As I See It…
Have you
been listening to the news or reading about the big Christmas Day
disappointments on how some web customers did not get their packages as
promised on time by UPS and/or FedEx? Yes, UPS’ failure to do the impossible,
which is what I call ‘cultural expectations’, of where the web buying power of
the people, met real life’s failed laws of physics. The obvious reason is: You
can’t stuff ten pounds of online shopping in a five-pound bag. It’s easy
to click and buy on Amazon, but to get that product from point A to B is
another story and some people refuse to accept the challenges that these two
companies have.
The
worldwide ubiquity of UPS and FedEx makes people think they are invisible to
overload. Maybe we place too much emphasis on, on time deliveries when millions
of more shoppers in hyperspace (1) are thinking the same thing at the last minute
too.
Is it
that we live in a world of: I will do it the last minute and then expect
instant gratification just because I did it? It wasn’t long ago that people
though that the best-laid plans were between mice and man. A little foresight thinking,
what will happen if I wait too long before implementing my strategies will go a
long way in saving us from headaches in the future. Or do we expect too much
to soon just because we should; not thinking of the ramification of our
actions?
 |
|
My pond being coved in snow during a
Chicago winter, believe it or not the AFS is still active even under these hostile
conditions.
|
Quote:
“The Internet has turned us into slaves of instant
gratification. When we want to listen to a song, we click and stream. When we
want to read the latest book, there’s another click and it’s on our tablet.
However, this is creating an expectation that is challenged by the physicality
of the real world.”
The ‘real
world’…these words remind me of the expectations of hobbyists about ponding and
filtration systems. The Anoxic Filtration System has no easy way of making it
cycle any faster than what it takes naturally to do so. Like UPS that is expected to do a
miracle with hundreds of millions of packages in a short span of time, a newly
implementation Anoxic Filter with an overloaded Koi population is no different.
Instead of letting the AFS ease itself into place, most hobbyists expect it to
take over the nitrification cycle in their overloaded ponds right now, and if
it doesn’t do it right now, then why can’t it? You can’t inoculate it with some freezdryed bacteria or magic
elixir from a bottle like conventional filters can. The only thing that is left
is for the hobbyist to wait it out until the bacteria establishes themselves
inside of each Biocenosis Basket on its own.
The number
one complaint from hobbyist I get is in the duration of bacterial establishment
and when is it going to finish cycling? This instant gratification people seek
with aquatic filters pushes manufactures’ to the precipice of self-destruction.
To satisfy the hobbyists they will do whatever it takes, even
if it’s snake oil, to speedup what Mother
Nature takes weeks or months to do. So we will dump a bottle of
whatever-it-takes into our ponds just so we do not have to endure that dreaded
Nitrogen Cycle all over again each year in springtime.
Like the Japanese
that don’t want their Koi to “finish” before their time in order to set
coloration and adding to the longevity of their Koi. Some believe
that to grow Koi big and fast is the right way of doing things even if it means
sacrificing coloration and/or longevity over size. Here the expectations of
instant gratification are top priority over just being patient and doing what
is right the first time. We all remember the classic Aesop fable: The Tortoise
and the Hare, and in the long run it wasn’t the fastest that won the
competition but the most enduring that showed the best results in the end.
This spring when
the winters cold still hangs on just a little longer and temps us to start thinking
of ponding once again. A completely cycled filter ready to go will justly
reward those that are using the AFS for their patients. However, those that use
a conventional filter will have to wait with that innocuous bottle in hand
looking out the window for that right temperature to once again be reach before
their bacteria can become active once again. For those that think their
bacteria are still active, using municipal water treatment plants as their
examples, forget about all the chemicals those facilities use that hobbyist
haven’t access to. I here this argument on the Internet all the time about how
Nitrobacter bacteria are still active in colder temperatures because this is
the same bacteria used in water treatment plants. Please read my post in my
blog about bacteria and cold weather:
If you’re looking
for instant gratification then stick with a conventional filter and you will
receive that which is justly deserved. If you are the kind of hobbyists that’s
more of a foresight person and have the premonition that an AFS will payoff in
the long run then you too will be rewarded in the end. Winter is a long hard
time for our Koi and Ammonia/ammonium spikes are not a top priority on anyone’s
list in early springtime. That slow to cycle Tortoise AFS will now run circles
around that Hare of a conventional filter when you need it most or should I say
when our Koi need it most. An ounce of prevention is worth a pond of cure at
keeping our animals’ healthy in springtime.
(1)(Yes
I meant hyperspace not cyberspace. Hyperspace: (in
science fiction) a notional space-time continuum in which it is possible to
travel faster than light.)
No comments:
Post a Comment