thE TINT

the art and science of botanical method aquarium keeping.

  • SCORING.

    We’re certainly in what is arguably one of the most engaging, educating, and obsession-inducing hobbies there is! Many of us have devoted a lifetime to this fishy world we love so much. Have you ever considered that a surprisingly large part of the aquarium hobby is the pursuit of stuff. The pursuit of the perfect aquascape…The pursuit…

  • SUBTLETY- OR REAL “STYLE”?

    I have no idea why, but I’m definitely one of those guys who loves grey and brown fishes… Yeah, seriously…  When I consider new fishes for my tanks, I’m not pouring over the selections either online or in person, looking for the brightest, most gaudily-colored fishes around. Nope, I’m obsessing over color patterns and intricacies. Subtle blends…

  • REGURGITATION.

    I’m pulling back a bit today from our usual topic-specifc blog posts, to touch on something that, although I’ve talked about before, deserves to be repeated again… I was at an industry event a while back and had the opportunity to spend some time talking with some pretty experienced aquatics industry people, and we were having some laughs about how…

  • FANATICAL ABOUT FILTRATION?

    When it comes to keeping botanical-method aquariums, I realize that we spend a huge amount of time talking about mindset, mental shifts, preparation, ecology, etc., but scant little time talking about less exciting, more “nuts-and-bolts” stuff, like…filtration. So let’s tackle that today! Now, it’s not the first time that I’ve covered this topic here, but…

  • WHERE THE FISHES ARE.

    As hobbyists, we spend enormous amounts of time, money, and energy attempting to create the ideal “aquascape” for our fishes. And, let’s face it; pretty much no matter how we ‘scape a tank- no matter how much- or how little– thought and effort we put into it, our fishes will ultimately adapt to it. The…

  • TEMPTING LITTLE “NICHES” TO PLAY WITH…

    One of the most nitrating things about our era of aquarium keeping is that we have access to an enormous amount of information about the wild habitats of our fishes. Detailed information that would make previous generations of hobbyists wide-eyed with wonder and jealousy! If you make the effort, you can find scientific research papers…

  • IN PERPETUITY…

    I talk a lot about starting up and managing botanical method aquariums. We’ve had numerous discussions about set up and the accompanying expectations of the early days in the life of the little ecosystems we’ve created. However, what about the long term..The really long term?  Like, just how long can you maintain one of these aquariums?  Do…

  • STUFF ON THE BOTTOM: USING ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS IN THE BOTANICAL METHOD AQUARIUM

    Our love of unique ecological niches in Nature has enabled us to embrace a lot of “alternative” materials within the aquarium in order to recreate their form and function. No where is this more evident than in the substrates that we use in our tanks. Substrates are more than a “set and forget” thing. They’re…

  • SMALL EXECUTION OF A BIG IDEA .

    Maybe you can relate to this idea: Some of my biggest ideas start with the smallest executions. That’s a good philosophy and attitude, IMHO. And more economical, too!  I’ve talked a lot over the years about the idea of using so-called “nano aquariums” as a sort of “testbed” for ideas and concepts. The idea that it’s…

  • A MOMENT IN TIME? OR A PLACE IN THE PROCESS?

    Today I’m sort of taking an “aesthetics first” view when tackling ga subject related to botanical method aquariums…We’re talking about the “look” of tanks and how technique plays into the aesthetics… There’s nothing quite like a brand new aquarium; one filled with promise and potential. In the botanical method aquarium, the aquarium looks quite a…