The Tint

In this weird installment, Scott drops a little wisdom on wood, spreads hate about Manzanita, people who hate dark water, other vendors, and more! Just another day, huh?

We receive a lot of questions from hobbyists about the benefits of botanicals for shrimp food. We read about various botanical items and leaves being lauded for nutritional benefits they allegedly offer. And we take it all with a grain of salt.

How we start up our botanical-style aquariums is an important influence on the way they will ultimately operate and evolve. And there are a lot of ways to approach this. Like, curing botanicals “in Siri”, and other ideas. They’re worth experimenting- if you understand and appreciate our dependence upon bacteria and other microorganisms.

When things aren’t exactly where you expect they’d be, but you know that you’ve done all that you can to set your system up for success.. that’s when you need to stay calm; to trust Nature.

Nature produces abundant, free food resources for us to feed our fishes. We just need to get over ourselves, right?

What’s the secret to success with blackwater botanical style aquariums? Well, there ISN’T one.. only consistency- just like with any other aquarium. Yup.. let’s lay it out for you...

I didint fee like writing today, so I picked up the mike and just strted meandering on my favorite of botanical topics- leaf litter beds. A few new ideas, observations, and some thoughts which I hope push you to play with leaf litter in your next botanical-style/ blackwater aquarium!

The botanical-style aquarium is based upon simple, yet elegant processes and ideas. And most of these processes are facilitated by the smallest of organisms- bacteria and fungi. Their benefits are legion- for those who embrace them as our smallest “allies!”

The idea of periphyton- biofilms, algae, and other growths- covering over our interring aquascaping Wood is, ai admit, a bit unnerving to some. Yet, by embracing this most natural process, we create opportunities for life to thrive within our aquariums perhaps as never before. Learning to accept the appearance- and function- of periphyton is a cornerstone in the botanical-style aquarium approach.

Yeah, I know, evaporation and top off of water are hardly exotic concepts, but they have significant implication in our aquariums! Today, the briefest of discussions on this rather forgotten topic...