The Tint

What do we do?

It's been over 5 years since we've started Tannin Aquatics, and the global movement with botanical-style aquariums is really starting to take off! I've been very proud to have played a small role in the growth of this movement!

People often ask me about the kinds of aquariums that we create and play with. They ask a lot about blackwater aquariums- which are incredibly cool. However, the term "blackwater aquarium" to me seems so limiting and somewhat restrictive when used to describe what we do.

And perhaps even misleading, really.

I tell people that I play with "natural, botanical-style aquariums."

So, here's the thing: When we talk about "botanical-style aquariums", we're not just talking about blackwater aquariums, or even aquariums with deeply tinted water. Now, sure, I love them- a lot of us do; however, what we proffer is not just a way to "make your water dark." Rather, it's about the idea of utilizing botanical materials to impact the physical, chemical, and ecological aspects of our closed aquarium ecosystems.

To state that the botanical-style aquarium movement is just about blackwater is to sell it short. There are so many hobbyists who enjoy the look and benefits of using leaves and other botanical materials in their tanks without the tinted water. They simply admire the look and the benefits these types of aquariums offer. So, it's important for us to mention this now and again, so that we don't get confused or feel that there is some "underlying rule" or something about how to do this stuff "correctly."

Now, think about this.

You can have a perfectly crystal-clear aquarium with blue/white water and tons of leaves and botanicals. For some reason, the popular perception in the "mainstream" aquarium world is that you can only have a botanical-style aquarium if you have tinted water.

Not true. A little carbon and a lot of pre-soaking of your leaves and botanicals, and a "crystal clear botanical-style aquarium" is yours.

The other misconception which has hung around forever is that, "ANY time you have tinted water, it's soft and acidic..." It seems to be that we have this mental equivocation that "brown water=soft, acidic water"- and the reality is that this is simply not true. It's part of the reason why we receive lots of emails from hobbyists wondering why their highly alkaline, extremely hard water is still just that- even after adding a bunch of leaves and seed pods to their tank.

In my opinion, we as a hobby often have expectations field by a fundamental lack of understanding about the habitats we seek to represent. We rely on stuff like,  "I heard that..." or "This guy on YouTube said...", rather than taking the time to do some homework for ourselves.

A shame, really. 

And as a result, we fall back on generalizations and characterizations that aren't entirely consistent with the facts- which leads to confusion, the propagation of misinformation, and even disappointment among hobbyists.

It is absolutely possible to have a deeply tinted aquarium with 8.4pH and a GH of like 10 or more. The color simply indicates the presence of tannins and humic substances in the water, both of which will have surprisingly little impact on the characteristics of hard, alkaline water. 

I've seen this "look" in Nature many times. In fact, in many hard, alkaline bodies of water, the water is still stained brownish because of the presence of soils and leaves and other plant materials.

Is it "blackwater?" 

Well, not in the strict ecological definition.

Ecologists will tell you that blackwater has a different ionic composition than "whitewater"- as it is very low in sodium, magnesium, calcium, and potassium and has an acidic pH because of the lack of buffering capacity, low dissolved solids, and the high concentration of tannins and fulvic acids present in the water.

That's science, and you can nuance it all you want, but facts are facts. When I see these arguments on hobbyist forums about what the definition a "blackwater aquarium" is, and I'm tapped to give my two cents, I typically will chime in with something like, "It's an aquarium in which the water characteristics are (insert descriptor above!)"

Color isn't everything. 

The color is only a partial indicator of "blackwater" in the literal sense. Not all dark water rivers and streams are "blackwater" in that technical sense. 

I have kept several successful "tinted" brackish water systems that loo for all the world like what you'd expect to see I the Orinoco or somewhere like that, except that they were hard, alkaline, and had a specific gravity of 1.010! Would you call it a "blackwater" system?

You could, but you'd be wrong.

Nature offers lots of other examples.

I haven't really done a ton of research into the habitats of wild livebearers, but I've seen a few pics of their natural habitats from underwater, and the water was anything but crystal clear and blue/white! Rather, it was turbid, slightly brownish, and decidedly hard and alkaline!

And, as we've discussed many times before, even the clarity of the water often has no bearing on its "quality." 

It's a distinction that neophytes to our world should make note of. The "rap" on blackwater aquariums for some time was that they look "dirty"- and this was largely based on our bias towards what we are familiar with. And, of course, in the wild, there might be some turbidity because of the runoff of soils from the surrounding forests, incompletely decomposed leaves, current, rain, etc. etc.

None of the possible causes of turbidity mentioned above in these natural watercourses represent a threat to the "quality", per se. Rather, they are the visual sign of an influx of dissolved materials that contribute to the "richness" of the environment. It's what's "normal" for this habitat. It's the arena in which we play in our blackwater, botanical-style aquariums, as well.

My obsession with brackish water habitats has, over the years, gotten me far, far away from the hobby-supported mindset that these environments are supposed to be crystal clear and contain white sand and grey rocks. The reality of Nature is completely different. Mangrove habitats are another great example of "you can't tell a book by its cover." The water is not exactly crystal-clear, and often colored.  

Muddy, nutrient- rich, filled with mangrove leaves, and stained a bit from tannins. Beautiful in a very different, yet oddly compelling way.

And of course, turbidity caused by sedimentation and the dissolution of soils into the water creates an entirely different class of natural aquatic system.

With our recent obsession with substrates, we've been able to replicate many of the characteristics of these unique, heavily terrestrial-influenced systems by using materials which replicate the composition of the soils surrounding these aquatic habitats.

Obviously, in the closed environment that is an aquarium, "stuff" dissolving into the water may have significant impact on the overall quality. Even though it may be "normal" in a blackwater or brackish environment to have all of those dissolved leaves and botanicals, this could be problematic in the aquarium if nitrate, phosphate, and other DOC's contribute to a higher bioload, bacteria count, etc.

It's why testing and monitoring, coupled with regular maintenance practices, are of paramount importance in botanical-style aquariums of any kind.

Again, though,  I think we need to contemplate the difference between water "quality" as expressed by the measure of compounds like nitrate and phosphate, and  visual clarity. As you might surmise, it is absolutely possible to have turbid, tinted water and fantastic water quality!

In my home aquariums, and in many of the really great natural-looking blackwater aquariums I see the water is dark, almost turbid or "soupy" as one of my fellow blackwater/botanical-style aquarium geeks refers to it. You might see the faintest hint of "stuff" in the water...perhaps a bit of fines from leaves breaking down, some dislodged biofilms, pieces of leaves, etc. Just like in nature. Chemically, it has undetectable nitrate and phosphate..."clean" by aquarium standards.

Sure, by municipal drinking water standards, color and clarity are important, and can indicate a number of potential issues...But we're not talking about drinking water here, are we?

So, the whole thing of water color and the practice of utilizing botanical materials and substrates to influence the look, characteristics, and ecology of an aquarium is a dynamic, constantly-evolving art. The moniker "natural, botanical-style aquarium" is so much more descriptive of the type of work that we do as a community, rather than just falling back on the "default" to "blackwater aquariums" because the water has a sort of "tint" too it.

