The Tint

Leaves- the starting point for our obsession: A rather long "primer"...

Oh, of course. It's a new year, and it's been, I dunno- like 2 weeks since I've talked about leaves in our aquariums...so why not discuss this topic one more time! Really, it's a pretty fundamental one for us in the botanical-style aquarium game, because leaves are pretty much the "bread and butter" materials that we work with, right?

We're going to touch on it in a big way, covering the majority of the topics related to using them in aquariums.

Since you're here, you've no doubt seen the pics of all the cool tanks. You've heard the buzz all over social media. This whole "botanicals" thing is apparently o na lot of people's radar in 2020. Super cool! Seems like more and more people are talking about blackwater aquariums, botanicals, and real "natural-style" aquariums...

And YOU want in on the action now.

Awesome.

Hey, who could blame you? This stuff is kind of cool!

Leaves in an aquarium. Seems to make sense, right? And you've heard so much about how beneficial use of leaves might be for overall fish health..

The Catappa leaf is sort of the "vector" for this stuff, so it makes sense to talk about this species first.

The leaves of the Indian Almond tree,  Terminalia catappa, contain a host of interesting chemicals that may provide direct health benefits for tropical fishes. The leaves themselves contain several flavonoids, like kaempferol and quercetin, a number of tannins, like punicalin and punicalagin, as well as a suite of saponins and phytosterols. Extracts of T. catappa have shown some effectiveness against some bacteria, specifically, Plasmodium, and some parasites as well. 

 

As we all know by now, when Indian Almond leaves are immersed in water, the tannins and humic substances are released, which can lower the pH of the water if their is minimal general hardness. The tannins are what visually tint the water to that beautiful brownish color which we devotedly call “blackwater.”

It has even been theorized by some that the tannins in Catappa leaves are able to reduce the toxicity of heavy metals in aquarium water, essentially binding them up or chelating them- if true, a most interesting benefit for the urban fish keeper, I might add! I think that’s a pretty big supposition, but I suppose it’s possible that it can be true, right?

At this point, you’re probably thinking, ”Okay, Scott. All of that stuff sounds very scholarly, but what exactly are those things and what can they do for my fishes?”

 

 Just what DOES make these leaves tick?

Well, lets start with the flavonoids. 

Flavonoids have been shown by science to have direct and synergistic antibacterial activity (with antibiotics) and the ability to suppress bacterial virulence factors in a number of research studies. They may also act as chemical "messengers", physiological regulators, and "cell cycle inhibitors", which bodes well for their use as a prophylactic of sorts. Kaempferol, a noted flavonoid, is thought to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Could this be why Betta fanciers used them for so many years after fighting their fishes?

Catappa leaves also contain substances known as Saponins, which can be used to enhance penetration of macromolecules, like proteins, into cell membranes. Some are used in vaccines to help stimulate immune responses, so you can imagine some potential benefits here as well, right?

Yeah. possibly?

Phytosterols are interesting for their alleged capacity to reduce cholesterol in humans, but the benefits are probably non-existent for fishes, especially as it pertains to Catappa leaves in the aquarium! I mention them in this piece merely because fishy authors touting the benefits of Catappa leaves love to throw them out there for reasons I cannot grasp! Maybe it just sounds good. Don't know...

Punicalagins act as antioxidants and are the major component responsible for the antioxidant health benefits of fruits, such as pomegranates (You know, the "wonderful," yet really messy fruit that I always hated as a kid...). They are water soluble and have high bioavailability, so it is quite possible that they are of some benefit to fishes!

I found a cool study conducted by fisheries researchers in Thailand on Tilapia, which concluded that Catappa extract was useful at eradicating the nasty exoparasite, Trichodina, and the growth of a couple of strains of Aeromonas hydrophila was also inhibited by dosing Catappa leaf extract! In addition, this solution was shown to reduce the fungal infection in Tilapia eggs. 

For reference, here is the study:

 

(Chitmanat, C., Tongdonmuan, K., Khanom, P., Pachontis, P. and Nunsong, W. (2005). Antiparasitic, Antibacterial, and Antifungal activities Derived from a Terminalia catappa solution against some Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Pathogens. Acta Hortic. 678, 179-182 DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.678.25)

Lots of tough-to-understand stuff there, right?

So, sure, like so many other aquarium-related matters, there are some possible "side stories" to use of Catappa leaves in our tanks. And benefits that are known and perhaps not yet studied. We do know that there are some well-studied positives that can be achieved by using them in the aquarium.

Much is still anecdotal for aquarium use- a "forced fit" based on the known benefits of these compounds for human health...Fishes, of course, are not humans, and much remains to be discovered about their benefits for aquatic use. Personally, I am in favor of thinking about leaves in the context of creating positive overall ecological influences on our aquariums.

With leaves being so pervasive in Nature, there are many advantages to playing with leaves in our aquariums, too, as you've correctly surmised. Leaves accumulate in aquatic habitats, forming physical aggregations as well as influencing the aquatic habitats in which they fall.

In Nature, leaf litter zones comprise one of the richest and most diverse biotopes in the tropical aquatic ecosystem, yet until recent years, they were seldom replicated in the aquarium. I think this has been due, in large part- to the lack of continuous availability of products for the hobbyist to work with, and a real understanding about what this biotope is all about- not to mention, the understanding of the practicality of creating one in the aquarium.

The "usefulness" of this biotope for fishes is best accurately summarized in this interesting except from an academic paper on Amazonian Blackwater leaf-litter communities by biologist Peter Alan Henderson, that is useful for those of us attempting to replicate these communities in our aquaria:

"..life within the litter is not a crowded, chaotic scramble for space and food. Each species occupies a sub-region defined by physical variables such as flow and oxygen content, water depth, litter depth and particle size…

...this subtle subdivision of space is the key to understanding the maintenance of diversity. While subdivision of time is also evident with, for example, gymnotids hunting by night and cichlids hunting by day, this is only possible when each species has its space within which to hide.”

In other words, different species inhabit different sections of the leaf litter, and we should consider this when creating and stocking our biotope systems...

Neat stuff!

So, beyond just creating an aggregation of material which imparts tannins and humic substances into the water, we're creating a little habitat, every bit as interesting, diverse, and complex as any other we attempt to replicate. In the aquarium, you need to consider both practicality AND aesthetics when replicating this biotope. 

What makes leaves fall off the trees in the first place?

Well, it's simple- er, rather complex...but I suppose it's simple, too. Essentially, the tree "commands" leaves to fall off the tree, by creating specialized cells which appear where the leaf stem of the leaves meet the branches. Known as "abscission" cells. for word junkies, they actually have the same Latin root as the word "scissors",  which, of course, implies that these cells are designed to make a cut! 

And, in the tropical species of trees, the leaf drop is important to the surrounding environment. The nutrients are typically bound up in the leaves, so a regular release of leaves by the trees helps replenish the minerals and nutrients which are typically depleted from eons of leaching into the surrounding forests. And the rapid nutrient depletion, by the way, is why it's not healthy to burn tropical forests- the release of nutrients as a result of fire is so rapid, that the habitat cannot process it, and in essence, the nutrients are lost forever.

