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

Diana Walstad is a long-time aquarium hobbyist. She trained as a microbiologist and spent many years doing medical research at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill). Her last position was as a cell biologist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Science. Now retired, she is publishing a forthcoming book on her family's history.

I am delighted with the tack taken in which you provide scientific information for hobbyists to make sound aquarium management decisions. I applaud the approach to educate non-scientists about their subjects; too often the scientific laypersons are greatly underestimated. I was particularly pleased with the book's total avoidance of gadgets that are mostly quite useless. The book's ecosystem approach and balance of the system is the only reasonable direction long-term. --Robert G. Wetzel, Biology Professor, and Author of 'Limnology'

Your new book is outstanding in every respect. In my opinion, this is a definitive, practical guide for the aquarist who wants to set up a beautiful planted aquarium. Beyond the basics, it is an in-depth exploration of the aquatic ecosystem and how if affects plants. --Don Dewey, former editor of 'Freshwater and Marine Aquarium'

Based on science but engagingly written... The best part is that, in the practical setup section, the author tells exactly what to do, in simple terms, in lists of instructions that one can read and understand. Hooray! --'Aquaphyte' (University of Florida)