The Tint

And so it begins...

I'm well into that groove of starting a few new aquariums in my home, and it's fun to see them starting to evolve and come alive.

A lot of hobbyists will tell you that he most exciting time with any aquarium is that very beginning, when you're just getting your tank off to a good start.

Once you're through those initial 24 hours after you set it up- you know- that time when the focus is on making sure that everything is up and running fine, things get pretty interesting!  This is  also an "educational" time for you as a hobbyist, when you can sort of familiarize yourself with the way your aquarium operates.

It's a time when you learn to "read" your new tank...to recognize every sound the tank makes...to know what is a "normal" sound versus one that you don't want to hear. It's a time to make sure that the operating level of the water is optimal. A time to "dial in" your heater, pumps, etc.

You know, making sure everything is running correctly- that tank isn't leaking...A time to make sure that the plumbing connections are tight, light and heater settings are correct, etc. 

But that's just the "mechanics" of your aquarium. The equipment stuff...

Getting those things buttoned up is important...And then the fun really begins. You know, making the tank come alive. Bringing it from a clean, dry,"static display" to a living, breathing microcosm, filled with life.

This, to me is the most exciting part!

And how do we as hobbyists usually start our aquariums?

I mean, for many hobbyists, we've been more or less indoctrinated to clean the sand, age water, add wood, arrange plants, and add fishes. And that works, of course. It's the basic "formula" we've used for over a century.

Yet, I'm surprised how we as a hobby have managed to turn what to me is one of the most inspiring, fascinating, and important parts of our aquarium hobby journey into what is more-or-less a "checklist" to be run through- an "obstacle", really- to our ultimate enjoyment of our aquarium.

When you think about it, setting the stage for life in our aquariums is the SINGLE most important thing that we do. If we utilize a different mind set, and deploy a lot more patience for the process, we start to look at it a bit differently.

I mean, sure, you want to rinse sand as clean as possible. You want make sure that you have a piece of wood that's been soaked for a while, and..

Wait...DO you?

I mean, sure, if you don't rinse your sand carefully, you'll get some cloudy water for days or possibly weeks...no argument there.

And if you don't clean your driftwood carefully, you're liable to have some soil or other "dirt" get into your system, and more tannins being released, which leads to...well, what does it lead to?

Honestly, have you ever heard of someone's fish dying off in their tank because they didn't thoroughly rinse the sand, or because they maybe didn't completely soak that piece of driftwood for 4 weeks before adding it to their tank? Personally, with maybe one or two exceptions (a piece of chemically contaminated wood, and someone using sand with -wait for it- traces of motor oil in it!), I haven't heard of issues.

Once again, I postulate that some of the "best practices" we've been indoctrinated to follow for generations in the aquarium hobby have more to do with the aesthetics- how things look- than any danger that they pose to our fishes.

I mean, we should know by now that an aquarium is not a "sterile" habitat.

The natural aquatic habits, although comprised of many millions times the volumes of water that we have in our tanks- are typically not "pristine", either- right? I mean, soils from terrestrial geologic activity carry with them decomposing matter, leaves, etc, all of which impact the chemistry, oxygen-carrying capacity, biological activity, and of course, the visual appearance of the water.

And that's kind of what our whole botanical-method aquarium adventure is all about- utilizing the "imperfect"nature of the materials at our disposal, and fostering and appreciating the natural interactions which take place in aquatic habitats.

Understanding that descriptors such as "crystal clear" and "pristine" only apply to some aquatic habitats, and that there is real beauty in all types of aquatic habitats. And remember, aesthetic descriptors are just that- aesthetic descriptors. You can have a habitat which looks anything but "pristine", yet is remarkably "pure" from a chemistry standpoint. Brown water can have a really high conductivity. "Crystal-clear" water can have high levels of ammonia or building nitrate/phosphate.

Indeed, the real "magic", in many instances, occurs in the more murky, turbid, not-so-crystal-clear waters of the world. That's where biological processes play out over time. And if we understand and accept this, we're likely to start our aquariums with a bit less concern over absolute "sterile perfection."

We should embrace the mindset that every leaf, every piece of wood, every bit of substrate in our aquariums is actually a sort of "catalyst" for sparking biodiversity and ecology, and yes- a new view of aesthetics

Nature is a lot less "programmed" than we are, particularly when it cones to how terrestrial materials end up in aquatic habitats. Yet, almost everything we do in the aquarium hobby has a natural analog. Seriously.

It goes something like this:

A tree falls in the (dry) forest.

Wind and gravity determine it's initial resting place (you play around with positioning your wood pieces until you get 'em where you want, and in a position that holds!). Next, other materials, such as leaves and perhaps a few rocks become entrapped around the fallen tree or its branches (we set a few "anchor" pieces of hardscaping material into the tank).

 

Then, the rain come; streams overflow, and the once-dry forest floor becomes inundated (we fill the aquarium with water).

It starts to evolve. To come alive in a new way.

The action of water and rain help set the final position of the tree/branches, and wash more materials into the area influenced by the tree (we place more pieces of botanicals, leaves, etc. into place). The area settles a bit, with occasional influxes of new water from the initial rainfall (we make water chemistry tweaks as needed).

Fungi, bacteria, and insects begin to act upon the wood and botanicals which have collected in the water (kind of like what happens in our tanks, huh? Biofilms are beautiful...).

Gradually, the first fishes begin to "follow the food" and populate the area (we add our first fish selections based on our stocking plan...).

The aquatic habitat is enriched by the decomposition of leaves, wood, and botanical materials, creating new food supplies, spawning locales, and biological stability.

It continues from there. Get the picture? Sure, I could go on and on drawing parallels to every little nuance of tank evolution, but I think you know where I'm going with this stuff...

Yet, when we think about our aquariums this way, the parallels are striking, aren't they? And yet, in the "mainstream" aquarium world, there is a disconnect. After we add various natural materials to the tank, the urge is to scrub and polish and clean everything...removing what is the very essence of the materials.  We want things super pristine, without a trace of algae or a patina of biocover. When we do this, we're essentially thwarting all of the natural processes, like fungal colonization, formation of biofilms, and decomposition of the materials...why?

Is it because these processes are inherently "unhealthy" for aquariums...or is it simply because they don't look the way our hobby-culture aesthetic sensibilities tell us they should?  I think that it is. This is a big deal, and a real problem. I personally think it's a big reason why some hobbyists have NOT been successful in their more advanced endeavors, like spawning and rearing delicate fishes, etc. I think we've been too busy editing out Nature- and Her processes- because we're told that they don't look "aesthetically pleasing"- and therefore, are somehow detrimental.

It's the opposite, IMHO.

Decomposition, for example, is something that we embrace in the botanical-method aquarium world. It's an amazing process by which Nature processes materials for use by the greater ecosystem. In Nature, it's the first part of the recycling of nutrients that were used by the plant from which the botanical material came from. When a botanical decays, it is broken down and converted into more simple organic forms, which become food for all kinds of organisms at the base of the ecosystem.

This is a dynamic, fascinating process- part of why we find the idea of a natural, botanical-method system so compelling. A tremendous ecology arises around these materials, with little to no intervention required on our part. In fact, it's better to do NOTHING than to start messing with these processes!

Many of the organisms- from microbes to micro crustaceans to fungi- are almost never seen except by the most observant and keen-eyed hobbyist...but they're there- doing what they've done for eons in Nature. They work slowly and methodically over weeks and months, converting the botanical material into forms that are more readily assimilated by themselves and other aquatic organisms.

In the aquarium hobby, allowing materials to decompose has been a "no-no" for generations! We've been urged to siphon out plant material, uneaten food, etc as soon as we see it- lest it somehow cause our water quality to deteriorate rapidly.

Now, look, on the surface, it makes sense. Sure, you don't want large quantities of uneaten fish food, fish waste, and even some fallen leaves from aquatic plants to accumulate. You want to foster good feeding habits ("No more than the fishes can eat in five minutes"- a completely idiotic feeding approach IMHO). You don't want to overstock your tank to the point where massive amounts of fish was are accumulating at levels beyond the capacity of the aquariums biotia to assimilate them. I get that. An aquarium is a closed system, and has a finite capacity.

However, when you allow the organisms which process some of these things- like fungal growths, bacterial biofilms, and small crustaceans- to proliferate in your aquarium, it has the ability to process and assimilate organics which occur as a result. And, as we've mentioned numerous times, these organisms also serve as supplemental food for your fishes. It's the establishment a of a closed-system ecology...If we let it happen, and don't remove every possible food source for the microbiome which supports your aquarium!

I can't help but wonder if the problems that we see some people have, like so-called "tank crashes", "anomalous" pH swings, and algae blooms ,etc., are a direct result of what I call "selective interference"- removing the "stuff" that we don't want to see- and relying exclusively on filters, filter media, and other processes to keep things "in check."  Like, to me, it's like aquariums run in this manner are literally teetering on the edge of disaster- and the slightest imbalance caused by say, forgetting to clean the filter, change the media, or not conducting those infrequent water exchanges, can send them careening towards disaster!

To me, it's a real call for a more "hands-off" approach to starting up an aquarium. Like, yeah- step back, hold your breath, and take a look at it in a few weeks if you must- but don't intervene. Don't scrub the shit out of every piece of wood you place into the aquarium. Let the natural processes of bacterial and fungal colonization occur. Allow leaves to soften and decompose.

I am of the opinion that, when we remove partially decomposed botanicals from our systems because we think that they "look bad", we're interrupting a process- denying beneficial organisms access to their primary food sources. And, as we've discussed before, these organisms also serve as supplemental food sources for our fishes.

In our aquariums, we're just beginning to appreciate the real benefits of using leaves and botanicals. Notjust for cool aesthetics or to "tint" the water- but to create truly natural, ecologically stable aquatic systems for the health and well-being of the fishes we love so much!

It's important to remember that leaves and botanical materials are simply not permanent additions to our aquariums, and if we wish to enjoy them in their more "intact" forms, we will need to replace them as they start to break down. 

This is not a bad thing.

For most of us- those of us who've made that mental shift- we let Nature dictate the evolution of our tanks. We understand that the processes of biofilm recruitment, fungal growth, and decomposition work on a timeline, and in a manner that is not entirely under our control.

 

So, yeah- there IS a lot to consider when starting an aquairum utilizing botanical materials. It's far, far beyond the idea of just "dumping and praying" that has been an unfortunate "model" for how to utilize them in our aquariums for many years. It's more than just aesthetics alone...the "functional aesthetic" mindset- accepting the look and the biological processes which occur when terrestrial materials are added  to our tanks is a fundamental shift in hobby thinking.

So getting back to the whole "startup" thing-perhaps the most important thing you can do in my mind is to literally do nothing...to "wait out" the "awkward" times, when your system is trying to establish itself ecologically. It seems a bit counterintuitive, I know, but doing nothing and waiting for Nature to do Her thing is often the best way to go. 

It's not an excuse for abandoning the basics of aquarium husbandry. It's not about avoiding small, regular water exchanges. It's not about "pushing it." Rather, it's about allowing our littlest friends to do what they've done for eons- and to enjoy the success that will follow.

It's about patience. It's about process. It's about observation.

It's how evolution begins.

Stay patient. Stay curious. Stay diligent. Stay steadfast. Stay open-minded. Stay bold...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

 

The meal plan...

One of the things that I enjoy most about the botanical method aquarium is that it can function much like the wild habitats it's intended to represent. And part of that function involves eco diversity and the production of life forms which serve as food for our fishes. The ability for fishes to at least supplement the diets that we provide them with by foraging in their aquarium is a big deal!

And yeah, we've talked about it a lot over the years here- because it IS a big deal. 

Now, at least upon superficial examination, our aquarium leaf litter/botanical beds seem to function much like their wild counterparts, creating an extremely rich foraging area within our aquariums. And continuous reports form those of you who breed and rear fishes in your botanical-stocked aquariums indicate that  you're seeing better acclimation for wild species, great color, more regularity and productivity in spawns, and higher survival rates of fry of some species than you've previously experienced.

It's not a coincidence. There is a great deal of merit to operating our aquariums this way. Nature provides all of the examples that we need.

As we've discussed before in this blog, the leaf litter beds in tropical waters are home to a remarkable diversity of life, ranging from microbial to fungal, as well as crustaceans and insects...oh, and fishes, too!  These life forms are the basis of complex and dynamic food webs, which are one key to the productivity of these habitats.

