJwz6jAtan0osDYKfk3TT9jbqMyZHD/s292/Takashi_Amano.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="220" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwupzAWQ_0eE5iCCqEUk0MKQoAtt2Jr6SUA7sualZf5muptOwp3_nJYrSyzT7FkMTm_Cgf9lTZsBv4OtOHJbb0X4xTQpYbrTNFkCE2iL0fPAZgAkoJwz6jAtan0osDYKfk3TT9jbqMyZHD/s0/Takashi_Amano.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>To understand in what they fundamentally differ, we must recap on the origins of the Nature Aquarium. As most of you will probably know, Takashi Amano is the person endorsed with the creation of the concept of the Nature Aquarium. Being Japanese in origin, Nature Aquarium is infused at full extend in the aesthetics principles of the Japanese culture, fact that Amano always highlighted, and that led to label his works in their origin, as the "Japanese style" for planted aquariums, in juxtaposition to the "Dutch style" or "Jungle style" already existing then.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Takashi Amano transferred to aquariums many of the well-known rules from the classic Japanese gardening, mixing them with the <i>wabi sabi</i> aesthetical perception of the world. To do so, he focused mainly in two types of aquascapes: based in stones (aka Iwagumi types) or in driftwood (aka Forest types), as main elements to create the compositions. One can actually see how Takashi Amano thrived for reaching a mastering in both types of aquascaping, by firstly trying with his intuition in his earlier works, to later on put some educated methods at practise in his peak of Iwagumi and Driftwood aquariums, and finally combining both intuition and educated experience along his personal view of the natural world, learned from his travels. It is only at the end of his life, when he started to combine the three aspects, that his late works appeared, crystalising in the achievement of the so-considered his master work of F<i>lorestas Sumersas</i>, which has his unmistikable personal signature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When studying the works from Amano, it is important to note that he was very influenced by his experiences in the lagoons, rivers, and ponds of Niigata, where he passed lot of time during his childhood. His eagerness to replicate nature scenarios in aquariums came from there, but that alone will not explain the birth of Nature Aquariums. Most other people with similar experiences drifted towards the Biotope aquarium, where the creator aspires to produce true replications of natural environments as they are, including selecting the right plants and fish species, along with the hardscape materials that match such environment. But instead, Amano focused on a spiritual recreation of the Nature. Inspired on it, making it credible to the observer, but not a mere copy. The origin of this is born in the cultural roots of the aesthetic perception of the Japanese people and their cultural legacy, and in particular, in the traditional Japanese gardening.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the literature pieces of the medieval Japan that has been passed to us is the book called <i>Sakuteiki</i>. Considered the most ancient text in gardening, and with more than 1,000 years old, it explains the basic principles that shall guide to the Japanese gardeners of its time. It is worth to mention that, at the time, gardening was not a profession by itself, rather than an aesthetic activity carried out by the noble and ruling classes of Japan. Also in that time, these rules were intertwined with the religious principles of the Japanese society, which were driving some of the most important guidelines in the planning of gardens. The combination of the Shinto (animist) with Buddihsim (ascetic) religions, led towards a set of rules that were allowing to the visitors of the garden and owners, benefitting of the energies of nature to nurture their spirits, and provide them with success, luck, happiness, and health. Thus, culturally speaking, there have been a strong connection between the aesthetic perception of the design of a garden and the wellbeing of people, in which the recreation of natural environments, based in the real observation of nature and its perception, along with the need for environments qualified for meditation, became in drivers of such aesthetics.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All this has a third leg connected to the idea or concept of <i>wabi sab</i>i I mentioned before. The term lacks of a proper translation, but it is composed of two ideas: <i>Wabi </i>is about finding beauty in simplicity, and a spiritual richness and serenity in detaching from the material world. <i>Sabi </i>is more concerned about the passage of time, with the way that all things grow and decay, and how ageing alters the visual nature of those things. This clearly explains this connection between aesthetics and the spirit, and how Japanese use aesthetics as a manner to infuse feelings in the spirit, even nowadays. The concept of <i>wabi </i>is infused with the principles of the Buddhism Zen, where simplicity is searched as a mean to disregard the attachments to the physical world and achieve true freedom. <i>Sabi </i>is infused of the Shinto culture, where the changes of the nature with the pass of the time relate to the spirits that govern the world. Being the <i>kami </i>spirits of the nature, they shape it, and they change it with the time. Appreciation of the ageing is a window to better understand our world and the space we occupy on it. Thus, the idea of <i>wabi sabi </i>involves the appreciation of the nature in its simplicity, as a mechanism able to nurture our spirit and lead us to a meditative state that enables to connect with the nature, our surroundings and to live in the present moment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These ideas, whilst quite philosophical, are all very important to understand the works of Amano, and Nature Aquarium in general. And there are many proofs of it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For instance, Amano put significant emphasis in the use and positioning of stones, as part of the hardscape composition for a Nature Aquarium. This is not casual. The title of the book I mentioned before, <i>Sakuteiki</i>, can be translated as "gardening" but also as "art of laying stones". Indeed, in the traditional Japanese garden, the layout used for the stones is one of the most important elements, up to the point that gardening, and stone-laying are under the same concept. Why the layout of the stones is important? It is not only for aesthetic reasons, but for its connection to the peace of spirit of the people enjoying those gardens. This is very clear within the Iwagumi aquascapes, where a main stone is selected with two other stones supporting it, somewhat laying each in other, as basic structure. This trio is seen as main stone composition of old Japanese gardens, and they represent Buddha and two companions. Quite often, the three stones were complemented by a fourth flat stone laid in front of the others, place selected for meditating. Indeed, during the adoption of Buddishm into the Japanese society, some elements of Shinto merged, and the spirits of nature represented by stones, trees, rivers, and cascades, also become elements of the mediation and as aids to reach the ascetics principles of Buddhism.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CYW65IYPZ1pRfRkQDIdqU1o9UYDfjMhM6TzWFltOLjp0KE2lMTbjg7kiZ9tZYeJbSltrdSP-PWHXbhFsiUKQiSExx3uNyeZOBZ2Saadjmy87AK3CMl3h_qWAuDvHTpU-w6vzAEoKPRVU/s1200/traid.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="1200" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CYW65IYPZ1pRfRkQDIdqU1o9UYDfjMhM6TzWFltOLjp0KE2lMTbjg7kiZ9tZYeJbSltrdSP-PWHXbhFsiUKQiSExx3uNyeZOBZ2Saadjmy87AK3CMl3h_qWAuDvHTpU-w6vzAEoKPRVU/w400-h286/traid.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of triad of stones in Japanase gardens.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQyI4JoaBk6kwQ9AeF8o0X41dJ9lHuxiZ1rniZS-RxRGBPXRIVN7LU4j_EImAcxnqqEm0ZlrHgPn6EAmvM4ikmHw5xb3e3ZQo6SgXzGOHS3Ja0gExbjOXa3kLPyNIj6pFBYBF7e8caRgy/s960/Iwagumi.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="960" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQyI4JoaBk6kwQ9AeF8o0X41dJ9lHuxiZ1rniZS-RxRGBPXRIVN7LU4j_EImAcxnqqEm0ZlrHgPn6EAmvM4ikmHw5xb3e3ZQo6SgXzGOHS3Ja0gExbjOXa3kLPyNIj6pFBYBF7e8caRgy/w640-h206/Iwagumi.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iwagumi layout by Takashi Amano</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other interesting aspect is the famous sentence from Takashi Amano of "Learn from Nature, create Nature". This famous sentence has been assimilated way too literally in occidental cultures, where we tend to understand it as if Amano was inviting us to go to the countryside to take photos and learn how to replicate natural scenarios in the aquariums. However, this should be interpreted in a more spiritual manner, and as an invitation to connect with the Nature so that we can replicate such connection in our aquatic creations. It is not only to learn about the details where a moss goes in an aquascape, rather than finding out the aesthetic rules of a natural scenario, so to replicate them as a mean to connect with the observer. In other words: by studying nature and how its aesthetics impact our spirits, we can find manners to recreate such links in our works, so other observer of our aquascapes can feel the same as if they were in such natural scenario. This is the real challenge here.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is other repetitive case in the videos, interviews and books of Amano that proves these cultural roots of the Nature Aquarium. For instance, the idea of ageing of the layouts. In his interview made for the <i>Florestas Sumersas</i> (see the interview <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyCvo44-0bU" target="_blank">here</a>, and in particular from 0:50 onwards), he mentions a few times the need to allow the layout for ageing, so it gets the right feeling. This aging, in the case of stones and driftwood is achieved by the disposition of the hardscape and also in many other details. Like the cracks in the rocks or their erosion. Or the veins and craves within the wood. Or moss growing over stones and/or woods. Those things that, in nature, are synonym to be exposed to the elements for years. This has become kind of a key aspect of the modern aquascaping, no matter you are in Nature or Dioraman Aquariums. Still, in the case of Amano, this refers to the idea of wabi sabi I mentioned before: the appreciation of the pass of the time as of aesthetic value. Amano, quite often, mentions the importance of understanding "how a layout will look like on time", which connects precisely with this idea. For Amano, it is not just the mere representation of an "ancient forest" or "old mountain" what is looked for, but also to have enough perception of the pass of the time as an intrinsic aesthetic component of an aquarium, which shall happen, and not always under our full control. Indeed, again in <i>Florestas Sumersas</i>, he mentions that the layout will noticeably change with the time: he was not expecting that his original planning would remain as such, rather than accept this ageing and maturing of the layout as part of the composition itself. One could think this as if the perception and appreciation of a layout for Amano were not in 3D (the layout design and creation) rather than 4D (the layout design, its creation, and its changes on time): a true Nature Aquarium is not appreciated as a single photo, rather than as a travel where you witness how changes on time as part of the experience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVt9977MqNn5vqvMZNC9BpkGHt7MRjVV9N8V88-kls6NmmKIhldhKQb-Bmk8syahylz4DEsJFnZy47_G2T83xtRhpG1nQuzlkj6lJ6a3Rj8eUgtaRnE2h3V_P081Me7RZzQOn-GRk2xM5/s1024/Amano-Takashi-1024x569.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="1024" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVt9977MqNn5vqvMZNC9BpkGHt7MRjVV9N8V88-kls6NmmKIhldhKQb-Bmk8syahylz4DEsJFnZy47_G2T83xtRhpG1nQuzlkj6lJ6a3Rj8eUgtaRnE2h3V_P081Me7RZzQOn-GRk2xM5/w640-h357/Amano-Takashi-1024x569.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other aspect that links with all the above is how Takashi Amano planned the layouts and how was using the hardscape materials. The main elements of his compositions were chosen according to an idea in mind, but one critical aspect in their selection was to respect their own nature and shapes. One will not see in most of his work an extensive use, but rather a limited one, of reshaping of materials. They were selected and used as they come, in most cases. This notion is, again, connected to the traditional perception of nature in Japan. Indeed, the book <i>Sakuteiki </i>explains well that stones should be used in gardens respecting their natural position, with the aged faces at view, and the original bottom surfaces hidden from the observer. It is considered taboo to alter the stones in any manner or not respect their natural dispositions. This can be seen in many works of Amano, where if well these rules are relaxed, he still strives to perform a disposition of the hardscape that use the natural flow of the stones and driftwoods to provide harmony to the layouts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnjlHX13jj2H5guxuAOWCMZMIyB4AJHjwJZLf83WZ2qPGR7pwude-G5kGhPZ07UpiErYUSttw83OeP5axXnkDSv7fq7fozeLwWDSnUVco_VZTIZmev2Go3Ov5QOZ0wacW8xhB8LOD-BLZ/s1500/nature_in_the_glass_aj304_02_en-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMnjlHX13jj2H5guxuAOWCMZMIyB4AJHjwJZLf83WZ2qPGR7pwude-G5kGhPZ07UpiErYUSttw83OeP5axXnkDSv7fq7fozeLwWDSnUVco_VZTIZmev2Go3Ov5QOZ0wacW8xhB8LOD-BLZ/w640-h214/nature_in_the_glass_aj304_02_en-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of stone layout vs water flow in nature. Image from ADA (c) 2021.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, as a note of curiosity, one of the most popular ADA stones used in aquascaping is called <i>seiryu </i>stone. <i>Seiruy</i> in Japanese translates as "Blue Dragon" and refers to the Guardian of the East, which is joined by the White Tiger (Guardian of the West), the Black Tortoise (Guardian of the North) and the Vermillion Bird (Guardian of the South). Those symbols were culturally imported from China into Japan and were elements of the geomancy that were very important for divination and luck. In fact, places for setting houses of the nobility, temples and even cities, were selected based in the good disposition of these four guardians, which bring protection to the realm. Because of their roles as protectors, the four guardians were taken into account when designing the traditional gardens, impacting both the type of colours of the stones that could be used in each section of the garden, the type of plants, and even more important, the disposition of design elements, like where to put the ponds, or through which path the spring river shall run within the property. Thus, true seiryu stones are actually blue, not grey. I had some of them some time ago, and once the CO2 dissolved the outer layer of the stones, they were dark blue with nice white veins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, the reason why I have described all these elements is to allow for a clear understanding of the governing principles of Nature Aquarium, and how the ones from Diorama Aquarium depart from them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For instance, in Nature Aquarium:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>The purpose is to create scapes that connect with the observer in a spiritual manner; your work is successful if manages to transmit the feelings you felt when observing natural scenarios, and not as much by merely replicating visuals.</li><li>There is a respect to the hardscape elements, which are not altered, but in minimal aspects, and always using their natural disposition to aid to construct the layout; one shall appreciate how the materials flow, how they link with the idea of ageing, and use the characteristics they already have, so to create the scenario.</li><li>The idea of aging shall manifest in the work with elements that represent the cycle of life and death in the aquascape, by combining both hardscape, plants, and fish in harmony. An aquascape where plants have not matured or are in excess will look too young, whereas another with not enough plants or without proper trimming/maintenance will look too old.</li><li>Balance shall be provided in all the aspects, including colours, lights and shadows and hardscape composition and disposition.</li><li>In overall, Nature Aquarium shall connect with positive feelings linked to a relaxed state of the mind. Dark, mysterious, or even aggressive layouts are opposing this principle.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, in a Diorama Aquarium:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>The scene can be fictional or real, but the purpose is to recreate quasi-realistic full scenarios, with substantial emphasis of perspective and textures. It is the visual impact what primes.</li><li>Hardscape elements can be fully manipulated, or even built-for-purpose, as demanded to achieve the desired image. Aging is forced from design, and not through aquarium evolution, which often leads to extensive use of moss and/or highly textured materials.</li><li>There is no need to reflect a full cycle of life and death in these works. Here, the key factor is measured in the degree of details the creator can put on the image, but without falling into feelings of "out of place". Elements within the composition must make sense between them, but they can be entirely inclined towards a side of the balance (e.g., represent poorly vegetated areas, or on the other hand, the wilderness of the jungle).</li><li>Balance shall be provided in all the aspects, including colours, lights and shadows and hardscape composition and disposition, as well. However, general impression of the hardscape is a main player.</li><li>There is no need to connect with feelings of relax. In fact, Diorama is successful whenever connects with the observer, quite often by appealing to the sense of danger, abruptness of nature or force of the elements.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, established those differences, one can start also to fit in where some other concepts fall.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For example, the so-called "Zen style" has actually nothing to do with the theme displayed in the layout, rather than how such scene or theme is achieved. Under zen principles, one shall use the less elements as possible but in a fundamental equilibrium that leads to a relaxing view/meditating state. A typical zen style composition would be an Iwagumi composed of three or five stones, with only one type or two types of carpeting plants. As such, the zen style is just a way to consider some of the Nature Aquariums. However, one can also produce a zen style aquarium using Diorama principles, whenever the ideas of simplicity and few elements are respected. Nobody really does this, reason why I consider zen style is just a variant of Nature Aquarium.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYou_QApMGgVhkeNNVigqitpJxszuiQPSHxMd_46BHLY54M6y6FZWQAypkA4QNjzjMkvE-XGT3pKciOUZqoZ7GsI3VAB9k4MRXlhCTG0rKobiKFc73nBVd3cmP51r7__MmMobO_9ExL08G/s1076/iwagumi_sample.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="1076" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYou_QApMGgVhkeNNVigqitpJxszuiQPSHxMd_46BHLY54M6y6FZWQAypkA4QNjzjMkvE-XGT3pKciOUZqoZ7GsI3VAB9k4MRXlhCTG0rKobiKFc73nBVd3cmP51r7__MmMobO_9ExL08G/w640-h278/iwagumi_sample.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of Iwagumi under Nature Aquarium, Zen style. By George Farmer.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQZUhFYdnWKfVmx_9tsSm0dAaImyb_9pWawZvZAtBE_bfJG0KiLL99yDRoat9SVKU315bPawhmEVrZHiZL3GUtLQrzqs9y4lm3nad2AioHvFXnMCh0T8P2qdeDkmG-Ph1f_PxlkQMBSgH/s1040/iwagumi_wild.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="1040" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQZUhFYdnWKfVmx_9tsSm0dAaImyb_9pWawZvZAtBE_bfJG0KiLL99yDRoat9SVKU315bPawhmEVrZHiZL3GUtLQrzqs9y4lm3nad2AioHvFXnMCh0T8P2qdeDkmG-Ph1f_PxlkQMBSgH/w640-h268/iwagumi_wild.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of Iwagumi under Diorama Aquarium, Wild style. By Fukada.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Similarly, the "Wild style" is again not really related to the type of scene, rather than a technique to achieve them. Wild style is opposite to Zen, and uses as many elements as can fit within the aquarium to fill the full scene. In this sense, it fits better within the Diorama Aquarium but is not restricted to it. However, generally speaking, Nature Aquarium allows for significantly more free space in the scenes, and tends to use much less elements, so this is the reason why I consider this style as a variant of the Diorama Aquarium.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Themes can fall in those styles with not much trouble. For instance, forest scenes can be produced using zen or wild techniques, and the same for mountain-like compositions. A good example is the Iwagumi composition, which started as a zen style, but has been progressively absorbed by the wild style, and nowadays we have many winning works where stones are the main driver of the hardscape, but that have departed substantially from the simplicity of using just a few stones, but well placed. Equally, some of the minimalistic compositions using driftwood from Amano, have drifted towards very complicated and rather architectural layouts generally achieved only using Diorama techniques.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZYIZOKguF_Khc01kmPTSdwnkhkp6SFuXuRjy5pcfrFHNj1y6lx_v_iPcuNwPvwiqRvG7EP0IskanB0TJy0gNa-OQbcvsn-ioxGDgvo-xF6HkGC_XFkOHypU6FKdrisvkxUBv5E3DjWvw/s1680/driftwood_sample.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1680" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZYIZOKguF_Khc01kmPTSdwnkhkp6SFuXuRjy5pcfrFHNj1y6lx_v_iPcuNwPvwiqRvG7EP0IskanB0TJy0gNa-OQbcvsn-ioxGDgvo-xF6HkGC_XFkOHypU6FKdrisvkxUBv5E3DjWvw/w640-h400/driftwood_sample.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of forest layout, under Nature Aquarium, Zen style. By Takashi Amano.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3xCw0DyBRJhBxo70DaabZ8ven3zZJVpc2Uq_0If_6JurpU9mhUbrBsALqzJz9KS7A4dlNwxkAEeScREtz6DnnuQsvhU9WQDJ2zw1MGuC6h_huItILo73Je4Vq_AYJOFB3zjLoaj8QM4s/s1600/pittsburgh-zoo-and-ppg-aquarium-logo-large.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1600" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3xCw0DyBRJhBxo70DaabZ8ven3zZJVpc2Uq_0If_6JurpU9mhUbrBsALqzJz9KS7A4dlNwxkAEeScREtz6DnnuQsvhU9WQDJ2zw1MGuC6h_huItILo73Je4Vq_AYJOFB3zjLoaj8QM4s/w640-h226/pittsburgh-zoo-and-ppg-aquarium-logo-large.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of forest layout, under Diorama Aquarium, Wild style. By Fukada.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a rule of the thumb, the so-called zen aquariums fall all under the frame of Nature Aquarium, and the wild ones under the Diorama Aquarium. However, this is not a strict rule, as per the governing principles of each one. Nevertheless, it is behind why Nature Aquarium is in "decline" in the listing contests. As some people have pointed out, zen style is very complex to achieve with success, whereas wild one is significantly simpler. The reason is clear: in zen style, one must achieve a very fine balance between the few elements included in the composition, master the planting and trimming, and have an outstanding aesthetic perception of nature. Minimal errors are significantly and easily noticed because of this, and these layouts tend to score worse than other works, due to this better appreciation of errors. On the other hand, wild style benefits from filling so much the scene with details and elements that errors are much easily overlooked. The general impact is what matters, and small deficiencies are easily assimilated by the whole layout. Being zen style more predominant within the Nature Aquarium, Diorama Aquarium is nowadays the preferred option for competitions, as the more flexible wild style allows for good results. Other reason behind this trend is that the eagerness of Nature Aquarium to represent a fluid ageing of the nature, requires long-term running and maintenance of the layouts, where is more difficult to preserve the original layout, rather than the short-term running (but very demanding) required for the Diorama Aquarium, when one can add plants and fish at the very last minute, if needed to (and done very often in contest-level works, by the way).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, this is not always black and white. Many Diorama Aquariums have elements of Nature Aquariums and vice-versa, but the reality is that they substantially differ in the basic principles and aims. Diorama looks for impressing people; Nature Aquarium looks for connecting them with nature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a final note, there are other aspects that are more contest-driven than actual choices for each type of aquascaping. For instance, IAPLC and some other contests emphasize the need to recreate the natural environment of fish. Truth be said that judges tend to take lot of freedom in what can be considered as such, but generally speaking, creating credible environment of fish is closer to get inspired in truly aquatic environments, rather than in landscapes. Most of the winners of IAPLC, however, fall in the second category. And even Amano produced many aquascapes that can be hardly considered recreations of aquatic environments. Those aspects are driving the theme of the work, and not as much the type of aquascape in which falls.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, closing this article, and having all of this into account, I think a division of these two categories is in order: their challenges and purposes are different so makes no sense they compete together. The newer contests are trying to have some of those factors in consideration, but in my opinion, the real differences are not yet understood, reason why I decided to write this article, which I hope you enjoyed.</div> <p></p></div>Manuel Arias Ballesteroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747120440316024389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5869692624896976662.post-74782790021333666632021-09-02T20:47:00.002+01:002021-09-02T20:50:21.846+01:00A new IAPLC: what has really changed?<p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dMFmDg-IUd2jCN-Y6t5jbocf_hd47YpN3CgLaZD9QWQlMrMbFINTMoqIm_tCZ6sRKD6fnKVyCuPbi6-qMrKxt9BbNwsGhFZ7-hgZg_IrNYlAuHwZZPMDmjGcCZAbdOwSt6_8h0ZPeCtS/s1500/iaplc2021_news_logoimg.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dMFmDg-IUd2jCN-Y6t5jbocf_hd47YpN3CgLaZD9QWQlMrMbFINTMoqIm_tCZ6sRKD6fnKVyCuPbi6-qMrKxt9BbNwsGhFZ7-hgZg_IrNYlAuHwZZPMDmjGcCZAbdOwSt6_8h0ZPeCtS/s320/iaplc2021_news_logoimg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another year has passed by, and as traditionally, this August we had got the chance to see the aquascaping works that made it to the IAPLC top 100 of this edition.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For those who did not, you can watch the entire streaming event in YouTube in the following <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8XxM26gRis" target="_blank">link</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this occasion, the community was paying more attention than ever to the contest. But not much for the excitement of the new works -which each year triggers lot of hype-, rather than closely monitoring the behaviour of the organisation. There are a few reasons for it, but mainly linked to the following aspects: (a) a change of the general rules of the contest; (b) a change in the selection of judges; (c) a need to reconsider the evaluation criteria.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this article, we review a few of those aspects, starting from why such changes were required, and then reviewing how this has impacted the results of this year.</div>
