thE TINT

the art and science of botanical method aquarium keeping.

  • WHEN “PROBLEMS” ARE NOT REALLY PROBLEMS: EMBRACING NEW WAYS OF THINKING IN THE AQUARIUM HOBBY

    I’ve been asked a lot lately to comment my philosophical position on the hobby; a sort of rundown of what makes me tick, and how I arrived at my overriding approach and mindset. I’m flattered that anyone is actually interested in what I have to say, so… If you haven’t noticed, I tend to take…

  • BIG ROOTS. HUGE IMPLICATIONS!

    There is something incredibly compelling about the way terrestrial trees and shrubs interact with the aquatic environment. This is a surprisingly dynamic, highly inter-dependent relationship which has rarely been discussed in aquarium circles. Let’s have that talk! We have talked a lot about roots before…They are structures which are so important in so many ways…

  • ECOLOGY FIRST…

    I’ve been playing with leaves and seed pods and such in aquariums since I was a teenager. I began to develop my own philosophies, approaches, and practices over the years, and felt pretty confident in what I was doing. In 2015, I decided (against my better judgement) to build a business offering botanical materials and…

  • THE CONCEPT OF “CONTINUITY” IN THE BOTANICAL METHOD AQUARIUM

    Not too long ago, I embarked on some “remodels” of some of my aquariums , and it’s been a most interesting experience- as it always is. I’ve taken a slightly different approach to these “makeovers” over time. Specifically, one of the things I’ve done in recent years is to keep the substrate layers from the…

  • Throughout the SEASONS…

    As you likely have figured out by now, I have a certain obsession here with replicating the form and function of Nature, to the greatest extent possible. And of course, the “function” part is often more of a challenge than the “form”, so any processes found in Nature that we can replicate to some extent…

  • TAKING THE “BLAH” OUT OF BARBS… THE FISHES THAT GET NO RESPECT!

    Hey, I’m thinking of getting some cool Barbs for my awesome new blackwater, botanical method aquarium!” SAID NO ONE EVER. Let’s face it, with all of the amazing fishes available to the hobby, some get more favorable treatment than others. Some are simply loved more. Some get all of the “good press”, and others get a…

  • “SELF FEEDING” BOTANICAL METHOD AQUARIUMS: CONCEPT OR JUST A WACKY IDEA?

    Like most of you, I’m a borderline obsessive aquarist… Like, I constantly observe, test, or tweak each and every tank, every day. That being said, I have learned over the years that a well thought-out aquarium doesn’t need endless doting attention on a non-stop basis. In fact, because of a busy travel schedule, and just life in general over…

  • THE “CURSE OF THE KISSING GOURAMI?” OR…A HOBBY LESSON LEARNED?

    We all remember those first aquariums we were exposed to, right? You know, the ones that started this whole crazy hobby adventure for us?  Or perhaps, as in my case…the obsession was already in place, but something happened which made it worse!  I remember an aquarium, way back when I was probably 8-9 years old,…

  • LITTLE TETRA. BIG IDEAS.

    One of the things I enjoy most in the aquarium hobby is studying the ecology of the natural habitats of our fishes. I’ve found over the years that you can find out so much about the fish by understanding a bit about where it comes from.  Some of my favorite “habitat focused” fishes are the…

  • THE “VARZEA VERSION.”

    As you are no doubt aware, I’m obsessed with obscure (well, to the hobby, anyways…) aquatic habitats. And I’ve spent a lot of time observing, researching and studying these habitats and how to replicate them- functionally and aesthetically- in our tanks. Among our absolute favorites are the flooded forests of South America- the igapo and the varzea. These unique…