thE TINT

the art and science of botanical method aquarium keeping.

  • THE REAL “LIVE STREAM”: A SOURCE OF LIFE…

    In order to really appreciate some aquatic environments that we like to replicate in our aquariums, we have to take a “deep dive” into them. And the insights we gain by straying outside of “conventional aquarium hobby literature” are manifold. Let’s explore a habitat where many aquarium fishes come from in Nature. A habitat which…

  • CONFESSIONS OF AN INCOMPEtENT FISH GEEK: THINGS THAT I SUCK AT…

    suck (sək)  verb –  to be bad at a particular subject or action. (source- Online Slang Dictionary) It’s kind of a pretty harsh word, I know…But it’s a pretty descriptive one, indeed… Ok, I’m man enough to admit this… After literally a lifetime in the aquarium world, there are still some things that I’m flat-out afraid to do. Stuff that scares the daylights out…

  • MENTALLY SHIFTED…

    Over the years, I’ve shared a lot of pics of some of my more esoteric, unconventional aquariums on our social media feeds. Stuff that, in years past, would have been seen as downright kooky, like substrates comprised of sediments, decomposing leaves, and clays., biofilm-encrusted roots., and bits of bark. Tinted, often murky water, and lots…

  • YOU: THE “HUNTER-GATHERER”

    You know… You can use leaves and botanicals which you can collect yourself.  I have a lot of people ask me if they can use “such and such” a leaf or seed pod, or whatever they collected nearby -in their aquarium. And quite frankly, for many items, my thinking is that you should give them a try…conditionally.…

  • BECOMING AN “OPERATOR.”

    One of the great joys in creating and working with botanical method aquairums is that we have such a wide variety of natural habitats to take inspiration from. And, as I’ve discussed here over the years, it’s not just types of natural aquatic habitats or specific locales- it’s seasons and cycles that we can emulate in our tanks as well. It’s…

  • LET CURIOSITY BE YOUR “DEFAULT.”

    Ever had something happen with your fishes-good or bad- in which you simply had no clue how to proceed? You know, something unexpected, perhaps totally out of your comfort zone. Definitely not something you planned on? I remember when I was about 14 years old, I had a 20 gallon “community aquarium”, consisting mostly of…

  • UNEXPECTED.

    One of the great joys of the aquarium hobby is that, despite our careful planning, “shit” can happen to our tanks that we didn’t anticipate…And not all of it is bad! We spend a lot of time worrying about every contingency, stressing over how our tanks will operate or why “x” happened, despite our extensive…

  • THE “LIGHT STUFF…”

    We obsess over some crazy stuff in our world of botanical method blackwater/brackish aquariums, don’t we?  We touch on a lot of ideas and techniques on how to accomplish this process in our aquariums. However, one of the least-discussed topics is…lighting. I receive a LOT of questions about lighting…specifically about how you can grow plants in…

  • THE “P” WORD…

    Are you one of those people who loves to have stuff right now? The kind of person who just wants your aquarium “finished”- or do you relish in the journey of establishing and evolving your little microcosm?  I’m not sure exactly what it is, but when it comes to the aquarium hobby…I find myself playing…

  • MY, HOW THE “RULES” HAVE CHANGED…OR, HAVE THEY?

    If there is one thing that I find endearing about the botanical method aquarium, it’s that the practices and procedures which we employ are still very much evolving. There are no “absolute rules” that have been imposed upon those of us who play with leaves and botanicals. We haven’t gotten that stubborn. Well, I guess I should be a…