I’ll be first to admit it- our tanks look entirely different than many we’ve come to expect in the hobby. And it’s largely based on the very materials which we employ in our aquariums. Periodically, we need to remind the “mainstream” hobby that there IS a reason why... and that it’s pretty cool!

Preserving and building upon existing materials within our aquariums is a fundamental practice we can do to to more realistically emulate Nature. And what kinds of unique results can we expect by playing with this idea?

As we get ready to say our farewells to our venerable office botanical-style brackish water aquarium, it’s fun to reflect on some of the lessons learned, the dynamics of the system, and the potential for future breakthroughs using a more evolved approach.

After several years of being pretty loud about all sorts of topics related to botanical-style aquariums, I still see a fair number of misconceptions and outdated misunderstandings- and even myths- about these systems tossed about in the hobby. Time to “keep it real” and clarify a few of the more common ones!

An aquascape requires a plan, the right pieces, and execution on the part of the aquarist. A botanical-style aquarium requires all of those things- and the passage of time, to fully set the stage and create something special..

The amazing interdependencies between land and water create fascinating aquatic habitats. If we study these unique relationships, we can learn a tremendous amount about how our fishes thrive in them..

I have a weird hang up about aquariums. It caused me to take a perfectly good, potentially interesting aquarium idea recently and just... kill it. Help me solve this issue, okay?

We have a whole lot of opinions, discussions, and ideas in the idea of “Nature” in our aquariums. It’s an interesting- even decisive topic, that everyone seems to have a point of view on. Understanding the function of Nature is every bit as important as ascribing a “label” to our aquariums.

An increasingly accepted part of the aquarium hobby is the fact that botanical materials- and the biofilms which they recruit- are an excellent food source for many aquatic organisms. Now, which ones are best? Which are the most “usable” for our fishes and shrimp? And what benefits do they offer?

Experimenting with the composition and functional aesthetic aspects of substrates in our aquariums is a fascinating endeavor. We’re starting to see interesting, tangible results from the work being done in this area. What kinds of breakthroughs are possible with a different point of view on this stuff?