The Tint

The aquarium hobby is as much a journey as it is anything else. And journeys involve experiencing the known and the unknown. As experienced hobbyists we know a lot. Sometimes perhaps too much. The beginner, on the other hand, doesn’t. He or she enjoys things differently. Could we benefit from a “mental rewind?”

It’s a new year! Time for our “state of the tint” report to you- our global community! Part blog, part informercial, and entirely “is”- here’s our look ahead for 2020!

Our botanical-style aquariums ask little of us. Well, they ask a few things of us: Understanding. Patience...and faith. Yeah, a certain degree of faith in Nature is mandatory for success..

Don’t you love opinions? Especially about hobby stuff? I do. I mean, if it helps spur discussion, expansion, and elevation of what we do, I love it! In our little sector, this process makes so much sense...

The way we create, operate, and embrace our view of Nature is a bit different than what’s accepted in the aquarium hobby as “beautiful.” How do we do it?

We talk a lot about substrates, I know.. However, it’s time to really go deep and consider the amazing options that exist beyond sand and gravel!

Yeah, it’s perfectly possible to keep an aquarium going for an indefinite period of time, in multiple “iterations.” In fact, you’ve likely done it before. Yet, with the mindset you now have, and in the context of botanical-style aquariums, it’s a whole new game...

There is a real magic to botanical style aquariums as they mature. They’re really best as a long-term proposition. I think we’ve probably not done enough as self appointed “thought leaders” in this space to share this. It stops now. Let’s talk more about botanical-style tanks in the long run!

There is something oddly compelling about densely-packed, highly complex aquatic habitats. Yet, our aquarium aesthetic “sensibilities” eschew them in favor of more “minimalist” aquariums which are perhaps less “authentically functional.” Here’s the case for more complexity!

It seems that many of us in the hobby are sort of hung up on this idea of creating and sharing the “perfect” tank... achieving the “ultimate.” Goals ARE great, but the pressure that we put on ourselves to achieve them can be bad.. here are some tips for this of you who are stuck somewhere out there on the road to “perfection..”

There is a lot to consider when playing with botanicals in our aquariums- like, what happens to them as they break down. A whole community of organisms- from bacteria to fungi- play a hugely important role in the aquatic ecosystem, in both Nature and aquarium. Let’s think about this for a bit- and further “blur the lines” between Nature and our aquariums in the process!

Probably one of the most over used words in aquarium hobby is “natural”- especially when it comes to describing the look and aesthetics of our tanks... let’s look at this a bit more!

Yeah, it’s entirely possible to set up a botanical-style aquarium for the specific purpose of “internal food production...”

Adding tea and blackwater extracts are often seen as “hacks” or “workarounds” to achieve “blackwater” results. Yet, they overlook the fundamental idea of embracing a “process” or “methodology” of aquarium keeping... here are my “ultimate thoughts” on this stuff...

Yes, playing with leaves, seed pods and stuff seems like a very simple aesthetic play for aquariums. Yet, there’s a lot to this.. much can be gleaned from Nature about how these materials imp t the aquatic environment...

What could be more fundamental to our aquariums than wood? And isn’t it important to think about wood as not just an aesthetic component- but as a producer of vital compounds for the health of our fishes- and as an aggregator or supplemental foods, too. A lot to consider!

We receive a ton of those “What are the botanicals you’d use for a tank featuring_________?” So, what better way to kick off the end of the year than with a sharing of my notes on the Sparkling Gourami tank that I have yet to pull off in 2019... hope to do it in 2020... and I hope it gives YOU some inspiration, too!

As we learn more about botanicals in the aquarium, we have to be careful not to make assertions based on secondhand information. We contribute so much as aquarists to the growing body of work in our hobby specialization.

The aquarium hobby gives us much- and asks a lot from us, too. It’s not an instant gratification sort of thing.. it tends to favor patience, deliberate, slow moves.. a “long game”...that being said, there certainly IS some room for short term moves and impulse decisions. It’s all about balance- achieving that perfect blend of impulsiveness and patience.

We add leaves and botanicals to our aquariums, and almost immediately, they start to decompose. They not only impart their bound up chemical compounds into the water- impacting the water chemistry- they form the basis of a complex web of life...a foundational aspect of our botanical-style aquariums...

The aquarium hobby is filled with rules, guidelines, and best practices. All things which we need to consider where we’re trying to take a more “realistic” approach to replicating Nature in our tanks.. but we can’t confuse “requirements” with “problems.” We can do a lot- more than we might realize...

I admit it- I probably discourage more people about getting an aquarium than I encourage. And I think I’m correct about why!

Okay, maybe it’s just ME...however, selecting fishes for my aquariums is more than just “a thing we do”- it’s a process.. a demanding, challenging one that draws on all of my experience- and some of my worst hobby instincts!

Everything we do in the hobby requires effort. Understanding. Perseverance. And a bit of humility. Progressing requires that we occasionally pass through a “gauntlet” of sorts- a mental barrier that , once we penetrate- makes us better aquarists for the journey.

It’s important form time to time, to look at the mental side of aquarium keeping. Our specialized, botanical-style tanks require us to make mental shifts, manage our expectations, and think through “advice” offered up by others...