The Tint

Everyone’s fave aquarist- the amazing Jen Williams, stops by for another amazing visit! We talk about the hobby, life, what we’ve been up to- and how Scott got his groove back. And, as usual- Jen drops some awesomeness along the way!! A true “Tint” episode for the ages!

Nature provides us with everything we need to manage our aquariums successfully. Let’s talk about ways to embrace natural processes and mechanisms to create amazing natural “filtration systems” within our aquariums!

“Embracing Nature” sounds like typical aquarium hobby/industry marketing hyperbole, I know. However, truly embracing the function of Nature- NOT just the appearance of Nature- is the key to an incredible hobby experience.

Playing with leaves and botanicals in our aquarium is fundamental. It’s a new era of understanding aquatic ecology and it’s impact on our aquariums. It requires some mental shifts, doesn’t it?

As I return from my self-imposed aquarium industry “exile”, I once again am taken by the decidedly superficial approach to “natural” aquariums that has overtaken the popular hobby consciousness. I’m back, and it’s time to keep fighting “the good fight” to convince you to interpret Nature in our aquariums on a deeper level…

Yeah, as I jump back in to sharing ideas on botanical method aquariums in 2023, it’s good for me to just take one more opportunity to discuss the color of the water in our tanks, and what it means…

The legends in the aquarium hobby have provided us with everything that we need to know to be successful. Their knowledge, passed down over the decades, helped foster and refine the techniques which have evolved into the modern aquarium hobby. Simple truths, shared freely…

What’s my all-time fave botanical for use in aquariums? Some exotic South American seed pod or rare tropical leaf? Nope! It’s oak branches and twigs ( oh, and leaves). Let’s talk about oak, and it’s use and benefits in our aquariums!

Ecologists define detritus as,   "... partially decomposed organic matter from plant and animal tissues, in addition to microorganisms and minerals." Note that nowhere in either definition do you see references to the stuff being "dangerous" or "detrimental" to fishes or aquariums. Now, look, having an excess of just about anything accumulating somewhere in the closed environment of an aquarium has an impact that you'll have to deal with somehow, or at the very least, have an understanding of. I know that uneaten food and fish poop, accumulating in a closed system can be problematic if overall husbandry issues are not attended to. I know that it can decompose, overwhelm the biological filtration capacity of the tank if left unchecked. And that can lead to a smelly, dirty-looking system with diminished water quality. I know that. You know that. In fact, pretty much everyone in the hobby knows that. Yet, as a hobby, we've really sort of heaped detritus into this "catch-all" descriptor which has an overall "bad" connotation to it. Like, anything which is allowed to break down in the tank and accumulate is bad. Anything that looks like "dirt" is...well, "dirty", dangerous, and should be treated accordingly. Now, "dirty-looking" and "dangerous" are two very different things, right? Do natural habitats look "dangerous" to the life forms which reside in them?

There is something truly remarkable about natural processes playing out in our own aquariums, as they have done for eons in the wild. Understanding, accepting, and celebrating "The Bloom"  (that explosion of fungal growths, biofilms, and the process of decomposition) is all part of that "mental shift" towards accepting and appreciating a more truly natural-looking, natural-functioning aquarium. The "price of admission", if you will- along with the tinted water, decomposing leaves, etc., the metaphorical "dues" you pay, which ultimately go hand-in-hand with the envious "ohhs and ahhs" of other hobbyists who admire your completed aquarium when they see it for the first time. It's like a quiet little "storm" of life.