By researching, developing, and managing our own botanically-infleunced aquaria, particularly those with leaf litter beds, we may be on the cusp of finding new ways to create "nurseries" for the rearing of many fishes!

The main sources of sustenance for fishes are the food webs, constructed by the flooded forests, aquatic herbaceous vegetation, and algae. Allochthonous sources (remember that term?) such as detritus and botanical materials (eg. leaves) are the main pathways for energy and nutrients provided by the forests to the aquatic habitats.

Phytoplankton in these so-called "impoverished" blackwater environments is something that we've likely downplayed!

In the rainy season, the main flow of what ecologists call "biomass" into the food web comes from the surrounding forests. Also, studies have found that, in the backwaters of the main tributaries, the floating submerged leaves of marginal vegetation are colonized by dense aggregations of epiphytes.

"Floating submerged leaves..." 

Just think about that for a few minutes...

Interestingly, both algae and macrophytes -aquatic plants which grow in and around the water (emerged, submerged, floating, etc.) enter into aquatic food webs mostly in form of detritus (fine and coarse particulate organic matter) or being transported by water flow and settling onto the substrate.

Not only do macrophytes contribute to the physical structure and spatial organization of the water bodies they inhabit, they are primary contributors to the overall biological stability of the habitat, conditioning the physical parameters of the water. Of course, anyone who keeps a planted aquarium could attest to that, right? 

One of the interesting things about macrophytes is that, although there are a lot of fishes which feed directly upon them, the plants themselves are perhaps most valuable as a microhabitat for algae, zooplankton, and other organisms which fishes feed on. Small aquatic crustaceans seek out the shelter of plants for both the food resources they provide (i.e.; zooplankton, diatoms) and for protection from predators (yeah, the fishes!).

What we've been told...

 

This is another one of those "rants" that not everyone wants to hear, or say, but it needs to be heard and it needs to be said- so I'll volunteer to be the one to say it.  

I think that the hobby culture loves to collectively vilify certain "players", such as the local fish store (LFS) employee. This is something that has been unfairly going on for at least the last couple of decades. Online hobby culture loves to talk about the ignorant LFS employee who does nothing but "give bad advice" and try to "sell you stuff you don't need."

Grow the f--- up. That's utter bullshit.

It's an absurd stereotype, create- as most stereotypes are- by someone who likely misconstrued advice he/she received from an employee and, perhaps not understanding and/or following the advice as thoroughly as he/she should have, ended up with a bad outcome. And of course, without taking any personal responsibility, his/her failure was absolutely the cause of the LFS employee...That's how dumb stereotypes and aquarium hobby myths start. And of course, upon sharing his/her "side of the story", it became easy to find other losers who were sympathetic to the cause...and it snowballed from there.

The "ignorant LFS employee" thing is so dumb that it barely deserves mention- yet it pops up over and over again. The reality is that most LFS employees are obsessed fish geeks- just like you and I- and their entire motivation is simply to help a fellow hobbyists. Sure, they sell stuff. But that doesn't make their advice any less helpful, authoritative, and "pure" than anyone else's.

And guess what?

These are human beings. Sometimes, they are wrong. Sometimes they DO mis-diagnose stuff. Occasionally, they'll make the wrong call. Just like I do, or any other hobbyist who is trying to help a fellow fish geek. No one knows everything. And we all have a responsibility to consider the merits of any advice we're being given- regardless of who is giving it.

The LFS person has been the convenient "target" for decades...but the reality is that there are plenty of other "perpetrators" more worthy of discussion. 

The biggest "danger" IMHO, is the rise of the online hobby "influencer"- someone who literally can use an online platform to disseminate whatever he/she wants to, with minimal accountability within the hobby. THAT is freaking scary! How come no one blames these people for the bad advice that they often meter out?

I've seen more shitty advice, regurgitated nonsense, and bad "ideas" being proferred online, particularly by YouTubers and "influencers" than just about anywhere else. Some of these people are entirely motivated by sponsorship numbers and pressures to mention product, and every bit of "advice" they give seems to always fit very nicely into the narrative of the brands who pay them.

They're shills.

Not all of them, of course- but a scary number of them. And the shitty content that many of them put out is harming the aquairum hobby way, WAY more than the LFS employee ever did, or could- because the reach of the YouTuber or "influencer" is global.

And, there are no “editors” or “peer reviewers”, so the accuracy and quality of the information being produced today is all over the map. Because someone who fancies themselves a social media “influencer” might produce snazzy, entertaining, sexy videos with cool music and crisp editing, they can easily amass significant followings on their chosen platform rapidly.

The scariest part is that, because the “influencer” may have such a large following for whatever reason, a certain form of trust and implied “authority”  is formed with the audience.

"Scary? Really? Why is that, Fellman?"

Think about it. Think about the idea "authority" in our hobby.

Authority. It's alluring and powerful...

It also requires a lot of responsibility.

A responsibility that some may not understand, or recognize.

The role of "influencer" seems so cool; and it is.  I mean, you can get paid by others to talk about stuff you like!  

However, the fact is, some “influencers” may have little more than the most basic understanding or familiarity with the topic being discussed, and because there is this...familiarity and implied trust created with his/her audience, the uninformed get the impression that this person is an “expert” on whatever topic they disseminate!

Often, it’s the “new” idea or hot, trendy topic that lends itself well to the production of the influencer’s splashy videos, too. In the very worst situations, much of the disseminated "information" is shallow, and of little substance, other thank, "Look at my cool___________ aquarium!" ( insert trendy aquarium type in the blank space). And there is always that pressure to mention their sponsor's products.

We see this lack of substance a lot when it comes to botanical-method aquariums and reef tanks, in particular. Because they both lend themselves to great visuals, both of these hobby specialities are often featured prominently by hobby "influencers."

Recently, I've seen a few of these videos, particularly discussing "blackwater aquariums"or "botanical aquariums", and I wasn't just flat-out disappointed by the lack of useful substance- I was shocked by the obvious, complete lack of understanding of these topics by the alleged "influencers" who produced them.

It's astounding.

And of course, not everyone who is a YouTuber or paid "influencer" is an idiot. Many are fantastic. And, yeah- it's not just limited to our arcane, specialized hobby sectors. It's a problem even when discussing the most mundane and basic of topics within the hobby. There are a fair number of widely-viewed online aquarium personalities  who need to re-think and re-focus a bit, IMHO.

And what about online forums? Are they a "problem?" 

Well, they can be. 

Many are filled with kind, intelligent, super experienced, helpful hobbyists who can render amazing advice. However, they're also populated by an astoundingly large number of clueless morons who yell louder than everyone else, or by otherwise well-intentioned hobbyists who want to help, but have no personal experience in the topic at hand- so they "regurgitate" outdated, incorrect, or unhelpful information! This is why so many advanced hobbyists steer clear of many of the "general" hobby forums. The "noise" is awful. It's hard to watch sometimes. 

I visit some of these forums from time to time, because a) I think I'm a bit of a masochist, and b) I like to know what the pulse of the hobby is at different levels. And often, I'm dumbfounded, by not only the problems that people are having, but how they got themselves into them in the first place. Not to mention, the "advice" being rendered. Recently, I saw a few posts where new hobbyists were having trouble getting their tanks to cycle. Like, one guy allegedly had his tank going for 3 months and had detectible ammonia the whole time! Like, how the actual FUCK does THAT happen?

Well, the "advice" he was given was insane. Like, all over the place. Everything from "continue aggressively siphoning your gravel" to "add_____", and everything in between, including "removing the goldfish and doing a 75% water exchange will help your Neons do better" ( I am NOT shitting you- that was actual advice...). Advice about feeding less... Again, the person asking the question clearly had no freaking clue what the fuck he/she was doing, and the "advice" being rendered was a smattering of everything. And of course, the initial blame went back to. "...the girl at the LFS told me_________."  

Of course, it's the LFS guy's fault. 

Yeah, he probably told you to wait to add fishes. To add some bacterial solution to kick start the nitrogen cycle. To test your water. To feed carefully. Told you not to perform water exchanges during the beginning phases of your aquarium. He DEFINITELY did NOT tell you to buy goldfish for your tropical aquarium...and it goes on and on.

Part of this problem is the noise and volume of "advice" that's out there for hobbyists to consume. It's a firehose. The other part is (sorry!) the almost complete lack of advice to the new hobbyist to take some personal responsibility to do research, move slowly, and deploy patience. Yeah, really. Sorry. That sounds really mean, but it isn't.

You have a responsibility, new guy. That's not a "bad" thing. I don't understand why education, observation, and patience aren't stressed above almost everything when people are just starting out in the aquarium hobby. NEWS FLASH: Watching a flashy YouTube video about "How I set up my Amazon River fantasy tank" isn't the kind of research Im talking about...

Where else can you get this advice?

Well, these things usually ARE proferred by...The LFS employees- who not only care, but actually do have a vested interest in seeing you be successful. The problem is, people often don't listen, in their excitement and haste to get going! And, when we hear advice we don't like, or want to kind of skirt around, our first instinct is to go online and find a match to the narrative that makes us feel better. I think it's human nature- a cultural norm for our times. We see it in home repairs, financial advice, health issues, etc.

It's kind of a problem.

Sounds like I'm being a bit of a jerk about this, I'm sure.

However, it's a cold hard truth. You've got a new aquarium. Let's go! 

And again, it starts with the advice we're given when we begin our aquarium hobby adventure.

Based on what I've observed first hand, much of the advice given to new hobbyists by the LFS is pretty damn good. However, I think the a lot of the so-called "beginner's advice" is discarded or conveniently tucked away as the newbie moves to "more interesting stuff", like choosing the perfect piece of wood, the sexiest canister filter, that amazing Discus variety, or the cool LED light.

We haven't stressed the fundamentals enough, IMHO. We haven't explained adequately to newbies that the hobby requires us to have a basic understanding of biology/ecology- and why this is so.

It's not like collecting pins, ordering a meal kit, or any other things that people like to do nowadays. You need to actually know some shit.

The aquarium hobby is as much a responsibility as it is a pleasurable endeavor. It's a responsibility to be good stewards of the fishes we keep. To understand their needs. To understand WHY we do some of the things we do in the hobby. And sure, to question some of the established "best practices" from time to time- ONCE we have an understanding of the fundamentals. It's not all about acquiring shit, or arriving at the impressive finished product that your friends can ohh and ahh over at breakneck speed. It's about the journey, and understanding how each phase in the life of your tank is fascinating, educational, and beautiful.

We don't stress patience enough. 

As a hobby, we collectively need to "slow our roll" and allow natural processes to function without intervening in every single aspect of our aquariums' existence. Patience is vital to real, lasting, long-term hobby success. End of discussion.

EVERY SINGLE successful hobbyist I know has patience. We need to adhere to Nature's laws governing the establishment of aquatic ecosystems. We can't just "pick and choose" the stuff that we want to apply to our tank. We need to understand that stuff like the nitrogen cycle is as important in that foul-smelling puddle of killifish in East Africa as it is to our expensive home aquarium is in Boston, Toronto, Singapore, or London.

Your aquarium is part of Nature. Not in the "cargo cult" hobby mass-misinterpretation of Amano's words- but in reality and function. Sure, it's a little closed off version- but it exists in Nature. It's governed by the "laws" of Nature, and it will respond based on processes which have been in existence since time began. It's bigger than our ambitions, our expensive filter, or the advice of the million-follower YouTube guy who tells you otherwise.

You can't simply separate yourself from this. Everything applies to you and your tank, too. You want an aquarium? Good. Better make piece with Mother Nature. Learn about Her. Listen to her. Be patient with Her. Because if you don't, you'll receive the ass-kicking that you deserve. And unfortunately, your fishes will pay the ultimate price for it.

Yeah, sounds like a lot of bitter, angry bile I'm tossing out today, right?

It's only that way if you want it to be. 

That wasn't the intention. The intention was to plead with you to open your eyes, think about the advice you were given- or offer to others - and consider what you need to know to be successful in the aquarium hobby. And about what advice you give- and how you'll disseminate it- to others. And to do your part to stop blaming the LFS employee for everything that's problematic with the hobby at the moment. To start preaching responsibility, education, and above all...patience. 

