The Tint

The hobby has seen countless inventions, innovations, and ideas come and to over the years. Some of these inventions, in particular, have stood the test of time. Least look at the greatest ones!!

The botanicals and wood and other materials which we use are more than “decor.” They’re areas for microbial growths to take place, fro fungal growths to colonize. They’re “fuel” for establishing an orderly, productive aquatic microcosm.

The peat swamps of Borneo are amazing, diverse, and unique habitats- perfect for replication in aquariums. Of course, there’s more to it than “dark substrate and tinted water”- so let’s look at some of the characteristics of the habitat! Let’s think beyond the superficial aspects to think about how we could represent this habitat in the aquarium!

We’re starting to see a strong mental shift in the aquarium hobby. A desire to break away from convention; to question “best practices”, to express ourselves differently. To embrace Nature as She is- not in some sanitized, artistically conforming way. We’re working our way out of a “fog”- and it’s looking pretty cool.

The inundation cycle in the flooded forests of the Amazon is marked by an ebb and flow of life. Fishes enter formerly terrestrial habitats to feed, shelter, and spawn. And the trees, grasses, and plants of the forest floor adapt, survive, and thrive during both the inundation period and the dry season which follows. How do they do this, and what implications do their survival techniques have for us as hobbyists? What kinds of cool aquarium experiments can we do to replicate this cycle of life?

In another thought-provoking episode, Scott and Johnny answer some of your questions in their own unique way. We start off tackling the subject of maintenance of botanical-style aquariums. It’s not what you think. No “change 10% weekly and scrape the algae away” kind of talk here! Rather, it’s a deep dive into the way a botanical-style system functions, our philosophy on creating a successful microbiome, and how our interactions over time facilitate Nature’s processes.

And of course, we tackle more of our listeners’ awesome questions, and riff on some of the ideas that make the botanical-style aquarium so unique! A little something for everyone in this straight-up FIRE episode! (NOTE: We had a bit of a delay caused by remote recording, that made it seem like we were talking over each other at times. Sorry about that!)

We spend a lot of time talking about those dynamic, transitional habitats, which transform from terrestrial to aquatic at various times of the year. Let’s look at them from the aquatic perspective!

Every aquarium has one- a learning curve- a time to familiarize yourself with its subtle, and not-so-subtle nuances. It’s all part of a wonderful journey that can take you to amazing places..

Oh yeah, we’re dipping back. Into brackish water aquariums again. We as a community have a lot of experience in bringing a formerly mysterious aspect of freshwater aquariums alive. Time to apply this to the long-neglected and misunderstood brackish water world!

Limiting the diversity of the botanical elements in our aquariums isn’t just an homage to aesthetics. It’s an affirmation that Nature makes use of whatever is available to Her in crafting aquatic habitats1 even if it’s just a few things. We need to learn from this!