The Tint

It comes up a lot: Freshwater hobbyists want to start a reef aquarium, amd they’re immediately intimidated for some reason. And the reefkeeping world, which I’ve been a part of for decades- has done little to kill this myth. Guess it’s time for me to speak up on it!

How much botanical materials should you add to your aquarium- and how many different types? What happens to them in your tank? We’ve covered some of this stuff before, but let’s talk about how much is enough, too much, or just right? Let’s talk about restraint.

Meet the “Monkey Pot”- one of our fave botanicals- one which you should play with in your aquariums!!

(Another installment of an occasional series about, well- reef aquariums!) so many of you have told me you want to hear me talk a bit more about reef tanks, and my years of experience playing with them. I thought it might be a nice thing to talk about now and then, especially because I’m a few months away from building my first reef tank in like 6 years! Today, let’s hit you with a little reality on choosing your aquarium…

Yes, I’m talking about adding stuff to your substrate again! Why? Because a substrate composed of stuff besides just “sand” creates a fascinating addition to the ecology of your aquarium!

How long can you keep a botanical-style aquarium running? A LONG time. Like, indefinitely. How? Let’s talk about it!

There are tons of fishes that we never keep in aquariums. Largely, this is because we don’t find them in stores. Many get huge, yet have fascinating habits and behaviors that make them ideal for botanical-style tanks. If only there were smaller versions of them! There ARE! We just have to keep an eye out for them!

Patience is the most underrated- and least-discussed aspects of aquarium keeping. Accepting the fact that our aquariums take time to evolve is so very fundamental to what we do. Let’s celebrate patience.

The idea of aquariums as a microcosm is not new. However, the idea of managing them as little ecological systems has not always played out in our tanks. I think we spend too much time trying to siphon out the stuff we feel is detrimental to our tanks. The irony might be that our overzealous “maintenance” might be the detrimental factor! So often, what we deem as “trash” ( ie, detritus) might actually be “treasure” to our aquarium’s ecology!

Not a week goes by where I don’t hear from some hobbyist who lament the fact that fewer and fewer new people are entering the hobby. I think I have some opinions on why this is… and how we can all help fix it!