The Tint

Every aquarium has one- a learning curve- a time to familiarize yourself with its subtle, and not-so-subtle nuances. It’s all part of a wonderful journey that can take you to amazing places..

Oh yeah, we’re dipping back. Into brackish water aquariums again. We as a community have a lot of experience in bringing a formerly mysterious aspect of freshwater aquariums alive. Time to apply this to the long-neglected and misunderstood brackish water world!

Limiting the diversity of the botanical elements in our aquariums isn’t just an homage to aesthetics. It’s an affirmation that Nature makes use of whatever is available to Her in crafting aquatic habitats1 even if it’s just a few things. We need to learn from this!

In this weird installment, Scott drops a little wisdom on wood, spreads hate about Manzanita, people who hate dark water, other vendors, and more! Just another day, huh?

We receive a lot of questions from hobbyists about the benefits of botanicals for shrimp food. We read about various botanical items and leaves being lauded for nutritional benefits they allegedly offer. And we take it all with a grain of salt.

How we start up our botanical-style aquariums is an important influence on the way they will ultimately operate and evolve. And there are a lot of ways to approach this. Like, curing botanicals “in Siri”, and other ideas. They’re worth experimenting- if you understand and appreciate our dependence upon bacteria and other microorganisms.

When things aren’t exactly where you expect they’d be, but you know that you’ve done all that you can to set your system up for success.. that’s when you need to stay calm; to trust Nature.

Nature produces abundant, free food resources for us to feed our fishes. We just need to get over ourselves, right?

What’s the secret to success with blackwater botanical style aquariums? Well, there ISN’T one.. only consistency- just like with any other aquarium. Yup.. let’s lay it out for you...

I didint fee like writing today, so I picked up the mike and just strted meandering on my favorite of botanical topics- leaf litter beds. A few new ideas, observations, and some thoughts which I hope push you to play with leaf litter in your next botanical-style/ blackwater aquarium!

The botanical-style aquarium is based upon simple, yet elegant processes and ideas. And most of these processes are facilitated by the smallest of organisms- bacteria and fungi. Their benefits are legion- for those who embrace them as our smallest “allies!”

The idea of periphyton- biofilms, algae, and other growths- covering over our interring aquascaping Wood is, ai admit, a bit unnerving to some. Yet, by embracing this most natural process, we create opportunities for life to thrive within our aquariums perhaps as never before. Learning to accept the appearance- and function- of periphyton is a cornerstone in the botanical-style aquarium approach.

Yeah, I know, evaporation and top off of water are hardly exotic concepts, but they have significant implication in our aquariums! Today, the briefest of discussions on this rather forgotten topic...

As the hobby revolves, new ideas come into play.. And “experiences” hobbyists love to trash them? Why? What can we learn from some of the basic processes that we preach in our hobby sector?

Oh yeah, I’m talking about the bottom again. Let’s think more about how “non conventional” substrate materials can perform all kinds of amazing things in our tanks. Today, we touch briefly once again on this tantalizing approach to “mixing it up” on the bottom of your aquariums!

In this special extended episode of "The Tint", Scott Fellman and Johnny Ciotti have a great discussion with one of our fave regulars, Tai Strietman. We talk about Tai's experiences with the natural aquatic habitats of Brazil, the threats they face, and how we as aquarists can better understand them and replicate them in our aquariums. A truly thorough episode with something for every botanical-st...

We like to think of aquariums- and natural aquatic habitats- as stable, seldom changing ecosystems. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let’s look at how these processes work in the wild- and in our botanical-style aquariums.

I live annual killifishes. Why? Well, one reason is that they are so intimately tied to their aquatic habitats. And the aquatic habitats are so profoundly influenced by the surrounding terrestrial habitats. Yeah, you know where I’m going. We need to question some things we’ve been doing forever with killies. Maybe we can do them better?

I hate shortcuts, workarounds, and so-called “hacks”- for lots of reasons. On the other hand, there is a certain value in alternative approaches to how we do things for some hobbyists: have I softened a bit? Perhaps...

A botanical style aquarium is not just a display. It’s a diverse, biologically rich ecosystem, filled with life. It’s important to understand the processes which make our systems so unique. Meet the players behind the process!

In this special edition of "The Tint", Scott and Johnny Ciotti talk about some of our fave esoteric topics, like decomposition, biotope aquariums, and tease on a few new products. And of course, we take on several excellent questions from our community! Something for everyone in this typically irreverent and provocative episode!

Mud holes are amazing, ephemeral aquatic habitats. And they’re beautiful, because they get us out of our comfort zones and challenge us to try new stuff in the hobby- unconventional stuff we might never have considered before....

There is a certain mystique about botanical-style aquariums, isn’t there? Like, how do we run a tank full of decomposing leaves and such over the long term with success? It’s simple. It’s starts with the basics. With a focus on quality...water quality.

Change is inevitable in the botanical style aquarium. However, we can set up our tanks with an initial set of materials and or conditions which form a “baseline”, anchoring, yet setting the stage for a constantly evolving aquatic microcosm.

We gain tons of inspiration from Nature. And, the fact of the matter is that Nature often bears little resemblance to what we see- or want to see- in our aquariums. Let’s discuss this!