I promise, I'm not going to focus on negative stuff like this very often in "The Tint." It gives me no pleasure doing so. However, as someone who speaks his truth, and has a sizable platform within the aquarium hobby to communicate from, I'd be doing a great disservice if I didn't bring this subject up. It was bothering me a lot lately.

I know that around here, we are repetitive at times, constantly stressing patience, observation, going slowly...because those things work- even though it goes against what's cool and popular at the moment. At the ned of the day, this hobby is about fun and joy. And by just tasking the time to properly educate and prepare ourselves- it can be just that.

 

And it all starts with what we've been told to do- and what we do with it.

Stay calm. Stay resourceful. Stay diligent. Stay observant. Stay thoughtful. Stay honest...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

 

Don't keep up the fight...

Gear, specifically filters, keeps a lot of hobbyists- and manufacturers-quite busy as they wrap their heads around which ones are the best to use in botanical-method aquariums. I get this question constantly. The reality is that you can use pretty much any type of filter available for aquariums...or none at all.

Well- more specifically-you could actually use the tank itself; essentially, the botanical environment as the "biological filter", and simply use aeration/surface skimming and/or circulation pumps to facilitate the gas exchange. This is not revolutionary, of course- but an idea that's often overlooked today. We're obsessed with having big, bad-ass filters, loaded with media, to "polish" the water and...do...what, exactly?

To fight Nature? Because that's what a lot of this stuff actually does, when you really think about it. It's to "correct" stuff that is "out of balance" or whatever...right?

I mean, we've been told for generations that filters remove solid, chemical, and biological waste from our aquarium water..I mean, they do...but they don't do it without attention and regular maintenance. Filter media get clogged, chemical media become exhausted, and impellers and intakes need cleaning.  And they don't just take out "bad" stuff- they remove..."stuff"- indiscriminately- and some of which is required to be present in the aquarium in order  to have an ecologically functional aquarium.

I can't help but wonder if we've come so under the spell of technology that a good percentage of hobbyists are 100% convinced that you can't run a successful aquarium without a fairly sophisticated filter-or some kind of filter, at least.

Yeah.

I beg to differ, of course.

 

And the sad reality is, I think that a lot of aquarists simply cannot run their tanks without very capable filtration. It sounds harsh, but based upon the number of tanks I see on Facebook groups and forums, where hobbyists are posting that they are struggling to keep their tanks "clean", I'd say that we have created a sort of strange "dependency" on the technology of filters.

It goes hand-in-hand with a disdain for- and dependency on water exchanges, and heavy siphoning of "detritus" and such from our tanks, as we're apparently convinced  that any amount of this stuff accumulating in our tanks is a recipe for certain disaster. We've  made it a real "chore", and have turned water exchanges into an urgent, yet loathsome process that literally keeps our tanks from teetering over the edge towards disaster!

As a hobby, I think that we've been so aggressive at keeping our tanks "near sterile" that the importance of water exchanges has shifted from a means to re-introduce a fresh "suite" of trace elements and remove a few residual organics into an essential way to remove liquid and solid wastes from our tanks.

We're obsessed with sterility and in doing so, we regularly wipe out the population of beneficial organisms which keep our tanks functioning biologically.

Aesthetics first has created this weird dichotomy.

Like, people on social media will ooh and awe when pics of beautiful wild aquatic habitats- many of which absolutely nothing like what we do in aquariums- are shared. They'll comment on how amazing Nature is, and admire the leaf litter and tinted water and stuff.

Yet, when it comes time to create an aquarium, they'll almost always "opt out" of attempting to create such a tank in their own home, and instead create a surgically-sterile aquatic art piece instead.

I think it's because we've been convinced by...well, almost everybody in the hobby- that it's not advisable or practical- or even possible- to create a truly functional natural aquarium system. It's easier to look for the sexiest named rock and designer wood and mimic some "award winning" 'scape instead.

Ouch.

I think that many hobbyists have lost sight of the fact that there are enormous populations of organisms which reside in their aquariums which process, utilize, and assimilate the waste materials that everyone is so concerned about. We've become convinced that technology is our salvation.

The reality is that a convergence of simple technology and embracing of fundamental ecology is what make successful aquariums- well-successful. In many cases (notice the caveat "many"...) you don't need a huge-capacity, ultra-powerful filter to keep your tank healthy. You don't need massive water exchanges and ultra meticulous water exchange/siphoning sessions to sustain your aquarium for indefinite periods of time.

What you need is a combination of a decent filter system, a regular schedule of small simple water exchanges, and a healthy and unmolested microbiome of beneficial organisms within your aquarium. 

I've touched on this hundreds of times in "The Tint: and elsewhere, but I think that we as a hobby have sort of forgotten some of the fundamentals of aquarium management, function, and process, and somehow glorified acquiring pricy gear and implementing draconian procedures as the "standard operating procedure" for running successful aquariums. We've left the idea of the aquarium-or more specifically, the microbiome of organisms within the aquarium-helping to create optimized conditions for our fishes- somewhere in the misty past of the hobby.

In the botanical-method aquarium, ecology is 9/10's of the game. Think about this simple fact:

The botanical materials present in our systems provide enormous surface area upon which beneficial bacterial biofilms and fungal growths can colonize. These life forms utilize the organic compounds present in the water as a nutritional source.

Oh, the part about the biofilms and fungal growths sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Let's talk about our buddies, the biofilms, just a bit more. One more time. Because nothing seems as contrary to many hobbyists than to sing the praises of these gooey-looking strands of bacterial goodness!

Structurally, biofilms are surprisingly strong structures, which offer their colonial members "on-board" nutritional sources, exchange of metabolites, protection, and cellular communication. They form extremely rapidly on just about any hard surface that is submerged in water.

When I see aquarium writings in which biofilms are considered a "nuisance", and suggestions that it can be eliminated by "reducing nutrients" in the aquarium, I usually cringe. Mainly, because no matter what you do, biofilms are ubiquitous, and always present in our aquariums. We may not see the famous long, stringy "snot" of our nightmares, but the reality is that they're present in our tanks regardless.

And it's perfectly fine.

The other reality is that biofilms are something that we as aquarists typically fear because of the way they look. In and of themselves, biofilms are not harmful to our fishes. They function not only as a means to sequester and process nutrients ( a natural "filter" of sorts?), they also represent a beneficial food source for fishes.

Now, look, I can see rare scenarios where massive amounts of biofilms (relative to the water volume of the aquarium) can consume significant quantities of oxygen and be problematic for the fishes which reside in your tank. These explosions in biofilm growth are usually the result of adding too much botanical material too quickly to the aquarium. They're excaserbated by insufficient oxygenation/circulation within the aquarium.

These are very unusual circumstances, resulting from a combination of missteps by the aquarist.

Typically, however, biofilms are far more beneficial that they are even remotely detrimental to our aquariums.

Yeah, they're really quite useful as a form of biological filtration.

Nutrients in the water column, even when in low concentrations, are delivered to the biofilm through the complex system of water channels, where they are adsorbed into the biofilm matrix, where they become available to the individual cells.  Some biologists feel that this efficient method of gathering energy might be a major evolutionary advantage for biofilms which live in particularly in turbulent ecosystems, like streams, (or aquariums, right?) with significant flow, where nutrient concentrations are typically lower and quite widely dispersed.

Biofilms have been used successfully in water/wastewater treatment for well over 100 years! In such filtration systems the filter medium (typically, sand) offers a tremendous amount of surface area for the microbes to attach to, and to feed upon the organic material in the water being treated. The formation of biofilms upon the "media" consume the undesirable organics in the water, effectively "filtering" it!

Biofilm acts as an adsorbent layer, in which organic materials and other nutrients are concentrated from the water column. As you might suspect, higher nutrient concentrations tend to produce biofilms that are thicker and denser than those grown in low nutrient concentrations.

Those biofilms which grow in higher flow environments, like streams, rivers, or areas exposed to wave action, tend to be denser in their morphology. These biofilms tend to form long, stringy filaments or "streamers",which point in the direction of the flow. These biofilms are characterized by characteristic known as  "viscoelasticity."This means that they are flexible, and stretch out significantly in higher flow rate environments, and contract once again when the velocity of the flow is reduced.

Okay, that's probably way more than you want to know about the physiology of biofilms! Regardless, it's important for us as botanical-method aquarists to have at least a rudimentary understanding of these often misunderstood, incredibly useful, and entirely under-appreciated life forms.

And, as we already mentioned, the whole idea of facilitating a microbiome in our aquariums is predicated upon supplying a quantity of botanical materials- specifically, leaf litter, for the beneficial organisms to colonize and begin the decomposition process. An interesting study I found by Mehering, et. al (2014) on the nutrient sequestration caused by leaf litter yielded this interesting little passage:

"During leaf litter decomposition, microbial biomass and accumulated inorganic materials immobilize and retain nutrients, and therefore, both biotic and abiotic drivers may influence detrital nutrient content."

The study determined that leaves such as oak "immobilized" nitrogen. Generally thinking, it is thought that leaf litter acts as a "sink" for nutrients over time in aquatic ecosystems.

Oh, and one more thing about leaves and their resulting detritus in tropical streams: Ecologists strongly believe that microbial colonized detritus is a more palatable and nutritious food source for detritivores than uncolonized dead leaves. The microbial growth which occurs on the leaves and their resulting detritus increases the nutritional quality of leaf detritus, because the microbial biomass on the leaves is more digestible than the leaves themselves (because of lignin, etc.).

Oh, I'm going on and on about this stuff- but the idea of the aquarium, or more precisely, the microbiome of the aquarium- acting as a "filter"- is worth considering. You could successfully run a botanical-method aquarium without a "filter" of any kind, other than the materials contained within the tank itself. 

I mean, this isn't really an earth-shattering concept.

Every fucking tank in the 19th century, and many in the early 20th century, ran this way, right? Yeah. Now, I get it- these were tanks which were often dominated by aquatic plants, which processed the nutrients and realized oxygen via photosynthesis, but the idea here is essentially the same- creating a biological system which assimilates and processes nutrients. Our "Urban Igapo" tanks use terrestrial or riparian plants...they uptake nutrients from the soils...

Yet, there are other organisms besides plants to accomplish nutrient export, right? Now, what about our old nemesis, cyanobacteria- that stringy stuff we've been taught to loathe over the years? Well, they're photosynthetic. They convert sunlight into energy and produce oxygen as a waste product. Maybe cultivating them in our "filterless" tanks could be a cool idea, huh?

Perhaps?😆

Look, the reality is this: By making the effort to understand and cultivate the life forms that live in the aquatic environment, and embracing the work they do, we can have remarkably successful aquariums. When we utilize filters as a means to supplement what Nature does, it gets really interesting.

It doesn't make you some kind of renegade to take this position.

And the reality is that I think the most valuable function of most filters is to create water movement, or to facilitate surface agitation. Oh sure, they can pull out some suspended debris, too...if that's a real problem.

Now, don't get me wrong- I love activated carbon, PolyFilter, etc. and chemical media. I love efficient filter systems. But the reality is that 90% of my freshwater aquariums rely primarily on the ecology within the tank to help keep things going healthily. That's the "filter system." My sumps and all-in-one tanks usually have no filter media at all in them. And I don't embrace this whole "botanical method" of aquarium keeping as a means to preach to avoidance of keeping our tanks healthy and attractive. Rather, my obsession is with getting us all to think about Nature as a "partner" to work with, as opposed to an adversary to try to keep at bay. 

Just because some of Nature's most important ecological functions may look a bit "different" than we'd want them to doesn't mean that they are somehow "bad." That's the one thing I hope that many hobbyists can eventually absorb. It's so vital, and I think will create more of a sense of working with our tanks- and with natural processes, instead of creating a zombie-like adherence to executing infrequent massive water exchanges/siphoning sessions and a reliance on expensive equipment to convince ourselves that we're doing the ultimate to manage our tanks efficiently.

Learning about achieving a balance through process, practice, and equipment is a simple way to dramatically improve your aquarium hobby experience. If we spend less time shopping for that "perfect" filter sand more time reading about say, food webs or the dynamics of nutrient processing in aquatic ecosystems, I think that the net result would be more happy hobbyists doing cooler and more progressive stuff!

Siphoning out, scrubbing, and polishing away these misunderstood natural byproducts is often so counterproductive. We have spent decades fighting Nature and probably not even realizing it. Time to really understand Her and "make nice!"

