The Tint

Change is inevitable in the botanical style aquarium. However, we can set up our tanks with an initial set of materials and or conditions which form a “baseline”, anchoring, yet setting the stage for a constantly evolving aquatic microcosm.

We gain tons of inspiration from Nature. And, the fact of the matter is that Nature often bears little resemblance to what we see- or want to see- in our aquariums. Let’s discuss this!

We all know by now that the surrounding land influences aquatic habitats...so what can’t we incorporate this knowledge into our aquariums when we’re starting them? We can.

Okay, we offer a ton of different botanicals at Tannin Aquatics. Yet, when you see our tanks, we often only use 2-3 types of botanical items in them- if that! What gives? Allow me to explain!

Leaves are literally the “jumping off point” for our botanical style aquarium obsession. Let’s think for a minute about going big and creating a really deep leaf litter bed in our aquariums. What would happen? What kind of benefits would we derive?

We’ve mentioned the idea of streams as inspirations for our aquarium work for a long time. Yet, when was the last time you went deeper and really explored the way these streams form, function, and recruit life forms?

I’m about to start a bunch of new home aquariums! What better time to revisit the idea of planning and developing my tanks for the long run?

There is that’s point in the life of every botanical-style aquarium where our initial setup and “opening” is complete- and where Nature takes the reigns. It’s that most exciting time... the end- of the beginning...

There are people in this hobby who grab on to an idea so tightly that anything that seems to deviate from what they know and love is blasphemous. They’re “fanboys”- and they fee the need to attack! Well, I’ve got some advice for them..

Lately, I’ve had some amazingly talented and successful hobbyists tell me that they can’t figure out why they’re not enjoying the hobby any more. I think I’ve figured it out; they’re over-specialized! Let’s discuss this...