I think what he's saying is he trims off the bottom 1/2 of the plants and
replants the tops only. The bottom half of stem plants are almost always in
worse shape compared to the top. The bottom half generally has more algae
and poorer cooler due to lack of light, etc.

As for phosphate, trust Tom. I add phosphate and the plants will just
explode within a day of adding the phosphate.

--
Craig Brye
University of Phoenix Online

"BobWu" wrote in message
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I remove the old bottom portion and plant only the clean healthy tops.


Thanks for the explanation. I think I am convinced and will try adding
more phosphate to the tank.
As for pruning, do you mean that you replant all stem plants every
time you prune? Do you pull out the old stems and the attached roots?
Will it stir up too much stuff from the substrate? How often do you do
it?