As we become more and more experienced as a community playing with botanical method aquariums, our techniques and approaches have evolved. And we have gotten much better and more sophisticated about developing best practices and classifications. When it comes to the materials themselves, we have more to choose from than ever before-there are all sorts of different types of materials with different applications for use. I think that if we had to break them down into very specific "usage categories", it would be a bit challenging, but it is sort of doable. In the grand scheme of things, virtually any botanical material which you place in the aquarium will have some impact on the environmental conditions. I break them down...
After years of playing with all sorts of aspects of botanical method aquariums, you start noticing patterns and "trends" in our little speciality world. And, observing your own niche closely makes you a more keen observer of other hobby specialities, too! I've noticed a little "trend", if you will, in some specialized areas of the hobby, such as the cichlid world, for example, which is really interesting. It seems that there has been a sort of "mental shift" from keeping cichlids in more-or-less "utilitarian", almost "sterile" setups for breeding, to aquariums that more accurately reflect the habitats from which these fishes hail from in the wild, and just sort of letting them "do their thing" naturally. I really like this,...