To "pigeonhole" the many different approaches we all take into one category like "blackwater" is to overlook the diverse, dynamic, utterly compelling variety of aquatic habitats that the world has to offer. 

Let's concentrate more on the practices than the "quantification" and descriptions. Those will sort themselves out over time as we refine our practices, ideas, and executions. We need not limit what we do to overly-specific categories for the sake of convenience.

Rather, let's celebrate the art and sicken of natural, botanical-style aquariums, and see where our imagination, ideas, and Nature take us!

Stay creative. Stay inspired. Stay curious. Stay studios. Stay unbounded by convention...

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

The "Most wonderful time of the year?"

Well, another Holiday Season nears, and maybe this is the year you'll receive the gift that you always wanted! Now, this IS a year like no other, and our attention should be focused on family, safety, and the joy of having important people in our lives.

Nonetheless, it IS the holiday season, and for many, that still means the upholding of holiday traditions. Case in point, the gifts! Yes, it's important to be grateful and thankful for the generosity of others. However, if we can't look at things a bit more whimsically once in a while, life could get kind of..boring.

So, yeah, the tradition of giving and receiving gifts is pretty cool.

Well, maybe not always.

Huh? What do you mean?

Think about it for a second. For the popular fish geek, the Holiday Season is actually a virtual "minefield" fought with danger! Seriously! The most wonderful- and potentially problematic- time of year, huh?

Examples?

Maybe, just maybe, someone you know decided to get you a fish for the Holiday. On the surface, this is a really nice gesture- a thoughtful idea for the fish geek in the household. Only problem is, usually the person buying the gift is NOT a fish geek, and typically has no clue about what's involved in stocking and maintaining a fish tank.

"Your Uncle and I know you love the fishes, and this one reminded us of the ones you see when you swim in the ocean!"

What this means to you is that , despite the fact that your collection consists entirely of rare Apistos, is that you're now the proud owner of a young Asian Arowanna, a potentially huge knife fish, or worse! Or, your docile Pencilfish species tank now has to host a baby Tiger Datnoid ("The guy at the store said he was super chill...")! Or, the off-brand, "imported" combination lighted electric siphon hose/algae scrubber device (that's not UL-approved, of course) will now forever be a part of your equipment collection...Or maybe you received a pair of Albino Oscars for a "gift" (yeah, it happened to me once)!

You get the picture. I think most hobbyists will agree that, with very few notable exceptions, a "gift" of a fish is like the ultimate "nightmare scenario!"

"He's so cute, and he's eating pellets!" (image by H, Zell, used under CC BY-SA 3.0)


Goofy socks and sweaters are starting to look way more attractive now, huh?
The issue of "appropriateness" of a gift can really come into play in our highly specific hobby, can't it?

"That plant would look so nice in your African Cichlid tank, so we just had to get it for you!"

Much like the fruitcake of holiday legend, there must have been that one fish-related gift you received- a fish, plant, coral, or piece of "equipment"- that totally came from left field, and, despite the best intentions of the giver, turned into a pretty serious headache for you. 

I mean, you have to balance gratitude with practicality, huh?

"I got it on e-Bay for you...It's gonna really help you do that stuff you do with your tank- and it works in European and Asian electrical outlets, too!"

That's why a lot of hobbyists are very specific in their 'wish lists"- not our of a lack of gratitude, but out of rational necessity! Yet, "stuff" still happens at holiday time, doesn't it. What did you do the last time one of these "gifts" graced your holiday?

Did you end up keeping the "fishy fruitcake", or did you somehow manage to trade it back for some Green Neons and 4 packs of frozen food? And, if you did- how did you manage that feat? The fish world needs to know!

Or, did this gift somehow work out and turn into something that you actually kept and enjoyed?

I'd love to hear your "...gift that keeps on giving" stories!

Happy Holidays!

Stay healthy. Stay safe. Stay good-natured. Stay grateful. Stay generous. Stay excited. Stay merry...

And Stay Wet!

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics

The pace

If there is one thing that we bring up over and over and over again with our community regarding botanical-style aquariums, it's the need to go slowly. Like so many things that we do in the aquarium world, it's so important to make cautious, measured moves.

Pretty much every week, we receive a few emails from customers and members of our community asking about how much and how quickly they should add  botanical materials to their aquariums. 

I am also frequently approached by hobbyists who, in their zeal to get a cool blackwater, botanical-style tank up and running, are always looking for some "shortcut" that will help them get a more "finished look" and tint more quickly.

This always makes me cringe just a bit, because I hate fucking shortcuts! I think it's a direct by-product of our 24/7/365 social media cycle of sharing all of the cool stuff we're doing. We seem to only share the finished products.

We see those shots of natural habitats, and we want so badly to replicate them in our own tanks.

To achieve a stable, long-lasting display, you need to give the botanicals time to break down, soften, and decompose. All botanical items do this at a pace that is unique to them and their composition and structure, and sure, we can hasten the process a bit by boiling, but the real "magic" is done by Nature- over time.

With zero exceptions, you should never simply drop any of our botanicals right into your aquarium without any sort of preparation process. Yeah, "preparation" in our parlance means cleaning with a light rinse, followed by either boiling them in freshwater, followed by a prolonged "soak" in clean fresh water, or just the prolonged soak. The reasons for the soaking and boiling process are many, far beyond the simple fact that boiling breaks down the structures of many botanicals to the point where they can absorb water and sink easily.

Common sense and patience are hugely important when adding these materials to you established aquarium!

A large quantity of botanicals added to a stable, established aquarium can  potentially affect the general water chemistry of your tank in a rapid manner, including the pH- driving it down quickly in some instances, profoundly affect the fishes and even plants, which may not cope well with rapid environmental changes.

Just be cautious and use common sense here. I mean, yeah, to a certain extent, this is "Aquatics 101"- you simply don't want to do anything to your aquarium that results in rapid, significant environmental changes, and using aquatic botanicals is no exception.

BONUS EXTRA STEP: Soaking your botanicals overnight in cool fresh water after boiling is super advantageous, because- let's face it- the minute you add botanicals to water, they'll start to break down! Soaking helps leach out a little of the organic materials from the tissues of the botanicals which were released during boiling into an external holding vessel- instead of your aquarium-this is never a bad thing!

Many hobbyists and self-appointed "experts" will call such an extra step "unecessary"; good for them. However, for the most conservative approach, we can't recommend this enough. I've been working with botanical materials in my aquariums for almost 3 decades, and I've never had an issue by embracing this process. Waiting the extra period of time before placing them in your tank is well worth it, IMHO.

Materials like leaves will break down over the course of 3-4 weeks or so, whereas many of the more "durable" botanicals, like seed pods, etc., will break down over many months. Some of the harder pods, like Sterculia Pods and "Monkey Pots", have lasted for several years for me! Depending on your water chemistry and the degree to which your fishes and inverts (I'm referring to guys like Plecos and ornamental shrimp) "graze" upon the botanicals will directly impact how long they last.

