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

by Diana Walstad

Reference book for setting up successful planted aquaria for fish. Hobbyists learn how to keep low-maintenance, inexpensive tanks. Aquarium plants thrive using natural processes like decomposition of fishfood and soil organic matter rather than high-tech gadgets like artificial CO2 injection and constant fertilizer dosing. In natural tanks, vigorous plant growth can purify the water and protect fish better than filters. Book provides simple, easy-to-understand explanations for complex, scientific concepts and includes helpful Q&A boxes scattered throughout the text. Book contains hundreds of citations to primary scientific papers from the aquatic botany, limnology, and chemistry literature making it the ultimate reference book for planted freshwater aquaria.

377 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 26, 2023

Reviews

[J Carney · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you get past the basics of aquaria and want to know why certain animals or plants don’t thrive in your tank/water, or you want to do a more advanced aquascape, you hit a point where you get mired in forums filled with complex and contradictory advice, and confusion and mistakes ensue. This is the missing textbook of the aquarium you need to take the next steps. So well-documented and supported with both studies and her own experimental evidence throughout. I love how she demonstrates the complexity of our little aquatic environments. It’s always an experiment and a learning experience. There are so many variables that every tank is different - this is why understanding some principles that help drive these ecologies is important.

I definitely don’t have the chemistry or biology background to understand all of this book but what I did grasp was so useful and explanatory, and I think this will be a book I’ll refer back to my whole life. Also can’t wait to set up my own Walstad tank, as I’ve found in recent years that planted tanks are infinitely healthier, and way more beautiful and stable than unplanted, so very excited to take the planted tank further.

[Copépodo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A manual for those who are interested in the nerdy stuff related to keeping a low-tech balanced aquarium. I would not recommend it to someone without a scientific background or really eager to learn aquatic microbiology and plant physiology. This book has blown my mind! I thought I was decently educated on the biological processes going on in an aquarium, but after reading this work I have learned many relevant facts that often contradicted my previous assumptions. Extensive and updated bibliography provided in every chapter, plus many experiments run by the author.

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional. Be advised this is essentially a graduate-level thesis. I encourage anyone to read this book that wants to take a deep dive and learn about the science behind their aquariums.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful book to get into the science of a tank

wonderful book to get into the science of a tank and really have an idea of what’s going on. Highly recommend! Read it once afterwards use it as a reference

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you're getting into aquarium stuff, it's ridiculously hard to find good info, or info that tells you exactly why you're doing what you're doing. This book clears all of that up. It's not just a wall of scientific text, it has a ton of practical context. But if you want to get right to the bottom of the practical information, it has all the raw scientific data, too. And it's a very compact book, it really moves through a LOT of information as efficiently and as clearly as possibly.