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">Why IAPLC rules change this year?</h2><div style="text-align: justify;">If you are one of those following closely the IAPLC and contests, you will not be alien to the events that took place last year. If not, I recommend you to read this <a href="https://www.thelivingtank.co.uk/2020/11/the-spirit-of-amano.html" target="_blank">entry</a>. But, in a nutshell, there were reported cases of what some people considered <i>fraud/cheating</i>, or what others interpreted as <i>customary editions</i>, of some of the photos sent to the contest. This would not be breaking news (happens quite often in many contests) if not because of some of those works made it to the top 100, and even to the top 5.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The works that breached the rules were spotted in a local contest authorised by ADA, and in their morale duty, the organisers reported it, and from there, some other people informed to IAPLC, as the same works were presented in both contest. This is allowed by the rules of ADA (authorised contest only) but photo edition is not permitted, beyond some general adjustments (contrasts, colour balance...). The authors of such works failed to provide evidence of no-edition, whereas the contest organisers showed the analysis of Photoshop experts and photography edition, indicating the forgery. The reporters hoped for ADA rectifying the rankings correspondingly, or at least disqualifying the participants who breached the rules.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, this was not the case. All messages sent got the same reply: that ADA was not accepting comments on the results of the contest. In other words, they did not plan to change the ranking nor disqualify the faulty participants. This decision was considered harsh and unfair for and by many hobbyist and fans, as it was detrimental to the participants who put their entries at play following the rules.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to some, ADA reacted this way because of they had already the booklets with the results in the press, and committed already significant resources of the organisation (perhaps even paid the awards to winning works). As indicated in the entry I cited at the start of this section, even own ADA rules stated at the time that works breaching the rules, even if doing so after publication of the results, would be disqualified. Which they did not.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a bit difficult to accept such decision, but, unfortunately, ADA has not been traditionally transparent in such things, and no answer or justification was given to the community beyond a shy "let's try to avoid this in the future and let's move forward as community", along a promise to review the rules and improve next year. This was the solely announcement made by ADA through their dedicated IAPLC Facebook page, which by the way, has been quietly removed and no longer exists. They also erased the critic comments from some of the posts they had on the results of 2020 in their commercial page. Of course, they could not erase that one, so they just removed what they did not like. They are in their commercial rights to do so, but perhaps not as much ethically...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nevertheless, this was not just the only thing that raised the wraith of the masses. Other aspects have been criticised for years, but the last year were added on top of the havoc created for the cheating. Some of the historical claims to ADA was to incorporate to the contest renown aquascapers or professionals of the aquascaping world to evaluate the works (ADA used more or less a semi-fixed list of judges coming from aquarium journals and brands). Other was a more clear explanation of the evaluation process. Scoring system has been also challenged a few times, as it is a non-linear system. More objective evaluation criteria is also a common complain. Or even separation into categories (as is, all works presented to IAPLC fall in one single category, with no consideration to sizes or types).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><p></p><h2 style="text-align: justify;">What did change in the IAPLC?</h2><div style="text-align: justify;">Even if it is true that ADA did not react as many expected from them, at least we must give them that they tried to improve the things. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They did an effort to make the rules clearer and explicit (read them in the following <a href="https://iaplc.com/e/application/" target="_blank">link</a>, which includes a starting note about the events of the last year, rather succinct, I must warn you).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They also did an statement on the IAPLC website that you can find <a href="https://iaplc.com/e/2021/03/01/help-us-improve-the-moral-behavior-for-the-iaplc/" target="_blank">here</a>. An excerpt is found below, which shows that ADA took notice of the events happened last year:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: "ヒラギノ角ゴ ProN", ヒラギノ角ゴシックProN, ヒラギノ角ゴシック, "Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN", 游ゴシック, "Hiragino Sans", Meiryo, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 40px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">We believe that it is best for each and one of every applicant to comply with the rules and apply for the contest in order for us to operate and keep the IAPLC healthy and enjoyable for everyone. Moreover, due to the impact of social media in recent years, in some cases, violations of the rules are found after results are announced, causing confusion. The IAPLC Steering Committee will do our very best for the IAPLC to be supported by all the aquarists around the world and recognized as a meaningful contest.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />We appreciate your kind understanding and cooperation.</p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; font-family: "ヒラギノ角ゴ ProN", ヒラギノ角ゴシックProN, ヒラギノ角ゴシック, "Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProN", 游ゴシック, "Hiragino Sans", Meiryo, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 40px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">The IAPLC Steering Committee</p></div></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They emphasized the need to respect the rules, not only there and then, but also almost as first item of the IAPLC results announcement video (watch the minute 6:50 to 7:35 in the Youtube video I <a href="https://youtu.be/u8XxM26gRis?t=413" target="_blank">linked</a>). If you watch the video, you will notice is the only time the two presenters do not smile in the entire hour. This is probably the closest thing to a reaction we may expect, but that they mentioned it a few times and in different places, highlights they got worried about the issues last year and took it seriously. Kudos.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But more things changed, even if some were subtle. This year, they announced as winning works only the first 100 top entries, rather than the traditionally 127. Why in the past was 127 and now 100? I have no idea, but 127 was always an odd number to me. Equally, they have shaped the layers within such 100 works, with 17 Honour Pizes (instead of 20) and 73 Winning Works (instead of 100).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>You can see the top 100 works from this edition, and most of the works from previous editions <a href="https://iaplc.com/gallery/en/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>More importantly, they took in consideration some of the historical claims from the community (not all of them, unfortunately). To start with it, they changed the judge composition. They had this year <a href="https://iaplc.com/e/judges/" target="_blank">10 judges</a>, of which 4 are reputed within the aquascaping community. Whereas because they do aquascaping or because they work in that specific sector of the aquarium community. This was an improvement, even if still could be better.</div><div><br /></div><div>Still, it had impact. Those of us who regularly monitor the contest, we know that some years there have been intruders in the classification: works that clearly were overrated, or works clearly underrated. This year, watching and taking some time to gauge the top 100 works, I do not have such feeling, and I see a more clear gradation in terms of quality from number 1 to 100, without strange anomalies. For those who also checked this, please, wait to read the next lines below before saying "I do not agree with you". </div><div><br /></div><div>Moreover, and not written or announced, but the evaluation criteria changed. Not in terms of what factors you can score with. But how those factors were actually scored. This is clear from the top 100 selected works of this year. Three things are obvious to me:</div><div><ol><li>They reinforced the fact that this an "Planted Layout" contest, i.e. this year bothering in having significant amounts of plants, and plants beyond mosses, counted for a lot. Some works, with excellent hardscaping but poorly planted, were severely impacted in the scoring (sorry for that, Steve). Some people that did not work as hard as in the past in the hardscape, but did a better planting, got better than expected (there you go, Josh).</li><li>They also penalized the works that, even if stunning, they did not have a natural feeling or composition. There they go those tremendous designs of alien scenarios...no more FX accepted, using mirrors or other stuff of the likes).</li><li>It was not a decisive factor but using a variety of colours in plants also counted.</li></ol><div><br /></div><div>These changes resulted that works where the hardscape was the main point in detriment of the plants, show themselves in worse positions than they would have found in previous years, and those aquariums with a relatively less worked hardscape but better planted, getting better results than they could expect. Two good examples are the works from Josh Sim and Steven Chong, respectively:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzfRtQU5_N_-Pwnnza4Wo_J809CJpfaPr_GcokG_9ETRnVZV3kU1IR-JndWh8p5yAUNIKdMM_3pCChDcdOFX1ZG9pKody8ElZneQbeuI41EaJ7tbydgemp5c5FnUWog1vX9tiRfnurqQk/s1407/josh_sim__embrace_2021.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="1407" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzfRtQU5_N_-Pwnnza4Wo_J809CJpfaPr_GcokG_9ETRnVZV3kU1IR-JndWh8p5yAUNIKdMM_3pCChDcdOFX1ZG9pKody8ElZneQbeuI41EaJ7tbydgemp5c5FnUWog1vX9tiRfnurqQk/w640-h195/josh_sim__embrace_2021.png" title=""Embrace" by Josh Sim (2021)." width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Embrace" by Josh Sim, 2021.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcAuPCij1UP4sP5Ps8X2qSBZIG-gZxunliCSx2SMLuJNegnOFCSrEMxZKmsD5ZYJZo26wl4KNjebZX8RV4qq8cif7SoHgiG8fh3vZ1z23S02p4vGN53PI3iKHuLAWLLQ-ZpW9MyzpIfHPb/s1392/silent_pool_steven_chong_2021.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="1392" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcAuPCij1UP4sP5Ps8X2qSBZIG-gZxunliCSx2SMLuJNegnOFCSrEMxZKmsD5ZYJZo26wl4KNjebZX8RV4qq8cif7SoHgiG8fh3vZ1z23S02p4vGN53PI3iKHuLAWLLQ-ZpW9MyzpIfHPb/w640-h240/silent_pool_steven_chong_2021.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Silent Pool" by Steven Chong, 2021.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The first work ended in ranking 6, whereas the second in ranking 37. For me, both works are extraodrinary, but the work from Steven shows clearly a significant larger dedication to the hardscape and overall composition than to the plants. The work from Josh is more chaotic and less organised but really shows a work in the planting. "Silent Pool" is a great idea and concept, but when you compare both layouts side to side, one can see very well that Josh masters the planting and trimming, whereas Steven has still a way to go in his work in those matters. It is not the only reason, though. There is a natural feeling in "Embrace" that is not present in "Silent Pool", and it is not that Steve did not capture the sub-alpine freshwater rivers composition...it has to do with the photo. I have the impression Steven stretched too much the contrast, to enhance the difference between shadows and highlights, and give in this way more relevance to his choice of white colours in his layout. This setup of the camera or the legal post-adjustment, it really degrades the resulting image. It is long too dark in the shadows, too bright in the white areas. And the image is hard to interpret: many people has confused his whitened woods with coventional wood having white sand on top! For me, this is the best indicator of why Josh got 8, and Steven 37: if you have to explain what it is, it means you did not manage to express the concept properly. Nevertheless, I would even dare to say Steven should be thankful: with the apparent "deficiencies" he still made it up to 37! A good position many people would "kill" for.</div><div><br /></div><div>All in all, in my opinion, all these changes in the evaluation have brought a better contest, even if things can still improve. In my way, I am far happier with the results this year than previous years since Amano left us. So, even if with some criticism, congrats ADA. You are starting to listen. Please, continue doing so.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><h2>And what did change in the participants?</h2></div><div>Well, if the changes in ADA and the IAPLC could be more obvious, the changes in the participants are less so. But a good eye can spot them.</div><div><br /></div><div>For me, the main one is kind of hilarious... this year, the fish in the photos...are moving and blurry in many top jobs! C'mon guys...really? So what happened this time? Fish had a sudden and bursting need to move faster than previous years? Or composite photos are no longer a trend? I am not meaning this was not the case in the past, but it is obvious that this year fish have movement...not always all aligned in the group, not always in the focus...well, what it is normal if you tried at least once. Forget all that stories about using a laser pointer or feeding the fish in the same location...they may help, but they do not give you fish fully aligned and static but by chance, at least in those schooling species in larger numbers. This is easier to achieve with larger fish like <i>Altum, Gourami</i>, or <i>Discus, </i>which are slower and you need to convice less of them to align. But it is very hard to achieve with most smallest species.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdEW2CHE0diZhrmiY-tShB25WIEaM-nFt96qQXGPZiO3F43Ag7_ixwWneVnYOkQeTcMRBpoyOCTxqCMsiQKD-y4dqLtimD4mJO4k9vpawIyrLcKeqxbONwvexeKRt-2FOrZPl9NPaDQ0f/s1243/origin_juan_puchades_fish_2021.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="1243" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdEW2CHE0diZhrmiY-tShB25WIEaM-nFt96qQXGPZiO3F43Ag7_ixwWneVnYOkQeTcMRBpoyOCTxqCMsiQKD-y4dqLtimD4mJO4k9vpawIyrLcKeqxbONwvexeKRt-2FOrZPl9NPaDQ0f/w640-h296/origin_juan_puchades_fish_2021.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt from "Origin. Dawn light" by Juan Puchades. Fish are blurry, moving...and...natural!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Previous years, there was a good number of works with fish in a perfect synchrony, alignment and full definition, as if they were almost pasted on top of the image of the aquarium (oh, wait...), rather than naturally embedded in the scene. Thanks for that guys, much appreciated. I think now all these contestants that are not professionals of the photography (or cannot pay them), had a slightly better chance. Or at least was more fair to them in the evaluation. But for me, these photos with fish not aligned always, at differet planes, and a bit blurry, transmit far more sensations of nature than those photos that could be out of any advertising company.</div><div><br /></div><div>The other thing one could notice was the overall style of choice. In first place, the famous Nature Aquarium is , with no doubt, in progressive decline. Less and less entries using this technique are seen in the top 100 (or 127, depending on year). Diorama technique is imposing its rule in the community. The reason is evident: the balance between difficulty for implementing a diorama vs creating a Nature Aquarium -for the same composition-, is far less, and the errors that would be obvious in a NA aquarium, can be better hidden in the diorama style. For me, this is one aspect behind this progressive evolution. Josh Sim almost nailed it in the introduction to his seminar at Green Aqua in 2019, which you can watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJBhmZUwDBI" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have some different view on how classify aquascaping styles (which I will detail in a different post) but he is totally right when he defends what he calls "wild" style as a manner to create better aquariums in an easier manner. But this is why Amano was a master of NA, and the rest of us we have still way to go to match him... </div><div><br /></div><div>More striking aspetcs of this year: it seems that the sunken tree was the motive of IAPLC 2021. Many aquscapers used that type of composition for their works. I do not think this is just a trend within the community, rather than the impact of the judges's preferences in compositions. I think they favoured this type of layout this year. But let´s not assume next year will be the same...as some judges also change between years, preferred compositions also do. Even so, for so many works of this type to make it to the top 100 (the only ones seen by the 10 judges), it means they were a significant fraction of all submitted works. That, or ADA pre-screening had some particular rules, of which, of course, we have no infomation about.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNwlA8MuF0EGek-KEH12_1lllMt_upb3HWdL5UfTwktEaD37fLrJeQ8tc0bkGT7l95YS_JVfSlUI9zafDRHHSjAMRumrc95vuRcEm37iJCEoh8P7jMIEri3Z8DjLOhjhXLHyVJg39x5b4/s1408/ancient_tree_yoyo_prayogi_2021.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="1408" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNwlA8MuF0EGek-KEH12_1lllMt_upb3HWdL5UfTwktEaD37fLrJeQ8tc0bkGT7l95YS_JVfSlUI9zafDRHHSjAMRumrc95vuRcEm37iJCEoh8P7jMIEri3Z8DjLOhjhXLHyVJg39x5b4/w640-h240/ancient_tree_yoyo_prayogi_2021.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Ancient Tree" by Yoyo Prayogi. Grand Prize work IAPLC 2021.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>And my final comment on this, relates to other element that was in a fashion this year: shadows. Lots of them. So many that probably this was the darker IAPLC I can remember. And there is a responsible for this: again, the seminar from Josh Sim in Green Aqua I indicated previously. He made a strong point that shadows are critical for a better scoring in contests, due to the impact and feelings they cause in the spectator. Sure, I do agree: masters of the painting, like Goya, Velzquez or Vermeer, they mastered the use of shadows in contrast to the light, winning the attention of the observer. Amano already emphasized their importance, but I think Josh's seminar has been very influential for the works presented in this year. Nevertheless, let´s not forget that there were masters of the light, too. Like Sorolla, Rembrandt, or Turner.</div><div><br /></div><h2>Conclusion</h2><div>In summary, I really feel this year has been special. Between other things, I see that top ranked works are closer each other as ever, and the scoring seems fair and more related to what the contest is about, and not just about creating impact with impossible hardscapes. This is of course, just my opinion, but as close follower of the contest and events for aquascaping, I really feel a breeze of fresh air in a contest that was adrift. The works of this year are, in my opinion, at more distance from Nature Aquarium as ever, but closer to Nature than in the last 5 years. Good job to all the participants, and all those who have been part of a fantastic IAPLC this year. Thanks for all your work and creations!</div><div><br /></div><div>Congratulations to all the participants. It is the first time I really look forward the next year's works. If we keep up with the changes, it will be an awesome year for aquascaping. But only time will tell.</div></div>Manuel Arias Ballesteroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747120440316024389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5869692624896976662.post-57339895566088133302020-11-10T09:18:00.007+00:002021-09-02T20:51:30.350+01:00The Spirit of Amano<p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSbkiY7p_RMarkWU8GTRYqGbcT09mZbUayzskAQzjtXpSFTObruI9Vfp7R1hmul_FJ4lpvp94ftz0fFpeUJtv8dXmUgkxNwPvSLvWe-3q4PT_MiPiysQlDHzByYlPTPhmGlA_nJEGyJZN/s1934/florestas_sumersas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="1934" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSbkiY7p_RMarkWU8GTRYqGbcT09mZbUayzskAQzjtXpSFTObruI9Vfp7R1hmul_FJ4lpvp94ftz0fFpeUJtv8dXmUgkxNwPvSLvWe-3q4PT_MiPiysQlDHzByYlPTPhmGlA_nJEGyJZN/w676-h338/florestas_sumersas.jpg" width="676" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As probably many of you already know, last days have been times of turmoil for the international community in Aquascaping. Unfortunately, apparently there have been a number of cases of breach of rules of various contests, with the subsequent disqualifications of those participants in some of them. I am sure those disqualifications will continue for the remaining of this 2020 season of contests, as result of those events.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, I do not want to linger in this article in what happened or not, nor mention individuals or organisations involved into that. Instead, I prefer to discuss about the context and what this means for Aquascaping.</p><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The last days have been a good opportunity to check the mood of the community about this problem. As many of you may know, Aquascaping community circles around the many existing contests. There are a few reasons for it, being probably the most important one the role that the IAPLC has, possibly the most famous and prestigious contest for Aquascaping within the community.</div><p style="text-align: justify;">The late Takashi Amano founded the IAPLC, with the support of his company ADA. He did it with the spirit of promoting the art and love for Aquascaping. Because of Amano had in that time -and still does-, a good number of followers, the participation on the IAPLC became a kind of encountering point for the international community, otherwise scattered, even if IAPLC came later than other contests of similar characteristics. However the powerful promotional engine of ADA and its presence on internet made the magic to happen. Nowadays, the role of IAPLC is somewhat a bit diluted, as there is a good number of other contests, both national and international. But still, IAPLC remains as the king and the one which first price is the most wanted.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But, why scores so high in the feelings of the community? Well, because is one of the core components of the legacy of Amano. His love and passion for Aquascaping and the natural world permeated all his actions, whatever we discuss about his works, his books, his videos or his talks. He had a power of gathering people that only natural leaders have, and as result of it, his message of "<i>Learn from Nature, create Nature</i>" went deep into the bones of the aquascapers of his time and continue till nowadays.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At that time, being awarded the first price in the contests meant to be crowned by Takashi Amano himself in the IAPLC party, and consequently, being considered with lot of respect and as member of the top part of the community inspired by him. Seen with the perspective that only time gives, one can see that Amano became less and less involved in many aspects of the contests. With no doubt, the price to pay for fighting cancer, with its corresponding toll, and the need to focus energies where they are most needed. With this change, IAPLC also evolved by itself. It is easy to check this by comparing the works as appearing in the IAPLC booklets along the years: they have become less and less representative of <i>Nature Aquarium</i> as concept developed by Amano, and becoming more and more in the works that we find today in the top entries of the IAPLC, generally quite disconnected of such concept.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOd_Osy0JIkHoXsslKLyy1bUr3ICvXR6r7MBRCCDcD5RiNh0YtcP69t9TVlwbrQY8wO_UyCrORWVN4EN-mbSopT8Up5JqCDDBj8oeNTbC2jUwl_r4NampM39kqHxC9_HzhZfi9KR8qvw_B/s670/winning_work_2006.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="670" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOd_Osy0JIkHoXsslKLyy1bUr3ICvXR6r7MBRCCDcD5RiNh0YtcP69t9TVlwbrQY8wO_UyCrORWVN4EN-mbSopT8Up5JqCDDBj8oeNTbC2jUwl_r4NampM39kqHxC9_HzhZfi9KR8qvw_B/w640-h285/winning_work_2006.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IAPLC Winner work 2006 - "Autumnal colours" by Chen You Lin</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbaRIAMGIV1T55A5NeR9QHI1h9Mv_AmiH0GV_VfpC-0EMr4CuNXFfmEwnfxe288QrggCgmRqmnldfNyZPdLeLd2UlkdFlkz5XactoIU5_hIqEFt2lIRAFXRA76N-g41J_59BiU_FC4niJ/s1375/winning_work_2019.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="1375" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbaRIAMGIV1T55A5NeR9QHI1h9Mv_AmiH0GV_VfpC-0EMr4CuNXFfmEwnfxe288QrggCgmRqmnldfNyZPdLeLd2UlkdFlkz5XactoIU5_hIqEFt2lIRAFXRA76N-g41J_59BiU_FC4niJ/w640-h204/winning_work_2019.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IAPLC Winner work 2019 - "Dream On" by Josh Sim</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Whilst this may look irrelevant, it is not, because also marked a tendency in the works: the Aquascaping for competition became progressively in a competition of techniques, rather than about the art itself. Somehow, this evolution started an IAPLC no longer really representing the spirit of Amano, quickly evolving as consequence of the increasing number of participants and the need to find new ways to achieve the "<i>wow factor</i>", criteria with the largest weight in judging the works nowadays, with no doubt. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thus, the idea of "<i>Aquatic Planted Layout</i>" suffered a substantial mutation. Nowadays, some of the top works scarcely have plants if we compare them with the heavily planted aquariums leading many of the works in the initial years, with the hardscape primarily reigning as driving factor for the aquarium. If you are interested to check the evolution, please visit the IAPLC page <a href="http://en.iaplc.com/about/gp_works.html" target="_blank">here</a>. There is no longer respect for the raw materials, and modelling with tools and resines is now customary. Whereas in the "Nature Aquarium" the harmony of layout, plants and fish was the key objective to achieve, in the popular diorama style of nowadays visual impact is the target. This subtle difference has a drawback: when we work towards the visual component, we do not work towards achieving a natural environment to <i>trick the fish</i>, as Amano liked to say. And whilst nature's behaviour cannot be faked, visual components can be. However, the more the aquariums are developed purely for one photo and the contests, the less a love for nature is found in them, because nature cannot properly develop in an aquarium that will run just for three or four months or purely designed to win a contest.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For me, this is one of the saddest point of this story. It is commonplace to see how top contestants affirm they follow the spirit of Amano, when often is not the case. And it is even worse to hear some saying such a thing, to later on find out they cheat in the photos. So, essentially, pretending that one follows the teachings of Amano as a way to engage with the community, but on the other darker side clearly breaching such spirit. This is just using his memory as a tool, and proves a substantial lack of respect for him and his role in Aquascaping.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Most of contests have similar regulations and requirements, and all of them coincide in one aspect: do not alter photos in any way that may modify the layout created. This is set like that to ensure a fair competition for sure, but not only that; it is so that the quality of the work can be evaluated properly and judge it in a way to see if it is worth to reach the laurels of this art or not. Whenever someone cheats, even if it is just editing the photo to add a fish, it is not following the spirit of Amano, no matter what that person says or believes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Amano loved the competition, sure. Also defended the auto-exigence and the need to excel in life in whatever you want to do. But there is no honor or glory in achieving a goal if for that you are not truthful to the spirit of the rules, of a contest, or in this case, of Aquascaping.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But, why someone would want to cheat? Well, definitely because has confused the message. One thing is to fight for the first price, aspire to it and use that as a tool to make oneself better, polish your skills and work harder. But another thing is to believe that all means and tools are valid if that leads you to where you want to be. A good rule to distinguish between the two aspects is imagining you do the aquarium only for yourself: if you would not cheat in that situation because makes it pointless, then probably it is also wrong for a contest, because it means you do not press yourself to improve; you just press yourself to cope with an egotistical objective of public acknowledgment. And when the real prize we are setting is our own self-complacency, then the paths that are followed could be the wrong ones because everything could seem admisible, when is not.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am sure that we can easily affirm that Amano never pretended not defended this way of acting. But it is important that we understand why it happens because it is the only way to correct it and avoid it. For sure, a vast majority of people are fair players and even some may be also looking to compete just for victory, there are many others they really do it for the fun of it, the chance to share their works and get a critical view of their works to learn to improve. But there is a misconception in the word <i>passion</i>, which can be easily confused with <i>obsession</i>. Being passionate is something that shows off in our works and way of acting, as passion connects to love, and love manifests as generosity in sharing. However, obsession is a dangerous thing and has nothing to do with love. It only obeys to personal interests and does not look for sharing. An obsession can twist the glass through which we see reality, and make us think something is acceptable, when is not.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, there is no need for many people not following rules to create a significant disturbance. And this has been made very clear in these days; if someone cheats and is caught, people unravel certain degree of rage that comes from the frustration they feel. It has a huge impact in the perception of the community, and harms the prestige of those contests which did not see the problem coming or did not react properly to it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Some now claim the <i>need </i>to produce videos along with the photos, so the videos may be requested upon if the works is considered for a good ranking. A kind of sanity check. This is not bad idea, but...is this really what we want? Further proofs and details just to check people do not cheat? Cannot we, as community, understand the relevance of the rules, why they are there and why they should be respected? Cannot we really live under the true spirit of Amano of fair competition, share of passion for a form of art we all love, and at the same time respect each other? Or are we going to continue considering this a war for prestige? The more rules we have to police for contests, the worst will be for everybody, in the sense that then discussion goes around the rules, and not about the art behind the works.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But, of course, it is important we do something about this problem. No regulating this means that other people might consider this behaviour as acceptable and risk it. A few times last days I have heard that editing photos is almost customary in the contests. And it is true that doing some editions is somehow allowed...but not for the composition of the image, rather than things like light levels, overall colour correction or contrast...it is clear, however, some do not understand those limits, so probably best thing would be not allowing editions at all, of any kind. I would leave those aesthetical adjustments to the contest to make over the winner works, if they think they need some correction for editorial reasons. If we do not draw clear limits, then we leave room for misinterpretation. Simpler rules also enable simpler referring, transparency and clarity. Some contests have actually already these rules, but sometimes they do not reinforce them, and this is an aspect where contest organisations have a clear duty towards the community.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOmSo0oKyokD5KLKhw73Te3550HOUUWPDDs__fKqx-Nu3bECeLzjzYmM0HZ01LiltxLqlr6ajriKFXWGkq2I6fIv1olEj7Bv9t4lmGiZ7VrBNhm6MPm_pHanRTj85cQ7KO_eMDBZZscLb/s771/iplc_rules_2020.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="771" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOmSo0oKyokD5KLKhw73Te3550HOUUWPDDs__fKqx-Nu3bECeLzjzYmM0HZ01LiltxLqlr6ajriKFXWGkq2I6fIv1olEj7Bv9t4lmGiZ7VrBNhm6MPm_pHanRTj85cQ7KO_eMDBZZscLb/w640-h344/iplc_rules_2020.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extract of rules from IAPLC 2020. Full rules are found in <a href="http://en.iaplc.com/about/application.html" target="_blank">this link</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">One thing is for sure: if we do not do an introspective, as community, of those events, this form of art will suffer. It will, because of nowadays the weight of contests on it is so large that if they do not work properly they will act as deterrent to many people, who will not share the same principles and will lose interest in Aquascaping. When something becomes so much about the competitions, those who do not want to participate become excluded. So the quality of the competitions is a paramount aspect for the preservation of Aquascaping as we understand it today. Thus, all contests have a huge responsibility to ensure the cleanliness of the competitions and to rule them by the principles of the community. We cannot keep looking aside this problem.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Said that, it is long ago I decided not to participate in contest, and one of the reasons is precisely what I address in this post: the competitions are no longer representing the true spirit of Aquascaping. And if we are honest, we would see also that the spirit of Amano was neither the competition for the sake of the contest.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In fact, as a curiosity, in his autobiography published soon after his death, he never mentions the IAPLC or the contests.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For him, for Amano, the IAPLC was not in the list of what himself considered a personal achievement of his life; instead, he spent most of the description of his existence around three aspects: love for nature, strength in face of the challenge, reinvent oneself as many times as needed to reach own goals. This is the true spirit of Amano, not the contests.</p>Manuel Arias Ballesteroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747120440316024389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5869692624896976662.post-2596357459365772372019-08-22T15:40:00.000+01:002019-08-22T15:41:00.909+01:00Blog - Slow Scaping: Recovering the true love for Nature Aquarium<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It has been awhile since my last entry in this page. However, I have been far from idle in this period, busy developing a large project I am working on, but also putting lot of thinking about Aquascaping in general. This has been an important period of maturation, which has brought me some new thoughts and understanding. I am a strong follower of the principles set by <a href="http://www.thelivingtank.co.uk/2016/08/takashi-amano-life-of-passion-story-of.html" target="_blank">Takashi Amano</a>, and probably as many others, I have done lot of search in his words and works, always trying to disentangle his mastery of Aquascaping. Amano has been inspiration for many, but he has always been cryptic about his philosophy. Probably, this was intentional, so to allow others open their own paths, him being just a portal to access to this new world of understanding about Nature.</div>
