Re: PH issue

Thanks.
So in general is it recommended to grow plants in hard water (In my case tap
water)
One can always see some water quality in many books/catalog of beautiful
planted tanks with pretty soft water/steady PH and so. And in my experience
I was able to grow some really soft water plants pretty well..... would they
do good in tap water and just good lighting ?

gizmo

"Jim Seidman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> "gizmo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> > Well this is encouraging I must add!
> > But aren't the Amazon fish require soft water (Discuss, etc.)
> > And isn't the PH level of 7.0 is better for some Amazonian plants - as I
was
> > reading...
> > I guess Clause eliminates this problem...
> > 10x
> >
> > gizmo
>
> Fish vary in what's best for them in terms of total dissolved solids
> (TDS). The more pure the water, the faster water will osmose into the
> fish, where their kidneys must then pump it back out. Some fish (e.g.
> platys) expect a high TDS so that this water intake will be slow and
> their kidneys won't work too hard. Other fish expect TDS to be low and
> need this rapid osmosis for good health.
>
> So the question is not one of hardness in the sense of dissolved
> calcium and magnesium, but rather a question of dissolved everything.
>
> In the case of plants, there have been a variety of studies showing
> that most "softwater" plants do better in a nutrient-rich environment.
> The reason we don't see them in those environments normally is that
> they've evolved into slower-growing plants in order to survive in
> nutrient-depleted waters. So, were you to transplant a softwater plant
> into a hardwater stream, it would be quickly overshadowed by hardwater
> plants. By contrast, a hardwater plant transplanted into softwater
> will likely die.
>
> In short, pretty much all aquarium plants will grow better in
> hardwater. Some won't grow in softwater at all. With pruning, you can
> overcome the evolutionary difference that would favor the hardwater
> plants.
>
> - Jim