Go slowly. Establish a regular pace, adding materials gradually, assessing along the way the impact of your additions. Sure, you might see the water tint up after the first 24 hours...or not. This is only one indicator that things are "happening." And you should really evaluate and assess on say, a weekly basis, to see how you system is doing. Check basic water parameters and note deviations of changes.

"Trend spotting", in this instance, is potentially life saving.

And don't lock yourself into some sort of timetable for achieving a certain "look" or environmental conditions. I mean, I get it, you might be gunning for a contest deadline, a club event, etc., but as we've said so many times before, Nature doesn't give a shit about your damn timetable. Sorry, it's true! She dictates the pace. Rather than be frustrated that your tank is not at some arbitrary "benchmark" by a specific date, enjoy it for where it's at. Savor the changes, the aesthetics, the function.

Enjoy the process.

If you look at an aquarium as you would a garden- an organic, living, evolving, growingentity- then the need to see the thing "finished" becomes much less important. Suddenly, much like a "road trip", the destination becomes less important than the journey. It's about the experiences gleaned along the way. Enjoyment of the developments, the process. In the botanical-style aquarium, it's truly about a dynamic and ever-changing system. Every stage holds fascination. 

You're not only making rapid changes to the aquatic environment, but you're releasing significant quantities of organic materials into a stable environment that may not have the biological "capacity" to handle it...In theory, setting up the possibility for actually polluting your tank as the beneficial bacteria race to multiply fast enough to assimilate all of the influx of organics caused by a big load of botanicals! This is one of the reason why we developed "Culture", our Purple Non-Sulphur (PNS) bacteria additive. Having a developing microbiome helps your aquarium to handle the increase in organics more efficiently.

Again, common sense is the key. Botanicals are dynamic, because they're releasing substances into the water, as well as providing forage for micro and microfauna, all of which contribute to the bioload of your system. These materials are not "tank decoration" and should never be viewed as such.

And, as every experienced hobbyist knows, nothing good ever happens quickly in an aquarium- only the bad stuff! So, we urge you yet again to go slowly in an existing tank, letting your animals, plants and microfauna make the adjustment to a new and beneficial environment.

The two key ingredients- patience and common sense- will help any aquarist safely appreciate the joys of using botanicals in the aquarium.

Nature sets the pace. We simply need to listen to Her, and follow Her lead.

Stay disciplined. Stay chill. Stay focused. Stay observant. Stay diligent. Stay patient...

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

Why all the talk about twigs?

After more than 5 years of sharing our obsession with botanical-style aquarium with you, we've all developed a sort of tranche of knowledge, "best practices", and expectations. Of course, even with a growing global movement and massive communication facilitated via social media, there are still many hobbyists who are not sure how to do stuff, what is happening in their aquariums, and why we we obsess over some seemingly weird things!

These often lead to other questions and avenues of discussion.

One of the things that we have been asked a lot by the uninitiated is, "I see you guys sell twigs and root pieces. What does this stuff do and why do you guys talk about this stuff so much?"

This is a pretty good question which deserves more than an answer like, "Because they look so cool!" (Like, we'd ever just give you that kind of answer sand leave it at that, right? 😆)

I mean, sure they do look cool- but that is so superficial and shallow an answer that it's almost an insult to your intelligence!

Of course, the composition of twigs includes substances like lignin and tannins, thing which we as botanical-style aquarium lovers are quite familiar with. As twigs and branches are submerged in water, they impart some of these substances into the water. 

There is a reason by are huge fans of creating aggregations of twigs and roots in our aquariums. Not only do these realistically represent the physical structure of many of the aquatic habitats we love, they serve to facilitate biological processes, such as epiphytic fungal and biofilm growth, decomposition, and detritus sequestration. 

And of course, you could always incorporate a layer of leaf litter, which really seems to go perfectly with this type of niche. In Nature, we see leaves and other materials accumulate in these root tangles and aggregations of fallen branches, so recreating this in an aquarium is kind of a "no brainer!" 

When assembled in conjunction with a nice aggregation of leaves, this configuration provides a remarkably interesting aquarium with a different sort of aesthetic and function.

In many natural aquatic habitats, fallen tree branches, twigs, and leaves, form a valuable and important part of the ecosystem. 

The complexity and additional "microhabitats" they create are compelling and interesting. And they are very useful for protecting baby fishes, breeding Apistogramma, maintaining Poecilocharax, catfishes, Dicosssus, and other small, shy fishes which are common in these habitats. 

The mind-blowing diversity of Nature is comprised of millions of these little "scenes", all of which are the result of various factors coming together.

As aquarists, observing, studying, and understanding the specifics of microhabitats is a fascinating and compelling part of the hobby, because it can give us inspiration to replicate the form and function of them in our tanks!

We spend a lot of time discussing and considering the various components and interactions of water and terrestrial habitats, and I think that if WE haven't made a compelling case, our fishes will! And sure, there are always going to be hobbyists who think that the idea of tossing in a bunch of twigs and branches into an aquarium is just a bad idea.

If you're one of those hobbyists, I urge you to reconsider your position, and not to automatically dismiss the idea out of hand. And look, it doesn't have to be permanent.

You can always remove these materials if they offend your aesthetic sensibilities. I only ask that you give the idea a try...a good, serious look at the elegance and function of these amazing ecological niches...

The "microhabitats" where substrate, leaves, and roots meet create amazing opportunities to create unique, functionally aesthetic aquariums. Most important, they will offer your fishes many of the same benefits in the aquarium as they do in Nature: Specifically, facilitating the production of supplemental food, which we've been talking about seemingly forever here.

At the end of the day, the use of twigs, roots, and branches, the organisms which take advantage of them is one of the most stunning aspects of Nature that we can  see in our own aquariums, provided we don't "edit" them out of our tanks.

Like any dynamic habitat, the "twig and root" microhabitat relies on a variety of organisms to do the job of processing nutrients. A diverse assemblage of organisms dwelling in this layer, ranging from bacteria to fungi, to worms and small crustaceans- comprise what we call the "infauna." Essentially, the infauna is a collective of organisms which do most of the work in keeping a botanical-style aquarium functional and healthy.

Be kind to these organisms, and they'll no doubt be kind to you, too! THAT is what the big talk over twigs is all about!

Stay innovative. Stay observant. Stay engaged. Stay curious...

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

Sustenance-Where the food comes from.

We throw out s lot of rather unorthodox ideas here, don't we?

One of my fave ideas has to do with the idea of our botanical-style/blackwater aquariums being able to produce supplemental food for our fishes. It's something that we as a hobby haven't really put a lot of energy in to over the years. I mean, we have spectacular prepared foods, and our understanding of our fishes' nutritional needs is better than ever.

Yet, there is something tantalizing to me about the idea of our fishes being able to supplement what we feed our fishes. In particular, fry of fishes being able to sustain themselves or supplement their diets with what is produced inside the habitat we've created in our tanks!

