Teach me that I may know Wayne. Seriously, that's why I am here.
Other pollutants? How can I test for them?
The 2nd link is apparently dead.
In the 1st link Wayne provided, I read:
"... the fact that virtually every inhabitant in our aquaria is producing variable amounts of novel, uncharacterized, and well-known bioactive secondary metabolites of mostly unknown effects, and may be reactive with a host of other largely unknown organic and inorganic compounds present in our tanks, makes our water a complex soup with no two tanks being alike - or predictable. The take-home message of this myth is that it is practically not possible to say "my water tests fine." All we can do is recognize certain facts, and act accordingly. In my opinion and experience, the most pragmatic solution is dilution and absorption by the use of water changes, protein skimming, and activated carbon. I fully realize the many issues that might stem from this simple advice, especially in light of the materials provided by authors as mentioned above. However, if nothing else, it seems to potentially simplify the many potential chemical interactions that might be occurring."
"novel, uncharacterized, and well-known bioactive secondary metabolites of mostly unknown effects" doesn't sound like conclusive results from objective research, but more speculation. But in times like this I tend to yield to one who is speaking from within their area of expertise. I don't claim to know it all, but I do know that my water isn't yellow at all, and the only fish that I haven't been able to keep and grow in the tank is platies, but for them I think the low temp may have been more to blame than the unexplained, largely unknown metabolites. I promise that I will look into this further, and hell, if it will make you all (as well as my dearly beloved fish and shrimp) happy, I'd be willing to put a new filter cartridhe in WITH carbon !
And about the hillstream loaches being mixed with more aggressive loaches and having trouble feeding, I have realized this and use a turkey baster to target feed them about 3 or 4 times a week, although they did live purely off of the fat of the land for over a month with no ill effects.
I think a combination of several things may make what I am doing possible (at least for the past year):
Densely planted fast growing plants
Evaporation of about 1/2 gallon per day gets topped off
High Carbonate Hardness keeps buffering capacity up
I used to keep evaporation minimal by covering with plexiglass, but evaporation is a good thing as I am continuously adding new tap water with trace elements. The overdriven bulbs produce heat, and my house is dry to start with. Also with a KH of 13.5, the pH is buffered strongly. I will keep a closer eye on the KH level.
There are others that are doing what I am, and I've never heard of crashing occurring, not to say it hasn't. Maybe those people never post their failures... I'll keep you up to date from time to time on how my NWC (no water change) tank is doing. And I am very interested in reading more concrete results of experimentation and analysis.
Everybody does different things, and everybody has different results, and most things work when we put our hearts into it, and only by radical thought are great discoveries and breakthroughs made possible. The earth is flat. Gravity is the occult, man will never fly, etc, etc, etc....
Peace, Love, & Soul,
D