Now, interestingly enough, most tropical forest trees are classified as "evergreens", and don't have a specific seasonal leaf drop like the "deciduous" trees than many of us are more familiar with do...Rather, they replace their leaves gradually throughout the year as the leaves age and subsequently fall off the trees.

The implication here?

There is a more-or-less continuous "supply" of leaves falling off into the jungles and waterways in these habitats, which is why you'll see leaves at varying stages of decomposition in tropical streams. It's also why leaf litter banks may be almost "permanent" structures within some of these bodies of water!

Okay, I ve blabbered enough on this, right? You're hooked on the idea of utilizing leaves in your tank in a big way. Let's get down to "brass tacks"...How do you start? How do you choose which leaves to play with?

That's a question that is kind of difficult for me to even try to answer...What I'd usually tell you when asked is, "It depends." (extremely helpful, I know...) I mean, it's really about what kind of leaves you like, the size of your tank, what kind of effect you're looking for, etc.

If your goal is to add some leaf litter to supplement your hardscape or even to become the primary focus of your aquascape, then you have a wide variety of leaves from which to choose, some of which we offer here at Tannin (shocker, I know!).

We've written extensively about how you can collect and experiment with naturally fallen leaves from other trees- and you should- so I won't get into that here. Rather, let's stick to the leaves you see on our site, on other vendor's sites (you know, the guys who just sell stuff and don't give you all of this good info...😆), and in many aquariums worldwide.

 

Let's talk about what I call the "Big 6" leaves we play with in the botanical aquarium world: Catappa, Guava, Jackfruit, Texas Live Oak, Mangrove, and Magnolia. Again, there are many other leaves that hobbyists play with from time to time; however, we've found that these particular leaves tend to be the most useful and versatile leaves, each with their own characteristics, appearance, and benefits.

What are my faves?

Hmmm... It does change from time to time; I'll admit that.

Although Catappa is the sentimental hobby favorite, because of its versatility and worldwide "obtainability", my personal favorite at the moment has to be Guava, followed by Yellow Mangrove. Why? Well, Guava just look exotic to me! They're "aesthetically neutral", and, once submerged and "patina"-covered, serve as a "stand-in" for almost any tropical leaf you might find submerged in some of the habitats where fishes are found.

They have a beautiful shape and structure, and they last a reasonably long time submerged- often a month or so before starting to break down and decompose. They impart a lighter, almost golden "tint" to the water, yet offer that exotic aesthetic which makes up for their lesser amount of tannin-imparting capability. (assuming you see that as a "downside", of course!)

Mangrove, on the other hand, will put out a pretty good "tint" into the water, remain more-or-less structurally intact for long periods of time- often 2 months or more- and have beautiful shape and color. They seem to recruit less biofilms than many other leaves. This is a sort of "anecdotal" observation on my part, but I think that it's pretty accurate.

Oh, and in my experience over years of working with mangrove leaves in blackwater/botanical-style aquariums, I can state confidently that there is simply no detectible salt released by these leaves when submerged, despite concerns about these. Hailing as they do from brackish-water habitats, it's something our customers ask a lot.

I've repeatedly checked this with a very accurate digital refractometer and never detected any salt leaching into my freshwater tanks while using these leaves. I think this is partly because the leaves- when attached to the Mangrove tree, serve as a sort of "escape valve" for salt to work its way out of the tree's vascular system. And the preparation process (ie; boiling and soaking)- releases any minute remaining traces of salt in the leaves' tissues.

When I'm asked which of these leaves last the longest when submerged, I must start by telling you that, although many leaves have different durability and tannin-imparting capabilities, your specific water chemistry, fish population, etc. are the major determining factors in how long a given leaf will last submerged in your aquarium. 

In order of "longevity", from least durable to most durable, I'd say it goes something like this:

*Catappa

*Guava

*Jackfruit

*Mangrove

*Magnolia

*Texas Live Oak

Now, it bears mentioning that we offer Texas Live Oak leaves as "leaf litter", a "form factor" which includes some "extra" stuff, like the occasional twig, strand of moss, terrestrial weed, bits of bark, and acorns. This extra material is, in my opinion, a real "bonus", as it provides additional biological "fuel" to power microbial growth, biofilms, fungi, and other life forms. It's perfect for foraging fishes and shrimp to "work."

Oh, and it looks pretty cool, too!

The other major question we receive about leaves is if you should leave them in the tank until they fully break down.

Leaving leaves in situ to fully decay likely reaches a point when the resulting matter and detritus is essentially inert, consisting of the skeletonize sections of leaf tissue which can decay no further. Dead leaves contain largely inert forms of polysaccharides, and are reach in structures like lignin and cellulose. Most of these compounds have little effect on water quality in a well-maintained aquarium, in my experience.

If you're stressed out about the idea of decomposing leaves in your tanks, doing regular water changes can’t hurt, either- right? 

As you know, we've done a lot of experimentation with "leaf-only" aquariums in recent years, testing their long-term viability, and the results have been incredibly encouraging. When properly maintained, they're as stable and easy to manage as any other aquarium.

Leaf litter beds in aquariums are extremely important to the fishes which inhabit them, providing protection, food, and even physical territory, just like they do in Nature.

As you know by now, I personally favor allowing leaves to break down in the aquarium, because they function much as they would in the wild habitats, fostering microbial growth, food sources, and possibly even providing some form of denitrification.

 

The preparation of leaves is one of the few "controversies" in the botanical aquarium world.

Why, Scott? Why do we boil this stuff?

Well, to begin with, consider that boiling water is used as a method of making water potable by killing microbes that may be present. Most nasty microbes "check out" at temperatures greater than 60 °C (140 °F). For a high percentage of microbes, if water is maintained at 70 °C (158 °F) for ten minutes, many organisms are killed, but some are more resistant to heat and require one minute at the boiling point of water. (FYI the boiling point of water is 100 °C, or 212 °F)...But for the most part, most of the nasty bacteria that we don't want in either our tanks or our stomachs are eliminated by this simple process.

Ten minutes of boiling is "golden", IMHO. Of course, we boil for other reasons, as we'll touch on in a bit.

For one reason, we boil botanicals to kill any possible microorganisms which might be present on them. Leaves have been exposed to rain and dust and all sorts of things in the natural environment which, in the confines of an aquarium, could  introduce unwanted organisms and contribute to the degradation of the water quality.

The surfaces and textures of many leaves lend themselves to retaining dirt, soot, dust, and other atmospheric pollutants that, although likely harmless in the grand scheme of things, are not stuff you want to start our with in your tank.

So, we give all of our botanicals a good rinse.

Then we boil.

Boiling also serves to soften botanicals.