If we look at ecology of natural blackwater ecosystems, they tend to be classified as "impoverished" by ecologists, in terms of ion and mineral compositions. However, that's not the whole story- at least, not as it pertains to food production in these habitats!

It shouldn't really come as a surprise that these aquatic systems offer significant food resources to the fishes which reside in them, because of the proximity to forests. Indeed, flooded forest floors, or streams which meander through forested areas offer enormous food production potential for 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.

I am not at all joking when I tell you that I'd

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!).

Every botanical, every leaf, every piece of wood, every substrate material that we utilize in our aquariums is a potential component of food production. Sustenance from within.

Think about it.

Stay creative. Stay thoughtful. Stay innovative. Stay observant...

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

The craziness of planning?

As most of you know by now, I tend to think through stuff...a lot.

I'm REALLY big on the "planning" part my new aquariums.

Like, I think through all of the tiny details. Stuff that's pretty stupid, really...But important- like, "Which side of the tank do I place the heater so that the plug can i reach the power strip without being too obvious?"

Shit. I'm crazy, huh? (don't answer that...)

I'm the kind of guy who will spend an entire day just looking into what color and type of background material I intend to use for the tank.

Plumbing parts? Oh, I can literally lose myself in a hardware store. Driftwood? Yikes.

And don't even get me started on substrates! And, of course, I HAD to throw myself into the mix with our own materials...adding to the confusion and choices!

Yeah.

Below is literally my mindset on the whole process. It sounds great on paper, and there is a certain simple logic to it. But it's also where things seemed to go terribly wrong for me:

I mean, every tank should start with some sort of plan, idea, or concept.

You need to know what kind of fish you're intending to keep pretty early on in the game...like, literally, at the very beginning. The stocking plan is pretty much mission-critical, I'd say. And then, you should decide what kind of environment you're going to keep the cool fishes that you decided upon in.

And then you need to figure out what equipment you need to achieve this. And of course, then comes the "fun" part- putting it all together. I mean, all the planning in the world is kind of a wasted exercise if the tank looks like shit!

Well you know what I mean.

By my estimation, and using this process, the planning of a tank takes like roughly "3 days per gallon." So, a great 50 gallon tank should take...150 days. 5 FREAKING MONTHS? JUST TO PLAN?

Can that be right?

I am crazy. Well, I should say- I was crazy-for a while. 

I wasn't always a human glacier, however.

When I was a kid, I would be re-configuring my 10-gallon community tank like monthly. In January, I'd have a Danio community tank. February would be time for Kribs. March would be Mollies in a brackish tank. By April, it was back to fresh in time to mess around with a group of killifish. Well, May was one of those months where my thoughts tuned to..Tetras...and...well, you get the picture.

I was fast. Really fast.

I think part of it was because I was an impatient kid with limited resources and a desire to try tons of different things. Absurdly diverse interests. How else can you explain a 14 year old with memberships in the IBC, AKA, ACA, and ALA? I mean, I had one tank, and ultimately, a couple of tanks, dozens of plastic boxes, and two very understanding, but oft-times frustrated parents!

So that's how the concept of a "fish room" got started!

Yet, there was a big chunk of my aquatic life that had me fall victim to my own obsessive planning thing. I mean, it was like "analysis paralysis." Fortunately, my hobby friends viewed my slow progressions from concept to completion as "disciplined", but the reality was that, inside, I knew I was somehow just spending way too much time and placing way too much emphasis on the planning part of the hobby equation.

I did enjoy it a little, even if it seemed, well- really fucking slow.

Flash forward to today, and I have...Just 3 small aquariums in my  new 4-bedroom home, at the moment each in varying stages of the planning/building process.  We're about to do some major re-modeling and all of my "full-size" tanks are in storage until the project is done. You'd think I am in this "slow-planner's nirvana", or something!

I'm actually moving pretty quickly with the tanks I have! One out of the three actually has some fishes in it! That's a start! 

Each one radically different from the other. Financially, I'm probably just a bit better than I was as a 14 year old (I mean, I'm in the aquatics industry, right? 😆), and I still have absurdly diverse interests.

Not much has changed, right? 

The difference?

I'm actually working on each one regularly, even thought they're tiny- putting them together on a very accelerated pace. I decided on concepts, system design, sourced everything, BOUGHT all of the stuff, and started assembly on two of my tanks within a month! For me, that's epic! Progression has been pretty rapid. Okay, sure, there are hobbyists out there who've put together entire fish rooms and had multiple spawns of Plecos in that kind of time frame, but this is progress.

I mean, for me, that's practically breakneck speed! 

Has a lot changed?

Actually, it really has.

When you get to live a certain age in life, you realize that your time on this planet is- well- finite- and if you want to accomplish stuff, you need to do it in less than a geological or stellar evolutionary time scale. You need to be decisive, to mark and move. "To fish or cut bait"...whatever. You need to DO something instead of PLAN to do something. You know, all of those cliches.

But they're actually pretty correct. And useful to apply. My "Urban Igapo" experiments progressed really quickly. We've done dozens of iterations on them in  an incredibly rapid time frame.

So, the impatient kid in me is back!

I've learned to approach aquarium keeping like I've learned to approach my business: Methodically, yet "organically." Not to overthink stuff, yet to use a good approach that's coaxed along and evolved relatively quickly. Iterate and reiterate rapidly, yet within the context of the larger time frame.

Realizing that the processes which you use to get things moving should be executed quickly, even if the journey to the ultimate goal is a longer, slower one. Because sitting with a pen and paper staring at the ceiling doesn't get anything done, be it in business or building a 50 gallon biotope aquarium.

Wow, I've finally married action and theory in a way that works! And enjoyment in my hobby is back and bigger than ever. And it's sure helped push Tannin Aquatics along!

Yes, I still have a ridiculously tight aesthetic concept of how a tank should look, and how the overall aquarium should fit into my world, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I still don't' like dangling wires, noise, and blatantly obvious gear on display.

But I am also coming to grips with the reality that, even if you have a few electrical cords showing, or a maybe a plumbing return or three in the tank, that I'll somehow live. I mean, I'm just dealing with my absurdities now, instead of losing myself in them! I've learned to compromise a few anal retentive attitudes for the sake of the greater good here!

Moving forward quickly never felt so good.

It's exciting times for me. A hobby renaissance. A time to do instead to plan. And most important- a time to enjoy. To enjoy the whole essence of this crazy cool hobby that we're all obsessed about!

So the takeaway here, fellow fish geeks, is to learn from my hard-earned hobby knowledge gained over many tortuous decades, and not to let your ideas get in the way of your execution!

Just DO shit!

Stay driven. Stay focused on your goal, but open your eyes and increase your flexibility.

Be nimble, agile, and open-minded. Stay on task.

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics

Transforming the "biotope aquarium"

The idea of a biotope aquarium is well discussed and understood in the aquarium hobby. The generally accepted definition of the term, in aquarium parlance, is pretty straightforward:

A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. Biotope is almost synonymous with the term habitat, which is more commonly used in English-speaking countries. ... The word biotope, literally translated, means an "area where life lives".