Hug it out with Mother Nature. Stop the fight!

Stay thoughtful. Stay curious. Stay bold. Stay efficient. Stay creative. Stay observant...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

 

Easy Going...

When it comes to working with the botanical method, you find yourself embracing some weird stuff...I mean, I suppose that to many, the very idea of adding a whole bunch of leaves and seed pods and stuff to an aquarium seems decidedly strange, doesn't it?

That being said, it's one of the easiest approaches to aquairum keeping that I've worked with in my life. The most difficult part? Letting go of everything that you've been told an aquarium should be! 

What would be the easiest botanical-method aquarium to set up and maintain, in my opinion? My answer might surprise you, but I think that an aquarium based primarily on leaf litter would be among the best ways to introduce yourself to this approach. Coincidentally, leaf litter beds are pretty much one of the main types of ecological niches that we obsess over.

Leaf litter in an aquarium gives you the whole range of botanical method aquarium  experiences: Preparation of the materials, adding them into the tank, watching early colonization by fungal growths and biofilms, and ultimately, the decomposition of the leaves. 

Yeah, the whole smack!

Nature provides no shortage of inspiration and habitat examples. In many aquatic  habitats, you'll find significant litter banks. Now, in our blackwater/botanical-method aquariums, we often include leaves as part of the display. However, I can't say I've seen all that many aquariums which have their aquascape composed exclusively of leaves! In other words, a tank which attempts to simulate a leaf litter bank itself as the overall "theme."

Seriously, it seems kind of funny, given all of our talk about them, but yeah, I can't recall too many tanks which are simply a fine, sand substrate, and leaf litter- with nothing else.

As I mentioned previously, the thing that I really love about running a leaf litter-focused aquarium is that it teaches you all of the principles of the botanical-method aquarium approach. You'll learn about preparation of botanicals, and how to add them to an aquarium. You'll also get to see firsthand how an aquarium develops as an ecological system. You'll learn the valuable skills of replenishing and maintaining a botanical-heavy system. You'll witness fungal colonization, biofilms, and decomposition.

And most important of all- you'll learn to enjoy watching your aquarium evolve at every stage. You'll learn that things don't happen quickly. You'll prefect the art of patience.

Talk about an "ephemeral" habitat- a tank with the "hardscape" composed entirely of leaf litter would be just that: Constantly evolving and changing. It would be a tank that you would most definitely have to "actively manage", in the sense that you'd be replacing leaves on a frequent basis as they break down- a process which, as we've stated many times- mimics what occurs in Nature.

And of course, being a fish geek, you'll need to deploy a healthy sense of discipline to not want to "supplement" the "litter bank" with other botanicals, or throw in a big old piece of driftwood or whatever. Yup, we're talking about just modeling our system after the main leaf litter bed itself. Maybe a few small twigs or branches, but nothing resembling a conventional aquarium hardscape. 

So the execution of this type of setup is really pretty easy. In fact, I'm almost embarrassed to write these "instructions": Prepare your leaves and add them to the already-filled aquarium.

Like, seriously. There isn't all that much to the process.

Okay, a few pointers...

I like utilizing the tiniest amount of substrate. I suggest starting off with a mere sprinkling of sand or other substrate materials (like maybe 1/2 inch /1.27cm or less), to create a literal "foundation", and perhaps to provide an additional layer for organisms which thrive in the substrate to "work" the leaves and assimilate the resulting detritus as they decompose.

From there, you add your leaves. You can simply use one leaf type, or a multiple of leaf types if that appeals to you. If you;'re using different types, it would make sense to start with your most "durable" leaves (examples would be Live Oak, Magnolia, or Yellow Mangrove)  as the "first layer" of the litter bed, as the "structural integrity" they provide would create some void spaces and a "trophic structure" (a structure that fosters the feeding habits or relationships of different organisms in a food chain or food web).

This would also allow some water circulation within the litter bed itself, to avoid the possibility of creating small, anaerobic pockets as the leaves break down. (FYI I've never had this happen in over 17 years of playing with leaf litter only setup, but I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention the possibility...)

Once your leaves are down, there is really not much you need to do. 

The real keys are to prepare your leaves well by boiling or long-term steeping, so that they'll sink easily, and to not direct filter returns or pump returns right into your leaf litter bed- otherwise you'll have a continuous "leaf tornado" forever.

Oh, and the question I receive a lot is, "What kind of filter should I use on this type of tank?"

It's a good one...You can use pretty much any filter available.

The key is to not suck up leaves in the process, and to not direct the water returns into the litter bed as I just mentioned. Personally, I've used everything from outside power filters to canister filters, to sponge filters, to small internal filters...and even NO filters! Everything worked! The key is to simply go slowly and use common sense when adding your fishes to the aquairum.

I would definitely try to agitate the surface a bit, simply to facilitate gas exchange. Oh, I've even used simply one of those "surface skimmers" as the sole "filtration" in a leaf litter tank and it was just fine.

I do recommend at this point that you add some bacterial additives- either one of the many nitrifying bacterial supplements available, or our own Purple Non- Sulphur bacterial additive, "Culture."  Bacteria are your first line of defense; they assist in the breakdown of organics leached by the leaves.

The real key- like it is to any botanical-method aquarium- is to deploy patience and go really slowly, allowing the aquarium to run in at it's own pace. Don't get hung up on the aquarium's appearance at its earliest phases. As the materials begin to be colonized by microorganisms and fungi, they begin to soften, the water begins to clear, and the ecological processes of the aquarium get underway.

Now, one caveat:

To create a leaf-litter-centric aquarium, you need a lot of leaves, right? And, with a large volume of leaves added to the aquarium from day one, you would not want to convert an existing system with a population of fishes to such a tank quickly. The potential exists for some big problems if you attempt this:  Excessive bacterial respiration as a result of a large influx of leaves to an established system could lower the water's dissolved oxygen AND increase CO2...a recipe for disaster with an existing fish population.

So, if you're wanting to convert an existing aquarium to a leaf-litter-focused one, the key is to go very slowly and to add the leaves over time. 

Never forget this, though:

The aquarium-or, more specifically- the botanical materials which comprise the botanical-method aquarium "infrastructure" acts as a biological "filter system."

In other words, the botanical materials present in our systems provide enormous surface area upon which beneficial bacterial biofilms and fungal growths can colonize. These life forms utilize the organic compounds present in the water as a nutritional source.

And the whole idea of facilitating a microbiome in our aquariums is predicated upon supplying a quantity of botanical materials- in this case, leaf litter, for the beneficial organisms to colonize and begin the decomposition process. An interesting study I found by Mehering, et. al (2014) on the nutrient sequestration caused by leaf litter yielded this interesting little passage:

"During leaf litter decomposition, microbial biomass and accumulated inorganic materials immobilize and retain nutrients, and therefore, both biotic and abiotic drivers may influence detrital nutrient content."

The study determined that leaves such as oak "immobilized" nitrogen. Generally thinking, it is thought that leaf litter acts as a "sink" for nutrients over time in aquatic ecosystems.

Oh, and one more thing about leaves and their resulting detritus in tropical streams: Ecologists strongly believe that microbial colonized detritus is a more palatable and nutritious food source for detritivores than uncolonized dead leaves. The microbial growth which occurs on the leaves and their resulting detritus increases the nutritional quality of leaf detritus, because the microbial biomass on the leaves is more digestible than the leaves themselves (because of lignin, etc.).

Okay, great. I've just talked about decomposing leaves and stuff for like the 11,000th time in "The Tint"; so...where does this leave us, in terms of how we want to run our aquariums?

Let's summarize:

1) Add a significant amount of leaf litter to your aquarium as the primary component of the physical structure in the aquarium.

2) Inoculate the aquarium with bacterial and/or other microorganism/crustacean cultures.

3) Allow biofilms and fungal growths to proliferate.

4) Feed your fishes well. It's actually "feeding the aquarium!"

5) Don't go crazy siphoning out every bit of detritus. In fact, if you can handle it, just forgo the siphoning altogether- at least for a while.

I'd be remiss if I didn't at least touch on the idea of feeding your leaf-litter aquarium. Think about it: When you feed your fishes, you are effectively feeding all of the other life forms which comprise this microbiome. You're "feeding the aquarium." When fishes consume and eliminate the food, they're releasing not only dissolved organic wastes, but fecal materials, which are likely not fully digested.

The nutritional value of partially digested food cannot be understated. Many of the organisms which live within the leaf litter bed and the resulting detritus will assimilate them.

Our aquariums- just like the wild habitats they represent-are not spotless environments, and that they depend on multiple inputs of food, to feed the biome at all levels. This means that scrubbing the living shit (literally) out of our aquariums is denying the very biotia which provide our aquariums with their most basic needs!

That little "unlock" changes everything, once you embrace it.

Suddenly, it all makes sense. 

This idea has carried over into the botanical-method aquarium concept: It's a system that literally relies on the biological material present in the system to facilitate food production, nutrient assimilation, and reproduction of life forms at various trophic levels.

It's changed everything about how I look at aquarium management and the creation of functional closed aquatic ecosystems. 

It's really put the word "natural" back into the aquarium-keeping parlance for me. The idea of creating a multi-tiered ecosystem, which provides a lot of the requirements needed to operate successfully with just a few basic maintenance practices, the passage of time, a lot of patience, and careful observation- is something that has been discussed, but rarely executed in the hobby.

It means adopting a different outlook, accepting a different, yet very beautiful aesthetic. It's about listening to Nature instead of the dude on Instagram with the flashy, gadget-driven tank. It's not always fun at first for some, and it initially seems like you're somehow doing things wrong.

Executing this is about as easy as aquarium-keeping gets.

The difficult part is understanding that this is an extremely natural, ecologically beneficial process, and that it facilitates the appearance of some things that you might not be comfortable with initially (like, cloudy water, fungal threads, biofilms, decomposition...all that stuff!). Making those mental shifts to accept something different than what the aquarium hobby establishment has proffered as the way to go for generations.

You have to give things time to establish and settle.

It's about patience.

It's about faith.

Faith in Mother Nature, who's been doing this stuff for eons. Faith that you're doing something which embraces Nature's processes so fully.

It's about nuance.

It's about not being afraid to question the reasons why we do things a certain way in the hobby, and to seek ways to evolve and change practices for the benefits of our fishes. 

It takes time to grasp this stuff. However, as with so many things that we talk about here, it's not revolutionary...it's simply an evolution in thinking about how we conceive, set up, and manage our aquariums. 

The importance of doing...nothing.

As most of you know by now, I'm in a most exciting phase in my hobby. After more than 18 months without a permanent home aquarium, I'm in the process of setting up several. It's a wonderful burst of creativity and ideation. Yet, it also gives me a chance to double-down on my philosophies about establishing a botanical method aquarium.

I've come to realize that one of the most powerful things that we can do as aquarists who embrace the botanical method is to back off from tweaking our tanks after we get them set up. Now, sure, I'm not talking about adjusting improperly functioning filters, pumps, or adjusting temperature,  lighting schedules, etc.  I'm referring to the ecosystem of the aquarium itself.

Like, my philosophy is surprisingly "hands-off."

"But Scott, my tank is really cloudy. Its obvious that there is a lot of botanical material in there and it's causing some kind of bacterial bloom or something..."

So, let it bloom!

Seriously. This is not an issue. It's not a sign of the apocalypse for your tank.

It's a wonderful period of time in a tank's young life, when the bacteria begin flourishing, the biofilms emerge, and your tank starts coming alive. 

"The Bloom"- a most appropriate term, and one that conjures up a beautiful image of Nature unfolding in our aquariums- your miniature aquatic ecosystem blossoming before your very eyes!

The real positive takeaway here: The emergence of slightly hazy water and visible biofilms are really a sign that things are working right in your aquarium! A visual indicator that natural processes are at work, helping forge your tank's ecosystem.

I recall a discussion with our friend, Alex Franqui. His beautiful, "contest-proven" igarape-themed aquarium pictured above, was starting to "bloom", with the biofilms and sediments working together to create a stunning, very natural look. It was fun to see this, because Alex had made that "mental shift" we discuss so much. He had an intimate understanding that the process he was witnessing in his tank was natural, beneficial, and exciting.

Nature celebrates "The Bloom", too. It's an explosion of life, fueled by an accumulation of terrestrial materials in the aquatic environment.

Why is this viewed as a "bad" thing in the aquarium hobby?

We're talking about materials being colonized by communities of microorganisms which act to decompose or remineralize them.

It's the establishment of the ecology within our aquariums. The materials which we employed in our tank are becoming part of an ecosystem.

It's being processed. Utilized.

What do these microorganisms do? They eat it...They render it inert. And in the process, they contribute to the biological diversity- and arguably even the stability- of the system. Some of them are utilized as food by other creatures. Some create detritus as a by-product of their activities.

Important in a closed system, I believe. 

This is really important. Detritus is part of the biological "operating system" of our aquariums. It's largely inert.

It's not all bad, right?

I think we should embrace this. Especially in a botanical-method aquarium, which essentially "runs" on the decomposition of materials.

In the flooded forest floors we find in Nature, the leaf litter "community" of fishes, insects, fungi, and microorganisms is really important to the overall tropical environment, as it assimilates terrestrial material into the blackwater aquatic system, and acts to reduce the loss of nutrients to the forest which would inevitably occur if all the material which fell into the streams was washed downstream!

Stuff is being used by a myriad of life forms.

Is there a lesson from Nature here that we can incorporate into our aquarium work?

Yeah, there is: The development of an ecology based on botanical materials is foundational to the successful function of our aquariums- even if it looks a bit "unusual" to us!

There is something truly remarkable about natural processes playing out in our own aquariums, as they have done for eons in the wild.

Remember, it's all part of the game with a botanical-influenced aquarium. Understanding, accepting, and celebrating "The Bloom" is all part of that "mental shift" towards accepting and appreciating a more truly natural-looking, natural-functioning aquarium. The "price of admission", if you will- along with the tinted water, decomposing leaves, etc., the metaphorical "dues" you pay, which ultimately go hand-in-hand with the envious "ohhs and ahhs" of other hobbyists who admire your completed aquarium when they see it for the first time.

.

The reality to us as "armchair biologists" is that the presence of these organisms in our aquariums is beautiful to us for so many reasons. It's not only a sign that our closed microcosms are functioning well, but that they are, in their own way, providing for the well- being of the inhabitants! 

An abundance, created by "The Bloom." 

Stay the course. Don't be afraid. Open your mind.

Study what is happening. Draw parallels to the natural aquatic ecosystems of the world. Look at this "evolution" process with wonder, awe, and courage. And know that the pile of decomposing goo that you're looking at now is just a metaphorical "stepping stone" on the journey to an aquarium which will embrace Nature in every conceivable way.

So, accepting the appearance of our aquariums during the establishment of their operational life cycle is vitally important. Don't feel compelled to reach for the siphon hose, conduct a massive water exchange, or scrape stuff away just because it doesn't square with the popularly accepted concept of what a "healthy aquarium" looks like.

These small, seemingly "annoying" end products of biological processes like decomposition, and the life forms that accompany/produce them are actually the most beautiful, elegant, beneficial friends that we can have in the aquarium...

We just need to embrace them. Understand what role they play in Nature- and in our tanks.

Tell yourself over and over again that it's a mental shift.

A perspective of open-minded curiosity...and a willingness to look at things a bit differently and go beyond the usual and generally accepted hobby ideas on "stuff." It's not always pretty. 

Literally "waiting it out" is, IMHO, one of the most underrated "practices" which we as aquarists can employ to help our aquariums evolve in a manner which will ensure long-term success. Yeah, literally- doing nothing. When we make "knee-jerk" reactions and siphon stuff out, or conduct massive water exchanges, we often end up disrupting the establishment of an organized and effective ecological system.

By staying patient, we're giving the populations of microorganisms, fungal growths, and biofilms the opportunity to grow and multiply and manage the decomposition of the botanical materials in the system, driving its ecology.

So, yeah, you might see some bacterial cloudiness in your newly established botanical method aquarium. You might see a significant amount of biofilms and fungal growth in those early days. It's likely not what you anticipated your aquarium would look like...or was it?

Once again, if we consider how the types of natural ecosystems that we model our aquariums after, this isn't much of a surprise. In fact, it is something we should come to expect! If we take a look at many wild aquatic ecosystems, this is exactly what we see- decomposing leaves, seed pods, etc.

Nothing we've mentioned here is earth-shattering or revolutionary, from an aquarium husbandry standpoint. However, seeing that for many hobbyists, this is their first experience at managing a botanical-method aquarium, and with tons of information out there stressing concepts like massive water exchanges to "correct problems", etc. it's important to review not only the idea- but the mindset which you as a hobbyist need to deploy to successfully enjoy and manage such a system.

We just work with it instead of against it. In stead of trying to sanitize, edit, or otherwise "redirect" Nature, we understand that it will follow its own path, sometimes going through phases that we may not appreciate.

Evolution.

And guess what? It never stops.

So the big takeaway here? In the first few days and weeks in the life of your aquarium, its not always a bad idea to do...nothing.

Stay thoughtful. Stay curious. Stay educated. Stay diligent. Stay observant...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

 

 

 

 

Approaching brackish with a different mindset...

As if you don't know by now, I'm pretty thrilled to be setting up some new tanks in my home office; among them, my "V 2.0" brackish water mangrove aquarium. The stated "mission" of this tank is to encourage my fellow hobbyists to give brackish a go..err, our concept of brackish a go, that is! Yet, despite our more "dirty" interpretation of brackish, I think it's a more accessible, purposeful, "honest" version than what is typically executed.

 

I say "honest" because we're not trying to take a "pure freshwater" mindset into this. We're trying to create a brackish water ecosystem.  It's different and I think it will make this a much more enjoyable and exciting way to execute it. Because it won't "force fit" fishes or ideas into the approach. It's not being set up to try to "wing it" with table salt, a few stones, etc. Rather, it's embracing the functional aspects of the brackish water habitat, focusing on the ecology first. The aesthetics will follow.

It's time to "big up" the "Estuary" concept!

Traditionally, in the aquarium hobby, when you've mentioned that your thinking of trying a brackish water aquarium, it's provoked little more than a raised eyebrow or a feigned level of interest from fellow fish geeks, and I kind of can see why. Although aquarists have been playing with brackish tanks for decades, in my opinion, what's been missing is a focus on the actual habitat we are interested in, and how it functions.

Function. Yeah. That's something we've long been obsessed with around here.

My obsession led me to launch Estuary by Tannin Aquatics in 2016- a line within the Tannin brand dedicated to the art and science of brackish water aquariums. When we launched this line, I knew full well that there would be like 27 hobbyists in the world who would have shown even a whiff of interest in the topic, and that was just part of the challenge. I realized that, much like when we launched Tannin and attacked blackwater aquariums with a different mindset and approach, it would take tiem to catch on.

And I'm pleased to see that it IS catching on! Slowly, but surely.

Now, first off, the hardest thing we've had to do- and continue to do- is to change the perception among hobbyists that brackish water biotopes are stark white sandy places with a few rocks. Noooooo! Actually, many brackish water estuaries and lagoons are way different than we've portrayed them in our aquariums over the years;

They are often turbid, brown-tinted waters, with muddy, rich bottoms covered with decomposing leaves, lots of micro and macro algae, some plants, and often dominated by palms and  mangroves. 

And I've heard the "warnings" from people about attempting to replicate this in the aquarium:

"It won't work in a brackish tank! It will create anaerobic conditions! Too much nutrient! Ionic imbalance...Tinted water means dirty!"

Etcetera...

Man, this sounds oddly familiar, doesn't it?

And, unlike many of the prognosticators who predict doom and gloom, and who insist this can't work, or that the functional aspects of the habitats we're obsessed with can't be recreated in aquariums, I believe that they are perfect for replication. And yeah, I've actually been to quite a few of these habitats myself- dip net, refractometer, and ORP tester in hand- and I have the cuts, bruises, and insect bites to prove it! I've gotten up close and personal with mangroves, mud, and many of the wonderful organisms which call the "Mangal" home.

Trust me, these are way, WAY different than how we have traditionally portrayed brackish-water habitats in the aquarium.  There is a very serious disconnect that has always left me scratching my head.

Although there is a good amount of information on brackish-water habitats from which brackish water fishes come, in the hobby, (with the rare exception of some biotope enthusiasts) we've sort of distilled brackish-water aquarium "aesthetics" down to white aragonite sand, a few rocks, and maybe some "hardy" freshwater plants...and it's been mired in that aesthetic hell for decades.

Just like what the hobby was doing in the blackwater area for years, I think we've been collectively focusing on the wrong part of the equation for a long time- just "salt" and basic aesthetics- then on to the fishes. The wrong fishes, IMHO. Yeah-  big ol' puffers and Scats and Monos and Eels. Fishes that, although interesting, require large aquariums to keep successfully for any length of time. The size of the "preferred" fishes alone has, I'll bet, kept many hobbyists from venturing into brackish.  

I personally believe that not many hobbyists really want to dedicate a 200 gallon tank to some big grey, messy fishes, a few rocks, and some struggling freshwater plants- or worse. However, I'll bet that a lot of hobbyists might just want to dedicate a 15-40 gallon aquarium to smaller, interesting brackish water fishes, and some healthy mangroves...

Our approach to brackish is a little different than the "throw in a couple of rocks and white sand, a few teaspoons of salt per gallon, add some Monos and Mollies, and you're good to go! Brackish biotope" idea that you've seen for a long time in hobby literature. 

As you suspect, our approach is to really take a look at the function and appearance of these unique aquatic habitats, and then construct aquariums which mimic these factors in a unique and more compelling way. To do this, we want to really focus on helping you replicate and understand the complex web of life that occurs in brackish water habitats, and how you can replicate parts of it in the aquarium.

And quite honestly, the hobby "knowledge base" on the wild brackish water habitats and how dynamic, diverse, interesting- and yeah, awesome-looking they are has been sadly lacking.

Witness the rise of  a more natural approach: The botanical-method brackish-water aquarium.

A system that embraces natural processes and functionality...And just happens to have a different aesthetic, too! Less emphasis on "sterile" white sand and crystal-clear water, and more emphasis on a functional representation of a tropical, brackish water ecosystem: Muddy, nutrient- rich, filled with mangrove leaves, and perhaps stained a bit from tannins from fallen mangrove leaves.

Beautiful in a very different, yet oddly compelling way.

How does this all work? Ridiculously easy, really. The toughest part, as usual, is making the mental shifts to accept a different approach.

It all starts with my approach to substrate, and the mangroves which grow in it.

Mangrove soils are an interesting, nutrient-rich mix of marine alluvium, transported as sediment and deposited by rivers and the ocean tides. Soils are made up of sand, silt and clay in various combinations. Mangrove soils are typically saline, anoxic, often acidic and frequently waterlogged.

A real "cocktail" of variables, right?

You often hear the substrate in these habitats referred to as "mud." In this context, of course, "mud" actually refers to mixture of silt and clay, both of which are rich in organic matter. The "topsoil" is a combination of sand or clay. Now, interestingly, the lighter-colored topsoils, consisting largely of sand, are pretty well aerated.

The clay-like topsoils are far less aerated.

In a recent study of these habitats which I stumbled on, the researchers concluded that the composition in typical mangrove habits was as follows: "Overall sediment proportion of main fractions is 59% for silt, 21% for sand and 20% for clay."

Of course, this has some implications for those of us who are trying to recreate this type of habitat in our aquariums, doesn't it?

Mangrove habitats are usually enclosed and protected environments, with low-energy waters, which is conducive to sedimentation of clay particles. Now, confusing the matter further is that various studies of tropical mangrove forests worldwide have revealed that mangrove soils may be either acidic or alkaline, depending upon the materials deposited within them. 

In mangrove soils, nitrogen is considered the primary nutrient that affects species composition and mangrove population density. Further analysis found that nitrogen and phosphate influence structure and composition in approximately equal proportions. Potassium is beneficial for mangrove growth, yet vitally important in higher salty environments, as it impacts the osmotic regulation that occurs within the mangroves themselves.

So, if you're keeping mangroves in very salty conditions, perhaps dosing a fertilizer containing potassium might be quite beneficial!

Now, we talk in general terms about mangrove soils being "nutrient rich"- and they are, for the most part. However, there are significant variabilities because of the dynamics of the mangrove habitat. Although some mangrove soils have extremely low nutrient availability, this factor varies greatly between mangroves- and also within a mangrove stand! In other words, the mangroves themselves actually influence these factors! 