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But regardless this desire of Amano for making Nature Aquarium grow in the community and spread, opening new ways, I have been feeling that the message was, somewhat, distorted. And that, it was a matter of worrisome for me. As the master passed away, it is now up to us, as community, as lovers of this hobby (or form of art), to preserve the message for the future. But seeing the dominant forms of Aquascaping since his death, I really feel is being lost. Still present, as many use his lessons about Nature to make their works, but at the same time, evolved into something entirely new but missing authenticity.</div>
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Of course, all of this are just my views, and as I have discovered, many will disagree with those statements, but reality is that the core message from Amano was to impulse the recreation of Nature in a small urn made of glass, and not the obsession for the technical perfection of the work. Yes, of course, techniques matter, but an aquarium will never be a Nature Aquarium if the feeling we get out of it is that is irreal, unnatural or just unbelievable. We can call it something else, and still can have a very appealing aesthetics or result, but will never be what a Nature Aquarium was expected to be.</div>
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In our small world, it seems contests are now the raw force by which the hobby lives. Those contests are really great in many aspects: they bring lot of expectation, they yield very appealing Aquascapes and keep this art evolving. They help the brands and are some kind of glue that keep the community together. But in my view, they also penalize the hobby: they favour competition, which quite often creates some animosity. For the same reason, they also make people less willing to help each other or to share knowledge (which is the leitmotif of this <a href="http://www.thelivingtank.co.uk/2016/06/presentation.html" target="_blank">website</a>), and more than often, they put under lot of pressure to those who only want to create something nice at their homes or workplaces.</div>
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In a world where Aquascaping was little known, and where Nature Aquarium concept was even less known, Takashi Amano impulsed the <a href="http://en.iaplc.com/" target="_blank">IAPLC</a>. This international contest was put forward to promote Nature Aquarium and Aquascaping in general. And despite some other contests are appearing, and some will be eventually more popular, IAPLC is a sort of reference for the Aquascaping community. At the origin, the purpose was to get the community into one place and share their works. He used the infrastructure ADA allowed him to have, so that the contest could be well supported and remain on time. Since 2004, the contest has grown quite a lot, and its popularity is beyond doubt. However, with the growing number of contests, participation on them looks not very optional, and there is a clear barrier in the community between those who participate, and those who does not. I have seen this barrier increase on time, up to the point some people who does not plan to participate for some time, they do not do Aquascaping at all. Or the work is for a contest or they prefer not to bother.</div>
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This concept, this pressure over the lovers of Aquascaping seems unfair, and in my opinion, makes of this hobby something rather frustrating for those who do not want or cannot afford (time or money) to have an Aquascaping at competition level. In my humble thoughts, this is not the way forward, and I am sure it is not what Amano-san was asking from us. We all know the hobby is not cheap and it takes time, but if on top of that, there is this continuous pressure towards competition, both cost and time increase. Plus the damage that comes when results of the contests are out and we are not in the position we hoped for. It is also because of the competition why there is on time more and more discussion about the methods and techniques, and less and less spirit on it. </div>
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Recently, one member of the community impulsed an initiative of using IAPLC to establish a sort of world ranking by countries, which is a good idea. At start, he employed results from previous years and also made some review of the main countries competing. At some point, he discussed about one of those countries, and made a very inspiring comment about it: </div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"As for weakness....basically there are none. Perhaps if we really have to pick one (just to be fair to other nations), [their] layouts are all beautiful and marvellous, but.....can you pinpoint a (...) layout that you can vividly remember?"</i></blockquote>
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This sentence reflects very well the problem I wanted to highlight. Competitions bring lot of new techniques and ways to improve the aquascapes but...are they really encouraging the development of this form of art, in a such a ways that more and more works become in remarkable? The answer for me is that no, they do not. There are technically perfect aquascapes in the last year that entirely lack of spirit or they do not really capture Nature, despite still being impressive in many ways. The competition has started a <i>weapon race</i> for the layout creation, but has added little to none in terms of learning how to master Nature and even less in the recreation of natural environments. Please, do not confuse this with biotope style aquariums, but interpret this under the light of what I said earlier: learn from Nature to create Nature.</div>
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So, as a reaction to that movement, I have conceived the idea of Slow Scaping, which opens this post. My idea, which you can adopt or not, intends to counteract to the pressure of the contests and bind together to those who love Aquascaping but without all the annual rush contests impose. Opposed to creating aquariums for contests, which quite often are just developed and maintained for the photo finish but they are disregarded soon afterwards, in Slow Scaping I propose you to take your time and create your Aquascaping thinking in Nature and its rhythms. Forget about the contest for awhile, and just put the emphasis in creating and sharing your creation with others. Do it for your own love for Nature, and not for the competition. Take your time to enjoy your work, improving it with time, and learning in the process. Do not get stressed about small details all the time: Nature is detallist but is not obsessed about perfection. In fact, there is always certain level of chaos in Nature that is what makes it so beautiful. Allow it to happen a bit.</div>
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Under Slow Scaping, there is no need to <i>force</i> Nature. And this covers all the aspects. For instance, hardscape is made with the pieces of driftwood or stones you collect as they are. Everybody picks up those who most love, of course, but forget about things like breaking them, cutting them, gluing them or just select those with plenty of textures. Quite often simple textures work very well, and the works of Amano show this. You just use what they offer you, but take your time to put it together, allowing the materials speak to you whilst you decide your layout. This is not diorama, and Nature is not a diorama. Just make it happen by itself, while you are just a vehicle for the concepts to transform in a beautiful aquascape.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg6JVoRfYXKaBwIN14m4ZR5Fe0DoJhXmx8i577Vur_Fp38iQBdYQoKHt-LShKalqaLMpwuBMFhxpxIdosdC1F7kT4SwVVKW01wnb4diHBIN40eREDyMLwJDv0Sw9FOUFqRwA3rgnJ3KpIB/s1600/slow_scape_02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="871" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg6JVoRfYXKaBwIN14m4ZR5Fe0DoJhXmx8i577Vur_Fp38iQBdYQoKHt-LShKalqaLMpwuBMFhxpxIdosdC1F7kT4SwVVKW01wnb4diHBIN40eREDyMLwJDv0Sw9FOUFqRwA3rgnJ3KpIB/s640/slow_scape_02.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aquascape "Behind the Mountains" by Shuai Huang.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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With plants, again, look after them and provide them a natural environment in which they can grow as they will do in Nature. Do not <i>force</i> them again to grow where they are not supposed to (even if technically is possible). Pay attention to their natural growing conditions and give them that into your aquarium. Each one has its own growth pattern and scales, bot in space and time. Use those to create your composition. Trim them to keep them healthy and maintain your composition, but if they evolve in something different from what you were expecting, listen to them. Perhaps they are telling you were wrong in first place and the result is what you really prepared, but perhaps not what you expected. Next time you will know better.</div>
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With fish and other animals, same considerations shall be in place. They are not just a mere last minute addition to an aquascape before the photo finish for a contest; they are there not just to create colour contrasts or produce a sensation of scale. Respect them and give them what they need. Or select your species in a way they feel at home in the environment you plan to create.</div>
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It is in the harmony between the three elements where Nature disenfolds. Hardscape, plants and fish being fundamental parts and coexisting in a natural way. The result can be a layout that does not exist, but that will talk about Nature, and observes will accept it as part of it.</div>
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In summary, I think is time to go back to the origins and recover what Nature Aquarium was meaning, and put back the message into the hobby. It was the meaning what made people connect so much with Takashi Amano and find it as a very inspirative figure; it is that meaning in his works what made Nature Aquarium being the most beautiful form of freshwater aquarium in its moment. And it is that meaning what we need to preserve for this art surviving on time. </div>
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After the famous words said by Amano "Learn from Nature. Create Nature", I think there is a need to complemente them with some more words, which were implicit to it, but the message is getting lost: "One cannot rush Nature".</div>
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Let's not rush it. Let's take our time and put love in what we do beyond competition. We all will enjoy more our works, learn more from them, and create a much healthier community. If after that, you still want to compete, please, do so! It is a very nice way to share your work and have something more from Aquascaping. But if you goal is not the competition, the result will not be the reward. The reward will be already at your home: your own piece of Nature.</div>
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Manuel Arias Ballesteroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747120440316024389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5869692624896976662.post-18671606423496563172016-08-18T15:30:00.001+01:002016-08-25T13:27:46.943+01:00Article - CO2 Q&A - The science behind<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNKuayBV4Etl_KkDYiIdwwGB4b7hyphenhyphenrU89XPC3Invu1OvCJx6XOPGOxQiDxfIKODmOWQaqW5One7oDFQn2a2l7OEGIFS3Efd2nX-20P-4uu0KQaE2EXurVI5kBuD2hMhs75eSAIP0v44T7/s1600/4e0c69b3da354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNKuayBV4Etl_KkDYiIdwwGB4b7hyphenhyphenrU89XPC3Invu1OvCJx6XOPGOxQiDxfIKODmOWQaqW5One7oDFQn2a2l7OEGIFS3Efd2nX-20P-4uu0KQaE2EXurVI5kBuD2hMhs75eSAIP0v44T7/s200/4e0c69b3da354.jpg" width="143" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig 1.: CO2 diffuser.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
During my time on internet, I have noticed many questions about the use of CO2 and its interactions inside the ecosystem of the aquarium. They are not only related to its role into the photosynthesis and <a href="http://www.thelivingtank.co.uk/2016/07/article-co2-drop-checker-ultimate-guide.html">how to dose it</a>, but also about some of its chemical and physical properties, or effect in livestock. As usual, many of the answers I have read are quite misleading and lacking of scientific basis.<br />
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One of the goals of <b>The Living Tank</b> is to provide solid and scientific-based information, and make it accessible to all the hobbyist of the Aquascaping and Planted Aquarium. Because of that, and considering the confusion about this nutrient into the aquarium, I have decided to prepare a "not so short" article about it.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The article is long, and it has a few sections. If you are not interested in all the aspects, then I recommend to move towards the points of your interest. This is intended to be a reference, and not a text requiring full reading, even if I think is rather interesting. I have split the text in a few parts:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Physical and Chemical Properties of CO2: A summary of the "inorganic" role of CO2 into aquariums. it includes important concepts to understand other sections., like the carbonates equilibrium.</li>
<li>CO2 and plants: Usage of CO2 by the plants and environmental factors affecting to the way in which plants make use of it.</li>
<li>CO2 and fishes/shrimps: Effects of environmental CO2 into the fishes and shrimps, justified from a physiological point of view.</li>
<li>Questions & Answers -The CO2 Quiz: Common questions and their answers, as interpreted from the previous text.</li>
</ol>
I hope you will enjoy the articles as much as I did writing it. Feel free to share it or make me any questions about it.<br />
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<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Physical and Chemical Properties of CO2</h2>
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The inorganic properties of the CO2 are important to understand. They explain how its concentration evolves into the tank and what kind of interaction has with other chemical components dissolved in water. This section is very helpful to answer many questions like which the role of carbonates hardness into the CO2 dissolution is, or about what happens when increasing/reducing the temperature of the tank.<br />
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<h3>
Basic properties</h3>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJ4l-HJ4Q489vynrzzMIJjK_v5VaPmgD-S7qHhYD1LOE0fsiXaFl4paxJL-GO2OFJDySivbxjja67xNopNdqaCcs0qdWHPBf_SprOuiVNaXxlhij6_lbUqinL_93kv-3Y-UecOlQzmeu0/s1600/co2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJ4l-HJ4Q489vynrzzMIJjK_v5VaPmgD-S7qHhYD1LOE0fsiXaFl4paxJL-GO2OFJDySivbxjja67xNopNdqaCcs0qdWHPBf_SprOuiVNaXxlhij6_lbUqinL_93kv-3Y-UecOlQzmeu0/s200/co2.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig.2: Representation of CO2 molecule.</td></tr>
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The CO2, or carbon dioxide is a gas under normal conditions (25°C, 1 atm of pressure). It has a melting temperature of -78°C and a boiling temperature of -57°C. Over such temperature is always a gas, so for the common range of daily conditions, all the Physics associated to this molecule are related to such state of the matter.</div>
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It has a molecular mass of 44,01 gr/mol, which means is a quite light and small molecule. This is not surprising as it is composed by only three atoms, 1 atom of carbon (centre of Fig. 2) and 2 of oxygen (red sides of Fig. 2), all of them light and small. For those not knowing it, the molecular mass is expressed as the total mass (or weight for simplicity) accumulated by a mol of such atoms or molecules. A mol is just a way to count things, and it is represented by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avogadro_constant">Avogadro's number</a>, equal to 6,022 x 10^23 entities. This represents that such number of CO2 molecules weight up to 44.01 grams. The fact that is small is important because large molecules are much difficult of being used by plants, for example.</div>
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CO2 is soluble in water, with a characteristic solubility of 1.45 gr/l (<b>1450 ppm</b>). I revisit this value below, as it is dependent of different parameters, like temperature, one of the topics of discussion I have seen in forums and social networks.</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Solubility in water</h3>
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As previously indicated, the solubility of CO2 in water is of about 1.45 gr/l under normal conditions (25°C, 1 atm of pressure). However, solubility of gases is strongly dependent of the temperature of the medium in which they are dissolved, as well as dependent of other factors associated to the ions already presented into the solution.</div>
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Moreover, many people also confuse solubility with saturation, as well as the role of the water dynamics with the fugacity or degasification process. I try to clarify all these points in this article.</div>
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<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
Saturation</h4>
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An important point for those people using CO2 injection is the point of saturation. Each substance being dissolved in water has one, and refers to the maximum concentration of it that can be mixed with the water molecules. Beyond such a point, no further dissolution is produced. With solids the idea is very easy to understand: If you have a glass of water and you add salt, stirring it with a spoon, the saturation point is reached when does not matter how long you stir the water with the spoon that no more salt is dissolved. I will go back a few times around this example, as it has keys for many of the concepts.</div>
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In gases, the idea is the same: there is a physical limit for a given gas being dissolved into the water. That limit is dependent of temperature (mentioned above and explained below) but also from other factors also indicated in this article.</div>
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Meanwhile the concept is easy, there are many details that are not so obvious. In our example, there is a reason why we need the spoon to stir the water. If you think about it, when you add the salt to the water, this goes to the bottom and most of it remains there, still visible. It is only when we stir that most or all of the salt dissapears. Reality is that part of the salt has really dissolved without stirring. And, in fact, even if you do not stir, leaving it alone, all the salt will eventually dissolve (if no saturation point has been reached). </div>
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What is then the difference between stirring and not? The speed of the process, which is dependent of the dynamics of the water. When we do not stir, salt dissolves very quickly only in the surrounding water. This surrounding water or boundary layer will be significantly thin. Probably just a few milliliters away from the salt grains. This thin layer becomes saturated very fast, so now salt is just in contact with water already saturated, i.e. no more dissolution happens in such moment. However, there is a diffusion process (depending on the gradient or differences of concentration) that promotes the mix of the saturated water with the non-saturated surrounding water (see Fig. 3 for an example of this). This phenomena is explained by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fick%27s_laws_of_diffusion">Fick's law</a>, which has two components: a molecular one or Brownian movement, which explains the diffusion originated just due to the molecular collisions between particles, and other term related to the turbulence of the medium (i.e. agitation), in its extended version for fluid dynamics. With no agitation (so no stirring), the molecular process is dominant, which is rather small and slow, as well as strongly dependent of the local concentrations. In other words, with no agitation, a structure of concentric layers with progressive less salt concentration forms around the salt grains, and then diffusion in water is very slow. But still happens. On the other hand, when we stir, we are introducing lot of turbulence. This breaks this structure in layers and allows to the grain salts to be exposed to water with lower concentrations of salt, then speeding up the dissolution process. Going back to the Fick's law, turbulent term is considerably much higher than molecular one, so when stirring, we significantly accelerate the dissolution process in a few orders of magnitude.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYD9q_r0L5zCmlPLZ0kaUfxabUweJCyQqQaoukirhivLxMR1eoP4WCXufPMhBm3-Dm1hU54V9BsmZzozi694l0XF_jDrCnja7XwVpz5DRz4oeP4H346iO2bjgzYKUMjGaR0Npnw-nS9Uzu/s1600/fick_molecular.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYD9q_r0L5zCmlPLZ0kaUfxabUweJCyQqQaoukirhivLxMR1eoP4WCXufPMhBm3-Dm1hU54V9BsmZzozi694l0XF_jDrCnja7XwVpz5DRz4oeP4H346iO2bjgzYKUMjGaR0Npnw-nS9Uzu/s400/fick_molecular.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 3 : Example of molecular diffusion.</td></tr>
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There is also a second important concept involved in the speed of the dissolution. As indicated above, this speed is related to how close or far away we are of the saturation point. In plain words, the closest to the saturation point, the slowest the dissolution process will be. For most cases, there is no noticeable effect of this unless you get quite close to such a point, or if you do not have enough agitation. Hence, speed can be improved by increasing agitation, as explained above. This is easy to check in the glass of water and salt example I have just done, and trying different stirring speeds and salt additions.</div>
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This is important to understand when talking about CO2 injection into tanks. The learning of the saturation is that we can reach right values locally but not globally, if the agitation in the tank is not good enough. The lack of mixing in the water of the tank promotes stratification (formation of layers) which interferes into establishing the right CO2 concentrations in the tank.</div>
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<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
Solubility and Temperature</h4>
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As with any other gas, temperature is a key factor to determine the amount of CO2 can be dissolved into water. This is important because it means that the temperature of our aquariums has, a priori, a say in the way in which we should handle CO2, if we purely base our answer in the physical properties.</div>
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The solubility of ideal gases into water is physically explained by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry%27s_law">Henry's law</a>. This law establishes that a gas will dissolve into water is proportional to a solubility constant (or Henry's constant) and the partial pressure of that gas. In other words, the highest the concentration of the gas into the air, the higher will be the total amount of gas dissolved into the water. In the same way, the higher the value of the Henry's constant associated to such a gas, the higher the resulting concentration into water will be. Typically, each gas has its own Henry's constant. There are a few different approaches to this law, but the interpretation does not change.</div>
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The dependency of the temperature appears not in the Henry's equation but rather in the formulation of the constant. Even if it sounds a bit contradictory, many physical and chemical constants are just fix for a series of conditions. If such conditions change, the value of the constant will change. This is the case of Henry's constants, which are temperature-dependent. These dependency is expressed by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_%27t_Hoff_equation">Van't Hoff equation</a>, which indicates that the Henry's constant for a given gas will be exponentially reduced as the temperature increases respect to a temperature of reference. In simpler words, the more we increment the temperature, the larger will be the reduction of solubility. This inverse link is not fix, which means that the reduction of solubility associated to 1 degree of temperature increment varies depending on the range of temperatures in which the change happens. I have mentioned a temperature of reference, which in our case refers to 25°C.</div>
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This behavior means that when the temperature is reduced from such value of reference, the solubility of CO2 will increase respect to the value provided above. On the other hand, when over passing it, the solubility will be minor. But now the question is... how much less will the CO2 dissolve into water when increasing the temperature? Well, this is expressed in the following Fig. 4:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.rocketscientistsjournal.com/2006/10/_res/CO2-06.jpg" height="476" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 4: Change in solubility of CO2 into water depending on temperature.</td></tr>
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The horizontal axis includes the temperature (in Celsius degrees), meanwhile the vertical axis shows the solubility, expressed in grams of CO2 in 100 grams of water (i.e. the solubility in gr/l is equal to the values multiplied by 10, and in ppms multiplying by 10000). As you can see, at 25°C, the solubility is of 0.145 which corresponds to 1450 ppm as said above. However, when we reduce the temperature, the solubility increases. For example, at 20°C reaches a value of 1700 ppm. Oppositely, when we increment the temperature, the solubility reduces. For example, at 30°C, the maximum concentration of CO2 in water we can reach goes up to 1250 ppm, approximately.</div>
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It is clear that the change in solubility is significant in function of the temperature. Note that, however, that the provided values and what is shown in the Fig. 1 are related to saturation values, so they are maximum values of concentrations. Whenever the dissolved CO2 is below such values, no negative effect will appear from the temperature, apart from a change in the speed that the dissolution process happens, which will be faster as larger is the gradient (difference of concentrations) between air and water, as also reflected in the Henry's law under the partial pressure term, as explained also above.</div>
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<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
Solubility and (bi)carbonates</h4>
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The properties explained above are extracted by considering that CO2 is an ideal gas (i.e. no interactions further the physical ones). However, CO2 is far beyond behaving like an ideal gas. In this case, CO2 reacts with water, producing H2CO3 (carbonic acid) that frees a proton reducing the pH and becoming into bicarbonate (HCO3-), which is part of a chemical equilibrium related to carbonates. As a result, part of the dissolved CO2 becomes into a different chemical form, a non-gaseous one, which allows further dissolution of CO2 is gas form.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?CO_%7B2%7D+H_%7B2%7DO%5Crightleftharpoons%20HCO_%7B3%7D%5E%7B-%7D+H%5E%7B+%7D" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 1: Dissolution of CO2 into water and resulting generation of protons</td></tr>
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</div>
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The process described in Eq. 1 means that dissolved CO2 is gas form and in bicarbonate form are related, and the proportion between them depends on pH.<br />
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This kind of reactions change the value of the Henry's constant, which also becomes dependent of the concentration of related chemical components. In the case of the CO2, the higher the (bi)carbonates concentration (for a given pH), the larger the amount of additional CO2 in gas form must be present to preserve the equilibrium. Note that this does not alter the physical limit imposed by a specific gas before reaching saturation; it just means that, at high pHs, more of such gas will transform in something else, so additional injection is required before observing the dissolved concentrations of the gas being incremented. On the other hand, at low (bi)carbonates concentration, small injections of CO2 can translate into a significant reduction of pH.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The effective constant is then computed by considering in addition to the dissolved gas concentration the other chemical species associated to it. This basically implies that the prior presence of this secondary species in water will effectively affect to the concentration of the gas in dissolved form. In the case of the CO2 the problem is even harder, as the concentration of the resulting species are involved in a three component equilibrium which also strongly depends on pH. In order to simplify the question, I will just interpret the following diagram (Fig. 5), which includes the effect of pH into the carbonate equilibrium:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.ukaps.org/forum/attachments/co2_hco3-png.1550/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 5: Carbonates equilibrium as a function of pH</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The figure shows precisely this pH dependency between CO2 in solution and the pH. Note that the plot refers to <i>proportions</i> between the chemicals, and not actual absolute concentrations. A good point to consider in the discussion is that most of the CO2 remains as gas dissolved into water at low pH, and just a small amount becomes into carbonic acid. This is important because, as we will see later, plants prefer to use CO2 as carbon source. In pure water, the addition of CO2 then leads to a fraction of it being carbonic acid, which decomposes into bicarbonates and reduces the pH. As pure water has a pH of around 7.1, when CO2 injection starts, part of it becomes into bicarbonate (see Fig. 5). However, when injecting CO2, the decomposition into bicarbonate reduces the pH (see Eq. 1), so eventually (with pH below 4.5), all the CO2 being dissolved remains as dissolved gas instead of migrating to other chemical form. In aquariums with CO2 being injected, the pH reduction also happens but can be buffered due to pre-existing (bi)carbonates concentration.</div>
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In this direction, the injection of CO2 in pure water is closely following Henry's law, so the effective Henry's constant is quite close to the physical one when reaching a steady situation at pH below 4.5. However, this is not true when we start from water with a some carbonate hardness. The carbonate hardness is a measure of the amount of carbonates and bicarbonates dissolved into water. When we inject CO2 into water with a certain carbonate hardness, then things are different due to the buffer effect of them. This buffer effect means that the solution is able to absorb protons originated by the CO2 dissolution in water, and hence, preserving the pH from varying. Essentially, the buffer effect favors the formation of bicarbonate (HCO3) due to the absorption of protons by the carbonates. By doing so, the equilibrium is displaced to the left, and the concentration of bicarbonate ions increases.<br />
<br />
The process consumes part of the carbonates, increasing bicarbonates and also preserving the pH. The dissolution of CO2 does increase also the bicarbonates by disassociation of the carbonic acid (H2CO3) into HCO3- and protons. Those are the protons that added to the carbonates (CO3(2-)) generate further bicarbonate. Bicarbonate is highly soluble (in the range of 100000 ppm for saturation levels) in comparison to carbonates or CO2, so there is lot of room to this process happening. This phenomena implies that pH does not change as far as there are enough carbonates ions able to take the protons originated during the dissolution of CO2. However, the availability of carbonates is rather small at normal range of pH in aquariums, especially if there are other factors altering the pH (like ammonium, nitrites or nitrates). In Fig. 5, it is possible to see that, at most common pHs of aquariums, level of carbonates in solution is rather small in favor of bicarbonates. When the concentration of dissolved carbonates drops to zero, the excess of protons starts to be absorbed by bicarbonate ions, generating H2CO3. As we said above H2CO3 is not much stable in water, and the increasing concentration will propitiate the decomposition into CO2, due to the fact that dissociation into H2CO3 is inhibited by the pH. In the plot you can see this effect happening when pH is below 8.2. From that point bicarbonates are being consumed to generate more CO2, and hence, the CO2 concentration does not increase only due to the injection but also due to this chemical reaction.<br />
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One important conclusion at this point is that, CO2 injection in planted tanks, with a common target of pH below 8, it diminishes the hardness of the water within the time. This effect is desired, as prevent the pH dropping too much during the CO2 injection, but it involves the hobbyist should have always an eye into the water hardness, especially if working with soft waters, in order to prevent a crash of pH which could kill all the fishes and inverts in the tank. Slightly carbonated rocks are then desirable for planted tanks in order to preserve a good buffering effect.<br />
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Back to the topic, from the last two paragraphs, the message is that CO2 dissolution into water is dependent of the pH of the dissolution and carbonate hardness. Above pH = 8.2, more CO2 needs to be injected in order to see the dissolved CO2 in gas form increasing. Below that pH, less CO2 injection is required to increase the dissolved CO2 in gas form. This idea is one to take into account, as it means that more efficient use of the gas can be achieved in soft waters respect to hard waters. However, as mentioned, too low levels of (bi)carbonates means a lack of buffer effect, so CO2 injection can cause significant and dangerous drops of pH in short periods of time.<br />
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During this part of the article, I have been talking about dissolved CO2 in gaseous form. This is not casual, as it makes a difference for the plants. The next part of the article is devoted to explaining that part.<br />
<br />
<h2>
CO2 and Plants</h2>
As many readers will already know, CO2 is one of the main nutrients plants need to grow. In high-tech aquariums, dense-planted tanks, or in most aquascapes, CO2 is in deficit so injection of the gas is required. The plants are really interested into the Carbon atoms rather than the oxygen. In fact, the photosynthesis process allows the plants to fix the carbon in organic molecules and get rid of the oxygen, which is then expelled to the medium. The oxygen we breath comes from that residual generated by the plants and algae all around the world.<br />
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I am not going to thoroughly explain here the photosynthesis process: It would be too long and there is no need for that. However, I will focus the discussion in what form of inorganic carbon the aquatic plants are using, and also explaining the effect of the temperature in this process.<br />
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<h3>
Use of CO2 by plants</h3>
The plants are called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autotroph" target="_blank">autotrophic</a> organisms, which means they are able to build up their organic matter from inorganic elements. On the other side, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterotroph" target="_blank">heterotrophic</a> organisms employ existing organic matter to obtain the materials they need to grow. In the case of the plants, there a variety of inorganic molecules that they require to synthesize organic matter from scratch: CO2, water, inorganic nitrogen, phosphates, and other elements like potassium, iron, sodium, etc. From all of these, CO2 is the one needed in more quantities. This makes sense, as carbon is the atom which compounds the structure of most of the organic molecules. The carbon is extracted by the plants from the CO2 that they adsorb from the medium in which they are growing.<br />
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The mechanism that allows the plant to transform CO2 into organic molecules is known ad photosynthesis, and as mentioned above, it is really complex. In a very simplistic way, it is possible to say that plants bind together 6 molecules of CO2, with another 6 molecules of water, to generate one molecule of glucose and 6 molecules of oxygen. This type of reactions cannot happen spontaneously, so there is a need of adding energy into it. The plants solve the issue by using the energy of the sun. I clarified this because there are other autotrophic organisms that they employ energy coming from chemical reactions, instead of the sun. But in plants, the sun is the source of energy to do so. The reaction can be summarized as follows:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/png.latex?6CO_2+6H_%7B2%7DO+Light%5Crightarrow%20C_%7B6%7DH_%7B12%7DO_%7B6%7D+6O_2" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 2: Stoichiometry of the photosynthesis process<span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: justify;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The reaction seems simple, but the actual way in which this happens is very complicated, until such a point that even after being investigated for long years, the process is not still fully clear for the science. But right now, the key point is that the reaction consumes significant amounts of CO2 in order to generate a single molecule of glucose. Oxygen is also produced in large amounts and released as a residual to the atmosphere or water. Part of these so-generated glucose is used as fuel by the plants to generate energy, which is then employed in other <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catabolism" target="_blank">catabolic</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anabolism" target="_blank">anabolic</a> processes, like building proteins, pigments, cellulose, etc.</div>
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At this point, it is worth to mention that aquatic plants and terrestrial plants differ in several aspects when goes in how they intake CO2. In the case of the terrestrial plants, the leaves are full of small holes called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoma" target="_blank">stoma</a> that allow the inflow of air in the leave, putting in contact the leave´s cells with the CO2 and other gases found in the air. The mechanism in which this happens is called diffusion, and naturally happens from areas with higher concentration of a given gas, to areas with lower concentration. As plants are consuming CO2, there is a tendency to this gas pervade inside the leaves. Terrestrial plants then work using the CO2 concentration into the air, which nowadays is about 400 ppm, but before industry era was about 280 ppm. Try to keep these figures in mind, because they are important.</div>
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<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
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On the other hand, aquatic plants take the CO2 from the water. The process is also driven by diffusion, and plants still have stomas playing this role. However, the availability of CO2 is rather different, as is dependent on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkalinity" target="_blank">alkalinity</a> of the water and the pH, as previously shown, as well as solubility is driven by Henry's law, as also explained above. This means that soft fresh waters have much less CO2 dissolved into it than hard waters, for the same pH. Consequently, CO2 concentration for freshwater environments are commonly found between 1 to 5 ppm (in pure water and equilibrium conditions, with no alkalinty, value would ve around 0.6 ppm). These values are significantly smaller than in air, which means aquatic plants have much less access to CO2 than terrestrial ones.<br />
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However, the problem is even more complex than that, as diffusion of CO2 within the water is about 10.000 times slower than in air. This is due to the highest viscosity and density of water than air. Meanwhile in the atmosphere the degree of turbulence is very high and air circulates a good rates, water has much less movement in comparison, and water molecules also are a stronger barrier to diffusion. This situation means that a limited system, as an aquarium, can be depleted of CO2 due to the consumption of it at faster rates than the gas is able to diffuse into water. Why is this a problem? Next paragraphs try to explain this.<br />
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<h3>
Aquatic plants and the boundary layer</h3>
The depicted problem happens due to the increase of the size of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_layer" target="_blank">Prandtl boundary layer</a>. A boundary layer originates whenever a fluid is in contact with a different medium, surface, or even other fluid. This layer is formed by the reduction of kinetic energy associated to the fluid when interacting with the other medium, mainly caused by friction, which rates to viscosity between other things. This explains, for example, why we can feel a stronger wind when we climb to the top of a tree, in comparison with the situation in the base. The air in movement is blocked by the grass, bushes, rocks, every element from molecular level to big elements, which reduces the speed. As we go higher, however, there are less elements causing this interruption and wind speed increases (see Fig. 6 for graphical details). The Prandtl boundary layer follows the same idea but is caused at molecular level, and viscosity as such scales has also a major role.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6HfZzQGPoXu4P_eILzH0wM5rFop-b7XW4QhqQiwXYRqr2nF4YDkfjmMQe4OUpINNBVjY0F7WwKd69-QVlyuvc_kRZzHI64QA1nDzFCkGjpw2qtRE17yyVIbRrHdLCzQYSv9Lh9fXo5Lt/s1600/prandtls_vs_turbulence.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6HfZzQGPoXu4P_eILzH0wM5rFop-b7XW4QhqQiwXYRqr2nF4YDkfjmMQe4OUpINNBVjY0F7WwKd69-QVlyuvc_kRZzHI64QA1nDzFCkGjpw2qtRE17yyVIbRrHdLCzQYSv9Lh9fXo5Lt/s1600/prandtls_vs_turbulence.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 6: Prandtl or viscous boundary layer respect to velocity in fluid.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In a dramatic example, both water and honey are fluids, each one with a different viscosity. If you put honey into a spoon and invert it, the honey will eventually fall down, as gravity demands. However, it is going to do it a much less pace than the same action with water. This difference of speed in the falling is due to the difference in viscosity, which helps to keep a physical integrity into the fluid. In order to gravity forcing the honey to fall down, it has firstly to overcome the viscosity that keeps the honey attached to the spoon. Going to a diffusion example, a person can dive and swim in water, but will probably drown if tries the same in a swimming pool filled with honey: Both viscosity and density slow the swimmer down and become any movement in it much harder than in water.<br />
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The indicated boundary layers are important because they have some specific properties. For instance, they have a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laminar_flow" target="_blank">laminar</a> behavior rather than <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbulence" target="_blank">turbulent</a>. This implies that diffusion into them is mainly driven by molecular processes, as the Brownian movement. In the Fick's law, this means that turbulence of the equation is negligible, and the speed of diffusion significantly reduces. Now think in a leaf. As driven by Physics, this leaf will have a boundary layer associated to it. This means that the fluid around the leaf will behave as described above. The leaf consumes CO2 from its surroundings, by diffusion, i.e. from inside the boundary layer. Now, as the diffusion is much slower in the layer, the leaf has a risk of using the CO2 at higher rate than it diffuses inside the layer. In that situation, eventually, the maximum rate of CO2 the plant could make use of will be identical to the diffusion rate, which is much less than the needs of the plant, and then, the plant can starve, literally.<br />
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For terrestrial plants this is not an issue because the thickness of the Prandtl boundary layer is very small, CO2 concentrations are larger, and then diffusion of CO2 happens at higher rates than the plant's needs. But in water, diffusion is itself much smaller and the boundary layer is also thicker, about 10 times the size in air, and with a representative thickness of 0.5 mm. This situation creates a problem to the aquatic plants, as they have then much less access to CO2 than terrestrial ones. How do the aquatic plants solve this? Well, here is where the magic of nature happens.<br />
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<h3>
Adaptation of plants to improve CO2 uptake</h3>
<div>
As it should be expected, the aquatic plants have some specific mechanisms to tackle this issue. I will explain some of them, but there are more. It is quite common to find aquatic plants with more than one of those adaptations, which gives more plasticity to the species to survive at various environmental conditions.</div>
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<h4>
Using strategies to reduce the thickness of the boundary layer</h4>
<div>
Obviously, if the problem is the boundary layer...why not trying to reduce it? And there are ways to do so. For instance, many plants have developed spiky and/or dissected leaves. The reason for that is double. On one hand, the spike leaves reduce the size of the boundary layer, as they reduce resistance to water flow and, hence, minimizing the viscosity effect. On the other hand, this strategy also increase the ratio between surface and volume of the plant, and this is important. The larger the surface in contact with water, respect to the volume of the plant, the more proportion of CO2 can be absorbed for the same biomass, as CO2 intake happens through the surface of the plant.</div>
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<div>
There are many plants with this approach, like <i><a href="http://tropica.com/en/plants/plantdetails/Cabombaaquatica(015BDT)/4431" target="_blank">Cabomba aquatica</a>,</i> <i><a href="http://tropica.com/en/plants/plantdetails/Limnophilasessiliflora(047)/4472" target="_blank">Limnophila sessiliflora</a></i> or <i><a href="http://tropica.com/en/plants/plantdetails/Myriophyllummattogrossense(037)/4454" target="_blank">Myriophyllum mattogrossense</a></i>. The adaptation can also be observed in some plants that are able to grow in emerged forms. In fact, some of these species actually change the shape of the leaves when they are under water, moving from more round-shaped leaves to more spiky ones. Some examples of that is <i><a href="http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/details.php?id=91" target="_blank">Ludwigia arcuata</a></i>, which submersed form develops leaves in that shape (Fig. 7).</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJxfGXOgWEGLR_fUDqSBH6uQg48YdeAWDUqtoJvB7c4hU4TGL9JITew9ZTAU3HzJ9bXxwRvJMpvbw3TcLc91EYnh4QyBRKfI6aNHj2e3tFALaBHSPGUcEKME54ex8aOOI2YMJ6MnU6mLAK/s1600/ludwigia.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJxfGXOgWEGLR_fUDqSBH6uQg48YdeAWDUqtoJvB7c4hU4TGL9JITew9ZTAU3HzJ9bXxwRvJMpvbw3TcLc91EYnh4QyBRKfI6aNHj2e3tFALaBHSPGUcEKME54ex8aOOI2YMJ6MnU6mLAK/s640/ludwigia.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 7: Change of shape in the leaves in <i>Ludwigia arcuata: Emersed form (left) and submersed form (right).</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
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Other ways for plants reducing the boundary layer consist on growing just in areas with higher water flow. Turbulence in water reduces the thickness of the layer, improving the capability of aquatic plants to get more CO2. Some plants are adapted to grow in rapids and/or quicker rivers to have advantage of this.</div>
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<h4>
Internal morphological changes</h4>
<div>
In certain number of species, the plants have developed internal hollow channels filled with air, called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerenchyma" target="_blank">aerenchyma</a> (Fig. 8). The function of these channels is multiple: They allow the gases to move freely through the plant, what includes produced O2 and CO2. As the CO2 inside the channels is not any longer into water, the effect associated to the boundary layer in water is eliminated, as plant can now capture CO2 from the inner airy part. Additionally, aerenchyma are also a storage point for CO2 generated by the plant during their metabolic activity (especially during nights), and in some cases, they are connected to the roots so the plant can also absorb and take advantage of CO2 existing in the sediment, usually generated by heterotrophic bacteria. </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk1LO4waoyeIHJbXDrYJL-B8-YWVkXTKdv1qJm-D8DGw0OOuX0GOBQZlibRvuVsjeh62n0Xp_P7FsD_S6kOT1Hgnf7xILNsOYwllE-Wmy25OWNj6AxX-8s_BSMGcAlWJ_xrUEr5LsRAyZK/s1600/Aerenchyma2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk1LO4waoyeIHJbXDrYJL-B8-YWVkXTKdv1qJm-D8DGw0OOuX0GOBQZlibRvuVsjeh62n0Xp_P7FsD_S6kOT1Hgnf7xILNsOYwllE-Wmy25OWNj6AxX-8s_BSMGcAlWJ_xrUEr5LsRAyZK/s200/Aerenchyma2.JPG" width="191" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 8: Aerenchyma in plant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Some examples of aquatic plants with this adaptation are <i><a href="http://tropica.com/en/plants/plantdetails/Eleocharissp.(132D)/4573" target="_blank">Eleocharis sp.</a>,</i> <i>Cabomba aquatica </i><a href="http://tropica.com/en/plants/plantdetails/Ludwigiarepens'Rubin'(033D)/4450" target="_blank"><i>Ludwigia repens</i></a> or<i> Myriophyllum mattogrossense</i>. In general, most of stem plants have this characteristic, as it has shown special efficiency in solving the issue.</div>
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<div>
Plants with this morphological characteristic are easy to identify in the aquarium, as the cutting points start to bubble after trimming. Some hobbyist confuse this phenomena as a good response of the plants to trimming, but reality is that is only the gases stored in the aerenchyma scaping to water through that point. We can say then the plant is "bleeding" gases through it, mainly oxygen.</div>
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<div>
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<h4>
Biochemical adaptations</h4>
<div>
There is, however, other approach to the problem. So, if the difficulty is the availability of CO2 dissolved into water...why not then changing the source of carbon? This is, precisely, what many aquatic plants are really doing. As previously explained, the amount of CO2 present into water is strongly linked to pH. At the normal pH values in planted tanks, most of the CO2 is, in fact, in bicarbonate form (see Fig. 5). Hence, it seems much better idea to exploit these bicarbonates as an alternative source, which usually complements the normal CO2 intake.</div>
<div>
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<div>
The way in which plants do so can vary, but there are three main ways to do so:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>1. By active uptake of bicarbonate: </b>The plant absorbs bicarbonates from water into the cells, and there is processed to remove an ion hydroxide (OH-) by using the ubiquitous carbon anhidrase enzyme, becoming the bicarbonate into CO2 that can be normally used.</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>2. By proton extrusion:</b> The plant pumps protons into the boundary layer, which reduces the pH in it. As shown in Fig. 5, this reduction of pH favors the formation of CO2 from bicarbonates, which now then can be used normally by the plant. This is a very smart solution, which takes advantage of the boundary layer itself.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>3. By enzymatic reactions at surface level:</b> The plant has carbonic anhydrase enzyme at surface level, in contact with water, removing OH- from bicarbonates and uptaking CO2.<br />
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<div>
The counter side of those methods is that requires the plant investing energy into it. These processes are not spontaneous, and it involves active ionic exchanges between the plant cells and the water. Because of that, efficiency of photosynthesis when working in this way is minor, which means the plants grow slower when using such mechanisms. However, availability of bicarbonates in water tends to be much higher than CO2, so these strategies become in a difference, especially in waters with high density of plants and low water flow, when most of the CO2 in gas form is consumed very quickly.</div>
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<div>
The problem with the first solution is that generates OH- ions that must be removed, somehow. The third method fix that problem by performing the reaction in the water side but then increases locally the pH, interfering into the natural absorption of CO2. In some cases, plants have these mechanism in different parts of the plants to avoid interference between them. For instance, they use the active uptake of carbonates in the upper part of the leave, meanwhile using the proton extrusion in the lower part.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nonetheless, most aquatic plants prefer CO2 uptake rather than using bicarbonates, so the detailed mechanisms are only a main contribution to their metabolisms when CO2 concentration is below certain thresholds and then investing the energy in these processes makes sense.<br />
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<h3>
Effects of temperature in the photosynthesis and CO2 uptake</h3>
</div>
<div>
As derived from the text, photosynthesis is highly dependent on the CO2 availability. By increasing the CO2 concentration in water, plants will also increase the photosynthesis rate if no other factors are limiting the process. The same applies to light: The higher availability of light, the higher the photosynthesis will be.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In high-tech planted tanks, this is the idea behind the set up and fertilizing mechanism: We add light and CO2 at high enough doses, making sure that other nutrients are not in shortage, and then we get the maximum speed of growth which derives in healthy plants.</div>
<div>
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<div>
However, these are not the only parameters affecting the process. In order to photosynthesis giving a positive balance of energy, the needed chemical reactions must happen as much spontaneously as possible. This is not just a matter of putting the ingredients all together and wait for this to happen. In order to optimize the process, all life forms employ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalysis" target="_blank">catalysts</a> that promote the reactions. These catalysts are substances of many types (e.g. metals, vitamins, proteins) but with the same characteristic: They improve the possibilities of a specific reaction happening spontaneously. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The way in which these catalysts work is related to the concept of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enthalpy" target="_blank">enthalpy</a> of reaction (H). Each chemical reaction involves a change in the energy levels associated to the system. In general terms, a reaction is spontaneous when the final levels of energy are lower than the ones found in the original situation. The difference of energy is emitted as heat or light. When a reaction leads to a higher level of energy than the original one, then the reaction is not spontaneous and requires injection of energy to happen. Enthalpy is just a measure of such energies: The amount released in the first case, the amount needed in the second case. It is straight forward to see that the lower the enthalpy is, the more likely is the reaction to naturally happen without requiring energy. That is why photosynthesis, eventually, cannot be profitable in terms of energy if the addition of the enthalpies of all the chemical reactions happening in the process is positive. This is important, because it means that a process composed by a series of reactions can naturally take place, even if some of the intermediate steps require to invest energy, as far as the global frame of reactions ends in a system with lower energy than the starting situation. This is what the plants do during the photosynthesis.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The catalysts play a role here by reducing the enthalpy of the reaction. The catalyzed reaction has then more probabilities to happen than the normal one. The way in which catalysts work can be very complex and different at each case, but they usually play a role into an intermediate reaction that smooths the process. As mentioned above, each reaction has an enthalpy associated to it. Let's say then that we want the reaction P1+P2=P3 to happen. However, this reaction requires a certain level of energy, H1, that gives a low chance to the reaction happening naturally. Now, we know of a substance Q that is a catalyst of the reaction. Q has capability to react with P1, in a reaction like P1+Q = P1Q in an spontaneous way, with an enthalpy significantly lower than H1. On the other side, the product of the reaction, P1Q, is also able to react with P2 in a spontaneous way, so P1Q+P2 = P3+Q. Both reactions driven by the catalyst Q are spontaneous, which means that the addition of the enthalpy of the two intermediate reactions is smaller than the enthalpy associated to the direct reaction P1+P2=P3. Moreover, the component Q is recycled in the process, and then is available again to catalyze other reaction of the same type. Because of this, small amounts of a catalyst can propitiate a much faster and efficient reaction chain, by speeding them up and reducing the energy needs.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjObepNO2NxGsJqVbSMkqb-UF1lpbpU8GdZAepIafzuCfncDCVQezCv8Y1xkGyQPiQvbgc9dFousQThJ2bJVjMX2WQmDzN-odUxMmDavnK4RZXRIvgDBKE33HnAjQ0LKA6H7oUYmoPjODLO/s1600/catalyzed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjObepNO2NxGsJqVbSMkqb-UF1lpbpU8GdZAepIafzuCfncDCVQezCv8Y1xkGyQPiQvbgc9dFousQThJ2bJVjMX2WQmDzN-odUxMmDavnK4RZXRIvgDBKE33HnAjQ0LKA6H7oUYmoPjODLO/s1600/catalyzed.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 9: Example of effect of a catalyst into a chemical reaction.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is not normally like this, as shown in Fig. 9. In most occasions, the role of the catalyst is not exactly consisting in becoming the reactions as spontaneous; in many cases, catalysts reduce the amount of energy that must be added to the reaction happening, factor extensively employed by any life form to optimize their organic processes.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Explained this, photosynthesis is a process which is catalyzed at many levels. In no few cases, the intermediate reactions are controlled or catalyzed by enzymes generated by the plant. The reason why this is so important is because the catalyzed process can make use of the energy from the sun to trigger the reaction, in a way that otherwise would not be possible because the energy obtained from it would not be enough. Without this particularity, photosynthesis would not be possible.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Besides the role of the catalysts, temperature also has an impact. Depending on the kind of reaction, a higher temperature reduces the need of input of additional energy, making easier the process and speeding it up. This is also true for the intermediate reactions associated to catalysts, which by definition require already less energy. Combining then temperature and catalysts, the speed and efficiency of a catalyzed reaction will significantly improve. As most living things employ enzymes to catalyze their organic processes, temperature is critical in explaining the velocity of reaction. Most enzymes have an optimal temperature to work with. Theoretically, with an ideal catalyst, the speed of the reaction will increase as temperature raises. Reality is that organic catalysts have a range of temperatures in which they can work. Below or above such range, they do not work and/or lose their properties. This is mainly due to the fact that enzymes are proteins and its structure is both pH and temperature dependent. By increasing too much the temperature, the protein loses its fundamental structure and properties as catalyst. This is known as thermal stress and explains why too high or too low temperatures kill to a given species: There is a point in which metabolism just stop working. Some animals have temperature regulation mechanisms, like all the animals of warm blood, which helps them to keep similar levels of activity in a wider range of temperatures.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
For aquatic plants, the effects of the temperature also apply. Increasing temperature means higher rate of photosynthesis, which involves larger CO2 uptake. The range of temperature in which most plants can work is between 10° and 40<span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;"><b>°.</b> </span></span></span>Outside such range, photosynthesis is not possible for most plants. The range is not absolute and there are species with specific adaptations to very high or very low temperatures, which allows them to thrive in extreme environments. However, for tropical plants, the mentioned range works well.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjd9NAUJTO-PA5YQHgcEQt5vv7j_FB3sXyrQk-LJRbcDOnXhexyfGdeiw5f3wy_okNHr_92SFpI61Up9oJyyUeb5e68ZxCk0uGQ_3bp6BjGPwbkN_2J2SUbg62N4gnFxJSleTYUO4LsUVd/s1600/photosynthesis_temperature.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjd9NAUJTO-PA5YQHgcEQt5vv7j_FB3sXyrQk-LJRbcDOnXhexyfGdeiw5f3wy_okNHr_92SFpI61Up9oJyyUeb5e68ZxCk0uGQ_3bp6BjGPwbkN_2J2SUbg62N4gnFxJSleTYUO4LsUVd/s400/photosynthesis_temperature.png" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig 10: Evolution of photosynthesis rate <br />
as function of time and temperature.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Within such limits, the optimal range of temperature is not easy to determine. To start with, not only the temperature plays a role, but also the time that such temperature is applying. Enzymes will not degrade immediately after the change of temperature: they will work for a while and plant will try to replace the harmed ones, but eventually, the accumulated damage happened to them due to the heat will affect to the photosynthesis rate. This is what Fig. 10 shows. The higher the temperature is, the higher the initial photosynthetic rate is, but then also the faster the rate decays as result of the thermal stress. For example, at 40°C, the rate is maximum but just during 15 minutes. After that, the destruction of the enzymes makes the rate to quickly fall down. When reducing the temperature, however, maximum rates are lower than before, but it takes longer to show a thermal stress and even so the decay is slower than before. At 30°C, there is practically no thermal stress and none at 25°C.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Hence, the optimal temperature is the one that involves no thermal stress and maximizes the production. In the plot this values is situated at 25°C, but, as said, this is just representative of the global set of plants, and not the rule.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Some tropical aquatic plants have a higher tolerance to heat as they live in areas in which waters can have higher values of temperature with frequency. More specifically, <a href="http://tjisse.van-der-heide.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Van-der-Heide-et-al-Aquatic-Botany-2006.pdf" target="_blank">some studies</a> identify values between 28-32°C, depending on the species, as top limit for photosynthesis efficiency in tropical aquatic plants. Most hobbyist try to keep plants in around 25°C, because it is good for most of tropical/subtropical aquatic plants and livestock, but there is not always an easy way to keep such temperature when the aquarium is in a hot country. In such cases, CO2 injection must be adjusted to keep the nutritional balance in the tank.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But...how much can vary the uptake of CO2 under higher temperatures? This question has not an easy answer. The exact effect will rely on the specific species included in the tank and their amounts. However, it is possible to say that hobbyist should expect a higher requirement of CO2 when temperature in the aquarium raises. As a rule of the thumb, firstly, it is a good idea to try to preserve the water temperature below 30°C to avoid thermal stress. In average for tropical aquariums, 30°C is the temperature of maximum rate of photosynthesis, so the requirements of CO2 will be higher than the ones associated to 25°C.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In general terms, enzymatic-catalyzed reactions double the rate for every 10°C of temperature increment, roughly. For instance, this is what we observe when comparing, in Fig. 10, the line associated to 25°C with the one of 35°C, or the one at 30°C with the one at 40°C. The relation between temperature and photosynthesis rate is not a straight line, but can be reasonably assumed like one. Hence, by increasing temperature from 25°C to 30°C, the CO2 needs of the plants in the aquarium will grow about a 50%. This essentially means that in hot countries, planted tanks require in the range of 50% more CO2 injection to preserve the balance and to keep the CO2 concentrations into the desired or target levels. The same will apply to any hobbiyst in no so hot countries but keeping higher temperatures in the aquarium.<br />
<br /></div>
<h2>
CO2 and fishes/shrimps</h2>
<div>
Meanwhile for plants the CO2 is a vital component they need for their most basic functions, for animals the molecule is a residual and toxic substance that they need to get rid of. Animals generate CO2 during the breath process, which involves the consume of organic matter to produce energy, by using oxygen. This chemical reaction is called combustion and, when using the right catalyst, it can happen in a spontaneous way into the mitochondria of the cells. Plants also use this mechanism to generate energy required by their metabolism. Difference is that plants are using a part of what they synthesize, and animals rely in their food ingestion to get the fuel.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Breathing</h3>
<div>
For most readers, breathing consist in the act of inhaling/exhaling air with their lungs. Reality is that, this basic function of our bodies, is just a part of the actual breathing. Filling the lungs with air serves just to renovate the air and get better O2 concentrations in contact with our lung cells, which are in charge of uptaking such O2 into our bodies. At the same time, the excess of CO2 is also removed in such a way. The so-acquired O2 is then used by our cells in combustion reactions, which generate CO2 that must be eliminated. Of course, there are some differences between how we do it and how other animals do it, but the idea behind it is pretty similar.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Role of the gills</h4>
<div>
Most aquatic animals we keep into aquariums benefit of using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gill" target="_blank">gills</a>. Meanwhile, in terrestrial vertebrates, the air is actively forced into the lungs for the exchange of gases (note that in insects this is different), in aquatic animals the gills play such a role. The idea is the same as depicted above: Absorb oxygen and expel CO2. The efficiency of this process relies in several factors:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>The relative concentrations of O2 and CO2 in body respect to the environment.</li>
<li>The surface/volume ratio associated to the gills.</li>
<li>The flow of water through the gills.</li>
</ol>
Gases have a natural tendency to move from higher concentrations to lower concentrations. Animals take advantage of this and the gills are the perfect place for that. Molecular diffusion can be easily blocked by physical barriers, so certain layer of cells can block it. Amphibians have a very thin skin due to this, so they favor the diffusion of gases between their bodies and water, but on the other hand, they are much more sensible to toxics in water, as well as bacterial and fungi diseases. Many other aquatic animals are adapted to reduce these risks, having thicker skins and focusing the gas exchange into the gills. There, the animals have a very thin layer of cells between the internal circulation system and the water. Thanks to that, gases can travel from the animal to outside and vice-versa, following the gradient of concentration. The gills are conformed by a set of sheets, each one subdivided into arches, formed by filaments, which are composed by sets of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/respiratory-system#ref537532" target="_blank">lamellae</a>. The full structure is thought to maximize the surface of contact between gills and water (Fig. 11).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UxrtQUIBt7S_4Kzvu2Pb0d8-SGeqaTlgTnfeqfLCqZpjLrA1tRKKxFrRJ56qpWg0WOGgg9bxqW0klqSthRFkHJ2yY5inQTbobfZL2paKzVIvoUOAZrEtYnS5nLPVvSjvZb31XuJklg7D/s1600/gills2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UxrtQUIBt7S_4Kzvu2Pb0d8-SGeqaTlgTnfeqfLCqZpjLrA1tRKKxFrRJ56qpWg0WOGgg9bxqW0klqSthRFkHJ2yY5inQTbobfZL2paKzVIvoUOAZrEtYnS5nLPVvSjvZb31XuJklg7D/s640/gills2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 11: Gills structure and physical exchange of gases.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The lamellae have a shape and construction aiming to maximize diffusion, by having high surface/volume ratio and really thin walls. Each one has blood vessels, one of input (afferent), other as output (efferent), linked between them by even smaller vessels very close to the surface of the lamellae. The idea is that blood charged with CO2 travels through the lamellae, getting rid of the CO2 and uptaking O2. This exchange is not purely physical and involves also biochemical reactions that are driven by the hemoglobin in the blood cells. The oxygenated blood then travels back to the body through the efferent vessel.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The blood flows in opposite direction than the water flow. The reason for this is to optimize the time in which the exchange happens at maximum O2/CO2 gradients. The strongest the differences between water and blood are, the more efficient the exchange is. Water flow is the result of both water speed and volume, so many aquatic animals with gills have adaptations to ensure such flow. Both fishes and inverts literally pump water into the gills to maximize the exchange. In the case of fishes, the method is even smarter: They are not only pumping it but also ensuring the speed of the water flowing in the gills is as high as possible. To do so, they open the mouths to allow water going inside, then compress it into their equivalent to our throats, and then opening the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operculum_(fish)" target="_blank">operculum </a>of the gills to allow water go out through them. As the water is compressed and the gills allow a small space between them, water is then affected by a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venturi_effect" target="_blank">Ventury effect</a> and increase its speed of flow in its way out. Amazing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Th three elements above explained are very important to understand the exchange of gases between these animals and the water of the aquarium.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
The exchange of gases</h4>
<div>
Thus, the gills are then in charge of this gas exchange. However, this is not as simple as purely Physics. Most animals are not making use of just gases dissolved into the blood, as that becomes them difficult to control, it is limited by ohysical saturation levels and do not grant delivery into the right spots. Instead, hemoglobin is used as vehicle of oxygen so it can be delivered exactly in the points the tissues need it and covering the demand of oxygen of the different biological processes. Such molecule is in large quantities in the blood cells (erythrocytes) and has a special characteristic: It is a complex protein but with an atom of iron on it. Iron has a really high affinity by oxygen to become into FeO/Fe2O3 (ferrous/ferric oxide). In fact, blood is red due, precisely, to the colour produced by the iron in the hemoglobin when oxidized. Animals take advantage of this to transport oxygen. Inside aquatic fishes and inverts, there is a full universe of variations of hemoglobin, each one with some specific properties and mechanisms. I am not going to enter there (too complex and long) but I am going to provide some generalities.<br />
<br />
The summary of the breathing of the fishes is explained by the Bohr-Haldane effects, which are connected to each other and explain the way in which oxygen is transported by hemoglobin and released, with CO2 conversely removed from the system.<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohr_effect" target="_blank">Bohr effect</a> determines that an increment of CO2 in blood involves a reduction of pH. Under such acidic conditions, hemoglobin reacts with the protons in solution, which drives the release of the oxygen being transported by the hemoglobin. This is quite convenient, because it means that an increase of CO2 in blood forces a release of oxygen, and then erythrocytes provide the oxygen in the places in which is actively being used.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haldane_effect" target="_blank">Haldane effect</a> is just the opposite: Under presence of oxygen in blood at higher concentrations, with the right pH, the hemoglobin releases protons to blood and kidnaps oxygen. This phenomena is also pH-driven and happens when pH rises after removal of CO2 from blood in the gills. Both effects are just opposite sides of the same coin, reason while is named Bohr-Haldane effect. It is easy to see that the key point is where each of these processes are happening. Haldane effect is only possible at gill level because is the point in which CO2 can be released to the water, increasing the pH of the blood. On the other hand, Bohr effect can take place only in areas in which the CO2 accumulates into the blood, i.e. in the vessels in contact with the tissues. The largest the generation of CO2, the largest the amount of transported oxygen is released. This connection allow the covering of oxygen demand coming from the activity of the organism where is needed.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9A0JkLbSsmVs0m69GMrnSykL2Pgn4CZPEOVe5z5fc_0PpAIvFtp7vUZozrA1iR4CS9mNrOpsjYfHO1JFvCxF7n8vCiVzj373Y8oP5FDEM-f1UJ2w-5OkSMx8NlJcf1hS9eqfAP37Wa5xJ/s1600/fish_gas_exchange.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9A0JkLbSsmVs0m69GMrnSykL2Pgn4CZPEOVe5z5fc_0PpAIvFtp7vUZozrA1iR4CS9mNrOpsjYfHO1JFvCxF7n8vCiVzj373Y8oP5FDEM-f1UJ2w-5OkSMx8NlJcf1hS9eqfAP37Wa5xJ/s640/fish_gas_exchange.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 12: Gas exchange mechanism or Bohr-Haldane effects.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
The process is better detailed in Fig. 12. When pH increases, erythrocytes uptake bicarbonate from blood, which also increases the pH inside these cells (6). When oxygen is present, the higher pH allows the release of protons by the hemoglobin with the corresponding kidnapping of oxygen (5). These released protons down the pH, which displace the carbonates equilibrium towards the formation of CO2. The increased CO2 concentration then produces a flow by diffusion towards the blood, and from the blood towards the water at gill level (4, bottom side of the figure). On the other hand, at tissue level (top side of the figure), CO2 generated by the cells flows towards the blood, due to the favoring differences of concentration. There, it is absorbed by the erythrocytes, and thanks to the carbon anhydrase (an enzyme which catalyze the process), is practically fully conversed into bicarbonates. The bicarbonates are pumped to the blood, increasing the pH outside the cell(3). These two mechanisms generate protons (2) and reduce the pH, which favors the release of oxygen from hemoglobin as exchange for protons. The oxygen then diffuses, favored by difference of concentration, from the erythrocytes to blood and from there to tissues, completing the cycle.<br />
<br />
In summary, the removal of CO2 from blood allows to the erythrocytes the absorption of oxygen in one side, and the accumulation of CO2 causes the release of oxygen into blood, in the other side.<br />
<br />
<h4>
The problem of excess of CO2 in water</h4>
<br />
There are, however, some important aspects from this situation related to the environmental conditions. For example, removal of CO2 from blood is only possible by a diffusive mechanism at gill level. This means that if the right combination of low pH and high dissolved CO2 happens in the water, this diffusion will happen at less rate or even inverse the direction of flow, at certain levels. Aquatic animals show relatively low levels of CO2 concentrations in blood, in the order of 10 times less than terrestrial ones. The reason behind it is that CO2 is far more soluble in water than oxygen and concentrations are also far smaller, so meanwhile fishes have more difficulties to oxygenate, they have much less problem in eliminating CO2. Because of that, fishes keep CO2 concentrations at closer levels to those found in their environments, which become them much more sensitive to changes in CO2 than terrestrial organisms.<br />
<br />
More specifically, a typical value of CO2 concentration in blood for fishes is about 4-5 ppm, which naturally obeys to about 8 times the amounts found in water in equilibrium with the atmosphere. This difference ensures the right flow of CO2 from blood to water into some range of CO2 concentrations and pH values. However, if the environmental concentration of CO2 raises, the gradient diminishes, slowing down the removal of CO2 from the fish body. As per Fig. 12, this involves the increase of the CO2 dissolved in blood, which becomes a problem as favors a reduction of pH of the blood, which at certain point can block the uptake of oxygen, as hemoglobin is then not able to oxidize.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPRUOP2xk2eJTtydFXbxG5Jp1Nm6roTjjCpn7wxVFF_1HdEsXEh6pojLm1zpmx0K41BBhabhlzy6mDEZr4DzGvhYmSbSyEuylBBW46snoh2ttdmgReXPxk2w9inHZwTzlcvmDj085Vi02/s1600/co2_kidneys.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipPRUOP2xk2eJTtydFXbxG5Jp1Nm6roTjjCpn7wxVFF_1HdEsXEh6pojLm1zpmx0K41BBhabhlzy6mDEZr4DzGvhYmSbSyEuylBBW46snoh2ttdmgReXPxk2w9inHZwTzlcvmDj085Vi02/s1600/co2_kidneys.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 8: Re-absorption of bicarbonate and release of protons at kidney level.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The problem can be partially compensated at kidney level, at least in fishes. It has been shown that fishes are able to reabsorb bicarbonate at kidney level and release protons with the urine, as part of a cation exchange process. Both actions allow an internal regulation of the pH, which keeps working the absorption of oxygen. Additionally, cardiac and breathing rhythm are increased, in an attempt to improve the gas exchange (which, as pointed out before, is also linked to flow rates, both in blood and water). However, all these strategies involve the investment of energy into it, becoming then into a stress factor at certain levels. Moreover, the capability of the animals to regulate pH into blood has some certain limits, and beyond some point, the perturbation caused by the excess of CO2 into water cannot be compensated, causing acidosis to the animal, and eventually, the death.<br />
<br />
In this sense, most fishes manage well in waters with CO2 concentrations up to 20 ppm. Beyond that point, internal regulation begins to be a stressing factor and is fully lethal in a couple of hours, in most of the cases, when concentrations in water reach values close to 60 ppm or higher. Of course, all these values are just a reference. Individual species can have a different behavior, with some of them being affected by CO2 levels at much higher/lower levels than others.<br />
<br />
<h4>
The effect of oxygen injection</h4>
</div>
<div>
This is also an interesting topic. There is a belief into the community that negative effect of CO2 increment can be partly compensated by increasing the oxygen concentration in water. Following the schema of breathing I have depicted above, this is true at certain level, but does not compensate any excess of CO2 in water.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The increment of oxygen into water improves the natural flow of the gas into the blood. Under normal circumstances, this increase means that aquatic animals need a slower flood of water/blood to get an efficient gas exchange rate, and oxygen enough to cover their needs. As a result, breathing and cardiac rhythms reduce, saving energy invested in them, and reducing the stress levels of the fish. In well oxygenated waters, fishes will be happier and with a better health. This is correct, so far we assume that there is no special or harmful situation coming from CO2 concentrations in water.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The effect of oxygen is then positive, as far as the oxygenation levels are also kept into certain thresholds. Aquatic animals have a limit to reduce the breathing and cardiac rate before being fatally affected by it. If consumption of oxygen becomes significantly lower than the uptake of it at gill level, then hemoglobin is not reaching a situation in which can get rid of the oxygen and take protons. The CO2 being generated is then converted into bicarbonates by the carbon anhydrase enzyme, increasing the alkalinity of the blood. As mentioned before, fishes have mechanisms to regulate this changes into the pH of the blood. However, at certain levels of oxygen, these mechanisms cannot cope, which derives into alkalosis, and eventually, into death.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is quite uncommon into aquariums, as usually the mechanisms to add oxygen are using just air. Because of that, maximum concentrations of O2 into water are determined by Henry's law, and they aim to be in equilibrium with the atmosphere. Such situation is not a problem for the aquatic animals at all. Situation could be different if we were actively injecting oxygen at partial pressures higher than the values found in the air, as we do with CO2, and reason why CO2 injection can harm the livestock.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But, in general terms, favoring a good oxygenation of water is good for the aquarium, when using the traditional methods. However, when CO2 levels are increasing, oxygenating water does not solve the issue. As explained, Fig. 12 shows that oxygen uptake happens when oxygen is available and pH is at the right values. If the water has a high concentration of CO2, the regulation of the pH in blood becomes a problem, which diminishes the capability of the aquatic animals to oxidize their hemoglobin with oxygen. In other words, oxygen availability is good, but its use by the hemoglobin is controlled by the capability of the animals to remove CO2 from their blood. If this cannot happen, breathing process is then blocked and animals suffocate, does not matter at all the amount of oxygen in water.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But then, why do fishes improve when aeration is in place, when CO2 levels in water are high? This <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 13: Example of aeration.</td></tr>
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has nothing to do with the increase of oxygen. Instead, aeration increments the total surface of water in contact with air. The exchange of gases between water and air is related to precisely the amount of surface in contact: The larger is, the more efficient the diffusion of gases from higher to lower concentrations (i.e. usually oxygen from air to water, CO2 from water to air). Air stones generate thousands of small bubbles. The smaller the bubbles the higher is the ratio between surface and volume, so exchange of gases benefits of this. This fact speeds up the degasification of the aquarium in terms of CO2, and eventually, it helps to reduce the concentration of the gas in water. </div>
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Similar results are obtained when increasing agitation of the surface in the tank. In this case, it is not much related to the increment of surface. Rather than that, diffusion also depends on the turbulence term of the Fick's law, as pointed out in this article, so when we increment it, we also propitiate the transfer of oxygen to the tank, but more important in this case, the removal of excess of CO2 to the atmosphere.</div>
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This degasification from air stones and agitation can be measured by monitoring pH. The loss of CO2 means that water in the aquarium increase the pH, an easy way to check if aeration of the tank is correct.</div>
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Aeration is positive as helps in many aspects, like removing excess of CO2, improving the oxygen levels for aquatic animals (and plants during the night phase), and also is key to reduce the load of organic matter into the tank. Do not forget that oxygen is extensively used by both heterotrophic and autotrophic bacteria (i.e. in charge of organic matter breakdown and re-mineralization processes, like formation of NO2 and NO3). In terms of planted tanks, however, aeration will reduce the efficiency of the injected CO2 during the photo-period, which means more difficulties to achieve the desired CO2 concentrations.</div>
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<h2>
Questions & Answers - The CO2 Quiz</h2>
<div>
So far, the article has been focused in presenting mainly the basis of the role of CO2 into aquariums, as well as its dependencies of physical and chemical parameters. The gas intervenes at many levels, and a good understanding on how behaves and interacts can be the difference between success and failure.<br />
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Now, I have collected a list of common questions associated to the use of CO2 in planted aquariums and aquascapes. If you do not find your question here, please, feel free to contact us and we will add your question here.<br />
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<h3>
1. Do I really need CO2 injection to have healthy plants in the aquarium?</h3>
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<div>
The answer is "No", but with some peculiarities. CO2 injection improves the conditions of the plants, in terms of nutrients, ensuring that CO2 is not a limiting factor of growth. Essentially, by injecting CO2, it is possible to get faster and denser growth than without it. However, this will not make any good if the additional CO2 provided to the tank is not followed by right and higher lighting conditions and fertilizers. The reason why is because plants will grow limited by the factor not able to cover their needs. Light encourages photosynthesis, but the additional rate will not really happen if there is not enough CO2 and fertilizers. In the same line, CO2 will not be used in the amount of light is not enough, or if some nutrients are in deficit. Injecting CO2 under a unbalanced situation will just encourage the appearance of algae, so any time CO2 is injected, a balance of parameters must be achieved.</div>
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Hence, the answer is then linked to these other elements. For instance, people not using CO2 does not need to add stronger lights or so much fertilizers, if any. In this case, the balance must be achieved by playing with the natural concentration of CO2, which, as explained in this article, will be much smaller, so low-tech aquariums need less lights and, in many cases, no fertilizers at all.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 14: Example of low-tech aquarium</td></tr>
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However, CO2 demand is not only related to the conditions but also to the plants biomass in the tank. By heavily planting a low-tech tank, plants can be able of depleting CO2 from water, which interrupts their growth and, sometimes, this can derive in no healthy plants. There are ways to improve their conditions, though, as for example providing a good water circulation, agitation, and including aeration. In this way, CO2 from atmosphere will diffuse better in the tank and reduce the problem of availability. In these cases, by keeping not too strong lights, the aquariums can thrive without major problems. Despite of all of this, main difference is related to the speed of growth, though.</div>
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Other key aspect is that plant selection of species rally matters. Some of the species will not grow at all, or even die, without CO2 injection or under some poor conditions, like low light. As indicated in this article, plants prefer the use of CO2 is gas form rather than bicarbonates. They have adaptations to compensate the lack of CO2, but some species are not so well adapted and they really need higher levels of CO2 to survive in aquariums. Avoiding such plants will make easier to have a planted aquarium in low-tech.</div>
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<h3>
2. How much CO2 should I aim to have into the aquarium?</h3>
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There is an agreement that CO2 concentrations between 25 and 45 ppm are the best one for planted tanks. This, of course, is only true for high-tech tanks. It is possible to have reduced levels but then the same discussion as for the previous question applies.</div>
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Note that, however, CO2 concentrations are dependent on the carbonate hardness of the water and pH. The article thoroughly explains these dependencies, but it is not focused in how measure it and control it. For that matter, I strongly recommend you to read <a href="http://www.thelivingtank.co.uk/2016/07/article-co2-drop-checker-ultimate-guide.html" target="_blank">this other article</a> I wrote about the use of drop checkers, a useful tool to control CO2.</div>
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<h3>
3. Is there any standard flow of CO2 I should follow?</h3>
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No, there is none. Consumption of CO2 varies in function of many factors: Amount of light, temperature of the water, density of plants into the tank. When people recommends 1 bubble per second, or 2 bubbles per second, it means nothing, really. The only term that is valid for dosage purposes is the CO2 concentration, and the best way to track it without having to spend money in a CO2 probe, is the drop checker, as pointed out in the previous question.<br />
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Nonetheless, plants will not make use of CO2 in the same way when they are just recent in the tank than when they have already settled into it. New setups are recommended to have lower level of CO2 and light, progressively increasing both parameters into a coupled way until reaching the nominal dosage of both.</div>
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<h3>
4. Is the CO2 concentration affected by the temperature of the water?</h3>
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In an strict sense, yes, but in practical sense, no. Figure 4 of this article shows the physical dependency of the CO2 concentration in water as a function of the temperature. As you can see, increasing temperature means lower maximum concentrations of CO2, so there is an effect. However, these maximum values are still far beyond the amounts we aim in aquariums.</div>
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For instance, between 25 and 30, saturation level of CO2 is reached at 1450 and 1250 ppm, respectively. We usually aim between 25 and 40 ppm, so the reduction of the solubility associated to temperature has no practical effect at all.</div>
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Nonetheless, there is a real need of increasing the dosage of CO2 when increasing the temperature, but that factor is not related to the saturation levels. In this case, we talk about the photosynthesis rate. As explained in the article (see Fig. 10), by increasing the temperature 5 degrees, we roughly increase the need of CO2 up to 50%, because that is the percentage the photosynthesis rate increases. This is mainly due to the fact the photosynthesis is an enzymatic process, and hence, dependent of temperature. Hobbyist with aquariums in hot countries need to inject more CO2 to compensate this increase of the metabolism of the plants. But this has nothing to do with the fugacity of CO2 associated to the change of temperature, and only to the acceleration of the metabolism.</div>
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<h3>
5. What is better: a lower or a higher carbonate hardness when injecting CO2?</h3>
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The answer to the question is not fully evident. The amount of dissolved CO2 depends on the CO2 injection rate, the pH, and the carbonate hardness. Carbonate hardness and pH are related because (bi)carbonates have impact into alkalinity. Alkalinity is the capability of the water to absorb protons, which in many occasions is associated to OH- ions. However, HCO3- is also able to accept protons, so (bi)carbonates in solution tend to increase the pH of the water. As shown in Fig. 5, pH determines the relative abundance of the inorganic forms of carbon in water (CO2, bicarbonate, carbonate). </div>
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This implies that, at high pHs, there is practically no CO2 dissolved in gas form. This can create a difficult situation form some species of aquatic plants with less adaptations to use bicarbonates instead, and growth rate will be affected. As a result, it is possible to propitiate an unbalance of conditions, which unavoidably will lead to algae. This, of course, it depends on the species of plants and the other environmental conditions like light and nutrients.</div>
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On the other hand, carbonate hardness allow to more CO2 being accumulated into the water for a given pH, i.e. they stabilize the pH and minimize the acidification caused by the CO2 injection, difficulting to have a pH crash and killing the fishes for that, or just killing the fishes due to an excess of CO2 gas in water.</div>
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The contrary situation, so low carbonate hardness, allows the increase of CO2 in form of dissolved gas, which benefits the plants. At lower dkH values, CO2 levels will increase much faster, but the pH will also be reduced much faster, with the subsequent risk for livestock.</div>
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A good rule of the thumb, then, is to try to have a water carbonate hardness within certain levels. A common range of carbonates hardness is between 3 and 5 dkH. Higher dkH values are also possible, but then the CO2 injection will require higher flow and time to reach the desired levels of CO2. Lower values are not advised if keeping fishes in the tank.<br />
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By targeting such range of dkH values, CO2 will be at right concentrations as dissolved gas when pH reaches about 6.5 value.</div>
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<h3>
6. How can I improve the use of CO2 in the aquarium?</h3>
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There are a few ways to optimize the use of CO2 and ensure that there is no shortage. To start with, aiming the right concentrations, as commented din Question 2 of this article. Secondly, by controlling the carbonates hardness of the water, as also commented in Question 5. But, even with those things well done, other subtle elements can have a play on this.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. : Example of lily pipe.</td></tr>
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For instance, it is good idea to have limited agitation during the photoperiod, if you are injecting CO2. Agitation helps into the gas exchange and diffusion processes, which means that propitiates the removal of CO2 from water. A high agitation can produce difficulties to achieve the desired CO2 levels and it will require than higher rates of injection into water to compensate it. Limiting it will make easier the task and also much faster. In this sense, the use of lily pipes is highly recommended in planted aquariums, as they give us some control over the agitation.</div>
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On the other hand, it is also crucial having a good circulation rate and distribution. Even if it seems otherwise, a water with a given properties does not mix very fast with a water with other properties (e.g. if the two water masses have different temperature). This means that water circulation in the tank really matters. If not attention to this is paid, some areas of the tank can receive much less CO2 than supposed to, especially if using CO2 in-line injection, which puts all the injected gas in the output of the filter. An uneven mix of water with CO2 can have a few negative effects:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Appearance of algae in areas with low CO2 concentrations.</li>
<li>Undesired low growth in some planted sectors.</li>
<li>Wrong measurement of CO2 levels when using a drop checker (which can be fatal).</li>
<li>Excess of acidity in the output point, which can actually harm the plants situated close to the outlet or CO2 injection point.</li>
</ol>
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A good rule of the thumb consist in having a circulation rate of 10 times the volume of the aquarium per hour. The flow per hour depends on the filter, so read the technical specifications of your filtering solution to know this data. It is not rare, in both planted aquariums and aquascapes, having more than one filter to achieve this goal. Note that, agitation and circulation are not the same thing. Agitation relates to the speed of water at surface level: The fastest is the water there, the more favorable the removal of CO2 is. However, water flow situated at different depths or not directed to surface has not to increase such speed at surface level.</div>
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In addition to these concepts, other ways to improve the CO2 usage are the user of a timer linked to a solenoid (as CO2 is not required during the nights), and also good diffusers/reactors. CO2 dissolution is slow, as pointed out into the article, which means that the longest the time in contact with water, the better. This is what a CO2 reactor really does. Also, the gas exchange is dependent of the surfaces in contact, which increases when we reduce the size of the bubbles. A good diffuser or atomizer has this role, what also improves the solution of CO2.</div>
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<h3>
7. Has the CO2 injection to be deactivated during nights?</h3>
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In general terms, I strongly recommend to do so. There are many reasons for that: <br />
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(a) Plants do not need it during the nights because, with no light, no photosynthesis, so having CO2 being injected in such period of time is a waste and forces you to recharge the CO2 bottle more often.<br />
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(b) Plants do generate CO2 during the night (they also breath), so if you inject CO2 during that period of time, and we add the CO2 generated by the plants, CO2 concentration can reach levels high enough to kill your fishes by suffocation or a drop of pH equally fatal.</div>
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(c) Its is very difficult to keep a stable CO2 concentration all the time. The plants start using it as soon as the intensity of light is high enough for photosynthesis, but usually takes some time before CO2 injection carries the CO2 concentration at the targeted levels. We can tune the dosage in order to achieve these levels during most of the photic phase, but during nights the plants do not use it, so CO2 levels will increase and the next day the starting concentration will be higher than the previous day. Because of that, CO2 can increase more than needed, with the subsequent problems.</div>
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The best idea then is to have CO2 systems including a solenoid that can be controlled with a timer. Most recommendations are to set the timer to start injection between 1 to 2 hours before lights go on, and stopping doing it between one or half hour before the lights go off.</div>
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<h3>
8. Do I need to introduce aeration if I dose CO2?</h3>
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Not necessarily, but is highly recommended, for several reasons. Nonetheless, aeration is not required during the day or photo-period, as plants generate lots of oxygen, and aeration propitiates the removal of CO2 from water, what will difficult you to achieve the right levels of CO2. However, aeration during nights can be very useful:</div>
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(a) It will provide oxygen when the plants are not producing it (in fact, all the opposite, as the plants will be consuming it), what ensures the fishes will not suffocate by lack of it.</div>
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(b) It will provide also oxygen for the re-mineralization processes and degradation of organic matter, which avoids the appearance of oily films in the surface of the water plus reduce the presence of precursors for algae formation.</div>
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(c) It will increase pH and stabilize it during the nights.</div>
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The best ways to do this are using air stones or moving up the lily pipes during the nights to promote agitation at surface level. If you do not want to be taking care of this, best option is to add an air stone with an air compressor linked to a timer and activate it when the lights go off.</div>
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<h3>
9. My drop checker had the right colour but my plants are still showing symptoms of CO2 deficiency. What is going on?</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. : Example of drop checker.</td></tr>
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It can be a potential case of lack of water mixing. Try to change the place in which you have the drop checker, wait a couple of hours and check the colour. If it is not right, then it would be a good idea to improve the mixing. As pointed out in Question 6, it is possible to get this by using lily pipes and increasing the circulation rate. If you already meet these criteria, then try to put the inlets/outlets in a different configuration.</div>
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Other possible cause if you are using water of your aquarium for the drop checker. The values of the drop checker are closely linked to the carbonate hardness into it, so if you are mixing indicator with water of your tank, the readings can be wrong. The proper way to use the drop checker is as explained <a href="http://www.thelivingtank.co.uk/2016/07/article-co2-drop-checker-ultimate-guide.html" target="_blank">in this article</a>.</div>
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<h3>
10. I have the right levels of CO2 but some of my fishes are dying since I started with it.</h3>
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As explained in this article, concentrations of CO2 about 20 ppm are stressing for most species and amounts close to or over 60 pm are lethal after a couple of hours. Sensitivity to CO2 varies with the species, so even normal amounts of CO2 for planted tanks could be harmful for some of them.</div>
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This also relates to pH, as CO2 injection will reduce the pH of water. This can kill the fishes if some precautions are not kept. Monitoring the pH in regular basis to avoid this, and ensuring certain level of carbonate hardness in water to avoid sudden drops of pH is a good way to prevent this happening.</div>
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There is also a chance that has nothing to do with the CO2. If pH is correct and levels are OK, and your species are not sensitive to such levels, then try to check other parameters of the tank (e.g. nitrites, nitrates, ammonium) to see if the problem is linked to them.</div>
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<h3>
11. I have difficulties fixing my carbonate hardness to a certain value. What is the cause of this?</h3>
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In this article, I have explained the carbonate equilibrium and the role of CO2 injection in it. When we inject CO2, we generate certain amount of carbonic acid in the water. This carbonic acid reacts first with carbonates dissolved in water (if any), producing bicarbonate, and after that, it consumes bicarbonate ions, producing CO2. The relative ratio to which this process happens depends on the pH of the water (Fig. 5). </div>
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If the pH of water reaches a value equal or below 8.2, then the consumption of bi-carbonates starts. The so-generated CO2 can leave the aquarium by pure diffusion, or being used by the plants. As a result, under pH 8.2 there is a progressive reduction of carbonate hardness. If no source of carbonates is provided, the process keeps going until the carbonates hardness is equal to zero.<br />
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Note that kH consumption will be slow, in any case. Theoretically speaking, if with the injection you are able to equal the CO2 consumption done by the plants, then there is no loss of kH unless other molecules in water are having an acid/base reaction with bicarbonates. However, it is very difficult to reach such state and kH can vary due to the CO2 injection.</div>
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<div>
Hence, corrective measurements must be taken. There a few strategies to solve the issue:</div>
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<div>
(a) Doing regular kH testing and then adjusting value by adding bicarbonates to water. There are commercial products for that but dry substances like potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) can be used. Important: Do not add them if you do not know how to calculate the amount you need for your aquarium to reach the desired dkH value.</div>
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<div>
(b) Including slightly carbonated rocks in the aquarium. Most of rocks used in aquascaping are varieties of limestome, which contains certain amounts of carbonates. Carbonates have a very low solubility in water, but this one increases when pH is low. Carbonic acid generated by CO2 injection will attack these rocks generating bicarbonates and then, increasing the carbonate hardness. However, the effect of this can be uneven within the time. It is a good idea to check the kH value at regular basis and remove/add pieces of rock as needed. The use of coral sand is strongly discouraged, as it can cause significant and relatively quick increments of pH.</div>
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<div>
(c) If your tap water has the right carbonate hardness, then as simple as making regular water changes to correct it.</div>
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For those people with high carbonate hardness in tap water, the problem can be the opposite, as the regular water changes will make difficult to have a lower carbonate hardness. In these cases, it is possible to use commercial substances to correct it, or preferably, use reverse osmosis water re-mineralized at the right levels. This is more work but more efficient than using other methods in this case.<br />
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<h3>
12. Will oxygenation reduce the toxic effect of CO2 when reaches high concentrations?</h3>
</div>
<div>
The answer is no. As explained in the article, the uptake of oxygen by the aquatic animals is linked to their capability to eliminate CO2 from their bodies. This capability diminishes when CO2 concentrations raise into the water. Increasing oxygen levels does not neutralize or compensate this problem in any way.</div>
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<div>
However, aeration or increasing agitation will have a beneficial effect. Reason is because these methods increase the ventilation rate of water, allowing the excess of CO2 being removed from water more efficiently. The benefit in terms of fish/inverts breathing has nothing to do with the additional oxygen, but to the establishment of a CO2-reduced environment.</div>
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<div>
Oxygenation will be good, in any case, for many reasons, already pointed out in Question 8.<br />
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<h3>
13. Is is true that you need to reach a drop of 1 pH unit to get an increment of 30 ppms of CO2 into water?</h3>
</div>
<div>
This is also a common mistake. By principia, a drop of 1 pH unit corresponds to 30 ppm of CO2 increment, <b>so far your water is in equilibrium</b>, which means that your starting level of CO2 in water is just the one associated to the chemical equlibrium built by adding the equivalent bicarbonates to water than the value of kH you have, and of course, assuming that pH only depends on such chemical product.</div>
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<div>
In simpler words: It is only true if CO2 concentration is only related to kH and no other effects are taking place, like CO2 injection or plants using/producing CO2. However, this is not true in most planted aquariums. To start with, CO2 injection increases the actual values until you stop injecting CO2 in a given day. During nights, large part of such CO2 is removed by degasification processes: The concentration in water is higher than should if atmosphere were the only input of CO2, and then there is a flow of CO2 from water to air. The rate of ventilation is variable and is fully possible that CO2 levels when starting the new day are not the ones in full equilibrium.</div>
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<div>
Additionally to that, plants also breath during night, which also involves CO2 generation when no light is provided. This CO2 input will avoid CO2 levels reaching the chemical equilibrium during the night, so just before lights are on, pH will be lower than should, if only bicarbonates were producing CO2.</div>
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<div>
Because of that, a drop of 1 unit of pH can imply a much larger level of CO2 than expected, or much less, depending on pH and value of kH. Some people tend to state this idea just because using pH meters becomes in an easier way to track CO2 concentrations than trying to test also kH. However, this assumption can be dangerous because only works well if full degasification is reached at nights, which is not possible to achieve.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Only simple and trusting method is to check both parameters (pH and kH) is <a href="http://www.thelivingtank.co.uk/2016/07/article-co2-drop-checker-ultimate-guide.html" target="_blank">using a drop checker</a> or testing water. However, note that errors in the estimation of pH can lead to large errors in the estimation of CO2. Best option is a CO2 probe, but these are not commonly available in the market of aquatics, and they can be rather expensive.</div>
</div>
Manuel Arias Ballesteroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747120440316024389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5869692624896976662.post-19674301787183799832016-08-08T17:52:00.000+01:002016-08-10T09:49:40.492+01:00News - Results on IAPLC 2016 -Rankings & Facts<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YyPYz6zJL-U0KCtgSz8svZQX56sG6nX7S1F3PCuF_V_SPdRIDPpz6aBZKClKD32YFHISjKocyXXDcN5RMZHjp9GToHxf2mOCqQvRiVuqNY-1fvytye7leRCRitjxYzhT9zWCjwrUAGYy/s1600/poster2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YyPYz6zJL-U0KCtgSz8svZQX56sG6nX7S1F3PCuF_V_SPdRIDPpz6aBZKClKD32YFHISjKocyXXDcN5RMZHjp9GToHxf2mOCqQvRiVuqNY-1fvytye7leRCRitjxYzhT9zWCjwrUAGYy/s320/poster2016.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advert for IAPLC 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As many of you already know, the results of the <a href="http://en.iaplc.com/">Internatonal Aquatic Plants Layout Contest </a>(IAPLC) for 2016 have been published today. This is a long-waited moment for many of the participants, and as every year, it is also the moment in which some of the submitted works start to appear in the social media. These works will, undoubtedly, condition the Aquascaping trend for the next year, so it is worth to keep an eye into them.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The full ranking is available through the IAPLC website, but I provide you a direct link to it, <a href="http://en.iaplc.com/results16/pdf/iaplc2016_worldranking.pdf">here</a>.</div>
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In <b>The Living Tank, </b>we have thought to provide some information based on these results, with some facts and side rankings that you can find interesting.<br />
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<br />
<a name='more'></a>But before that and first of all, congratulations to all the ranked participants, and especially to the winners. Achieving a position in the ranking requires lot of work and effort, and the level every year raises, so is not small success being there.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<h2>
The Winners</h2>
<div>
This year we have not many surprises into the list, considering the trajectories of the winners:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>1st Price for Takayuki Fukada</b> (Winner of IAPLC 2015)</div>
<div>
<b>2nd Price for Chao Wang </b>(10th IAPLC 2014)</div>
<div>
<b>3rd Price for Junichi Itakura </b>(8th of IAPLC 2015)</div>
<div>
<b>4th Price for </b><b>Tanaka Katsuki </b>(14th of IAPLC 2015)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Congratulations to all of them from our side, and especially to Mr. Fukada, who wins for second year in a row. We are already dying to see these winner works!</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Ranking for Countries</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The world ranking is already in place, and provided on top, during the introduction of this post. However, we have thought that many people would like to know how well they did respect to their nationals peers in the contest. In order to do so, we have created partial rankings for each country <b>with at least 10 participants</b> ranked into the IAPLC 2016:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<table align="center" style="border: 1 solid black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyOG5ObWliMmtfRzQ" target="_blank">Brazil</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyN3gwUXV3OG1mRXM" target="_blank">Hong Kong</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhySHR1YTNzUU5ncjA" target="_blank">Iran</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyNGtCU05ra3lLYmc" target="_blank">Korea</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyckJIQVhKRTlHaFE" target="_blank">Poland</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyZm5GWnF3V0p4cDA" target="_blank">Singapore</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhya3Z3b1A4MTl3ejA" target="_blank">Turkey</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhybUhwMW52LWxyRk0" target="_blank">China</a><span id="goog_1067200240"></span><span id="goog_1067200241"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyX3RURzNvQ25TRUE" target="_blank">Hungary</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyTmttc3lzZjlDOXM" target="_blank">Italy</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhybmhkRU9DdWI0S2c" target="_blank">Malaysia</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhya0JvNktaaVZNcWc" target="_blank">Portugal</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyZ0RGNEh5dXpkZmM" target="_blank">Spain</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyYUpaOUw1LU12TWs" target="_blank">Ukraine</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyZUlwUkpfNDI4YTg" target="_blank">France</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyaTBGSzZMM2JGWUU" target="_blank">India</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyWEk3Q09PVHdvSE0" target="_blank">Japan</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyRmJOZEZ4MzJwQzA" target="_blank">Mexico</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyZUljb3hMa2JiVU0" target="_blank">Romania</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyOVJkdGc0SnlUakE" target="_blank">Taiwan</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyYzR2LUowWjM3RTg" target="_blank">United States</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyNy1wSTlycktEeEU" target="_blank">Germany</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyM0xOS0EwYV9jWVU" target="_blank">Indonesia</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyNm5IcktrY2NIVWc" target="_blank">Kazakhstan</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhySXctRTBYNlRMZ1U" target="_blank">Morocco</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhySm5KM0RXSVUwX1k" target="_blank">Russia</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhybHN3U0RrekhUSk0" target="_blank">Thailand</a></td><td><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By4W7DCgoOhyUVRBQzhpZ25keWM" target="_blank">Vietnam</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<h2>
Curious Facts</h2>
<div>
And now, as promised, a few comments regarding some points derived from the results, which are quite interesting.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Professionals and famous are not better</h3>
<div>
This is a straight forward conclusion from the ranking. This is more difficult to observe into the world ranking but is more evident in the national rankings. Professional aquascapers are scoring high but not the highest, in general terms, with most of their works out of honor and winning prize categories. This is quite encouraging as tells the community that everyone can achieve good results, so next year, do not be afraid and take part of it!<br />
<br />
Some examples of that are as follows:<br />
<br />
Ngo Truon Thinh: Global 16, Vietnam: 3rd (out of 37).<br />
Fernando Francischelli: Global 32, Brazil: 3rd (out of 46).<br />
Luca Galarraga: Global 50, Brazil: 9th (out of 46).<br />
Michael Leroy: Global 52, France: 4th (out of 26).<br />
Andre Luiz Longarco: Global 66, Brazil: 11th (out of 46).<br />
Dave Chow (Chow Wai Sun): Global 82, Hong Kong: 6th (out of 26).<br />
Bernardo Salas: Global 183, Mexico: 2nd (out of 21).<br />
Russel Higgings: Global 218, USA: 3rd (out of 12).<br />
Adam Paszczela: Global 228, Poland: 6th (out of 37).<br />
Stu Worral: Global 335, UK: 1st (out of 5).<br />
Dmitry Parshin: Global 418, Russia: 4th (out of 18).<br />
Jurijs Jutjajevs: Global 431, Germany: 12th (out of 28) .<br />
Steven Chong: Global 672, USA: 5th (out of 12).<br />
Lean Kee Chan: Global 751, Malaysia: 13th (out of 49).<br />
Milos Nikolic: Global 785, Serbia: 2nd (out of 3).<br />
George Farmer: Global 810, UK: 4th (out of 5).<br />
Balasz Farkas: Global 1645, Hungary: 37th (out of 38).<br />
<br />
<br />
And there are notable absences, like Oliver Knott and Tom Barr, who used not to participate into the IAPLC and then they have not been evaluated by professional judges. Other substantial absences are Frederic Fuss, James Chenng, Olivier Thebaud, Judy Prajitno Putra and Milan Ivanovic.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Geography matters</h3>
</div>
<div>
There are also a few interesting aspects of the results and participation. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Japan is the king of the IAPLC</h4>
<div>
Not surprisingly, Japan is the country with more participants, with a total of 618 ranked participants (30% of total scored works). Considering that this event was mainly promoted by ADA, and the strongest presence of the brand in that country, the numbers are expected. Nonetheless, more is not necessarily better, as Japan has half of the works in the top 100 that should by random probability. China is the second country in number of participants, with 365 in total (18%), almost half than Japan. In terms of the top 100, they have got, however, the number that they should by pure probability.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Surprising low participation of some countries...</h4>
<div>
Like UK (5), USA(12), and Australia (4). Considering the wealth, role into the hobby and population ,is too low.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
...and surprisingly high from others</h4>
Like Spain, with 80 ranked participants, the strongest presence of the whole European continent, and the 5th in terms of participation, below Japan, China, India and Indonesia. The Spaniard participation is being quite significant with some very good promises, like Juan Puchades, who scored 17 in IAPLC 2015 and 27 in this year. Bernart Hosta also reached a good 23rd position, result of perseverant work as seen by his various participation in the contest. NAscapers (Albert Escrihuela) also achieved a very good 54th position, followed closely by Miguel Angel Garcia (56th) and Carlos Guerrero (80th). These results are above the expected number of inclusions in the top 100, and this added to the high participation of this country, Spain seems to be a very promising power in Aquascaping, to be closely followed in the next years.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2>
Conclusion</h2>
</div>
<div>
We think that the championship of this year is very exciting. Pending on seeing the winner works, it clearly seems the level of the participants is increasing within the time, especially considering that brilliant aquascapers have seen their works falling down in the ranking. It is also good to see that new names are coming to the game, thing that brings diversity to the IAPLC and also makes harder the victory to settled aquascapers.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
From <b>The Living Tank</b> we wanted to show the community that IAPLC is a hard contest but is open to everyone. From this site, we encourage you to participate into the IAPLC 2017. We will do it too, time permitting, so hopefully, see you in the ranks of the next year!</div>
</div>
Manuel Arias Ballesteroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747120440316024389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5869692624896976662.post-34606546084080523642016-08-04T12:03:00.002+01:002016-08-05T16:14:07.022+01:00Takashi Amano - A life of passion, a story of love for Nature<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dear readers,</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today is a bit sad day. Today, it is the first anniversary of the death of Takashi Amano, creator of the Nature Aquarium concept, founder of ADA, and more important than that: an artist who many of us, aquascapers, consider the Master and the one who truly captured the spirit of Nature in his creations. The social media is commemorating this day by posting the comments people did on the day that mankind lost this genius. I was really touched by his passing away, and I felt compelled to express it to my friends, family and close people that I have in my social network. I did it with the following words:<br />
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<a name='more'></a></div>
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"<i>Takashi Amano has died on 4th August 2015 due to a pneumonia at the age of 61 years. For most of you this name will mean nothing. For me, he has been a source for inspiration and also aspiration, a person who has got my admiration in the time I was lucky enough to follow his professional career and, in some way, his life. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV582A4rEsRfznQjGSd0bchIbYN8ofZycUtRq8o-Sr3vxfZsbmlIe4EhpzqAuiplFWhaESWzlhdhfumdB_i3Ksamn1ntzmlwXKQ068Sn-EGUB-4tD-mj5IwYTm0B7ZDWUQaykMJFEQeiBZ/s1600/9028d4b412884d2e7f8d1f10af169768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV582A4rEsRfznQjGSd0bchIbYN8ofZycUtRq8o-Sr3vxfZsbmlIe4EhpzqAuiplFWhaESWzlhdhfumdB_i3Ksamn1ntzmlwXKQ068Sn-EGUB-4tD-mj5IwYTm0B7ZDWUQaykMJFEQeiBZ/s400/9028d4b412884d2e7f8d1f10af169768.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Takashi Amano, in his last days.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>As artist, he started his professional life as underwater photographer in fresh water environments all around the world, showing the beauty of the sub-aquatic world of lakes and rivers to everyone. Lover of these environments, he decided to learn how to translate such a beauty into aquariums so a small piece of that beauty could be in any home, office and any other place far beyond the nature. He then studied the japanese arts of the micro-landscapes and of the appreciation of the rocks, which led him to learn how to introduce the harmony in a given aquascape at the same time than keeping a natural shape. </i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>With all these ingredients, he built a whole new philosophy in the world of the aquarism, strong enough to justify the creation of his company, Aqua Design Amano –ADA. Amano found out quite soon that the industry of his time could not provide what he needed to achieve the success in the planted aquarium or aquascaping, so he decided to start his own company with the purpose of developing the required technology as well as make it accessible to aquarist around the world. His success is such a one that, currently, his philosophy in terms of aquariums is the most growing one inside the aquarism. There is no doubt about the fact that Takashi Amano has changed forever what an aquarium means for the human beings, introducing an environmental sensibility as well as a love for the creations of nature that will stay forever, because once you introduce yourself in that philosophy, you never go back.</i></div>
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<i>Amano, a dreamer, a creator, a designer, an artist and an entrepreneur that has changed forever the history in this small space of the global human society. He has been, is, and always will be, a source of inspiration for the aquarist and for everyone able to read in his creations.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Takashi Amano, thanks for all the things that you have given to me and for awakening my mind in the way you have done. Regardless you are right now, your memory will endure forever. But now, please, allow us to feel much lonelier, now that you are not here, orphans of the master who knew what was behind all the doors.</i>"</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
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In this memorial, I would like to add that he has been also one of the main reasons why I decided to start this site: To promote, support and help into spreading the work of Amano, and more important, his philosophy of life. Through knowledge of Nature we can reach its smallest creations.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