If you remember your high school Botany, leaves, for example, are surprisingly complex structures, with multiple layers designed to reject pollutants, facilitate gas exchange, drive photosynthesis, and store sugars for the benefit of the plant on which they're found. As such, it's important to get them to release some of the materials which might be bund up in the epidermis (outer layers) of the leaf.  As we get deeper into the structure of a leaf, we find the mesophyll, a layer of tissue in which much of photosynthesis takes place.

 

 

We use only dried leaves in our botanical style aquariums, because these leaves from deciduous trees, which naturally fall off the trees in seasons of inclement weather, have lost most of their chlorophyll and sugars contained within the leaf structures. This is important, because having these compounds present, as in living leaves, contributes excessively to the bioload of the aquarium when submerged...

And I like to steep the leaves for a bit, too.

Overkill?

I don't think so, but that's just me.

The steep will help break down the tissues a bit to facilitate sinking, eliminate any surface contaminants, and help release some of the remaining sugars and initial tannins bound up in the leaf tissue. Of course, everyone asks if you're eliminating all of the beneficial tannins when you do this.

My answer: No. You re not. They will keep leaching out tannins for quite some time, even after this comprehensive prep process.

Everyone has a different opinion on this; that's just mine. Lately, I admit I've forgone the boiling water in favor of a room-temperature overnight soak, or sometimes, just a heavy rinse in tap water, and then added the leaves to my aquariums. I've encountered no problems, other than a slightly higher "buoyancy" with the non-steeped leaves.

Some people might say they last longer, too. Your call. In the interest of providing the most conservative advice for the greatest majority of hobbyists, I stand by my recommendations to employ some form of prep, as outlined here.

As far as "placement" and "depth of litter bed" is concerned, that's really up to you. I've gone over the possible issues with adding a proportionately large influx of fresh leaves and botanicals to an established aquarium at once, and I stand by my recommendation to go slowly. As you are aware, rapidly adding a bunch of leaves that will contribute to the bioload of the aquarium, not to mention, potentially decrease the pH, can have some serious consequences for the animals in your system.

Besides, part of the fun is watching the aquarium "evolve" over time. Test pH, ammonia, and nitrite regularly during the first few days after you've added the botanicals to an existing tank, and perhaps pH and nitrate/phosphate on the longer term, to establish "baseline" parameters and monitor any trends as your system matures. "Test, then tweak" is a favorite old aquarium adage of mine for a good reason.

Patience.

Depth-wise, it's your call, and wide open for experimentation. In a properly filtered, well-maintained aquarium, I see little reason why you couldn't create a very deep litter bed, approaching 8-10 inches (20.32-25.4 cm) deep- or more! In nature, leaf litter beds may be several meters deep!

Now, I realize that an aquarium is not an open-system like a stream, and that there are upper limits to what you can do, so the real takeaway here is that, with careful experimentation, observation, and a willingness to make "mid-course corrections", you as the hobbyist can try all sorts of things with regards to depth and composition of your leaf litter bed.

Bonus questions?

Hmm, how about what to do about the moldy spots you sometimes see on leaves? This is particularly common with Catappa, Jackfruit, and Magnolia. It happens somewhere along the line, during the chain of preparation by the collectors, packaging, and transport. Magnolia, in particular tends to have more surface mold than most other leaves, in my experience, and I believe it's because the waxy cutin layer on these leaves retains more moisture than other leaves, and in a sealed plastic bag, they tend to release it and the resulting moist "environment" in the bag tends to recruit some mold on the surfaces of the leaves.

I've never, ever had any problems by using leaves which have had mold on them in my aquariums. Because I take the time to prepare my leaves before using them, it's always been a "non-issue" in my experience. Just use some common sense. If the leaf is just covered in scuzzy mold, dump it. With a little "dusting" of mold, clean it and prepare as recommended before using in your aquarium.

A lot of hobbyists ask us which leaf they should use to simulate a habitat from such-and-such a locale. It's a logical question, and one which super hardcore biotope enthusiasts might rightly grapple with. My answer? Since most of the leaves we offer are found in multiple locations around the world, and some are not even tropical (like Magnolia leaves and Live Oak leaves), the best we're doing is creating a reasonable facsimile of what's found in say, the Borneo Jungle or Amazonian rain forest.

Rest assured, I'm constantly working with  my suppliers around the world for more varieties of leaves, particularly those from some exotic locales, and we'll have them really soon. Sustainable, responsible collection of naturally fallen leaves, properly prepared for our use, is the driving factor. We'll keep at this. However, for now, just understand that the leaves you have available will work just fine.

In fact, I don't think your fishes will notice one bit that they're swimming over leaves from a completely different continent. And trust me, once the water "tints" and the leaves start breaking down, unless you're really uptight, you won't be all that concerned about your Amazonian-themed tank having an Indian Jackfruit leaf in it.

Perhaps in the future, we will recognize some specific microfauna and such from leaves found in very specific locales, and how they impact the aquatic environment and its inhabitants, but for now, we're content (?) to replicate it on a more "superficial" level. 

Okay,  in this "magnum opus", I think we've just about covered the initial ins-and-outs of working with leaves in your aquarium. Sure, we could probably go on and on and on about water chemistry impact, tuning your aquarium for optimal performance with leaf litter, husbandry, etc., etc., but I think this is a good start.

Our community's collective experiences and subsequent discussions will only add to the growing body of knowledge about the concept, aesthetics, function, husbandry, and long-term dynamics of the botanical-stye, blackwater aquarium.

That's where YOU come in!

Keep experimenting!

Stay fascinated. Stay excited. Stay curious. Stay disciplined. Stay adventurous. Stay observant...

And Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

 

The annoying thing about "labels", "rules", and overly-rigid thinking...

I sometimes wonder if we as aquarists expect too much from each other- and ourselves.

And I think it makes stuff thats supposed to be fun, kind of "toxic" at times.

I saw a post not too long ago about a collaboration between a couple of well-known aquarists to create a beautiful planted aquarium. The end result of the collaboration was truly gorgeous. However, the immediate response from some corners was, "It's nothing like Nature."

Really? So what?

And of course, I thought about the POV of the "critics", and I suppose they were sort of missing the whole point of the tank- simply to create a beautiful, low-maintenance planted aquarium- and instead, foisting their own agenda upon it based on expectations of what they thought the collaborators should have done.

That's not only sad and unfair- it's complete bullshit.

And it's indicative of a larger attitude I see more and more in the hobby.

Now, these particular guys are amazing- "big boys"- and certainly don't need the likes of ME to bail them out, but the attitude of the "critics" was a bit, well- awful.

And I wanted to talk about it.

And you know that, once I get a bug up my ass, nothing is gonna stop me from talking about it with you.

Look, I'm the first guy who says that he's sick and tired of the same old diorama-style contest aquariums being called "natural style" or whatever; that's an issue of "overly-appropriating" the word "Nature" for every freaking tank. Just too much.

I'm a firm believer in looking to Nature for inspiration in both form and function. You only have to read this blog, listen to my podcast, or attend my lectures to get your head around that.

However, when I see critics going the other direction, I'm gonna call it out, too. 