Okay, that's pretty good. Can't really dispute that one, huh?

Now, it seems to me that there are always these discussions that ensue when the winners of contests are announced, or when someone presents their "biotope aquarium" to others in a forum, club meeting, etc. People feel angered, slighted, vindicated, or whatever- depending upon what side of the debate they fall on, and feel compelled to heap their opinions and attitudes into the mix.

We get really worked up; really pissy about this shit. I admit, though- It's kind of fun to watch from afar, actually. It does show the level of passion and commitment to the "art and science" that our hobby community has.

At the end of the day, though,  I think that everyone can and should put aside their interpretive differences and come to an agreement that just about any aquarium intended to replicate- on some level- a specific wild habitat, ecological niche, or area where a certain fish or fishes are found- is hugely important.

Why? Because it calls attention to the habitats and environments themselves. It creates a starting point for discussion, research, debate...It raises awareness of the challenges that many habitats face with the encroachment of man's activities. It most certainly makes us appreciate the fragility of life- the genius of nature, and the incredible diversity and beauty of our home planet.

That's really not up for argument, IMHO.

Even the most poorly executed (by "contest standards", anyways) "biotope" aquarium helps the uninitiated public (or even the hobby community, for that matter) to become just a bit more enlightened about Nature. It might just stimulate someone, somewhere to ask themselves, "Is that what it's like in The Atabapo?"

And maybe- just maybe- they'll open up the iPad and do a little reading on the habitat that was being discussed...Maybe they'll take a crack at creating a representation of this habitat themselves. Maybe they will research and find and donate to an organization out there that is working to protect it. 

It's all good, IMHO.

Now, back to where I stand...

A lot of you have asked me how I would apply a different way of thinking to the biotope-inspired approach. Before I get into it, let's just wrap up our discussion on what I feel is the current state of biotope aquariums. (Or, as one of my aquairum buddies so aptly suggested, "Part 750 of Scott Fellman's Masterclass on how to be an Aquarium Hobby Assohole..."

I have no issue with any of those standards for a biotope aquarium contests and such. They are all logical and well thought out. Where I take issue- like so many things in this hobby- is with attitudes. I mean, I've seen people "call out" others because one of the leaves or whatever in a "Rio____ biotope aquarium" is not endemic to the region, or whatever. Okay, I get your thinking, but really...

Even with the contest winners, you can take this attitude and nitpick to the "nth degree":

I mean, what about the substrate? Is it absolutely Rio Negro region "podzol" from the Andes? Is every species of wood used in the tank form the surrounding varzea forest? Is every freaking bacteria, fungi, Paramecium, copepod, etc. the exact species that comes from the region being represented?

Huh? Is it? 

Can these armchair critics really discern the decomposing leaf of Hevea brasiliensis, Swietenia macrophylla, or Euterpe precatoria from Catappa, Guava, Jackfruit, Apple, Oak, etc? I mean, seriously? And, if someone cannot source these specific Amazonian leaves (NEWS FLASH" You typically can't), does that invalidate the aquarium from consideration as a "biotope aquarium?"

Does it even matter? C'mon! We have to get real and stop mentally masturbating each other about some perfection that few could appreciate, let alone discern. To me, "biotope-inspired" is good enough! Well, that's just ME, but...

Whew, I AM getting worked up here, lol.

Let's think about this from a "slightly different perspective." 😆

I'd rather focus on the "operational/functional" aspects of a biotope aquarium. The real "white space" in this area of hobby! Looking beyond the "conventional" approach to biotope aquariums and considering how we can replicate natural functions. How we can create an aquarium which is designed to replicate, as realistically as possible, many of the physical aspects which drive the function of a natural aquatic ecosystem?

To me, that's even more exciting and potentially beneficial than simply replicating the look of the system and the aggregating of species belonging to a specific environmental niche or geographic local as we do in the "conventional" approach to biotope aquariums. (Shit, is it just ME who's starting to hate that fucking term already?)

Stay with me here.

Perhaps the best way to replicate these aspects of natural aquatic systems is to replicate the factors which facilitate their function. So, for example, let's look at our fave habitats, the flooded forests of Amazonia or the grasslands of The Pantanal.

To create a system that truly embraces this idea in both form and function, you'd start the system as a terrestrial habitat. In other words, rather than setting up an aquarium right from the start, you'd be setting up what amounts to a terrarium. Soil/sand, terrestrial plants and grasses, leaves, seed pods, and "fallen trees/branches" on the "forest floor."

You'd run this system as a terrestrial display for some extended period of time- perhaps several weeks or even months, if you can handle it- and then you'd "flood" the terrestrial habitat, turning it into an aquatic one. Now, I'm not talking about one of our "Urban Igapo" nano-sized tanks here- I"m talking about a full-sized aquarium this time.  

This is different in both scale and dynamic. After the "inundation", it's likely that many of the plants and grasses will either go dormant or simply die, adding other nutrient load in the aquarium.

A microbiome of organisms which can live in the aquatic environment needs to arise to process the high level of nutrients in the aquarium. Some terrestrial organisms (perhaps you were keeping frogs?) need to be removed and re-housed.

The very process of creating and populating the system during this transitional phase from terrestrial to aquatic is a complex, fascinating, and not entirely well-understood one, at least in the aquarium hobby. In fact, it's essentially a virtually unknown one. We simply haven't created all that many systems which evolve from terrestrial to aquatic.

Sure, we've created terrariums, paludariums, etc. But this is different. Rather than capturing a "moment in time", we're talking about recreating the process of transformation from one habitat to another.

Psychologically, it would be challenging!

I mean, here you've been essentially running a "garden" for several months, enjoying it and meeting the challenges which arise, only to embark several months later on a process which essentially destroys what you've created, forcing you to start anew with an entirely different environment, and contend with all of its associated challenges (the nitrogen cycle, nutrient control, etc.)

Modeling the process. 

Personally, I find this type of approach irresistible. Not only do you get to enjoy all sorts of different aspects of Nature- you get to learn some new stuff, acquire new skills, and make observations on processes that, although common in Nature, were previously unrecorded in the aquarium hobby. 

You'll draw on all of your aquarium-related skills to manage this transformation. You'll deal with a different aesthetic- I mean, flooding an established, planted terrestrial habitat filled with soils and plants will create a turbid, no doubt chaotic-looking aquascape, at least initially. 

This is absolutely analogous to what we see in Nature, by the way.

One key to making this interesting from an aquascaping perspective is to create a hardscape of wood, rocks, seed pods, etc. during the terrestrial phase that will please you when it’s submerged.

You'll need to observe very carefully. You'll need to be tolerant of stuff like turbidity, biofilms, algae, decomposition- many of the "skills"we've developed as botanical-style aquarists.You need to accept that what you're seeing in front of you today will not be the way it will look in 4 months, or even 4 weeks.

