Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist

I'm not new to plants but I'm pretty new to aquariums, and you don't know what you don't know, so I was really interested in getting this book to find out what I SHOULD know, and what I should be paying attention to. The "Carbon" chapter got too technical for me, 9EDIT: I went back and read it at the end, and after everything else, it made more sense) but most of the rest of the book had a ton of really good info that I really found useful. The actual instructions for setting up a tank come at the very end of the book, so it's reasonable to read that first, then read through the whole book to get an understanding of why. But the whole book does have a ton of relevant information, and it gets through it efficiently and explains it in a practical manner, so I found it very interesting to read even though I don't really know chemistry.

If it's a Natural Aquarium you plan ... then, this book provides useful information. Much of it is technical ... though I've found it very helpful in approach and things to avoid.

One of the best books I've ever read. This book is for the professional aquarist; it is certainly not for the beginner who wants book with more photos and less text. It has a very interesting and well-written chapter about the nitrogen cycle in the aquarium. The chapter includes chemical equations and tips; it includes information I've not read about in many other books. This is a serious book. Few of the subjects are: allelophaty between aquatic plants, plants as water purifiers, the bacteria in the aquarium, carbon (water alkalinity, pH, CO2, bicarbonate use, sediment CO2 uptake) and much more. As a student I found this book to be very professional, scientific, and interesting, I used this book when I had a test, and also when I had to write a work about water purifiers. As I said, it is one of the most rare kinds of books, and I recommend every person whom the hobby for him is not just 40 cm aquarium with plastic plants, to order it. It is a must have book.

I don't write reviews usually because I have better things to do and most products accomplish their purpose simply to par, but after reading this I feel like Diana Walstad should be heading the EPA. This book is irritatingly long yet succinct, annoyingly thorough, with meticulous references for every piece of information presented. If you own a fish or fishes, there should be a law forcing you to read this book. Now if only a book existed for dog owners we would be in business. There is too much to even paraphrase but if you have a pond, a fish tank, a planted tank, or if you fish actively (I hold IGFA all tackle-world records and this book gave me some incredible trout insights), this book is a must. Don't be cheap about its price, I paid $30, had I known what I was getting I would have gladly paid $100+. Anyone who wrote a negative review on this book was in special education classes during their schooling and currently works at the Post Office.

So far this is a good read. I do enjoy the detail the book goes into to justify something I am currently doing a live experiment on, but I do question the actual engineering standpoint of the book. Ms. Walstad has gone to college level chemistry and biology lengths to explain processes that previously were basically explained by 'magic' and from the view of a technical proofing she makes awesome claims then backs them up with tried and true science. While the book from this level is as rock solid (or should I say water tight?) it does leave the average reader with little more than a gentle (ish.. brush up on some of those college books you got in your first 2 years!) tour through reactions between plants, fish, soil, minerals, and bacteria. It is up to you the reader to graduate and use this in applied understanding. TL:DR Read the book to understand what is going on in your tank, and what can go wrong (or right!) in your micro-ecosystem, but do not expect a step by step instruction with pictures and cute pop ups and coloring areas for what to do when setting up and growing it. You're getting graphs and annotated studies there were like 4 color pictures in mine and no coloring areas.

Un libro “diverso” rispetto ai soliti che trattano piante d’acquario, praticamente privo di foto, ma pieno di nozioni tecniche riportate in maniera molto rigorosa e scientifica con tanto di bibliografia di riferimento. Secondo me un utile approfondimento.

If you have or want a planted aquarium and don't want to spend too much money or time on maintaining it, this book outlines how to have a beautiful aquarium using natural principles to keep the tank healthy. I have had aquariums for 5 years, have spent alot of money on high tech gadgets and chemical additives, and spent alot of time cleaning and rebuilding aquariums, only to have these same tanks fail. Some tanks, however, were splendid, and I couldn't figure out why they worked and the others didn't. (In fact, all the trouble put me off having aquariums, and I went from having 6 tanks to only having 2. Now I know what I was doing wrong . Walstad's careful explanation of natural systems is brilliant. Don't be put off by the science, once you see how the systems (substrate, bacteria, plants and chemicals, light, etc.) interact, you will know how to keep your tank, plants and fish healthy with minimum cost and effort. Before you spend a ton of money (or if you want to reduce how much you spend), buy this book. I can't recommend it enough. I've already seen wonderful results and my electric bills have dropped! This book is worth every single cent. Honestly, I wish I had found it years ago.

Well written and easy to read. Good info and ideas

Enfin un livre qui a de la matière sur Amazon ! Technique complet bien expliqué ! On regrettera juste qu'il ne soit Pas traduit en français.

I've kept aquariums for 50 years, freshwater and marine both. Decided to set up my first tank designed primarily as a planted garden with fish as the after thought. After writing a couple of scathing reviews on the Kindle books offered on freshwater shrimp just now, I needed to clense myself and write something positive. I'm nowhere near finishd reading it but so far I'm devouring it and learning a lot of practical info and different slants on the old I've learned. This book is well laid out and will be one of my primary guides as a start a new aspect of my hobby. If you're looking for a coffee table book with lots of pretty pictures this is not your book. If you want to learn how to do planted aquariums right this seems like it is a great place to start the learning process.