More recently, I had the opportunity to acquire and read his biography, published by ADA. It is a strongly recommended reading, despite being fan or not of Nature Aquariums. His life has been one of love. Love for his work, love for his passions, love for Nature. From the very bottom, he raised himself to the highest place just based in pure hard work, persistence, perseverance and also stubbornness. He was in life, and still is in death, a great example of overcoming and constant improvement. Amano-sensei never met limits to his desire of achieving what he had in mind since his childhood. I have come to admire him within the time, and knowing him better through his biography have just led me to love him, and at the same time, to envy him. Because in his way, Takashi Amano achieved a life of fulfillment, of dreams become reality and effort being rewarded. I can only wish having the same feeling the day I have to pass away, too.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Rest in peace, Takashi Amano, my unknown friend, my master, my inspiration. Your body died, but your memory will remain alive forever in all our creations.</div>
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Manuel Arias Ballesteroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747120440316024389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5869692624896976662.post-41989200788755458692016-07-02T16:47:00.002+01:002016-07-02T16:49:57.652+01:00Article - The CO2 Drop Checker - The ultimate guide<div style="text-align: justify;">
Perhaps you have heard before about the CO2 drop checker. Or perhaps not, but it is quite probable that you did not get the full idea of what is telling you and how interpret it.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This article is thought to introduce this useful device to those who want to use CO2 in the aquarium and they do not know how to control its dosage of the tank. It will be also very useful to clarify how to read it, as well as discussing some of the most persistent questions about it.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Note that part of the discussion can become rather technical. I will try to keep it in reasonable levels, though, but I will include some sections that can be very tricky for those who have not been involved in Chemistry education. As a traditional seal of <b>The Living Tank</b>, I have decided to include that, so people can see this is not just "another interpretation" but just the valid interpretation that should be considered.</div>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
What is a CO2 drop checker?</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Well, it is a fair question if you never heard before about it. In planted tanks or aquascapes with CO2 injection, the hobbyist needs a way to control the amount of CO2 that is inside the aquarium. Blindly doing so could have very negative effects, like:<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Suffocating your fishes if you are adding too much CO2.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Getting a too low pH in the water, which can cause harm to the plants, too.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Not reaching the desired levels and favoring the appearance of algae.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Not getting the plants growing well due to a lack of CO2.</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The best option would be to include a CO2 probe in the list of your equipment. However, they are expensive and also require supervision, maintenance, and calibration. That means that its usage is good for labs or for aquarium centers but not much for the hobbyist. Other alternative is to use kH and pH measurements to guess the maximum CO2 levels that can be present in your tank in the moment of the testing. However, test are not fully precise, the kind of tables (I show one later, in the <b>Annex </b>section) used for these analysis are not always well interpreted, and what is more important, one cannot be testing the full day or everyday just to guess if the CO2 levels are right.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKjUANm-6Jp5oSpZbTVC0caqqZ9mr8iLnRzitaa2kM7tT1iuwK78VbmqHwcf9wEq0qv-EQKabn1DuDU05-Dm0rAlYuUCrT6knim4jrvTjh2U1G7pvFUlB1M6LiXJamhmRSeA_p8GMNaFqP/s1600/dropchecker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKjUANm-6Jp5oSpZbTVC0caqqZ9mr8iLnRzitaa2kM7tT1iuwK78VbmqHwcf9wEq0qv-EQKabn1DuDU05-Dm0rAlYuUCrT6knim4jrvTjh2U1G7pvFUlB1M6LiXJamhmRSeA_p8GMNaFqP/s200/dropchecker.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 1: Example of drop checker.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Because of all the above, best option is the drop checker device, focus of this article. The device itself is quite simple: A glass recipient able to keep a small chamber of liquid separated from the tank by a chamber of air. This split of spaces is critical for the drop checker to work well, so it is not casual, There are many variants of these drop checkers but the principia behind all of them is the same.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Most models include suction cups to hold it into the aquarium. Other models are thought to hang over the glass, with the bulb outside of the aquarium for an easier observation, and the other extreme bent over to fall inside the water of the tank.</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The range of price of this simple object of aquarium can be huge, but generally, spending more money does not make them more accurate, and the cost usually involves different quality of glasses and/or more complex designs. In general, I would not advise to spend too much money on them, unless you can afford it and/or prefer more neat designs. The right message here is, nonetheless, that this can be obtained by just a few dollars, and can make a huge difference when managing the aquarium.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All the drop checkers work with an indicator solution. Such solution is just a pH indicator, more specifically known as Bromothymol Blue. The substance is sensitive to pH changes in the solution that induct into it a change of colour. It is the change of colour what helps to track the CO2 levels with the drop checker, so essentially, the device is able to monitor CO2 by changes in the pH of the solution in which the indicator is. This solution is always put into the bulb of the indicator, as in Fig. 1, and will work for long time, so it requires a very low maintenance in terms of money and time.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
What are the principles behind it?</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
The Change of Colour</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
As already pointed out, the indicator is sensible to changes in the pH within the solution in the bulb. <span style="text-align: justify;">Bromothymol Blue is a molecule that varies its optical properties as result of the change of proton (H+) concentrations in the solution. I will explain in further detail this later, but essentially, the molecule changes from deep blue to bright yellow, depending on the state of a radical that forms part of its structure. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">When we see the indicator as green is because there are so many yellow molecules as blue molecules (yellow + blue = green). This circumstance happens exactly at pH = 7.1. When the pH increases over such amount, the portion of blue molecules increases, becoming firstly in a dark green, later in a bluish green, light blue, blue, dark blue, with all molecules in blue form from pH = 7.8 or higher. On the other hand, when pH reduces, there are more yellow molecules than blue, which provides firstly a yellowish green colour to the solution that turns out fully yellow when the pH is 6.0 or below.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7pMvfjDPBjWcFveDEgBV9XiLGsEmGkzZ3mCofW3DjvLfly-LL5qzrNlZEWFqqJsXuwtBQUTzTySisCOhE-ANbbPfxUrsyPhBkRXB2Z1CgsYcNpw3sre2z5NNKbjHGUAHOlmy71fkjhiS/s1600/bromothymol_blue_scale.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7pMvfjDPBjWcFveDEgBV9XiLGsEmGkzZ3mCofW3DjvLfly-LL5qzrNlZEWFqqJsXuwtBQUTzTySisCOhE-ANbbPfxUrsyPhBkRXB2Z1CgsYcNpw3sre2z5NNKbjHGUAHOlmy71fkjhiS/s400/bromothymol_blue_scale.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 2: Colour scale of Bromothymol Blue vs pH.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The colour of a given molecule is related in how light interacts with it. In general terms, there are three ways in which light acts with matter:<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Reflection of the photons</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Absorption of the photons</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Transmittance of photons</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The first one refers to photons of a given "colour" which just are unable to cross through a given substance and are not absorbed, either. This is the light reflected by objects, and what we see. The absorption are those photons that do not cross through the substance and are captured by atoms and molecules on it. These are the colours that we miss in the substance. In other words: the colour we observe is, from the white spectrum of light, those colours that are reflected in major proportion than the ones that are absorbed. The third property is a bit more complex to explain but relates to those photons that are nor absorbed neither reflected. The substance is just permeable to them. In some cases, this has also some effect in how the light is after leaving the object on the other side, but that is not relevant here.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In our case, what we observe is how light is reflected by the Bromothymol Blue molecule. This reflection varies because the disposition of atoms in this component change depending of pH. The process affects only to a small part of the molecule, but enough to produce a deep change of colour.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Bromothymol_blue_protolysis.svg/1134px-Bromothymol_blue_protolysis.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Bromothymol_blue_protolysis.svg/1134px-Bromothymol_blue_protolysis.svg.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 3: Molecular change in Bromothymol Blue when crossing pH 7.1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Figure 3 shows this change. This is not fully obvious but let's simplify this by telling that, at pH above 7.1, this indicator tends to release some protons to the solution, which forces the shape. Below such pH this process tend to be in the opposite way, so getting protons from the solution. Depending on these protons, the shape changes and the optical properties of the molecule also vary, which causes the variation of colour.</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
The Change of pH</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Now, we know why the colour changes, which is due to changes in the pH in the solution of the bulb. But then... what causes the changes of pH in the bulb? Well, this is the big question and the most important one. I will try to explain it in plain words by now.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
The CO2 flux</h4>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As mentioned before, the drop checker does not connect directly the indicator solution with the water of the aquarium. This is for obvious reasons: otherwise the liquid will mix with the water of the aquarium and you would have no indicator to look at. To avoid that, a gap of air is created by design in the drop checker, which avoids this problem. However, there is a second and critical reason for it: the drop checker also avoids the contact of the solution with the atmosphere of the room. This is very important, as prevents the solution to be affected by the CO2 levels in the room, or being more precises, by the relative low levels of CO2 of the room, which would provide us with a wrong reading.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If not in contact with the water, how does the pH change then? It happens thanks to the air gap between the aquarium and the solution, which transfer CO2 between the two mediums. That part of the drop checker is in equilibrium with both solution and water of the tank. By equilibrium I mean that the air there will get different CO2 concentrations, depending on the amount of CO2 dissolved in both indicator solution and aquarium. As the volume of the water in the tank is thousands or even millions of times larger than the volume of the indicator solution, it is possible to assume the CO2 of the air gap will be related to the concentration of the gas in the aquarium. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At this point, it is worth to mention that the CO2 we are injecting into the tank does not stay there, but tends to leave the water because we add more CO2 than present in the air of the room. These difference of concentration, favors the flux of CO2 from the water to the air, by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry%27s_law">Henry's law</a> principle. Such law tell us that any air-water interface will have a flux of a given gas that will go towards the water when the concentration of the gas in the air is larger than the one in the water, and this one has not achieved saturation in the water. It also tells us that the gas will leave the water and go to the air when the concentration in water is saturated and/or higher than the concentration in the air.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This idea also works for the air gap in the drop checker. In this case, the equilibrium is a bit more complex, as there are two interfaces: <i>[aquarium water]-[air gap]-[indicator solution]</i>. Regardless, the mechanism is easy to understand: When we increase the CO2 concentration in the aquarium, a part of it will pass to the air gap, process explained by the mentioned Henry's law. The air gap will increase then its CO2 concentration, until such a point that the levels are higher than the amounts in the indicator solution. At this point, part of the CO2 of the air gap goes to the indicator solution. On the other hand, when the levels of CO2 diminish in the tank, the air gap loses CO2 towards the aquarium, and when the CO2 levels in the air gap are low enough, a flow of CO2 starts from the indicator solution to the air gap.<br />
<br />
The speed in which this process takes place depends on the relative volumes of aquarium and indicator solution, but as they are massively different, the equilibrium is achieved again after a few minutes following any change in the conditions.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
The effects on pH</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So now we know how the CO2 are balanced between aquarium and drop checker. The link to pH is related to the effects of this gas dissolved in water, which happens to be H2CO3, an acid. As any acid, its solution in water release protons (H+), hence, reducing the pH. Note that pH is understood ad the ratio of concentrations of ions hydroxyl (OH-) and protons. The largest the amount of OH- ions, the higher the pH, and the larger the amount of H+ ions, the lower is.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thus, this "injection" of CO2 into the indicator solution causes a reduction of pH, which is proportional to the amount of CO2. This is not fully a relation one-to-one because the formation of bicarbonate iones (HCO3-) when releasing a proton to the water it depends in both CO2 concentration and also the already existing concentration of carbonates (CO3(2-)). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?CO_%7B2%7D%20+%20H_%7B2%7DO%5Crightleftharpoons%20H_%7B2%7DCO_%7B3%7D%5Crightleftharpoons%20H%5E%7B+%7D+HCO_%7B3%7D%5E%7B-%7D%20%5Crightleftharpoons%20H%5E%7B+%7D+CO_%7B3%7D%5E%7B2-%7D" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 1: Carbonates equilibrium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In Equation 1 I show this equilibria in a simplified way. The main driver of it is the concentration of HCO3(-), which links carbonates with carbon dioxide. When pH is very low, CO3(2-) molecules tend to absorb protons to become HCO3(-). This phenomena has two consequences:<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Increasing of pH by reducing the concentration of protons (H(+)).</li>
<li>Preventing the dissolution of CO2 in water, as the carbonic acid molecule (H2CO3) is not much stable in water and tends to dissociate whether to HCO3(-) or to CO2, being the latter case the main one under this situation.</li>
</ul>
<br />
There are some proportions linking the process, but I will not go further into that now. This kind of interaction is rather complex and we could talk for hours in order to fully understand how works. There are, however, two main points to consider with respect the carbonates:<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>CO3(2-) molecules are a basic pH buffer, which means that they compensate part of pH reductions in the solution by absorbing protons and becoming into HCO3-.</li>
<li>By doing so, they also limit the amount of CO2 that can dissolve in the solution, what means that equilibrium in the indicator solution is achieved at higher pH than it would if no carbonates were there.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br />
Because of the above, carbonates in he indicator solution are strongly affecting the readings in the drop checker. Nevertheless, if we assume that the pH changes in the drop checker are only due to the CO2 levels, which is a fair assumption, then the CO2 concentration can be determined as</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?CO_%7B2%7D%28ppm%29%20%3D%203%5Ccdot%20dkH%20%5Ccdot%2010%5E%7B%287-pH%29%7D" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 2: Relationship between carbonate hardness, pH and CO2 concentrations.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
where dkH are the degrees of carbonate hardness. We can play a bit with this equation, mathematical speaking, by transforming the equation to see what is the change of pH associated to a given CO 2 level:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Csmall%20log%28CO_%7B2%7D%29%20%3D%20log%283%29+log%28dkH%29+%287-pH%29*log%2810%29%20%3D%20log%283%29+log%28KH%29+%287-pH%29" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 3: Logarithmic form of Eq. 2.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
And then,<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Csmall%20pH%20%3D%207+log%283%29+log%28dkH%29-log%28CO_%7B2%7D%29" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 4: Obtention of pH ad result of carbonate hardness and carbon dioxide concentrations</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Despite of the numbers, the important point here is that, as you can see, the hardness and the CO2 concentration have opposed signs, with kH increasing the pH and CO2 reducing it. This is the key point of the whole thing, and it has our attention in the rest of this article.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">The Effect of the dKH solution</span></h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Many of you are already aware of this, but there is a heated discussion about whether the drop checker must have a fixed carbonate hardness (kH) in order to show the right results or not. The question is fully valid, as per the above description, kH is critical to determine the change of pH and the colour the indicator solution will show.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
With the modification of the equation that we did, the answer is more clear. Fig. 2 shows that green colour in the drop checker is reached when pH is 6.4-7.0, roughly speaking. If we want to use green colour as reference of "OK" levels of CO2, then we need to apply the mentioned equation to know what carbonate hardness we shall have in the indicator solution in order to achieve the wished CO2 concentrations.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Most hobbyist target CO2 levels of around 30 <i>ppm </i>(<i>mg/l</i>), so we are going to consider such amount. At the same time, we are going to assume that our desired colour corresponds to a pH of 6.6. Doing so, we can start to make some numbers:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Csmall%20%5Cnewline6.6%20%3D%207+log%283%29+log%28dkH%29-log%2830%29%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20log%28dkH%29%20%3D%206.6%20-%207%20-%20log%20%283%29%20+%20log%2830%29%20%3D%200.6%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20%5Ctextbf%7BdkH%7D%20%3D%2010%5E%7B0.6%7D%20%3D%20%5Ctextbf%7B3.98%7D" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So there you go: dkH = 4 is the one you want in the drop checker to ensure the green colour matches with the CO2 levels, as most sites recommend to have.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nonetheless, the good lesson here is that you have now some control over this, and by adjusting the kH values in the indicator solution you can target other CO2 levels.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For instance, some hobbyist not interested in keeping fishes or having them in few numbers would like to boost CO2 to help the plants. Common CO2 values in this sense are 40 <i>ppm</i>. Considering that, what dkH shall you have in the drop checker? The target pH remains unchanged, so the equation is now:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Csmall%20%5Cnewline%20log%28dkH%29%20%3D%206.6%20-%207%20-%20log%20%283%29%20+%20log%2840%29%20%3D%200.725%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20%5Ctextbf%7BdkH%20%7D%3D%2010%5E%7B0.725%7D%20%3D%20%5Ctextbf%7B5.31%7D" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And what if I have not many plants and wanted to track CO2 concentrations up to 20 <i>ppm</i>? No problem:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Csmall%20%5Cnewline%20log%28dkH%29%20%3D%206.6%20-%207%20-%20log%20%283%29%20+%20log%2820%29%20%3D%200.424%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20%5Ctextbf%7BdkH%20%7D%3D%2010%5E%7B0.424%7D%20%3D%20%5Ctextbf%7B2.65%7D" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
These are the exact dkHs that will make full green the indicator solution for a given CO2 concentration.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Note that, however, for many people is difficult to get <i>exact</i> values of kH at home, and that could be interpreted as a source of significant error due to the exponential nature of the formulae.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Let's exemplify this by considering the case of the targeted 40 <i>ppm </i>of CO2. In the computation, the exact kH we need is 5.31. This is difficult to get, so most people would round this to 5 dkH. What is the impact of this small reduction of kH?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Csmall%20%5Ctextbf%7BpH%20%7D%3D%207+log%283%29+log%285%29-log%2840%29%20%3D%20%5Ctextbf%7B6.57%7D" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So the lack of precision is not dramatic, especially considering that green colour is produced at a range of pHs, and 6.57 definitely falls inside.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
However, more problematic is those people who are using the water of the aquarium to fill the drop checker, as that can lead to really wrong lectures, especially considering that discriminating tonalities of green can be difficult. Some people are fan of using low kH values at the tank in order to favor the existence of more CO2 (aq) rather than HCO3-. As CO2 is injected, pH falls, which makes more difficult the formation of HCO3-. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Supposing that kH=2 in the tank (very low) and that the drop checker is filled with the same water, then, the pH of the drop checker (and hence the colour) when CO2 levels are of 30 <i>ppm </i>is:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Csmall%20%5Ctextbf%7BpH%20%7D%3D%207+log%283%29+log%282%29-log%2830%29%20%3D%20%5Ctextbf%7B6.3%20%7D%5Cquad%20%28%5Ctextrm%7Byellowish%20green%7D%29" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Most hobbyst could tend to reduce then the CO2 flux to reduce it a bit, By doing so, we got concentrations below 30 <i>ppm</i>:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Csmall%20%5Cnewline%206.6%20%3D%207+log%283%29+log%282%29-log%28CO_%7B2%7D%29%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20log%28CO_%7B2%7D%29%20%3D%207-6.6+log%283%29+log%282%29%20%3D%201.18%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20%5Cmathbf%7BCO_%7B2%7D%7D%20%3D%2010%5E%7B1.18%7D%20%3D%20%5Ctextbf%7B15%20ppm%7D" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So <b>half the concentration!</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
On the other hand, many hobbyist have high carbonate hardness levels in tap water. This can be quite problematic if you use it in the drop checker. Considering a common kH=12 in tap water:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Csmall%20%5Ctextbf%7BpH%7D%3D%207+log%283%29+log%2812%29-log%2830%29%20%3D%20%5Ctextbf%7B7.1%7D%5Cquad%28%5Ctextrm%7Bbluish%20green%7D%29" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Most hobbyist could tend to increase the CO2 flux in order to get a green colour, but then they will putting CO2 levels over 30 <i>ppm</i>, and if not care with this, fishes can suffocate. In this last example, the CO2 concentration turning green the drop checker is</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Csmall%20%5Cnewline6.6%20%3D%207+log%283%29+log%2812%29-log%28CO_2%29%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20log%28CO_%7B2%7D%29%20%3D%207-6.6+log%283%29+log%2812%29%20%3D%201.96%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20%5Cmathbf%7BCO_%7B2%7D%7D%20%3D%2010%5E%7B1.96%7D%20%3D%20%5Ctextbf%7B91%20ppm%7D" /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So <b>three times</b> the targeted CO2 levels!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
From these results is derived that best option is to use a known carbonate hardness in the drop checker. Otherwise, we risk to have wrong measurements, and in the case of especially hard waters, we can risk killing the fishes by adding too much CO2. The results also tell us that small variations in the colour can imply significant changes in CO2 levels. That means that the drop checker can be a bit difficult to interpret sometimes, and obviously not very good option for those suffering colour blindness or chromatic aberration. </div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
Further considerations</h2>
</div>
<div>
<span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="text-align: justify;">There are some other factors or questions to be answered that I cover now. They are less important than the right understanding of how the drop checker works, but nonetheless they should be considered to ensure a right reading.</span></div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
<br />
<h4>
Alkalinity</h4>
<br />
It is also very relevant to tell that the equation I have used to explain the relationship between pH, kH and CO2 levels only is valid if we assume that all the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkalinity">alkalinity</a> in the indicator solution is due to carbonates.<br />
<br />
Alkalinity can be a tricky concept but the easiest way to understand it is like the capability of a solution to absorb or neutralize protons. This can be due to carbonates, but there are more substances able to impact into it, like phosphates, or even ammonia (NH3 becomes into NH4+ at low pHs). These other molecules are present in aquariums and, in general terms, their contribution to alkalinity is much less than carbonates, but they will deviate the results. This is other of the reasons why is not good idea to use water of the tank for the drop checker.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Temperature</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
Other factor to consider is the temperature. Most of the equilibrium that have been shown here are under <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_conditions_for_temperature_and_pressure">normal conditions</a></i> (1 atm of pressure and 25º C). Pressure can be considered usually like that but temperature can differ depending on many things. Most hobbyist try to preserve their tanks with about 25º C, but this could be not possible at every country, and sometimes other external factors (like radiators in the houses) can have impact. It is a good idea to minimize this effect by putting the drop checker just where the thermometer is located, which at the same time, it should be in the opposite side of the tank where the heater (if any) is located, or from the water outlet if using inline heater or filters with built-in heaters. In general terms, testing conditions should be preferred at such temperature. No significant changes will happen by small variations of it, but large departs can appear if we allow the temperature to increase or go down more than 3º to 5º.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Colour intensity</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
The intensity of colours as shown in Fig. 2 can also vary depending on the concentration of the indicator in the drop checker, which also will depend on the brand. If too diluted, changes in colour can be difficult to see, and the same goes if too concentrated. In general lines, is much better to follow the instructions of the manufacturer when dosing indicator solution.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Default dkH in the indicator solution</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
This is also something to take into account when deciding the kH of the drop checkers, as some manufacturers already include the indicator in a solution with a given kH (usually 4 dkH). In order to avoid errors, best idea is to check it in the user's instructions and if not available, in the website of the brand. In other cases, the manufacturer expressively ask the user to fill it with a dkH solution that you can buy separately or make it yourself. I explain later on how to prepare a solution for a given kH.<br />
<br />
If you do not find the details of the dkH in the indicator solution coming by default, then you have the following options:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Drop an e-mail to the brand and see if you get an answer (unlikely).</li>
<li>Do not use the indicator coming with the drop checker by default, and buy another indicator from a brand that offers the information (probably the easiest way).</li>
<li>Make a test to check this.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h4>
Maintenance</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A frequent question is how often one has to change the indicator solution in the drop checker. Under my experience, indicator solution can last forever, as it just suffer some slow degradation coming from light. That degradation can take months to be noticed, and usually makes the liquid to get a different colour (brown/black). If you observe this in the bulb, then is time to change it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nevertheless, there are more reasons to change it more often, mainly related to the fact that the solution in the bulb will not keep a stable dkH value all the time. The reason is evaporation or gain of water in the drop checker. As it has so small volume of liquid, tiny variations in the amount of water can affect to the carbonate hardness, and then, altering the results. A good rule of the thumb is to renovate the indicator solution <i>every three months</i>.</div>
<br />
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
The Drop Checker User Manual</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
So, at this point, I have explained what the drop checker is and how it works. I have also pointed out how we can use it in our benefit to measure desired levels of CO2, and also indicated some of the issues and errors we can have whit it.<br />
<br />
Now, I have prepared a list of <i>do</i> and <i>don't</i> to help in its use, as well as some tables of reference for easier use than already existing ones, which commonly offer incomplete information.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
What do I need?</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The following list of items is recommended in order to properly use the drop checker:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>A glass drop checker.</li>
<li>Indicator solution for it (usually comes already with it).</li>
<li>Distilled or RO water.</li>
<li>A scrubber to clean chalk and algae.</li>
<li>A soft acidic solution to dissolve persistent dirt.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
How do I prepare it?</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1. Clean well the drop checker. For that purpose, use the distilled or RO water and wash it but not adding any kind of soap or other products, as that could alter the results.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
2. Check in the instructions or website of the manufacturer what is the dkH solution of the indicator solution. Some manufacturers alternatively provide a pre-made 4 dkH solution, which obviously means the indicator has no dkH.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
3. If the indicator solution is pre-mixed and has already some dkH, then fill the drop checker as indicated by manufacturer, but be aware that your readings will be determined by the kH already in the solution (which usually is 4 dkH). In this case, we have not much maneuver to try to track different CO2 concentrations, apart from trying to match the colour associated with it. I provide charts later on that can help into that. Nonetheless, targeting 30 <i>ppm </i>of CO2 is enough for most people.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
4. If is not pre-mixed, then fill the drop checker with prepared water as explained in the instructions at the dkH level you want, and following instructions, add the indicator.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Important note:</b> <i>Never use water form the aquarium or from the tap for this purpose; always fill the drop checker with a pre-made dkH solution, or with your own but using RO/distilled water. In those cases in which indicator is pre-mixed, just follow the manufacturer's instructions.</i></div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
How to install it</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Depending on the design, your drop checker will hung from the glass panel or it will be attached to it using a suction cup. Follow the specific instructions of the manufacturer if you do not know how to place it. However, follow the next tips for the installation:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1. Put the drop checker far away from any heating source in the aquarium, so avoiding the heater, or when corresponding, the outlet if the heating is done inline or in the filter. It also helps not to put it just below the lightning unit nor close to any radiator in the proximity of the aquarium (if any).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
2. Water flow matters. For the drop checker to offer measurements of the CO2 in the tank that are meaningful, a good mix of water must be present. Good water circulation is critical for the planted aquarium, anyway, as many problems with CO2 come from lack of mixing. You can use the drop checker at different locations of the tank to see if the water is well mixed in terms of CO2, but in general terms, it is good to put the drop checker in an area with a good circulation of water so you have a better result of the amounts of CO2 being injected in the tank.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Important note:</b> <i>Never put the drop checker in a dead zone, in terms of water circulation, as then it will not provide readings accordingly with the CO2 you are injecting.</i></div>
<div>
<h3>
</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
How to read it</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1. Allow some time to the drop checker get the right equilibrium. This will be faster or slower depending on the design of the drop checker and other conditions like temperature and volume of the bulb. A safe interval of time is 3 hours before trusting the measurements.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
2. Check always the colour of the drop checker against a white background for a good reading, or use a mix of reference. There are some drop checkers that offer this option by having two or more bulbs. Meanwhile they are better for this purpose, they are also much more expensive.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Important note:</b> <i>If you extract the drop checker from the tank to see better the colour, be aware that the air gap will be filled with air from the room and then the drop checker will start to adjust to the concentration of CO2 in the room. Because of that, it is strongly recommended to do a fast reading and replace the drop checker in the aquarium as soon as possible. It is quite probable the indicator will become blue even after that, and it will take sometime for the reading to be good again (a few hours as said before).</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
3. Contrast the color against a chart of reference to know the CO2 concentrations you have. I have prepared a chart that you can use for this purpose, easier to use that most ones already available on internet (in this article is the one I recommend, see Annex below).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Important note:</b> <i>As explained in this article, results will vary depending on the dkH. Make sure you know the dkH of your drop checker! Otherwise, interpretation of the colours will be misleading.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<h3>
How to maintain it</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1. It is good practise to change the indicator solution in the drop checker at least onece every three months, or at any moment in which the liquid becomes brown or black.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
2. Glassware tend to accumulate carbonates and green algae. For a neat reading and for cosmetic reasons, it is convenient to remove the dirt. A non-metallic scrubber is enough to clean them. Persistent chalk can be removed with a soft acid solution (e.g. lemon juice or wine vinegar). Do not forget to wash up well the glass with water to remove any acid or remaining particles.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Important note: </b><i>When cleaning the glassware, try to use always RO/distilled water for a final wash up, in order to eliminate any substance that could alter alkalinity or pH of the indicator solution.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<h2>
Conclusion</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As you can see now, the drop checker is a very useful device. However, a proper understanding of the principia behind it is necessary in order to avoid errors and understand what is telling us. A good set up of the device is critical to ensure we get the right measurements.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nevertheless, as any colourimetric technique, reading the colour by eye will be always imprecise, so it is unlikely we will get accurate estimations of CO2. Because of that, the drop checker will always just be a guidance to the CO2 levels in the tank, and targeting a exact concentration will be difficult. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
However, plants in nature live with varying CO2 concentration in the water, which means that they also accept a range of values. By minimizing the common errors done during the setup of the drop checker, we can obtain a reasonable guess of the CO2 concentrations in the tank, situation much better than not having any idea or, even worse, having really wrong readings!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Additionally to the information above, I have also produced a pH/kH chart that includes the colour of the drop checker, less confusing than other available on internet. I have also added an explanation about how to produce your own dkH solution. All these details are in the <b>Annex </b>that you can find below.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And that's it! I hope you enjoyed the article and found it useful! Please, feel free to comment and share this article that I think can be very useful for the community. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And of course, if you had any question or query, please, do not hesitate in contact me through the <a href="http://www.thelivingtank.co.uk/p/contact.html">Contact section</a> of the website.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
All the best,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Living Tank</div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">
Annex</span></h2>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This section includes also miscellaneous information useful to work with the drop checker.</div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
The CO2 chart and its interpretation</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As deducted from the article, the right levels of CO2 are depending a set of variables not limited to the colour of the drop checker. In order to help in this, I have created a new chart easier to use and interpret than already existing one, which usually are a bit misleading. The chart is as follows:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDDvreDIBHt7dE3jnv_bmIZbdM_CCqHKNWPIMBivskz5ExQ4GTj-cIM9POQpxc6w-FRZRuFBM5hFzX5wD70zhxLzYSa4FvhWvty3WUHUou4aXKRAwT288oHk2xfHLeprrbOF9APQ5B-VP/s1600/co2_ph_kH_chart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDDvreDIBHt7dE3jnv_bmIZbdM_CCqHKNWPIMBivskz5ExQ4GTj-cIM9POQpxc6w-FRZRuFBM5hFzX5wD70zhxLzYSa4FvhWvty3WUHUou4aXKRAwT288oHk2xfHLeprrbOF9APQ5B-VP/s640/co2_ph_kH_chart.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fig. 4: Chart relating drop checker colour with CO2 levels, depending on kH of the indicator solution</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />
You can get the full size one by clicking on the image. Alternatively, you can download it in PDF format <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By4W7DCgoOhyWkZ4WTdydGFwc1E/view?usp=sharing">here</a>. Please, make sure you refer to The Living Tank whenever/wherever you use or promote this chart.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Why use this chart?</h4>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The main difference respect existing charts is that this one links the colour of the drop checker with the CO2 concentrations for a given kH. General charts are provided to know the CO2 concentrations by measuring kH and pH of water in the tank. However, as explained in this article, doing so can introduce large errors in the estimations. As a result, some hobbyist could be facing problems to regulate CO2 levels as they could be mistaken the values.</div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<h4>
How to read this chart</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The principle of this chart is easy. You only need two things to find out your current CO2 levels:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>The kH or carbonate hardness (in dKH) that the solution of your drop checker has. </li>
<li>The colour of your drop checker.</li>
</ol>
<div>
Known the kH, you get the CO2 concentrations in <i>ppm </i>by crossing that column with the row associated to the colour of the drop checker. As you can see, the same colour has an associated different CO2 concentration depending on the kH value and the range of variation is quite large in all the range of kH values. This is why knowing kH in the indicator solution is so important.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The table is useful in more aspects. For instance, it is possible to play with the kH to force a given colour being associated to a CO2 concentration that we want to have or we want to put as limit. For example, if you want to have a colour as the one obtained at pH 7 and a CO2 concentration of 30 <i>ppm</i>, then the kH in the indicator solution must be 10 dkH. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Other option is to fix a kH and then play with the colour to get the desired CO2 levels. For instance, if you want to target 40 <i>ppm </i>instead of 30 <i>ppm</i>, and you have a fixed kH of 4 dkH in the </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It can also be used to know CO2 levels by directly testing pH and kH of the water of the tank. However, as widely explained in this article, this can lead to errors, as pH in the tank is associated to many other chemicals and not only the CO2 and alkalinity, and the alkalinity can also be affected by other substances not related to carbonates, so I strongly advise against using the table in such a way unless you know what you are doing.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Preparing your own dkH solution</h3>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
A common or frequent question is how to prepare your own dkH solution. Firstly, it is worth to say that there are a few brands selling the already-made solution, usually fixed at 4 dkH, so if you do not feel comfortable in Chemistry or you do not want to risk errors, then buying the product should be your option.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
However, preparing your own solution can be quite convenient for a few reasons:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>It is cheaper than buying it.</li>
<li>Finding the pre-made solution in the market is not always easy or possible.</li>
<li>Perhaps you do not want to get a fixed 4 dkH solution, if your target of CO2 is not 30 <i>ppm</i>.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
In all these cases, having the knowledge to prepare it by yourself is the solution.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Materials</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
To prepare the solution, you will need the following materials and equipment:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Distilled/RO water (better the former, as RO water sometimes has still chlorine).</li>
<li>Potassium carbonate (KHCO3) or sodium carbonate (NaHCO3, baking soda)</li>
<li>Precision scale.</li>
<li>Glass recipient to prepare the solution and store it.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
The basis of it</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The first consideration you will need to do is: what dkH I want to have in my solution? Depending on that, numbers below can vary, reason why I explain here how to calculate how much KHCO3 or NaHCO3 you will need, so you can determine the amount yourself for any dkH you wish to obtain.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As you probably already know, carbonate hardness is measured in dkH. This unit what really represents is the concentration of carbonates and bicarbonates present in a given solution, if we consider that all them are in the form of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). More, specifically, 1 dkH is equal to 17.848 mg/l (<i>ppm</i>) of CaCO3.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Unfortunately, CaCO3 is practically non soluble in water, so it is not good idea to use it to prepare a solution with a given dkH. Somehow, we need to translate this to a soluble form of carbonates, in this case, KHCO3, because, as I will show later, simplifies the poblem, but works equally well for NaHCO3. To do so, we have to employ the molecular weights associated to both chemicals in order to pass from one to the other.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 1:</b> Determine the concentration of CaCO3 you need for your target dkH. This is quite easy, as it is equal to the CaCO3 of 1 dkH multiplied by the desired dkH:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Cchi_%7BCaCO_3%7D%28mg/l%29%3D%2017.848%5Ccdotx%5C%3AdkH" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 5: Determining CaCO3 associated to targeted dkH</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div>
<b>Step 2: </b>Translate the concentration of CaCO3 into mass of KHCO3 or NaHCO3. This is done using the molecular weights associated to each chemical. Moreover, this is as easy as multiplying the previous value by the ratio of molecular weights between KHCO3 and CaCO3:<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Cnewline%20W_%7BKHCO_3%7D%20%28gr/mol%29%20%3D%20100.115%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20W_%7BCaCO_3%7D%20%28gr/mol%29%20%3D%20100.087%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20R%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7BW_%7BKHCO_3%7D%7D%7BW_%7BCaCO_3%7D%7D%20%5Capprox%201" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 6: Computing the ratio between CaCO3 and KHCO3.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, as you can see, the advantage of using KHCO3 is that the ration R is equal to 1, which means that using CaCO3 or KHCO3 makes no difference. It is possible to use other substances, like NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda), but then the ration will not be equal to 1:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Cnewline%20W_%7BNaCO_3%7D%20%28gr/mol%29%3D%2084.007%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20R%3D%5Cfrac%7BW_%7BNaHCO_3%7D%7D%7BW_%7BCaCO_3%7D%7D%3D0.839" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 7: <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Computing the ratio between CaCO3 and NaHCO3.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The way to do the translation is easy: Just multiply the resulting amount of CaCO3 for your targeted dkH by the ratio R above computed, and that for the volume of solution you wish to prepare (in litres) and divided by 1000 to pass from milligrams to grams:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?m_%7B%28K/Na%29HCO_3%7D%20%28gr%29%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B%5Cchi_%7BCaCO_3%7D%28mg%29%5Ccdot%20R%5Ccdot%20V%28l%29%7D%7B1000%7D" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 8: Obtaining the mass in grams of the chemical for the dkH solution.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In the equation, V is the volume in litres of your solution, and R must be selected depending on the chemical you are using to prepare it.</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Step 3:</b> Known the amount of potassium or sodium carbonate you need, then proceed to weight it into the precision scale and dissolve it into the distilled/RO water. Make sure that you use the volume of water you are using now into the Equation 8 above described. It is very important to make sure the chemical is well dissolved so take your time to move the solution until no crystals of potassium o sodium carbonate are present. For this step it is better using a transparent glass or plastic bottle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Step 4:</b> That's it! Yo are ready to fill your drop checker with the obtained solution and add the indicator solution.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>Example: </b> Let´s say you wish to prepare 500 ml solution of 4 dkH. Following the steps indicated above, we have that:</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Cnewline%5Cchi_%7BCaCO_3%7D%20%28mg/l%29%3D17.848%5Ccdot%204%5C%3AdkH%20%3D%2071.392%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20m_%7BKHCO_3%7D%20%28gr%29%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B71.392%5Ccdot%201%5Ccdot%200.5%7D%7B1000%7D%20%3D%200.0357%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20m_%7BNaHCO_3%7D%20%28gr%29%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B71.392%5Ccdot%200.843%5Ccdot%200.5%7D%7B1000%7D%20%3D%200.0301" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>So the amount of KHCO3 we need for 500ml of 4 dkH solution is of 0.0357, and if we want to use NaHCO3 instead, the amount is 0.0301.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
One minute... these amounts in weight are very small!</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Well, yes, you are right. In some cases, even with a precision scale measuring such weights can be tricky. Fortunately, there is a solution for that, which consist in a multiple dissolution process. The idea is to initially prepare a much more concentrated solution that allow us to measure the weight of chemical we need, and then dilute the solution. The only "counterpart" is that it requires more distilled/RO water.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Technically speaking, you can prepare a solution of a known concentration, and then compute how much of such solution you need to dilute in other volume to achieve the desired dkH. For the explanation purposes, I am going to assume you want to prepare 500 ml of a dkH 4 solution, but you cannot weigh anything below a gram.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 1: </b>Determine the weight of KHCO3/NaCO3 you need for your desired dkH and volume of target solution, as explained above.</div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<i>In our case, 500 ml of a 4 dkH solution. Following the example I put above, these amounts are 0.0357 and 0.0301 grams, respectively.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 2:</b> Multiply the obtained weight by a factor large enough to make us possible the measurement in weight (rounded to the gram or to the precision of the scale you use). Remember this factor, as you need it later.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>For example, 500. Doing so, and rounding to the gram, we would need 18 grams of KHCO3 or 15 grams of NaHCO3 in our example.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step 3: </b>Dissolve the chemical into 1 litre of distilled/RO water and determine the dkH in this solution. This is done as follows:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?dkH_%7Bnew%7D%3D%20%5Cfrac%7BdkH_%7Btarget%7D%5Ccdot%20factor%5Ccdot%20V_%7Btarget%7D%28l%29%7D%7BV_%7Bnew%7D%28l%29%7D" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 9: Computing new dkH for the concentrated solution.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>As we have multiplied by 500 the weight of the product, but doubled the volume of the solution, we have now 1 litre of 1000 dkH (4 dkH multiplied by 500 and divided by 2). Make sure the product is well dissolved in the water.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?dkH_%7Bnew%7D%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B4%5Ccdot%20500%5Ccdot%200.5%7D%7B1%7D%20%3D%201000" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Step 4:</b> Determine the volume of the concentrated solution you will need for the new diluted solution. This is done in two steps: a) Find the ratio of dkH between the target dkH and the one in the concentrated solution; b) Multiply the result by the volume of the target solution:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Cnewline%20R%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7BdkH_%7Btarget%7D%7D%7BdkH_%7Bnew%7D%7D%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20V_%7Bextract%7D%20%28ml%29%20%3D%20V_%7Btarget%7D%28ml%29%5Ccdot%20R" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 10: Determining the required volume of concentrated solution.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>In our example, the result would be:</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Cnewline%20R%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B4%7D%7B1000%7D%3D0.004%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20V_%7Bextract%7D%20%3D%20500%5Ccdot%200.004%20%3D%202%5C%3Aml" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>So we will need 2 ml of the 1000 dkH solution.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Step 5: </b>Using a syringe (you can get them in almost every pharmacy) , extract the indicated volume of the concentrated solution, and add it to a volume of distilled/RO water equal to the volume of solution you initially planned to make. Check the result is correct by doing:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?dkH_%7Bdiluted%7D%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7BV_%7Bextract%7D%28ml%29%5Ccdot%20dkH_%7Bnew%7D%7D%7BV_%7Btarget%7D%28ml%29%7D" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eq. 11: Verifying the numbers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>In our case, we take 2 ml of the 1000 dkH solution we obtained in first place, and then dilute that into 500 ml of distilled/RO water to prepare our 500 ml 4dkH solution:</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?dkH_%7Bdiluted%7D%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B2%5Ccdot%201000%7D%7B500%7D%20%3D%204%5C%3AdkH" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>We succeeded!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The advantage of this method is that reduces a lot the potential error of weighting the chemical. For instance, we used in the example 18 grams of KHCO3. What will be the actual dkH in the final solution?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This can be found by calculating the dkH that 18 grams would originate into the initial solution, and then use Equation 11 to know the final dkH. In the process, we need again the ratios of molecular weights between the chemical used and CaCO3. In our example we used KHCO3, so let´s keep it. The result will be then:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Cnewline%20dkH_%7Bnew%7D%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7BW_%7BKHCO_3%7D%28mg%29%7D%7BR%5Ccdot17.848%5Ccdot%20V_%7Bnew%7D%28l%29%7D%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B18000%7D%7B1%5Ccdot17.848%5Ccdot1%7D%20%3D1008.5%5C%3AdkH%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20dkH_%7Btarget%7D%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B2%5Ccdot1008.5%7D%7B500%7D%3D4.03%5C%3AdkH" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, really close to our targe. In fact, even if we mistake 1 gram over the exact amount of chemical, the error would be still aceptable:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://latex.codecogs.com/gif.latex?%5Cnewline%20dkH_%7Bnew%7D%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B19000%7D%7B1%5Ccdot17.848%5Ccdot1%7D%20%3D1064.5%5C%3AdkH%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%5Cnewline%20dkH_%7Btarget%7D%20%3D%20%5Cfrac%7B2%5Ccdot1064.5%7D%7B500%7D%3D4.26%5C%3AdkH" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This method is very good to fix any problem with imprecisions in the measurements of amounts and/or volumes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Manuel Arias Ballesteroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747120440316024389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5869692624896976662.post-54969523428437284272016-06-16T14:13:00.000+01:002016-06-16T14:44:10.206+01:00Aquascape of the Month - June 2016: "Longing" by Takayuki Fukada<div style="text-align: justify;">As part of The Living Tank activities, I plan to introduce some aquascapes to the community in regular basis. The pieces of work are selected because I personally consider them masterpieces for one or more reasons. Besides, I want to provide comments and analysis of them, in order to help the hobbyist into understanding why a given work is outstanding, and what elements play a key role into it. These analysis are kept in the section called <a href="https://thelivingtankv2.blogspot.co.uk/p/aquascape.html">Aquascape Gallery</a> of this blog.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This month I have selected the Grand Prize winner of <a href="http://en.iaplc.com/about/gp_works.html">IAPLC 2015</a>, created by the aquascaper Takayuki Fukada. </div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Mr. Fukada is a regular participant of the IAPLC, and it has presented works in various years, getting always a high rating. This fact becomes it one of the best aquascapers in the world. His mastering in aquascaping is well shown in his work titled "Longing", which appears now as top image in this blog, and is now included into the <a href="https://thelivingtankv2.blogspot.co.uk/p/aquascape.html">Aquascape Gallery</a> of the site, with the corresponding analysis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I hope you enjoy this aquascape as much as I do, a work to imitate in many senses, with lot of learning. For those with further interest, the interview that ADA did to Takayuki Fukada reveals also many of the keys that define a master aquascaper. I have included it in this post for you.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eejAIrSFLz4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eejAIrSFLz4?feature=player_embedded" width="700"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Manuel Arias Ballesteroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747120440316024389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5869692624896976662.post-32034546132974915142016-06-15T12:07:00.000+01:002016-06-16T14:44:49.053+01:00Presentation<div style="text-align: justify;">Dear reader, </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">First of all, thank you very much for investing your time in this site. At the moment, I am working in all the layouts and basic contents, so it will take a while until more useful information and details can be found here.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
The Living Tank has three major goals:<br />
<a name='more'></a></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Preserve the memory and work of the <a href="http://www.adana.co.jp/en/release/detail?id=148" target="_blank">recently and sadly deceased Takashi Amano</a>, creator of Aqua Design Amano, and father of the Natura aquariums.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Spread the "how-to" knowledge required to create a magnificent aquascape. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Present in a scientific and coherent perspective topics of common discussion in the hobby.</li>
</ul><span style="text-align: justify;">The first point will consist on the promotion of events regarding the work of Amano around the world, including aquascapes, videos, articles, etc. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second one will be reflected in a series of posts intended to be a tutorial for people new in this hobby/art as well as for people just interested in improving their current aquascapes. A Reference page will be also maintained with the aim of making easier to get a fast definition or short explanation for the concepts that I use in the guide and in the posts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition to this, I will publish post reviews regarding equipment, plant, fishes, soils and any material that is commonly used in Aquascaping, as well the updates of the guide, so if you are subscribed you will receive notifications when I publish, which will allow you to be up to the date of this site. Hence, I really encourage you to subscribe you to The Living Tank, whereas by e-mail, Blogger/Blogspot or RSS. You will find the corresponding options in the top of the right column of the site.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wanted to express that this is not a monologue. One of the advantages of internet is the possibility of sharing knowledge, questions and opinions. You are always invited to comment in my posts, as well as in the contents of the guide. You can also send me questions that I will regularly answer in posts through the form provided in the Contact section. Feel free to tell me what you think about my work here, correct my mistakes or send me questions/comments at any time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Again, thank you very much for devoting some time to these lines, and hopefully I will get you as follower. My best success in this project I just started will be getting you engaged in this fantastic and beautiful adventure that is the Aquascaping, or if you are already addicted to it, provide you with the tips and clues able to solve your current difficulties or improve your current results.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, I want to show a small bit of the greatness of <a href="https://g.co/kgs/OEE0JM">Takashi Amano</a> in the following video that I find quite inspirational. Rest in peace, master.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border: 1px black; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S08iuGCQpQ0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S08iuGCQpQ0?feature=player_embedded" width="700"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sincerely yours, </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> Manuel Arias, Founder of The Living Tank (c) 2016.</div>Manuel Arias Ballesteroshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17747120440316024389noreply@blogger.com0