You'll need incredible patience, along with flexibility and an "even keel.”

We have a lot of the "chops" we'll need for this approach already! They simply need to be applied and coupled with an eagerness to try something new, and to help pioneer and create the “methodology”, and with the understanding that things may not always go exactly like we expect they should.

For me, this would likely be a "one way trip", going from terrestrial to aquatic. Of course, much like we've done with our "Urban Igapo" approach, this could be a terrestrial==>aquatic==>terrestrial "round trip" if you want! That's the beauty of this. You could do a complete 365 day dynamic, matching the actual wet season/dry season cycles of the habitat you're modeling. Absolutely. 

The beauty is that, even within our approach to "transformational biotope-inspired" functional ecosystems, you CAN take some "artistic liberties" and do YOU. I mean, at the end of the day, it's a hobby, not a PhD thesis project, right?

Yeah. Plenty of room for creativity, even when pushing the state of the art of the hobby!

There are so many other ecosystems which can work with this approach! Floodplain lakes, streams, swamps, mud holes...I could go on and on and on. The inspiration for progressive aquariums is only limited to the many hundreds of thousands of examples which Nature Herself has created all over the planet.

It's out there. It's up to us as hobbyists to "bring it home." What's next for you?

Stay inspired. Stay excited. Stay curious. Stay patient. Stay bold...

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

Why?

If you've been in this hobby long enough, you start recognizing a few "universal contents." Stuff that you can pretty much guarantee! Of course, one thing that you CAN guarantee is that there are always those little "detours" that you didn't seem to expect...Or, did you?

Well, sure you did! As fish geeks, we sort of expect detours...We don't necessarily welcome them, but we expect them!

Yet, we question why stuff happens. Thats what we do, right?

Here are some classics:

Why is it that:

-The fish you've been trying to breed for two years won't even pair up- but the one you were given by a friend as an unwanted "gift" and have been trying desperately to rid your fish room of for years- reproduces like..freaking rabbits?

-The fish you saw in the "clearance tank" at the LFS and failed to purchased on impulse- because you knew you'd grab one "next time"- is never seen at the LFS again? #$%^#$#@@#$

-The only time you experience a major spill is: a)when you're already in the "doghouse" with your spouse/significant other/relative, and he/she is standing right there, b)when there are no dry towels handy, c)when you're running late for an important event and just HAD to sneak in the "quick water change" before heading out, or d)when you've just installed a brand new hardwood floor?

-You experience the a sudden, inexplicable, and unprecedented failure of a previously perfectly reliable aquarium component (pump, heater, canister filter, lighting system- or worse yet- the electronic controller that oversees the function of these devices) the night before you're about to embark on your 10 day overseas vacation?

-Your favorite cichlids spawn right when you run out of brine shrimp eggs? And it's (choose one): Christmas Eve, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, or another major holiday on which the local fish store is closed for business?

-You get the urge to tweak that "one damn branch that's out of place" in your aquascape before leaving for work in the morning...and are still at it by 2PM?

-You purchase the wrong diameter hose you had the correct one in your hands minutes before...and you told yourself not to get the other one?

-You always lose track of how many drops of pH or other reagent you're adding to the test vial after like the third drop? (Pro tip- just get a digital pH meter!😎)

-The electrical cord for that vital piece of equipment for you new tank is just 2 inches too short to reach the electrical outlet?

And...

-You always have one more electrical device than there are outlets in your multi-outlet power strip?

-The biggest sale of the year at the LFS or your fave online vendor occurs the day after you had to make $750 worth of repairs on your car?

-Is it simply impossible for you to clean glassware without breaking it?

If you can answer these, and any number of other crazy hobby questions- you're better than I.

Stay thoughtful. Stay bold. Stay excited. Stay enthralled...

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

Do you "igapo?" Or, are you more of the "varzea" type?

It's been a long haul, but we're finally releasing those NatureBase sedimented substrates, and the response has been fantastic! We're excited, because it's the culmination of several years of dreaming, scheming, and experimenting. We're excited to see all of the cool experiments that our community will be doing with this stuff! 

Now, as we mentioned in yesterday's blog/podcast, these substrates are NOT intended to be the basic substrate for every aquarium on the planet. They are, however, ideal for "transitional" wet/dry experimental systems, paludariums, and some vivariums. And of course, the "Urban Igapo" idea that we've been talking about here for years is exactly the type of thing we intended these substrates to be used for.

I suppose that, on the surface, it's hardly an earth-shattering approach: You set up an aquarium. You don't fill it immediately. Rather, you grow some terrestrial plants and grasses, allow them to take hold...then you bring on the "rainy season" and flood it. After a few months, you begin drawing down the water significantly, ultimately returning it to its "dry" state again.

Repeat as desired.

Think about what happens in Nature in many ecosystems on a seasonal basis.

All of the botanical material-shrubs, grasses, fallen leaves, branches, seed pods, and such, which is on the forest floor- is suddenly submerged; often, currents re-distribute the leaves and seed pods and branches into little pockets and "stands", affecting the (now underwater) "topography" of the landscape.

Leaves begin to accumulate.

Soils dissolve their chemical constituents- tannins, and humic acids- into the water, enriching it. Fungi and micororganisms begin to feed on and break down the materials. Biofilms form, crustaceans multiply rapidly. Some robust varieties of grasses hang on for extended periods of time during this inundation.

Others go into a sort of "dormant" phase, "browning out" and awaiting the time when the waters will recede and once again turn the igapo into a terrestrial forest floor. 

In this rich, highly dynamic environment, the fishes are able to find new food sources; new hiding places..new areas to spawn.

Life simply flourishes.

Each time I flood my "Urban Igapo" systems, I am utterly fascinated by how life manages to "sort it out" to not only "make it though", but to thrive. It's really cool to see the many microorganisms swimming around in the aquarium, obviously feeding among the submerged grasses and other materials.

Now, of course, I'll be the first to tell you that what you get out of this process is not what I"d ever label as a "conventional" aquarium system. Because of the high level of nutrients, dense growth of terrestrial grasses/plants, and rich terrestrial soil, it's certainly not a "recipe" for an aquascaping contest winner!

And yeah- it's not intended to be. We'll be stating this over and over again to the point where you're going to hate hearing it, I'm sure!

This is not just about cool, "Instagram-ready" aesthetics. Sure, these "Urban Igapo" systems look very cool! (And, yeah, they're pretty damn sharable on social media- I'll give you that much...). However, it's much more than that. The focus here is on studying the function and dynamics of this unique transitional environment in the aquarium.

If you're only looking for perfect, static aesthetics, you're bound to ultimately be disappointed, because- just like in Nature- the terrestrial plants will ultimately slip into a "dormant" phase, where they aren't all "crisp and green." They become stringy, limp, and brown over time. That being said, I personally find this "look" kind of cool...I think that you might, too, when this is considered in context.