In general, it's understood by ecologists that nutrient-rich silty sediments produced faster growth of mangrove seedlings- vital in this important ecosystem- and of extreme interest to those of us who wish to sprout and grow mangrove propagules in the aquarium!

And of course, the leaves which mangroves regularly drop form not only an interesting aesthetic and "structural" component of the habitat (and therefore, the aquarium!)- they contribute to the overall biological diversity and "richness" of the habitat. 

Let's talk about plants for just a second...

This is another little rant that will likely alienate me from pretty much every YouTube aquarium channel and hobby forum out there. But really, sometimes there are things that simply have to be said, and since I don't really care if I take some heat, let me say it.

Why are we sooo insistent on keeping freshwater aquatic plants in our brackish water aquariums? 

Seriously, one of the top questions that I see on like every brackish water forum, Facebook group, or YouTube video is, "What kinds of aquarium plants can I keep in brackish water?"

I hate that question.

Why?

Well, because...It belies a fundamental unwillingness of us as hobbyists to let go of what we know and to embrace something different.  I mean, you're obviously new to the brackish world, so why try to bring along your old baggage with you?

Just enjoy the difference!

Sure, you hear a lot that Amazon Swords, Anubias, Java Fern, and other "hardy" plants may hang on in very slightly brackish water (like, up to say 1.003 SG max) situations. They may or may not do okay long term. And yeah, the elusive (and HUGE!) Crpytocoryne ciliata is known to actually be found in areas where there may be a very low salt content...But I think I've seen one...ONE brackish water aquarium with Cryptocoryne ciliatia in it. In the past 10 years.

Why do this? Why "force fit" freshwater plants into our brackish water aquariums?

This is that whole, "Well, the (fish/plant) can adapt to (insert your desired water parameters here) conditions, so, why can't I keep it in there....?" Argument.

It's dumb. I mean, sure- the plant can adapt...You can adapt to living in a 3 meter cube at 105 degrees F/40.55 degrees C  for the rest of your life, too...but would you want to? Would you be at your best? How do you think that would work out, long term?

Want my advice? (probably NOT at this point, I know...)

Just give up the idea of keeping freshwater plants in your brackish water aquarium. Ditch the idiotic "YouTube take" to brackish, and tell the next "content producer" who "recommends" that "approach" to shove it.

Seriously. Approach this differently.

All you are doing is trying to force freshwater plants which have developed a reputation for being "hardy" to adapt to an environment which is utterly alien for them. Sure, they may survive...for some period of time. But they're usually not thriving. Of course, you'll send me a video of your tank, which has a SG of 1.005 and has an obscene number of healthy Amazon Swords and Anubias thriving, as they have  for the last five years- but I assure you that you're the exception, rather than the rule. You couldn't seriously recommend keeping them this way to someone else...or could you? 

Really, have you ever seen a public aquarium representation of a brackish water habitat which contained Anubias, Swords, etc.? Probably not. If you have seen plants in these displays, they are likely riparian grasses which are salt and emergent growth tolerant. Usually, if there are any plants at all- they're mangroves. Or even just mangrove roots...

And before you bring it up- Seagrasses and marine macro algae can't typically survive for any length of time under less than natural seawater conditions, so instead, you'll need to find species of plants which are found in intertidal zones, like mud flats and estuaries, which have brackish water. There out there, but pretty hard to find in the trade....

So yeah, lose the whole "I want to keep aquatic plants in my brackish water aquarium" thing...

Like, honestly...Where in Nature have you seen a documented wild population of Amazon Sword Plants growing in a brackish-water habitat? You haven't, I'll wager.  

So, why bother?

And the really funny thing to me is that, when I search these YouTube videos where some content producer is sharing his/her brackish water aquarium, it almost always features one or more of these varieties of plants (most specimens of which appear to be in average health at best) and, in the ultimate ironic twist, they're being kept in tanks with fishes like Scats, which are known to tear up plants. Sometimes it's puffers, which is equally funny to me.

Like, why? Why?

If you are going to try something different, approach it differently...Make the effort to understand what's found in these habitats in Nature. Think about how you can replicate the function...

OMG, can we just agree as a hobby to "stand down" from producing any more of the mostly pathetic, absurd representations of brackish water "habitats" which are just all over the internet? 

Please?

Educate yourself by researching...not by watching some awful "amateur-hour "interpretation of brackish! 

Take a few minutes and look at some real brackish water habitats- what they really look like, and what is actually found in them-how they function, and why... and stop using those lousy YouTube versions of somebody's watered-down, zquairum-santized interpretation of what you're "supposed to have" in a brackish water aquarium as your model!

Read. Research outside of the aquarium world. You can do this. 

Yeah, take your inspiration from Nature!

And, why not take some time to learn about mangroves?

 

There are more that 50 species of mangroves found throughout the world. Mangroves thrive in oxygen-deprived sediments which would certainly spell doom for most plants. They have evolved certain morphological and physiological responses, which allow them to survive in these harsh conditions. 

Mangroves employ a sort of "internal ionic regulation." The Red Mangrove, Rhizophora mangle,  (the most common one we encounter in the aquarium hobby) is known to botanists as a "salt excluder", which separates freshwater at the root surface by creating a type of non-metabolic "filtration system."

The process of transpiration (exhalation of water vapor) at the leaf surface creates negative pressure in the xylem (the vascular tissue in plants that conducts water and dissolved nutrients upward from the root ). This causes a type of "reverse osmosis" to occur at the root surface. The salt concentration of xylem sap in the Red Mangrove has been found to be about 1/70th of the salinity of surrounding seawater, but this is l0 times higherthan in normal plants!

The Red Mangrove stores and disposes of excess salt in the leaves and fruit. (Which is one reason why we spray the leaves down regularly, which helps avoid salt buildup on their surfaces).

Yeah, mangroves are incredibly adaptable.

I've kept them for decades in all sorts of aquariums: Reefs, brackish, freshwater, and oh, yeah, blackwater.

The predominant species found in freshwater habitats is Barringtonia acutangula. It's definitely one you will notlikely see in the aquarium hobby. You might not know that mangroves do not require saltwater to survive. In fact, most mangroves are capable of growing in freshwater habitats, although most do not in the wild because of competition from other plants. However, some species DO need salt to grow and complete their life cycle.

Here are mangroves growing in a soft, acidic "blackwater" situation in Southeast Asia!

Mangroves are "halophytes" (salt tolerant plants), which maintain sufficient fresh water inside their cells and tissues to maintain metabolic function against a higher osmotic pressure in the exterior root environment, which can vary between freshwater and up to three times seawater salt concentration!

Let's talk about some practical aspects of keeping mangroves in your brackish-water aquarium.

First off, have some realistic expectations. They grow really slowly. My 18"-24" seedlings are over three years old. When you grow them from propagules, as I did, it takes time. You have to be patient. 

And the other important thing with mangroves in captivity is to not "mess with them" too much. Like, if you plan on keeping them in full-strength Marien water as seedlings, sprout your propagules in full-strength marine water. Brackish, sprout 'em in brackish...etc. Yeah, they're found in intertidal locales, subject to changes in salinity in the course of a single day...but that's in the wild. Of course, they can tolerate changes in salinity in captive propagation, if done slowly, but you don't want to make this a regular thing.

Unlike typical "aquairum plants" mangroves are not "window dressing", IMHO. They are the literal "stars of the show", and should be the life form that you're building your tank around. Makes the effort to meet their needs, and the entire aquarium and all of its inhabitants-will be better off for it- trust me. 

Oh, and far be it from me NOT to scold myself when it's deserved.

One thing I've done with this new version of my mangrove tank is to over-do it with the mangroves. I have way too many in there to create a sustainable very long-term situation. I have 7 seedlings in this small tank, a good chunk of my mangrove collection- all of which I grew from propagules legally collected in Florida.

They're almost sentimental to me, lol. I'm ridiculously attached to them. 

 

My mistake, though, was keeping these mangroves together in small containers for too long as they began to establish their buttress roots, and not pruning them as extensively or frequently as I should have. They became quite tall and leafy with relatively small root systems...something that would come back to haunt me later. As a result of keeping them like a "bouquet", their roots ultimately became an intertwined mess which took some very careful "surgery" to disentangle prior to planting them with proper separation in the new tank.

Now, here's the deal: Mangroves are TREES. They can become enormous in the wild. Want being said, this is a small aquarium in suburban Los Angeles, NOT a mangal in Southeast Asia. Mangroves grow quite slowly. Like, really slowly. And you can manage their growth by frequent pruning...almost sort of "bansai-ing" them.

Now, I"m not super in love with this practice, sustainable though it may be, but it's the best way to manage them long term if you don't have tropical estuary acreage upon which to grow your own mangal! Many hobbyists- myself included, have employed this practice to keep mangroves in modest setups for many years. And let's be honest, having a few sets of those cool prop roots in my tank is a great look.

And just having one small mangrove isn't gonna cut it, IMHO. These guys are 3 years old...To get a substantial root system enough to fill even this modest aquarium could take 3-4 more years. I'm patient, but that's too much even for me!

So, yeah, I have more mangroves in my little tank than I'd recommend. And they are a bit pissed off at me for disturbing them for the third time in a year and a half. So, a word of advice: Once you get your mangroves set, try to disturb them as little as possible. 

That being said, if managed in the way I just described, it can work. It's just not something that I'm particularly proud of, lol. Of course, I'm way prouder of employing too many mangroves than I would be trying to force-fit Anubias, Amazon Swords, or other freshwater plants into this display.

Okay, I could go on and on and on, but what about some smaller fishes? 

Ohh, that's a fun one. In fact, sooo fun, that we'll cover it in a separate installment!  

 

Beginning again...

I'm pretty excited.

After what seems like an eternity for a fish geek (almost 2 years!) I'm finally setting up some modest-sized aquariums again at home. And in all of the anticipation and excitement, there is the emergence of those same old feelings. I approach an aquarium startup as almost a reverential process. Yeah, those of you who are lifetime hobbyists can relate to this..it's almost a "sacred" sort of thing,

I mean, you're not just setting up an "enclosure" for fishes- your creating a closed ecosystem.

Any good botanical-method aquarium lover will tell you that the start of a new aquarium is doubly exciting. Why? Well, not only because- ya know- a new tank- but because a botanical-method aquarium is intended from the very start to evolve quite differently from the way it looks and functions when it was originally set up. You get to see an amazing, but radical transformation take place.

A new aquarium- particularly one which follows our philosophy- can often thave an almost "sterile" sort of look, compared to the way it will look once the materials start softening and decomposing after the startup period.

CYCLING. BIOFILMS. ALGAE...STARTUP.

Yikes, I forgot about that stuff...

Yeah.

Seems like, before my 18-month home-remodeling-imposed "sabbatical",  I'd had tanks just kind of "set up" for so long, particularly in our tinted-water-and-decomposing-leaf world, that I've kind of forgotten about the stuff that happens in new tanks for it a bit. That part when all of your good work looks like...well, you get it- as it's covered with that familiar "patina" of biofilms, while the tank goes through its nutrient cycling phase.

 

The part where every hobbyist, experienced or otherwise, has those lingering doubts; asks questions- goes through the "mental gymnastics" to try to cope: "Do I have enough flow?" "Was my source water quality any good?" "Is it my light?" "When does this shit go away?" "It DOES go away. I know it's just a phase." Right? "Yeah, it goes away?" "When?" "It WILL go away. Right?"

I mean, it's common with every new tank, really. 

The waiting. The "not being able to visualize a fully-stocked tank "thing"...Patience-testing stuff. Stuff which I- "Mr. Tinted-water-biofilms-and-decomposing-leaves-and-botanicals-guy"- am pretty much hardened to by now. Accepting a totally different look. Not worrying about "phases" or the ephemeral nature of some things in my aquarium. 

Yet, like anyone who sets up an aquarium, I admit that I still occasionally get those little doubts in the dim (tinted?) recesses of my mind now and then- the product of decades of doing fish stuff, yet wondering if THIS is the one time when things WON'T work out as expected...

I mean, it's one of those rights of passage that we all go through when we set up aquariums  right? The early doubts. The questioning of ourselves. The reviewing of fundamental procedure and practice. Maybe, the need to reach out to the community to gain reassurance.

It's normal. It's often inevitable. We're social creatures.

The point of this piece is not about algae or nitrites, or biofilms on botanicals, per se. It's about the mind setthat we bring to the table when we experience such things. The "biofilm" phases brings out familiar feelings...Feelings that perhaps make us uncomfortable because we realize that, despite all of our planning and knowledge and forethought- we are not entirely in control.

Nature is.

She calls the shots. These 'phases" in new tanks are hers to execute. We just have to accept, understand, and wait them out patiently- perhaps even learning to appreciate and understand them to the point where they simply become "rungs on a ladder"- trail markers, if you will- on the journey to our aquarium's ultimate destination.

She's done it for eons in the wild, creating beautiful, functional habitats that inspire us beyond anything we could ever hope to achieve. We need to relax and have a little faith that she'll do similar deeds in our little glass boxes- if we allow her to.

And the other question I receive from our community in regards to botanicals is do I leave them in until they completely decompose, or do I remove them?

I leave them in.

Decomposition is something to be embraced in the botanical-style aquarium world.

Decomposition is an amazing process by which Nature processes materials for use by the greater ecosystem. In Nature, it's the first part of the recycling of nutrients that were used by the plant from which the botanical material came from. When a botanical decays, it is broken down and converted into more simple organic forms, which become food for all kinds of organisms at the base of the ecosystem.

This is a dynamic, fascinating process- part of why we find the idea of a natural, botanical-style system so compelling.

So, what exactly happens in the early days of a botanical method aquarium?

Well, for one thing, the water will usually gradually start to tint up...

Now, I admit that this is perhaps one of the most variable and unpredictable aesthetic aspects of these types of aquariums. Many factors, ranging from what kind (and how much) chemical filtration media you use, what types (and how much again!) of botanical materials you're using, and others, impact this. Recently, I've heard a lot of pretty good observation-based information from experienced plant enthusiasts that some plants take up tannins as they grow. Interesting, huh?

Stuff changes. The botanicals themselves begin to physically break down,

I personally feel that botanical method aquariums always look better after a few weeks, or even months of operation. When they're new, and the leaves and botanicals are crisp, intact, and fresh-looking, it may have a nice "artistic" appearance- but not necessarily "natural" in the sense that it doesn't look established and "alive" in the manner we'd like it to just yet.

But it IS alive- and with more abundance and variety than you might think by casually observing...

Many of the organisms- from microbes to micro crustaceans to fungi- are almost never seen except by the most observant and keen-eyed hobbyist...but they're there- doing what they've done for eons. They work slowly and methodically over weeks and months, converting the botanical material into forms that are more readily assimilated by themselves and other aquatic organisms.

The real magic takes place weeks later.

The whole environment of a more established botanical method aquarium looks substantially different after a few weeks. While the water gradually darkens, those biofilms appear...it just looks more "earthy", mysterious, and alive.

It's "Wabi-Sabi" again.

Something that's been on my mind a lot lately.

In it's most simplistic and literal form,the Japanese philosophy of "Wabi Sabi" is an acceptance and contemplation of the imperfection, constant flux and impermanence of all things.

This is a very interesting philosophy, one which has been embraced in aquascaping circles by none other than the late, great, Takashi Amano, who proferred that a planted aquarium is in constant flux, and that one needs to contemplate, embrace, and enjoy the sweet sadness of the transience of life.

Many of Amano's greatest works embraced this philosophy, and evolved over time as various plants would alternately thrive, spread and decline, re-working and reconfiguring the aquascape with minimal human intervention. Each phase of the aquascape's existence brought new beauty and joy to those would observe them.

Yet, in today's contest-scape driven, break-down-the-tank-after-the-show world, this philosophy of appreciating change by Nature over time seems to have been tossed aside as we move on to the next 'scape.

We need to relax, take a few deep breaths, and simply observe at this point...Allowing Nature to do Her thing.

Accept that things will shift, become coated with a "bloom" of life, and gradually break down.

Do nothing.

Yeah, nothing.

I am of the opinion that, when we remove partially decomposed botanicals from our systems, we're interrupting a process- denying these beneficial organisms access to their primary food sources. And, as we've discussed over and over, these organisms also serve as supplemental food sources for our fishes.

In our aquariums, we're just beginning to appreciate the real benefits of using leaves and botanicals. Not just for cool aesthetics or to "tint" the water- but to create truly natural, ecologically stable aquatic systems for the health and well-being of the fishes we love so much!

It's important to remember that leaves and such are simply not permanent additions to our 'scapes, and if we wish to enjoy them in their more "intact" forms, we will need to replace them as they start to break down. 

This is not a bad thing.

Another thing that's unique about the botanical-style approach is that we tend to accept the idea of decomposing materials accumulating in and among the substrates within our aquariums. We understand that botanical materials in the substrate act, to a certain extent, as "fuel" for the micro and macrofauna which reside in the aquarium, and that they perform this function as long as they are present in the system.

Don't forget- the substrate plays a huge role in the function of a botanical-style aquarium. Allowing broken-down and decomposed botanical materials to remain "in situ" on/in the substrate is really important. We can create a "facility" with substrate materials which provides not only unique aesthetics- it provides priceless benefits: Production of supplemental nutrition for our fishes, and nutrient processing via a self-generating population of creatures that compliment, indeed, create the biodiversity in our systems on a more-or-less continuous basis.

True "functional aesthetics!"

For most of us- those of us who've made that mental shift- we let Nature dictate the evolution of our tanks. We understand that the processes of biofilm recruitment, fungal growth, and decomposition work on a timeline, and in a manner that is not entirely under our control.

 

 

So, yeah- there IS a lot to consider when utilizing botanical materials in your aquarium. It's far, far beyond the idea of just "dumping and praying" that has been an unfortunate "model" for how to utilize them in our aquariums for many years. It's more than just aesthetics alone...the "functional aesthetic" mindset- accepting the look and the biological processes which occur when terrestrial materials are added  to our tanks is a fundamental shift in hobby thinking.

So, in those early hours; shortly after our tanks begin their exciting journeys, we can take delight in knowing that they will unfold according to the plan which Nature has created for them.

And we get to enjoy all of it.

Stay excited. Stay bold. Stay enthusiastic. Stay creative...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

 

The joys of allochthonous input.

If you had to ask me about the "prototype" for the botanical method aquarium, it would have to be the flooded blackwater forests of Amazonia, the igapo. Perhaps nowhere else is the relationship between terrestrial and aquatic environments so vividly demonstrated than in these unique ecosystems. 

The concept of  allochthonous inputs, which are materials arriving into a habitat (in our case, the aquatic one) from outside of it (the terrestrial one), like fruits, seeds, insects, and plant parts, are important food sources to many fishes.  Many midwater characins consume fruits and seeds of terrestrial plants, as well as terrestrial insects.

It’s not uncommon for a tree to fall in the rain forest, with punishing rain and saturated ground conspiring to easily knock over anything that's not firmly rooted. When these trees fall over, they often fall into small streams, or in the case of the varzea or igapo environments in The Amazon that I'm totally obsessed with, they fall and are submerged in the inundated forest floor when the waters return.

And of course, they immediately impact their (now) aquatic environment, fulfilling several functions: Providing a physical barrier or separation from currents, offering territories for fishes to spawn in,  providing a substrate for algae and biofilms to multiply on, and providing places for fishes forage among, and hide in. An entire community of aquatic life forms uses the fallen tree for many purposes. And the tree trunks and parts will last for many years, fulfilling this important role in the aquatic ecosystems they now reside in each time the waters return.

Shortly after falling into the water, fungi and other microorganisms act to colonize the surfaces, and biofilms populate the bark and exposed surfaces of the tree.  Over time, the tree will impart many chemical substances, (humic acids, tannins, sugars, etc.) into the water.

The fallen tree literally brings new life to the waters.

Let's summarize: The materials which comprise the tree are known in ecology as "allochthonous material"-  something imported into an ecosystem from outside of it.  (extra points if you can pronounce the word on the first try...) And of course, in the case of fallen trees, this includes includes leaves, fruits and seed pods that fall or are washed into the water along with the branches and trunks that topple into the stream.  

And the life forms of the terrestrial environment become important to the aquatic habitat as well. Insects, specifically,  are really important to fishes in blackwater ecosystems. In fact, it's been concluded that the the first link in the food web during the flooding of forests is terrestrial arthropods, which provide a highly important primary food for many fishes.

 

 

 

As we've already established, the relationship between the terrestrial and aquatic habitats is important beyond just the food input/production benefits. The reality is that the relationship is absolutely foundational- part of the very existence of the habitats themselves!

The leaves, branches, seed pods, etc. which end up submerged in these habitats following the seasonal inundation essentially create the biology and the structural/physical part of the benthic environment of the igapo.These systems are intimately tied to the surrounding terrestrial environment.

Even the permanent rivers have a strong, very predictable "seasonality", which  provides fruits, seeds, and other terrestrial-originated food resources for the fishes which reside in them. It's long been known by ecologists that rivers with predictable annual floods have a higher richness of fish species tied to this elevated rate of food produced by the surrounding forests.

And when you think about it- getting back to the whole botanical method of aquarium keeping- the idea that various materials can influence the physical characteristics and even the ecology of the aquarium is the game.

And you'll note that we've sort of embraced the moniker "botanical method" of late as a transition from "botanical style" to better describe what we do. The use of the word "style" seemed to incorrectly imply that what we do is an "aquascaping style", rather than a methodology of creating a functional ecology within the aquarium, and we really wanted to draw that distinction!

In our instance, yeah- the aesthetics are unique and different, but a significant part of them is derived from the function of botanical materials interacting with the aquatic environment. 

With more and more attention being paid the overall environments from which our fishes come-not just the water, but the surrounding areas of the habitat, we as hobbyists will be able to call even more attention to the need to learn about and protect them when we create aquariums based on more specific habitats.

We should look at nature for all of the little details it offers. We should question why things look the way they do, and postulate on what processes led to a habitat looking and functioning the way it does- and why/how fishes came to inhabit it and thrive within it.

It's a fun and fascinating journey, that will not only yield greater understanding of our fishes, but of the precious and fascinating environments from which they come. And a greater appreciation for the functions and vulnerabilities of these wild ecosystems means that we'll be in a better position than ever as aquarists to call attention to the perils that they face.

And when we inspire non-aquarists to understand and learn more about this stuff- the planet wins. 

Not a bad return on the investment of studying the unique concept of allochthonous input, right?

Stay resourceful. Stay curious. Stay thoughtful. Stay observant. Stay creative...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

A world full of botanicals...

Experimentation is awesome! 

And it's just that- an experiment. And that means you likely don't kn ow exactly what the outcome-good or bad-will be. 

As more and more hobbyists push out into the natural, botanical method aquarium world, it's only proper that more and more of us experiment with different things. Being both a "power user" and vendor of botanical materials in my aquairums, I certainly consider myself fairly well-versed on a lot of this stuff (okay, as "well-versed" as one can be about adding "twigs and nuts" to his aquarium!). And, like you, I enjoy a good experiment or two, particularly when it comes to trying new botanical items for use in our aquariums!

I am constantly contacted by fellow hobbyists who've found "this seed pod" or leaf from a tree or bush in their yard, or while on vacation in Florida, or wherever. Sometimes, it's something they've seen offered by some other vendor, which we haven't discussed before here, and they'll ask me if the seed pods, roots, or leaves that they have procured are suitable for use in aquariums.

It leaves me in a sort of "damned if I do, damned if I don't" position- because Im apparently seen as an "authority" on some of this stuff, but the reality is that I can't possibly- and indeed, don't - know everything on it! Not even close.

And honestly, most of the time, I give the same answer if I have not used the item in question:

"I don't know.You need to research it and experiment with it."

 

I get it. Totally unsatisfying, huh? Especially from some "authority..."

Some might say that it's hardly the answer you'd expect from a guy who makes his living selling botanical items for use in aquariums, but it's the truth! And it's usually the most responsible answer I can give. Seriously, there are around 400,000 described plant species in the world, and an average of 2,000 new species are described each year! Who can possibly know everything about what could be safe to use in...an aquarium, for goodness sakes?

At the risk of sounding a lot like Dr. McCoy of "Star Trek" fame, I'm a fish geek, not a botanist, so understanding the physical/chemical/environmental impact of almost any terrestrial plant and its components on our tanks is "beyond my pay grade", as they say! I can only speak in general terms. To assert otherwise would simply be irresponsible on my part, and a huge disservice to the aquarium community.

When we started Tannin, the aquarium hobby already had a pretty good working knowledge of playing with some botanical items in aquatic environments. For example, Catappa (Indian Almond) leaves had been used for decades by fish people to impart tannins and humic substances into the water, as had guava and a few other leaves, and stuff like Alder cones.

Now, it just so happens that Catappa has been studied pretty extensively by science, and it's not only not harmful to fishes, but it's generally acknowledged that there are some beneficial substances contained in the leaves and bark, many of which are known generally to have potentially medicinal properties.

Of course, these "revelations" usually require us to think a bit...

Now, keep in mind that these substances are present to protect the tree from fungi, bacteria, and parasites, so it's always a bit of a leap when aquarists immediately extoll the virtues of them as fish remedies. I mean, they do apparently have some positive health impacts on fishes.

Flavonoids, such as Quercetin and Kaempferol, which are abundant in Catappa; substances which apparently have anti-inflammatory, and possibly even anti-cancer affects in humans, and anecdotally have been determined to be beneficial to fishes. I did come across a laboratory study from the Fisheries Ministry in Malaysia that determined catappa extract to be useful as a remedy and/or prophylactic for some fish diseases, so that study vindicated some of the "anecdotal" stuff, in my mind!

Of course, that does not give aquairum hobbyists or botanical vendors like me the "green light" to go crazy and assert that any given leaf or seed pod is useful for preventing fish diseases and such. 

In fact, the "medicinal" impact of botanicals is the thing you've likely noticed that we discuss the least around here over the past seven years- because it's the least important-and effective- reason for using them in the aquarium, IMHO. I mean, when my fishes contract diseases, I reach for real medications and treat them in a "hospital tank"- and you should, too.

You see tons of vaguely-worded articles online on the purported "medicinal" properties of Catappa, typically on sites that, well- sell the leaves. And typically, they're kind of vague and filled with all of the wonderful marketing hyperbole and claims (ie; bullshit) about their wonders that perpetuates all of the myths and suppositions that are unfortunately so abundant in the aquarium world about this stuff.

We've chosen steer clear of this kind of vagueness, and rather, choose to focus on their use as natural materials to foster a diverse ecology in the aquarium by recruiting microbial and fungal growth, and as a food resource for a variety of organisms along the food chain. We see botanical materials as a means to impart tannins, humic substances, and other organics from their tissues into the aquarium water, creating not only a visual "tint" in some instances, but impacting some of its environmental parameters as well (ph, for example).

Those things are typically not disputable, with the exception of to what extent they do this.

And of course, we're ultra-geeky about this. Yeah we geek out hard. 

THE PROCESS.

One of the most amazing things about our practice of adding leaves, twigs, seed pods, snd other botanical materials to our aquariums- whether you collected them yourself in Houston, Hamburg, or Hong Kong- or purchased them from a supplier like us-is that they can be almost "relied on" to perform in a fairly predictable manner in our aquariums.

The same natural processes which affect the decomposition of an Alder Cone from Europe impact the Sterculia pod from Southeast Asia, the oak twig from North America, the Jackfruit leaf from Malaysia, or the Banana Stem from Thailand. Colonization by biofilms, fungal growths, and the resulting decomposition which occurs are the same all over the planet.

And they're the same processes which govern what happens in our aquariums.

Think about that for just a second. Let me rephrase it one more time:

The same processes of Nature which impact the leaves when they fall into the water in the Amazon occur in your home in suburban Los Angeles, Paris, or Tokyo, for that matter.

Nature doesn't care. 

Sure, there are subtle chemical, mineral, and other physical variations in the tap water in different parts of the world, which, if I'm being intellectually honest, could make some difference-but the ecological processes which decompose leaves are the same.

It's actually pretty remarkable, when you think about it!

So, disclaimers aside- there are a few general words of advice we have for you if you are going to collect your own stuff:

-Make sure that you are legally permitted to gather the materials that you're considering, and that you aren't trespassing on someone else's property while doing so.

-Make a positive identification of the botanicals that you're going to collect. A good "nature guide" or field guide to plants of your region can really help. And there's this thing called "Google" that might work well, too. Don't be lazy. 😆

-Confirm that the area you are collecting from is not sprayed with pesticides or subject to runoff from other toxic substances or pollutants. This is super important! If you're not sure, just don't grab them. It's simply not worth it, IMHO.

-If the plant has a popular name that starts with "Deadly _______ or "Poison_________", that's a pretty good fucking clue NOT to even consider using any part of it in an aquairum. Just sayin'...

- Collect the botanicals you're focusing on as naturally-fallen materials. This is particularly important with leaves, as we've discussed many times in this blog. When leaves fall naturally, they have consumed many of the sugars and other compounds which are not beneficial for our aquariums, and actually are more detrimental than helpful.

-Never collect anything from a tree or shrub which is protected, endangered, or otherwise restricted from being disturbed in your area. This is pretty obvious, but we'd be negligent if we didn't mention it here!

There are lots and lots of botanical materials which you can legally collect and safely utilize in your aquarium. Hobbyists have done this for many decades! It makes sense that you should seek out readily obtainable free materials for use in your tanks, if only just to supplement the more "exotic" materials which we offer. Not only is it a good way to save some money- it could get you into the "Great Outdoors" and maybe even create a new hobby for you! And it can be educating!

It's beyond just "collecting stuff." It's important to understand how these materials occur, what benefits they can offer, and how they play a role in the wild terrestrial-and aquatic- ecosystems of the world. 

And I've found out over the years that most trees and plants do have leaves, bark and seed pods which contain tannins humic substances, and other compounds which may have a desirable effect upon the aquarium environment. To what extent, may only be determined by careful laboratory analysis- something most of us are simply not equipped, educated, or prepared to do. The same goes for any other compounds these materials can impart into the water. 

And, some may prove toxic to aquatic and other animal life if consumed, steeped, or otherwise utilized in the aquarium. We have to do our homework.

So, no- I can't tell you if that cool seed pod you found on holiday in Ibiza or the root that you grabbed during your hiking trip in The Appalachians is going to nuke your Geophagus tank or not.

I can only tell you how we'd approach it: Try to research what you can (AGAIN-there's this crazy cool search engine on the "Information Superhighway" called  g-o-o-g-l-e, and they have all sorts of information you can look up!), and...beyond that, you could experiment with what you consider "expendable" (gulp- I cringe even saying that...) fishes in a reasonably controlled setting and see what happens...

Yeah, "experiment." Risk. Chance. It's not for everyone, but if you want to use "that seed pod" or leaf, you'll need to experiment for yourself to know for sure. 

OKAY. I GET IT. BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR STUFF?

Well, I can tell you that very single botanical item which we offer has been tested- and fairly extensively- in our own aquariums, and in those of some of our friends- with our own precious fishes before it's ever even been considered as something we'd offer for sale. It's the best way, IMHO.  We didn't just wake up one day and decide to create a business because we found some cool acorns in a tree down the street, ya know?

I've become shockingly conservative about what I use and offer for aquariums. I'm often approached by my suppliers over seas, who will tell me, "Hey, Scott, would you like some _______ pods for your customers?" After the initial excitement about how cool the damn thing looks, I hit the research, and perhaps I'll find out that the tree from which the pod comes is known to have poisonous bark or something...and I'll quickly slam the door on the idea, rationalizing that, if the bark is toxic, whatever the toxin my be could be found in other parts of the tree, including said seed pods. Not worth it, IMHO.

Hardly scientific, and possibly even a wildly incorrect assumption- but a pretty conservative approach if you're thinking about importing a bunch at great cost to use in fish tanks. Now, sure, sometimes I will take a chance and experiment with the pods or bark or whatever, but it can be many months, or in a couple of instances, a year or two of success with my own tanks before I'll consider offering the stuff for sale.

This is not a fast, "farm to table" kind of operation, lol.

We spent years playing with this stuff. And we love all of it.

And guess what? We've killed a few fishes- very few- along the way. But we have killed some. And, to be honest- it wasn't just because the botanicals we tested were somehow "poisonous"...it was usually because we pushed it, in terms of numbers of stuff added at once to a tank, using the materials without preparing, or just added too much too quickly.

It's worth repeating that, even with "safe" stuff, as we've discussed many times here- you can push too hard too fast, and create potentially tragic outcomes for your aquariums. 

You have to prep, add slowly, and observe. We say this over and over to the point where you're probably sick of hearing it- but we'll keep saying it. No matter what you use, where you obtain it from- or what anyone- even myself- says. Every aquarium, every fish, every situation is different, and the possible outcomes are always subject to lots of variables.

Natural materials can sometimes have unpredictable results. It's as simple as that. Anytime you add anything to your closed aquatic environment, "stuff" can happen. It's reality, as you know. Some fishes, like Apistos, are very sensitive to changes in their environment, and even with "safe" botanicals, you need to go slowly when adding them to an established aquarium. The botanical aquarium method is not completely risk free.

Now, after a while, like anything else, you sort of get a "feel" for what can and cannot work. You'll look at a seed pods or whatever and have a sort of hunch, test them, and be very pleasantly surprised. Other times, you'll be shocked that the seemingly innocuous leaves you just added to your test tank have the fishes gasping at the surface in minutes.

You just can't be sure until you test them yourself. 

Or, of course, you can get your botanical stuff from us or some other reputable source and have a little peace of mind, knowing that we at least use the stuff regularly in our own tanks after a lot of testing. I've even seen a few  Tannin "knock offs" pop up online lately, and that's cool. Check them out, for sure. Although I sometimes can't help but wonder, based on many of their "parallel" offerings, if all they did was try to source some of the stuff we offer and simply sell it at a lower price or whatever.

Like, we did the risky groundwork, and they figured it was all safe, lol.

Well, I suppose I can't blame them for adopting this "strategy."  It's cool, actually. Yet I can't help but wonder...The reality is that just dumping any leaf or pod from any source into your aquarium carries some risk to it, and that cool decorative gourd you saw at the craft store, for example, may or may not be coated, varnished, or otherwise chemically preserved with material that can easily wipe out your tank!

I've done that before, years ago, and I know at least a dozen hobbyists who've also tried that over the years, only to experience deadly consequences to save a few bucks. A "bargain" is no "bargain" when your precious fish are lying dead at the bottom of your tank.

I suppose it's in our hobbyist "DNA" to want to find shortcuts, "hacks", workarounds...whatever. And that's fine. If you accept the potential risks that go with it.

There's a reason why we offer what we do, and why we obtain our botanicals from the people we do. Going to the source overseas is challenging, expensive, and difficult. But it generally doesn't;t yield product which instantly kills fishes, either.

 It's why we aren't rolling out new things every single day. It takes time to source, test, and observe them in use. We test them extensively with our fishes before we'd ever think of making them available for yours. We know how they are collected and handled. We've gotten to know our global suppliers personally, which is awesome!  It took a number of years. We know what to expect from them.

And yeah, you might find find stuff cheaper, but I don't know for sure if you can find it safer, or backed up by lots of testing and free information. That's why our buddies at Blackwater UK and Betta Botanicals are also good "go to" sources for this kind of stuff...They are just as conservative as we are in that regard. Support suppliers who take the time to study what they sell.

That being said, if you're fortunate enough to have a nice oak tree or whatever near by, go for it- test those leaves and if they are not harmful, use them in your aquariums! Chances are, it's totally fine. This is the fun part of playing with botanicals! There is a lot of DIY potential here.

But you have to take the risk. 

(White Oak. Pic by Msact, used under CC BY-S.A. 3.0)

And it's worth it to me, when you can create an amazing, natural-looking-and-performing habitat for your fishes. You may just want to wait until someone else has done the groundwork, and that's totally cool, too.

So, if you see that cool seed pod, leaf, or piece of wood on your next hike, and think to yourself, "Gee, that would look killer in my tank!"- Go for it...but only after you weigh the risks, prepare the item for use, and test it carefully.

It's a very enjoyable, alluring, and fascinating part of the hobby, if you take the proper steps to minimize risk. 

It's beyond just "collecting stuff." It's important to understand how these materials occur, what benefits they can offer, and how they play a role in the wild terrestrial-and aquatic- ecosystems of the world. 

There's literally a whole world out there to explore..if you want to.

Stay adventurous. Stay curious. Stay bold. Stay excited....

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics