[unirdna]

Well, I obsessed and obsessed....

....and went and bought Nature Aquarium World - Book 1, 2, and 3.

Here's what I found:

Book one: Descriptions of tank nutrients: most state "less than 10 mg/L NO3. Not 1 mg/L, like all the AGA booklets state. Book 1 was first published in 1992 - possibly before that in Japanese, before ADA started to rock and roll. The substrates and fertilizers mentioned are NOT ADA products.

By the time book two comes out, Amano is no longer giving NO3 informtion in PPM. He is simply stating how much of his products he uses each week/day.

My speculative conclusions. Amano started off with a passion for the hobby only. He later saw dollar (yen) signs. Books 2 and 3, while being awesome inspiration material, are also glorified ADA catalogs. They give little hard data, only details of ADA products.

I'm basing my dosing on the tank parameters mentioned in book 1, before business got in the way; before it became necessary to keep secrets.

Less than 10 mg/L is very very very different from less than 1 mg/L!

If the "less than 1 mg/L" information was the result of a translation error, it should be corrected. If not, it should be explained or decloaked. If fertilizer methods changed over time, it should be given reasons. If I owned the company, I would be eager to explain myself, and make sure it did not appear that I deliberately misguided.

There is a obvious disparity that requires explanation. Until I get it, I will limit my Amano information gathering to aquascaping ONLY.

Those are personal conclusions. I offer no apologies. If you don't like mine, research the topic for yourself. I eagerly invite alternative explanations (based on your own research!).