I think that it's not only simply an enjoyable "hobby within a hobby"- it's a dynamic that we can can and should learn more about. When we flood and desiccate an aquarium, attempting to replicate this cycle, we have to learn to manage a number of different dynamics, ranging from varying levels of nutrients, to nitrogen cycle management, to stocking with fishes.

The seasonal dynamic is broad-reaching and multi-faceted in the aquarium, as it is in Nature.

Let's take a little closer look at how you'd make one of these systems. Now, this is the most "cursory" and basic "treatise" about how to do one of these projects. We'll have much more detailed blog, photo essays, and an instructional video that Johnny and I will produce soon. Suffice it to say, this is only the start!

First off, here's what you'd need:

-Small aquarium (5 US gallons or less)

-NatureBase "Igapo" or "Varzea" substrate 

-Grass seeds and or submersion-tolerant terrestrial plants

This is so easy that it's actually kind of embarrassing that I'm breaking down the process here, lol.

STEP 1- Add NatureBase substrate to aquarium. The depth that you will achieve is dependent upon the size of the aquarium and the amount of substrate you're using. We suggest about a 2" layer, which, if you're using one bag of NatureBase, will work in a small aquarium. Since this stuff is rather pricy, you're likely to work with smaller tanks until we really get the price down on this product with scaled-up production.

STEP 2- Add grass seeds and/or terrestrial plants.  Great plant choices are  the immersion-tolerant Acorus, and even rice seeds would be cool! Wet down the substrate as you would after any terrestrial planting. Soil should be moist but not completely saturated.

Now, a little note on grasses. We have been utilizing a few varieties of grasses, such as Paspalum and Bahia varieties. Both of these grasses are remarkably resistant to periods of submersion, and are pretty cool subjects to use in your "Urban Igapo." In fact, we're so excited about them, that we plan on offering them  soon to complement your "Urban Igapo" experiments! 

Depending upon the germination time of the seeds you're using, it's probably going to be between 7-14 days before you see some "above-the-surface action" from them, with grasses starting to sprout up!

As a side note- there is something oddly satisfying about seeing grass inside you home! For hobbyists who live in say, high-rise urban apartments, the novelty is pretty incredible, I'd imagine! 

The real fun comes next. 

STEP 3: Bring on the rain! After a few weeks/months, your little slice of the forest floor is probably doing pretty well. The grasses are thriving and your plants are no doubt growing strongly. It's time to start the rainy season! 

Slowly add water to your display until you achieve a depth pf about 1/2" (1.27cm).  When you pour, be careful and try to not disturb the substrate too much, as your grasses tend not to put down deep roots. Increase the water depth slowly, over a period of several days or longer, until you achieve he desired depth.

One of the cool things that I've noticed about the "inundation phase" in my "Urban Igapo" systems is that you start to notice organisms in the water- little aquatic crustaceans, Paramecium, rotifers, etc.- just like what happens in Nature.

This is really interesting to see! 

Now, sure , the water will be a bit cloudy at first, as the sediments and so forth leach from the substrate. However, over time, the water tends to clear up. Regardless, I generally have to used a filter in my "Urban Igapo" tanks. I find it not only unnecessary, but a bit of a distraction. You COULD use one, of course. I'd select a tiny inside power filter, sponge filter, or even just an airstone, if you're so inclined.

This is the time when you'll want to add some fish to your system! What kind of fish you want to add is up to you. I'm a fan of annual killifishes, as they're ecologically adapted to live in temporary pools, and are kind of "made" for this type of setup! However, I've done this with Tetras and other fishes as well...that's the fun part.

Do your homework and have fun!

The cool thing about annual killies is that you can keep them in one of these systems for several months, allow them to lay eggs, remove the fish, and then begin the desiccation process knowing the there are a bunch of eggs in the substrate, waiting for the next "rainy season!"

You'll find that, depending upon how long your system has been inundated, many of the grasses and most of your plants will hang on and bounce back for another round. You may want to add some more plants and/or grass seeds for the "next season", depending upon the effect you'd like.

And of course you'd keep you system in "terrestrial mode" for as long as you'd like. Since I like to keep annual killifishes in many of mine, I keep them dry for the duration of the known incubation period of the eggs. Often this is anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 moths, depending upon species.

It's just the beginning of a very interesting time to experiment. A time to study, scheme, and replicate the function and form of Nature in a most unique way. And you're right in the thick of it! 

Stay creative. Stay Bold. Stay inspired. Stay excited...

And Stay Wet.

Excuse our dust...er, not! The "Sedimented Substrate" thing!

"Some sediment and sand meet in a river, and..."

Okay, weird opening, but it's time to launch NatureBase!

Wow, sometimes, you start realizing that what you've been obsessing about for so long might actually be interesting to other people, too! Lately, I started talking a bit more specifically about the specialized substrates that I've been working on for the past couple of years- and the response has been nothing short of crazy...And it taught me some things- well, reinforced some things- which I believe in. specifically:

1)There is a hunger for new and unique aquarium substrates. 

2) Aquarists are ready for something new, that is not just about the "look", and are willing to be a bit adventurous...

3) Those of us in the industry have been doing a sort of lackluster job on creating exciting new products for aquarists.

And I'm not trying to sound like an arrogant jerk here. I'm making some observations and sort of confirming my "thesis" about this stuff. And I think we're starting to deliver on our idea of innovative and hopefully exciting new products to go with our botanical-style aquairum obsession!

Since it's finally "time", let's look a bit more at the first releases of our new "NatureBase" range of substrates!

Now, first off, a bit of background.

I started playing with substrates a few years back, mainly because I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for on the market. This is not some indictment of the major substrate manufacturers out there...I LOVE most of them and use and happily recommend ones that I like. 

That being said, I realized that the specialized world which we operate in embraces some different ideas, unusual aesthetics, and is fascinated by the function of the environments we strive to replicate. These are important distinctions between what we are doing in substrates at Tannin, and the rest of the aquarium hobby is doing.

Our NatureBase line is not intended to supersede or replace the more commonly available products out there as your "standard" aquarium substrate  because: a) they're more expensive, b) they're not specifically "aesthetic enhancements", c) they are not intended to be planted aquarium substrates d) because of their composition, they'll add some turbidity and tint to the aquarium water, at least initially (not everyone could handle THAT!)

So, right there, those factors have significantly segmented our target market...I mean, we're not trying to be the aquarium world's "standard substrate", we're not marketing them just for the cool looks, and we can't emphasize enough that they will make your water a bit turbid when first submerged. Those factors alone will take us out of contention for large segments of the market!

This is important.

I mean, these are intended to be used in more natural, botanical-style/biotope-inspired aquariums. Our first two releases, "Igapo" and "Varzea", are specific to the creation odf a type of "cyclical" terrestrial/aquatic feature. They do exactly what I wanted them to do, and some of them are specifically intended for use in specialized set ups, like the "Urban Igapo" idea we've been talking about for a long time here, brackish water mangrove environments, etc.

Let's touch on the "aesthetic" part for a minute.

Most of our NatureBase substrates have a significant percentage of clays and sediments in their formulations. These materials have typically been something that aquarists have avoided, because they will cloud the water for a while, and often impart a bit of color. We also have some botanical components in a few of our substrates, because they are intended to be "terrestrial" substrates for a while before being flooded...and when this stuff is first wetted, some of it will float. And that means that you're going to have to net it out, or let your filter take it out. You simply won't have that "issue" with your typical bag of aquarium sand!

Remember, these are intended for a very specific purpose: To replicate the terrestrial soils which are seasonally inundated in the wild. As such, these products simply won't look or act like your typical aquarium substrate materials!

Scared yet? I hope not.

Why sediments and clays? 

Well, for one thing, sediments are an integral part of the natural substrates in the habitats from which our fishes come. So, theyre integral to our line. In fact, I suppose you'd best classify NatureBase products as "sedimented substrates."

Many of our favorite habitats are forest floors and meadows which undergo periodic flooding cycles in the Amazon, which results in the creation of aquatic habitats for a remarkable diversity of fish species.

Depending on the type of water that flows from the surrounding rivers, the characteristics of the flooded areas may vary. Another important impact is the geology of the substrates over which the rivers pass. This results in differences in the physical-chemical properties of the water. In the Amazon, areas flooded by rivers of black or clear waters, with acid pH and low sediment load in addition to being nutritionally poor, are called “igapó."

The flooding often lasts for several weeks or even several months, and the plants and trees need special biochemical adaptations to be able to survive the lack of oxygen around their roots. During the inundation period, many of the forest trees drop their fruits into the water, where they are eaten by fish. As an interesting side note, ecologists have noted that some of these trees and plants are strongly dependent on the fishes to disperse their seeds through the forest, requiring that the seeds pass through the gut of a fish before it will germinate.

Crazy!

Forest floor soils in tropical areas are known by soil geologists as "oxisols", and have varying amounts of clay, sediments, minerals like quartz and silica, and various types of organic matter. So it makes sense that when flooded, these "ingredients" will have significant impact on the aquatic environment. This "recipe" is not only compositionally different than typical "off-the-shelf" aquarium sands and substrates- it looks and functions differently, too.

And that's where a lot of people will metaphorically "leave the room."

So, yeah, you'll have to make a mental shift to appreciate a different look and function. And many hobbyists simply can't handle that. We're being up front with this stuff, to ward off the, "I added NatureBase to my tank and it looks like a cloudy mess! This stuff is SHIT!" type of emails that inevitably come when people don't read up first before they purchase the stuff.

The igapo and varzea substrates are intended to be "terrestrial" for a period of time, to get the grasses and plants going, and then inundated.  You DON'T RINSE THEM BEFORE USE! You CAN fill them with water right off the bat; however, you should be ready for some cloudy water for a week or more! 

This is not unlike what occurs in the wild habitats...newly inundated forest floors have a lot of leaf litter, seed pods, etc., and will be quite turbid for some time. If you understand the context for which they are intended, and the habitats which they help to replicate, this is perfectly acceptable and logical...Of course, you need to make that "mental shift", right?

Although these substrates can grow both terrestrial and aquatic plants well, they were not intended to be generic planted tank substrate, specifically. We're not trying to compete with the many fantastic specialized planted aquarium substrates out there. This is not some "Tannin is coming for you!" B.S. Rather, these are modeled after relatively nutrient-poor soils, which will grow plants, but not as well as the fancy clay pellets and such that are intended specifically to grow aquatic plants.

Yeah, our Igapo and Varzea mixes can grow plants like grasses and marginals pretty well. You're just not going to be doing your next "Dutch-style" aquascape or "Iwagumi" with our products. And, because of their price, you simply aren't likely to do a 50 or 100 gallon tank with them!

Our Igapo and Varzea substrates mimic sandy acidic soils that have a low nutrient content. And, as you know, the color and acidity of the floodwater is due to the acidic organic humic substances (tannins) that dissolve into it. The acidity from the water translates into acidic soils, which makes sense, right?

Now, I admit, I am NOT a geologist, and I"m not expert in soil science. I know enough to realize that, in order to replicate the types of habitats I am fascinated with required different materials. If you ask me, "Will this fish do well with this materials?" or, "Can I grow "Cryptocoryne in this?", or "Does this make a good substrate for shrimp tanks?" I likely won't have a good answer. Sorry.

I'll be the first to tell you that, while I have experimented with many species of plants, averts, and fishes with these substrates, I can't tell you that every single fish or plant will like them. I'd be full of shit at best, and a total liar at the worst- neither which I'd want!

Rather, I can tell you that these are some of the most unusual materials I've seen for  specialized aquariums, and that they are wide open for experimentation in various kinds of systems! And that's part of the key: These substrates, even though they've been used by myself, my staff, and some close friends for a while now, are really "experimental" in nature.

Because you can do all sorts of cool stuff with them. Hell, you can even mix them with commercial, off-the-shelf substrates to make cool, functionally aesthetic "custom" mixes of your own!

We want you to use leaves, botanicals, and other materials with these unique substrates. "Spike" them with our PNS bacterial inoculants, "Culture" and "Nurture", to really kick start your biome! They're intended to help foster the growth of beneficial bacteria, biofilms, fungal growth, and micro crustaceans, to help build up a functional, diverse benthic habitat in botanical-style aquariums. They will help form the literal "base" of your botanical-style aquarium system (hence the name of the product line, "NatureBase").

Even though I have a near-obsessive love for the flooded forest substrates, I'm equally as excited to share the upcoming NatureBase "Mangal" with you- it's our specialized brackish-water mangrove habitat substrate- one that represents the culmination of a 4-year journey of researching, sourcing, mixing, and testing! As far as we know, there has not been a dedicated brackish water substrate offered before in the hobby, and we think it's yet another element for our "Estuary" line that will help revitalize and elevate this unique and oft-neglected hobby sector! It'll be coming soon!

Regardless of how you use these new substrates, we hope that you understand the "why" part as much as you do the aesthetics that they bring.

And yeah, they are rather pricy, as compared to a typical bag of aquarium sand. I'd compare their pricing to the more "high-end" aquatic plant speciality substrates. These are literally hand-mixed substrates, with the components sourced from suppliers throughout the world.

These aren't some mass-produced, re-purposed construction material or something. Rather, they are well-thought-out, carefully compounded natural materials, mixed expressly for the purpose of using in botanical-style aquariums.

We went through a lot of iterations before arriving at our final versions!

The prices will come down ultimately, once we get a read on the demand. I promise we'll try to adjust.And we have like 6-7 different "flavors" that will come out. We're going to release them, at least initially, much liek a coffee roaster does- limited releases, with a few "standards" always available. At least, until we guage demand!

We use all of them extensively in our own tanks. We love the results that we're getting...

And we hope that you will, too!

We'll have much, much more to say about these cool substrates as we get them launched; more to come! So stay tuned for more! Lots of information already out terse, if you read back on this blog- and much more to come!

Stay creative. Stay studious. Stay curious. Stay adventurous...

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics