Karel Rataj: Photos and Interview by Roman Rak in 2009
(English)
Highlights:
What in the coming years, you expect trends in plant tanks?
"I can well imagine mosses, ferns, Anubias, microsória and other plants that grow on lava and other rocks or roots, and from which, like the Lego will be able to create landscapes. In the case of maintenance tank is simply removed and subsequently returns."
What fluorescent (or other light source) alone you are using in their plant tanks?"
"In normal aquaria, we use warm white fluorescent (about 3000 K), if you want to accentuate blue colored fish we will add a light around 6500 K."
"There are special lamps intended for the cultivation of ornamental plants, are these better than the commercially available fluorescent lamps for use in the home or office space?"
"Not in my experience. I think it's largely just a promotional thing."
"I noticed that the tanks using lighting fixtures unusual and funny design with T5 fluorescent lamps. What kind of solution is this?"
It is a product tchajvanské company. In essence it is a polycarbonate tube with an outer diameter of 4 cm, on whose ends are standardized socket IP67 with mounting height ( "luminance") 7 cm. Inside the tube is polished aluminum reflector and a standard T5 fluorescent lamps. The tubes are supplied in pairs with a common electronic control unit REALUX and a separate switch for each tube. The switches are located on the electronic unit.
"Do you think that eventually the device for dispensing CO2 becomes a kind of "mandatory" or a normal part of the hardware aquarium plants, like today, for example. Artificial lighting or heating?"
"Our company began to promote CO2 in the Czech Republic. When I was at the big meeting that our company organized in 1999, he spoke of CO2 many consider me as a charlatan. These opinions have changed but when we are on nationwide exhibitions in Rychnově, Ostrava and Hradec founded beautiful exhibition tanks and people also had the chance to see what CO2 plants "can". Similarly today at our shop, where CO2 is compulsory equipment of each tank. People CO2 initially looked askance and considered him a gimmick. But when the month has passed, and two more tanks and not only survived, but have been and are increasingly more beautiful, they understand that CO2 is really something. Today I can say that revenues for CO2 devices and accessories make up the largest share of sales of our shop. But as I said. It's all about the fact that people have seen with their own eyes."
"The world is quite widespread view that adding fertilizer NPK macro- and microelements into the tank causes the proliferation of different types of algae. The formation of algae is 90% due to an imbalanced ratio between light tanks and the CO2 content in the water. Do you agree with this statement?"
"With a certain degree of simplification, yes."
"And the effect of phosphorus and nitrogen to the formation of algae?"
"In all the manuals and books claiming that nitrogen and phosphorus have a decisive influence on the formation of algae. With that personally disagree. Aquarianists then trying to reduce the phosphorus and nitrogen content in the water to a minimum. This is harmful to your plants because they need to grow as a basic building material. Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential elements for successful plant growth and therefore must be in the water in adequate quantities for the plants."
Some aquascapers like Tom Barr dosed fertilizers in their aquariums with a method called. Estimative index, the weekly adds up to a lot of water column NO3, K, PO4 and microelements with weekly 50% water change. Have you met with this method? What do you think of adding to macro-plant aquaria?"
"Macro-, under certain circumstances you need to deliver, but they have to be able to "do"."
"What does that mean specifically?"
"As an example, consider a densely overgrown pond with a small or minimal amount of fish. Plants "nutri" all macro- and they are not delivered in a biological cycle as a normal tank. It is therefore necessary to add nitrogen compounds."
"What are slowly growing plants use the most? Establish a tank of slow-growing plants is not easy. How do you solve a problem from the beginning, algae? You from the beginning of the fast-growing plants, which then need to remove? "
"The slowly growing plants generally include a variety of Anubias, echinodorus, cryptocoryne, ferns and mosses. Rapidly growing plants should be kept in the tank, at least one clump, from the very beginning."
"Hmm, one bunch, but how big? It would take a little closer, so that we can somehow measure."
"Let's put it this way: 1/4 surface of the tank should be overgrown very fast growing plants. These are my personal experience."
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