Look, every single aquarium doesn't have to have decomposing leaves, biofilms, brown water, and sediment-filled substrate to be called "inspired by Nature" or whatever.  Last I read, the processes which govern the nitrogen cycle of my aquariums in Los Angeles are the same ones that govern the nitrogen cycle in the igarapes of Amazonia... So, yeah.

And every aquarium doesn't have to be a copy of a specific natural habitat or biotope. Otherwise, every tank becomes some tightly-labeled, rule-imposed enclosure, and we end up in the same old militant "us vs. them" position that has turned off hobbyists to some of these "movements" for years.

Yuck.

I've seen this sort of crap turning up on biotope enthusiast forums and blackwater aquarium groups lately. Ridiculous nitpicking that serves no purpose except to expose those who "call out" others' efforts as jerks, quite honestly. There are some incredibly talented, really great hobbyists in that arena- and there is much to learn from them. Yeah, there are also some total jerks who feel that every tank needs to meet their extremely rigid "standards" to be considered some sort of "serious" work.

It's crazy.

Do what YOU love- in a way that YOU love to do it.

Call it what you want, but be mindful of the words you use and what they mean. If you must apply a "label" to your work, I think "biotope-inspired" or "natural style" are great, much more apt, broad descriptors for hobbyists to use. I think they'd cause far fewer skirmishes, lol. When we get right down to it, even the most hardcore "biotope aquarium" as lauded by "the establishment" in that world still isn't 100% perfectly accurate. No matter what "they" (whoever the fuck "they" are..) say!

A working definition of the word "biotope" from Wikipedia- a good one, IMHO, is useful:

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".

And, kind of broad, right? 😆

We should celebrate the art, the research, the effort, and the knowledge that was accumulated (and shared!) in order to create all of these aquariums. Sure, in a competitive situation, it's important to follow the rules of the judging criteria, but for hobby efforts, using a Guava leaf instead of a Bertholletia excelsa leaf (because you can't collect or obtain them legally) is not a disqualifier.

Sorry, guys.

Yeah, if a hobbyists cannot obtain the actual Amazonian leaves (because, I dunno- they're from a protected habitat...), does that invalidate the aquarium from consideration as a "biotope aquarium?"

I mean, c'mon!

I've said it before and I"ll say it again: I'll bet 90% of the most hardcore "judges/critics" of these contests couldn't even tell the difference, once these leaves are submerged, softened, and covered in a patina of biocover.

So why get so dogmatic about these things?

We get really worked up; really pissy about this shit.

Even with the contest winners, you can take this attitude and nitpick to the "nth degree" if you want to use these "standards" (Okay, I will😆):

I mean, what about the substrate? Is it absolutely Rio Negro region "podzol" from the Andes?  No? Oh- NOT A BIOTOPE AQUARIUM!  Is every species of wood used in the tank form the surrounding varzea forest? No?  Oops- NOT A BIOTOPE AQUARIUM! Is every freaking bacteria, fungi, Paramecium, etc. the exact species that comes from the region being represented?

Huh? Is it? 

I think I made my point here.

You could go on and on and on and on...and simply alienate everyone on the planet except your closest friends who poses the same shitty elitist attitudes. 

So why the extreme attitudes? I'd like to think that it's because people care. And that's a beautiful thing. However, in order to keep things civil, I think that we need to step back into our corners from time to time and look at the bigger picture.

Really.

Now, in a sort of sadistic way, I admit that I derive a strange satisfaction watching from afar, actually. It's sort of funny. Sure, it shows that some people are complete assholes. It also shows the level of passion and commitment to the "art and science" that our hobby community has. That's huge.

At the end of the day, however, 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 and valuable.

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 tad more enlightened about Nature. It might just stimulate someone, somewhere to ask themselves, "Is that what it's like in The Pantanal?"

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 out about the threats it faces, seek out and donate to an organization out there that is working to protect it. 

It's all good, IMHO.

So, the next time you or someone you know is being called out because you don't conform to their expectations of what they think is "correct" or "proper" or whatever, maybe you could push back just a bit and show them the absurdity of it all... And thank them for giving a damn...And just perhaps, taking the time to say, "Hey- isn't this cool? We all care so much about this stuff that we have an intense passion for it! Wow!"

Imagine how much that would do to bring it back around to what the hobby is all about: Having fun, educating, and sharing.

I admit, my thinking is pretty rigid on THOSE points!

This amazing hobby is far, far bigger and better than any of our attitudes. It's awesome. The annoying thing about "labels", "rules", and overly-rigid thinking is that they make this stuff that much less...fun.

A real tragedy that's easily avoided, IMHO.

Stay friendly. Stay helpful. Stay open-minded. Stay optimistic. Stay educated. Stay creative. Stay resourceful...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

 

 

 

The power of biodiversity...

Okay, Fellman- If 2020 is truly the "Year of the Substrate", as I've postulated recently, it's probably time to start thinking about the substrate a bit more, right? Now, not just utilizing a new and different array of materials to create more interesting looking and functioning substrates, but to foster specific functions as well.

There has been that curious, nagging "thing" I have in my head about the ability of botanical-influenced substrates to foster denitrification.  I guess, coming from a reef background, where natural materials like sand and live rock are the de facto vehicles for this process, it's only natural that I'd draw a parallel to our work with botannicals.

With the diverse assemblage of microorganisms residing in a layer of leaves, and a continuous food source of decomposing botanicals "in house", I can't help but think that such "living substrates" create a surprisingly diverse and utilitarian biological support system for our aquariums.

The reason we have been working with some of the substrate materials that we offer goes beyond just the fact that they look so different from the usual sand or gravel that we as aquarists tend to use. I feel they offer a tremendous amount of "attachment points" for bacterial biofilms, fungi and even some microalgae- three vital living components of the natural aquatic ecosystem. And, because of their composition, I think that the compounds that they contain are an onboard "carbon source" for beneficial organisms.

With our embrace of "detritus" or "mulm" as a source of "fuel" for creating active biological systems within the confines of our aquariums, I think that the idea of an "enriched substrate" will become an integral part of the overall ecosystems that we create. Considering the substrate as both an aesthetic AND functional component- even in "non-planted" aquariums, opens up a whole new area of aquarium "exploration."

One of the key things to unlock here is to embrace a greater reliance on Nature and the organisms and processes which she fosters to support the higher life forms in our aquariums. I've always sort of laughed at this idea; I mean, on one hand, we've been told over the years about the nitrogen cycle, and we've even had some great "bacteria in a bottle" products available to "jump start" new tanks (I love these products, BTW).

Hobbyists have been encouraged to understand the nitrogen cycle vis a vis starting a new tank...and then we sort of "let it go." We give it no additional thought. The importance of "starting" is accepted, but that's it. Like, it's okay to add some bacterial starter culture ( a clear liquid) to the tank to get things going. But once we're up and running, we're good. And I think the fact that because it's just a few ml of clear "stuff" we're pouring into our tanks, it's not really upsetting to our aesthetic sensibilities.

Kind of "out of site, out of mind." Yet, once the tank is up and running, we give this vital life-sustaining cycle little more thought. And the idea of creating a botanical bed or utilizing leaves for the expressed purpose of continuing to foster biodiversty and overall nitrogen cycle "health" seems a bit tedious or "alien" to us. Because it has a certain look that we likely find upsetting. Kind of a sad reason to not embrace the idea of creating a functional substrate, I think.

I envision that the future of mainstream aquarium practice may include creating such a substrate as simply part of "what we do." Adding a mix of botanical materials, live bacterial and small organism cultures, and even some "detritus" from healthy aquatic systems (which has been a common practice for a long time) may become how we establish systems. I've had some good discussions with my friends about this, and they've thought about this from a planted tank perspective for a while now. Bacterial substrate additives for plant tanks have been used for a while in the various regimens manufacturers recommend.

The idea of specifically trying to foster this type of biodiversity for non-plant-focused tank has been suspiciously absent from the hobby, IMHO.

Other botanical-style aquarium enthusiasts have done remarkable things with this idea, fusing the idea of a biologically active substrate for an aquarium that has some plants, but focuses more on the "overall picture."

And thats where it gets really interesting to me. The idea of embracing natural materials and utilizing them in the display for the specific goal of helping to foster functional biodiversity, with "aesthetics" as the secondary benefit is a quantum leap forward in aquarium technique, IMHO. 

The implications for successful aquariums are manifold.

I mean, it's not THAT crazy.  It makes sense, and the overall concept is really not that difficult to grasp. And we probably shouldn't get too crazy into understanding every single aspect of this practice. Yet, I think that if more new aquarists were perhaps encouraged to create beds of leaves and botanicals and such, there could be a lot more continued success. Of course, it requires a lot of "reprogramming" and mental shifts on everyone's part to accept this as "normal technique!"

The look of such substrates just doesn't appeal to everyone.

And of course, there is a lot to learn.The biochemical interactions and such can and should be explored by those with the proper backgrounds, but for most of us, simply observing our aquariums and the way they operate can yield a surprisingly large amount of information. Something about this  practice works, for reasons which we already tangentially understand.

However, there is lots more to learn. The idea of fostering biodiversity in all sorts of aquariums- not just blackwater/brackish botanical-style tanks is fascinating and really not well studied. Again, I think it might have been a case of the "look" of such aquariums discouraging soem people from trying this stuff. The aesthetics of more "high concept" tanks seem to be more appealing.

Yet, we've seem some very cool, artistically-minded botanical-style aquariums lately that I think may change a few minds. Some of the materials can even be "tucked away" in parts of the hardscape to avoid the typical "busy-looking" substrate we see a lot in our world.

There are a lot of approaches to fostering this kind of biodiversity in our aquariums.

Interested? I sure am!

It's not some amazing "revolution"- it's simply an evolution of practices that we've been playing with peripherally for decades in the hobby. It's a way of looking at what's already working and trying to figure out the "whys" as we go. 

In the mean time, I'm going to keep playing with different substrate materials, and mixing botanicals and such into my substrates. It's too irresistible for me not to do this! I can only hope we as a community get into this concept more and throw some creativity at it!

Stay thoughtful. Stay progressive. Stay brave. Stay curious. Stay experimental. Stay   diligent...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

 

Free your mind and the detritus will follow...

As we ease in to 2020, the one thing I'm going to keep hammering into everyone's head is the desire to see us let go of some of our old fears and concerns about "stuff" that we've labeled as "bad" without due consideration for any possible benefits..

Now, as those of you who read my little rants and listen to my podcasts know, one thing I truly can't stand is over-generalizations about stuff in the hobby.

And one of the most maligned, over-generalized topics in the world of aquarium husbandry is...detritus. We've talked about this before, but it deserves repeating...

My never-ending war on behalf of detritus continues.

Yeah, you heard me...On BEHALF of detritus!

Seriously.

I know that uneaten food and fish poop, accumulating in a closed system can be problematic if overall husbandry issues are not attended to. I know that it can decompose, overwhelm the biological filtration capacity of the tank if left unchecked. And that can lead to a smelly, dirty-looking system with diminished water quality. I know that. You know that. In fact, pretty much everyone in the hobby knows that.

Yet, we've really sort of heaped detritus into this "catch-all" descriptor which has an overall "bad" connotation to it. Like, anything which is allowed to break down in the tank and accumulate is bad. Anything that looks like "dirt" is...well, "dirty", dangerous, and should be treated accordingly.

Now, "dirty-looking" and "dangerous" are two very different things, right?

Detritus.

The definition as accepted in the aquarium hobby is kind of sketchy in this regard; not flattering at the very least:

"detritus is dead particulate organic matter. It typically includes the bodies or fragments of dead organisms, as well as fecal material. Detritus is typically colonized by communities of microorganisms which act to decompose or remineralize the material." (Source: The Aquarium Wiki)

Everyone thinks that it is so bad.

I'm not buying it.

Why is this necessarily a "bad" thing?

I mean, even in the above the definition, there is the part about being "colonized by communities of microorganisms which act to decompose or remineralize..."

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. Important in a closed system, I should think.

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

It's not all bad, right?

I think we should embrace this. Especially in a botanical-style 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?

I think so!

Okay, detritus as we see it may not be the most attractive thing to look at in our tanks. I'll give you that. It literally looks like a pile of shit! However, what we're talking about allowing to accumulate isn't fish poop and uneaten food. It's broken-down botanical-materials. 

As we talk about so much around here- just because something looks a certain way doesn't mean that it always a bad thing, right? What does it mean? Take into consideration why we add botanicals to our tanks in the first place. Now, you don't have to have huge piles of the stuff littering your sandy substrate. However, you could have some accumulating here and there among the botanicals and leaves, where it may not offend your aesthetic senses, and still contribute to the overall aquatic ecosystem you've created.

If you're one of those hobbyists who allows your leaves and other botanicals to break down completely into the tank, what happens? Do you see a decline in water quality? A noticeable uptick in nitrate or other signs? Does anyone ever do water tests to confirm the "detritus is dangerous" theory, or do we simply rely on what "they" say in the books and hobby forums?

Is there ever a situation, a place, or a circumstance where leaving the detritus "in play" is actually a benefit, as opposed to a problem?

I think so.

Now, I'm just one guy, but I personally haven't had issues with the complete decomposition of botanicals and leaves being left to accumulate in my aquariums. In almost three decades of playing with this stuff, and being a hardcore, water-quality-testing reef keeper during much of that time, I can't ever, EVER recall I time where the decline of a system I maintained could be pinned specifically on the detritus from decomposing botanical materials as a causative factor in reducing water quality.

In fact, I have never had a situation where water quality has been an issue in a tank not performing well. And I suspect- neither have many of you.

Okay, put me in for a medal, right? 

That's not the point.

What I'm getting at is that I have always been a firm believer in some forms of nutrient export being employed in every single tank I maintain. Typically, it's regular water exchanges. Not "when I think about it', or "periodically", mind you.

Nope, it's weekly. 

Now, I'm not saying that you can essentially disobey all the common sense husbandry practices we've come to know and love in the hobby (like not overcrowding/overfeeding, etc.) and just change the water weekly and everything's good.

Water exchanges are helpful. However, they're not a panacea for all of the potential "ills" of a poorly managed tank.

What I am saying is that incorporating regular water exchanges into your system gives you the ability to dilute any potential accumulating organics/pollutants before they become a significant negative ve impact on water quality.

They simply give you a bit of a "buffer", essentially.

I don't need to go into the well-trodden reasons about what water exchanges are a good thing in the aquarium. However, I do need to give us a collective whack upside the head and encourage each and every one of us to think about this stuff from the perspective of an overall closed ecosystem. Think about what the nitrogen cycle is and does, and think about the impact of inputs and exports into and out of our closed systems. 

Think about the potential benefits of allowing some of this stuff to remain.

Think about the organisms which feed upon it, their impact on the water quality, and on the organisms which fed on them. Then, think about the fishes and how they utilize not only the material itself, but the organisms which consume it.

Consider its role in the overall ecosystem...

Is detritus a nutrient trap?

Or is it a place for fishes to forage among?

A place for larval fishes to seek refuge and sustenance in? Kind of like they do in Nature, and have done so for eons?

Yes, I know, we're talking about a closed ecosystem here, which doesn't have all of the millions of minute inputs and exports and nuances that Nature does, but structurally and functionally, we have some of them at the highest levels (ie; water going in and coming out, food sources being added, stuff being exported, etc.).

I think we really need to think about our systems- particularly in the blackwater/botanical-style aquarium world- as little microcosms which replicate- at least on some level, some of the process which occur in nature to create a specialized but highly productive and successful- not to mention, dynamic- ecology. 

And not all of these processes have appealing visuals. I believe that we as hobbyists need to separate aesthetics from the overall functional benefits of the various life forms and processes which appear in and guide our aquairums' ecological systems.

There is so much more to this stuff than to simply buy in unflinchingly to overly-generalized statements like, "detritus is bad."

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 embrace Nature in every conceivable way.

Maybe, as the years go by, we as a hobby will overcome generations of fear over stuff like detritus and fungi and biofilms- the very life-forms which power the aquatic ecosystems we strive to duplicate in our aquariums. Maybe, rather than attempting to "erase" these things, which go against our "Instagram-influenced aesthetics" of how we think that Nature SHOULD look, we might want to meet Nature where she is and work with her. 

And we just might see the real beauty- and benefits- of unedited Nature.

And of course, the literal "basis"- the "fuel- for all of this stuff is the botanical materials themselves, breaking down in our tanks, as they've done in Nature for eons. The ultimate in "ephemeral", and perhaps the ultimate execution of the natural, botanical-style aquarium. 

It's not for everyone. I get that.

It asks us to reconsider everything that's been ingrained in us over generations of aquarium-keeping. It's hard to let some stuff go. I get it.

Yet, we've seen a change in our community over the past few years. It's exciting and encouraging.

Many of us have already made a "mental shift" which accepts the transient, subtle beauty of decomposing botanical materials, tinted water, biofilms, fungi, and the like. It goes without saying that taking it a little further and allowing these materials to completely break down to serve as the literal biological "substrate" for our aquatic ecodiversity-to be utilized by plants and animals which reside in our tanks- is simply the next "iteration" in the management of blackwater/brackish botanical-style aquariums.

Ahh..this "stuff."

These small, seemingly "annoying" end products of 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.

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 ideas on stuff. It's not always pretty. It's not always right.

I'll give you that much. However, it's always, always worth considering and exploring. Because just accepting "status quo", keeping a closed mind to alternative ideas, and not pushing the edges from time to time is not just a little bit boring- it's denying fellow hobbyists the opportunity to learn about- and potentially benefit from- stuff we might have long been afraid of.

Keep exploring. Always.

Oh, and what about our friend, detritus?

Think about it as more than just a "nutrient trap" or "destroyer of water quality", or something equally sinister...Think of it as the foundation-literally- of a dynamic and prosperous closed ecosystem.

Free your mind.

See where this takes you. What do you have to lose? Yeah, you can always siphon the stuff out, like you've done your whole life- right?

Yeah. No prob.

Stay adventurous. Stay open-minded. Stay unbounded by convention. Stay relentless in pursuit of answers. Stay observant. Stay brave...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

 

 

The wonder of the weird. The 2020 Mission.

Is it really possible? The rush of the Holidays is over...A new year is upon us. I was just getting used to writing "2019" on stuff, and here we go...It's 2020!- time for our sort of "State of The Tint" report for you!

Okay, it may turn into a "mini-rant" here and there, but I hope it updates you on some stuff; get's you fired up for 2020!

With a new year comes new opportunities, new ideas, and a new focus. All of that cliche stuff! And as we move into this new year, my mind is constantly awash with new and admittedly "weird" ideas for unusual aquariums. Not just for the sake of "being different", mind you- rather, in an attempt to replicate unusual and perhaps under appreciated features that you see in the wild aquatic habitats of the world.

There is so much interesting stuff out there to study and replicate in our aquairums. Not just to "diorama it up" to win a biotope aquarium contest; no- but to replicate the form and function of these unique habitats. To understand why they formed, how they "operate", and what set of unique characteristics they possess which makes them home to our beloved fishes.

Yeah, that's where we are headed in 2020, for sure.

I feel like I have a "duty" to expose the aquarium world to these unusual aspects of Nature, because they just might lead to some "unlocks" about aspects of the aquatic world that will create beneficial outcomes for our captive fishes, too. Not just because they're weird. In fact, not all of these things are "weird." Some are simply ideas that have not been "played out" in the confines of an aquarium, for whatever reason.

These ideas are often overlooked.

These ideas are cool.

Cool, because they force us to look at Nature in a different way. Cool- because they make us consider not only the "appearance", but the (wait for it...) function of these features. Some may be really hard to replicate in the confines of the aquarium. Others may ultimately turn out simply be not all that exciting; perhaps more trouble than they're worth, although I doubt it.

I think most of these ideas will yield interesting insights into Nature, while pushing us along in the evolution of aquarium keeping. It's time to breath life into such ideas. To encourage the hobby to push the boundaries back a bit further. Actually, a lot further.

It's time.

And sure, because it's cool. 😎 

 

Literally, our mantra in 2020, as articulated to my team is, "Do cool shit."

And that's kind of what we're gonna do.

As the world turns a more interested eye towards the idea of tanks with water in them that's not "crystal clear, blue-white", we at Tannin have an obligation to share some new ideas, to keep pushing the boundary forward. We can't just be content to "popularize" the idea of botanicals, blackwater and brackish aquariums.

So, yeah- we'll push out further.

In 2020, we'll see more representations of unusual "niche" habitats, like vernal pools, flooded rice paddies, blackwater mangrove thickets, muddy streams, etc. We'll see more tangles of roots, tree stumps, sediment-encrusted branches, and all sorts of stuff that we see in various natural habitats. More unusual brackish water stuff is coming...maybe even some marine aquarium work, as we take our "natural" case to the other side of the fence!

Detritus. Bits and pieces of decomposing botanical materials. Mixes of sand, sediments, and leaves, aquatic plants, bark, etc. Oh, and we will likely see more work with rock, too. I'm more and more fascinated about rocky, sediment-and-leaf-strewn habitats- how they form, what influences their water chemistry, and what fishes reside there.

2020 might just be remembered as "The Year of The Substrate", as we introduce long-awaited new substrate additives and mixes, to help you create some of the most interesting "functionally aesthetic" substrates possible! We've been working with our global suppliers to source and create some unusual botanical materials to create fantastic interpretations of Nature- stuff that I'm 100% certain you won't be able to find anywhere else.

I can't stress enough how important I feel that the aquarium version of "active substrates" (borrowing from our herp friends!) may be to aquairums. It's an area of the hobby which I think there will be far more interesting lessons to learn, and things to accomplish than you might think!

You might see some custom-designed gear for the first time, and a few items that will make creating blackwater conditions a bit easier for those who want to breed fishes, etc.

And of course, we will see some cool artistic interpretations of botanical-influenced habitats; ideas that will no doubt inspire other aquarists to put a little "art" into the functional aesthetic game. 

The "talent pool" out there is amazing right now! 

And as for the customer experience at Tannin? 

Well, we're going to double down on what made us what we are: Attention to you, the individual customer, as much as possible. The success of our customized products, like the "Enigma Pack", has proven exactly how important this approach is to you. We'll keep working on this kind of stuff. We'll be improving our website, our packaging, our touch points at all levels, to ensure that you have the best possible experiences with us! 

 

One significant thing is that I've decided that we're NOT going to be a product in every fish store in the country. We are not going to "commoditize" botanicals. It's not what I ever intended to do with Tannin, and it's not how we can serve hobbyists the best. I have given this a ton of thought, because we're asked so often about it.

The reality is that it's simply not who we are.

Sure, you will see some stuff at a few carefully vetted retailers here and there-perhaps even some customized things...but that's it. Oh, and of course, from our official British supplier, Blackwater UK. However, the thought of just packaging up our whole line of stuff and having it sit on shelves amongst the cans of fish food or activated carbon is more than I could handle! Mass-producing what was always intended to be a carefully-curated collection of materials for hobbyists just goes against what I believe in.

So, yeah, we likely won't be at your LFS anytime soon. NOT because these aren't important businesses. I love the LFS. You've read and heard about me extolling its virtues. It's just that I can serve every single one in a way I could be proud of. In the end, it because we realize how we want to run our company; what our values are.

 

I have an obsession with dealing with the consumer directly, and not becoming a fulfillment house or the "Amazon of Botanicals." While fast shipping is important, and we have always tried to ship your orders as quickly as possible, we're not going to place speed over quality. 

Our many loyal customers- YOU- know this, and appreciate this.

It's a "fact of life" when dealing with hand-curated products like we offer- the process is inefficient. It's not some clinical, not hyper-optimized, automated warehouse process. The idea of just grabbing your botanicals, dumping them into a bag and shipping them out 5 hours our less a soulless, spirit-crushing thing for us. It lacks the passion- the commitment to the hobby and craft- and the love. Remember, it's our hobby, too.

Being "generic" for the sake of "efficiency" or "larger market share" or whatever, sucks. We haven't done it that way in the past, and we won't do it that way in the future.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: We kind of think of Tannin as you would a "small-batch" coffee roaster, craft beer brewer, or some other artisanal-type business. Every time we've succumbed to the temptation to make it some big, "manufacturer-leveI", mass-market aquarium brand, it felt...well- shitty. Huge wholesale orders, generic boxes of botanicals. It wasn't worth it.

It was awful. It's not who we are. And embarking on a mass-market approach will simply result in Tannin being the exact opposite of what we are loved for. 

Earlier in the year, we looked into some fancy, mass-market-appropriate packaging...Although it looked amazing, in the end, it wasn't quite where we wanted to go. We're going to start over with a more unique packaging approach that fits our vibe and our aesthetic/ethos. We realize who we are, who we want to be-and we'll continue to stay true to it. You can be General Motors, cranking out hundreds of thousands of vehicles annually, or you can be Ferrari, making a handful of handmade, ultra-cool cars each year.

We'd rather be Ferrari.

I don't need to make Tannin a $20 million company. I need to make it a cool company. A trustworthy company. A friendly company. A brand. A source for unusual stuff, backed up by one-on-one service whenever possible, and with information that you won't find anywhere else. Cool.

You can't scale "cool" like we want to by just trying to be huge and be everywhere at once.

Now, one exciting thing that you WILL See is more work with Public Aquariums. We have been vetted by and began working with some of the best-known public aquariums in the world, and we will continue to do more of that. It's very much inline with our values, and educating and sharing the botanical aquarium "movement."

More to come on this!

Some of you have asked if we'll carry______, "like everyone else does", or if we will match "the other guy's prices" or whatever... Now, as you've probably figured out by now, we typically don't carry items "just because everyone is doing it."  And no, we don't "price match" or worry about what every other aquatics company charges, because we do things a certain way that we feel makes sense to our customers- and is true to who WE are, and what makes economic sense for us.  

A lot of you will contact us now and then after having come across another vendor offering botanicals. I appreciate such "tips" from you; we love the caring. Now, the reality is that I simply can't worry about every vendor out there who offers leaves and seed pods, or some fancy varieties of wood that we don't have. We just do what makes sense for our crowd. Not everyone likes us. And that's fine. Because of some unique circumstances, we can do things that many others simply cannot sustain, and we'll keep doing things that way!

I know some of you like to hear about some of the the "inside stories" of running Tannin- so here ya' go: As you might imagine, there are a few things I can't stand. Yep. One thing I don't like is when people try to rip off our style, images, content, etc. I hate "cheaters" in anything. We've seen a few attempts at this over the years- particularly recently. People who I've helped out as hobbyists, even hooked up with free stuff for their hobby work, or to do "product reviews" or whatever, only to see them rapidly announce themselves as "vendors" and attempt to copy us as closely as they can.

Yeah, sucks, right?

Those sorts of things alternatively amuse me and anger me. I mean, hey- I inspired you! Cool. But man, can't you put your own unique spin on things? Can't YOU do a daily blog, support clubs, charities, get vetted to supply public aquairums, etc? Or, do you just sell stuff? I mean, good for you- do what you can...but please don't use our name to try to leverage your "marketing" opportunities, or tell people you're "...just like Tannin Aquatics" or whatever.

'Cause you're not. 😆

In the end, they simply push us to do better. 

And judging from our growth, it seems like you appreciate that effort!

Oh, where were we...?

Ah, shipping...

We offer, and will continue to offer- free shipping on domestic orders, despite the dramatic pricing increases that shippers (USPS, Fed Ex, UPS) have announced. Shipping is a HUGE expense for us, like it is for many online vendors, but we'll hold firm. Free domestic shipping is important to us- as it is for you. It's a great way to provide value for you. And, since you ask:  I wish we could do the same internationally- I really do- but it would be financially unfeasible to do so. We'll continue to charge international customers a flat-rate price that is as inexpensive as reasonably possible, and work with our shippers to keep costs down.

We'll contuse to write this blog daily, and produce "The Tint" podcast, too. And we will work on that YouTube presence this year! And look for more exciting work with key hobby personalities, aquarium clubs, public aquariums, educational institutions, and conservation groups.

Lots of exciting stuff!

So, yeah- there's a little update, heart-to-heart chat, and preview of 2020.

We thank you so much for your support, friendship, and interest. We simply could not have accomplished all that we have so far without you- our global community of highly talented, engaged fellow hobbyists. The lines of communication are always open. We enjoy hearing from you, so feel free to reach out whenever you want. 

Remember: The future is not just bright. It's tinted!

Stay genuine, Stay honest. Stay bold. Stay excited. Stay creative...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

 

 

The benefits of a "mental rewind..."

The hobby of aquarium keeping is a journey, at its very heart, isn't it?

As a fish geek, you try a lot of ideas.

And not all of 'em work, right?

Like the time you tried to create the "mud hole" for those Nothobranchius you acquired at the fish club auction, or the flooded Pantanal biotope you tried to do with those weeds you found out in the local field...you know, that kind of stuff!

Ideas which are really great, and executions which, well, needed some "evolution" to really work out nicely. And just because they may not have accomplished what you wanted right from the get-go doesn't mean that these things were" failures."

Nope.

I can't think of the number of "failures" that I've had occur with aquariums, only to realize that they were actually "micro successes"- little incremental skill-building, experience-gaining events, which served to move me further along the path towards ultimate success.

When I first started keeping blackwater aquariums, some (gulp) 30 years ago, I was utilizing the most commonly available materials ("available" in the fish world, that is...)- like peat moss and maybe leaves. And they worked to "tint" the water, but I could never get the pH of our Los Angeles tap water (which is like as hard and alkaline as you could imagine) to fall more than a point or two if I was lucky.

It took years of research (yeah, pre-Google, mind you) to figure out that the hardness of the water was preventing the peat and such from having any real impact on the pH...SO I had really sexy, tinted aquariums in 1979-1981 that had ridiculously high pH and hard water!). Then, around the mid 1980's, reef aquariums began rearing their heads, and the magazines started talking about "reverse osmosis" systems to purify/soften source water.

They'd been around a while, but not in the aquarium world...Of course, I pleaded with my parents to get a water softener for the house, touting some kinds of human health benefits...my dad, a fellow fish geek, knew my ploy, however.

I had visions of pristine tropical reefs and blackwater streams, and would stop at nothing to achieve them!

Eventually, I was able to afford an RO unit, and finally, the "soft, acidic water" exposed by Axelrod, LaCorte, etc. was attainable. Of course, further experimentation with different types of natural materials led to greater successes.  I couldn't just stop at good "base water" parameters, right?

Along the way, I had experienced a few setbacks- like poisoning my fishes, over-doing my botanical additions, etc. But I never viewed them as "failures" to a certain extent. Now, I don't want to sound callous, as there was some loss of life during my experiments...but I think that it steeled my resolve, rather than put a damper on my enthusiasm.

Like many of you, I learned to "perfect my craft" through a lot of trial and error. While I evolved into the reef aquarium world for a couple of decades, I always kept experimenting with my blackwater aquariums. I took a lot of the rapidly-developing technique and hardware available the reef world, and played with it in freshwater. I continuously iterated and tried new stuff.

I screwed up a bunch..And I learned a lot, too! Those years were really important in the development of my hobby and aquatics industry experience. I learned the value of "aquatic cross-training", common sense, and just doing shit.

And failure and perseverance in the hobby also teaches you humility.

 

Try things. Screw them up. Tweak them. Learn from them. Change them. Share. Repeat.

Everyone wins.

Taking an attitude that it's not the end of the world if you fail is pretty healthy! Beginners in the aquarium hobby are happy just to win a simple victory- just to keep fishes alive. They take joy in things we likely take completely for granted...

Perhaps the beginner knows something we don't.

I think I- we- that is, more "advanced" hobbyists...often "know" too much. Or at least- we think that we do.

Seriously.

And I don't mean that from an arrogant perspective or anything.

I think that I, like so many hobbyists at my level- your level- of experience, sometimes  tend to overthink every aspect of the aquarium hobby, particularly during the new tank startup phase, rather than just letting ourselves enjoy the moment- the wonder, and the awe that comes from doing something special, beautiful, and, let's face it- incredibly cool!

I mean, setting up a slice of Nature in your own home?

This IS something amazing, huh? 

Something that nine tenths of the world will never get to experience or even comprehend.

And perhaps- just maybe...we know too much.

Yes.

We understand all of this stuff. Or she we think.

We experienced it many times over the years, and have watched- and even reassured- others that "All of this is normal" and to, "Just be patient and it will pass..."

You know- "aquarium stuff."

Outright beginners actually have it much easier in this regard, I think.

I mean, when just having a glass or acrylic box of  freshwater or saltwater in your home is a novelty- a cause for rejoicing! You tend to live in a bubble of gentle "ignorance" (eeehw- that's kind of harsh)- okay, let's call it "blissful lack of awareness about some things" that some of this stuff really sucks...

And that's actually a beautiful thing- because a beginner is taken by the sheer wonder- and joy of it all. They don't stress out about stuff like algal films, detritus on the substrate, micro bubbles and the occasional falling piece of wood in their aquascape. 

They're not worried about that yucky algae or water moment or any other of a dozen minutae like we are, because they don't KNOW that it can linger a long, long time if you don't manage the tank correctly at this phase.

No biggie. Not at the moment.

They're not "handcuffed" by their past experiences and the knowledge of having set up dozens of tanks over the years. Rather, they're just stoked as all get out by the thought of Lowlight Tetras, Amano Shrimp, Glass Catfish, and "ultra-common" Bettas taking up residence in the new little utopian microhabitat they just set up in their New York City apartment.

I think it's entirely possible to release ourselves from the "burden" of our own experience, and to allow ourselves to enjoy every aspect of this great hobby, free from preconception or prejudices. To just make decisions based on what our research- gut, or yeah- I suppose, experience- tells us is the "right" thing to do, then letting stuff happen.

In other words, taking control of the influence that our own experience provides, rather than allowing it to taint our whole journey with doubt, dogma, second-guessing, and over-analysis of every single aspect.

And just relaxing.

Embracing the sheer joy of being a beginner. Again.

Sounds like fun to me.

We should all try it some time.

The point of this semi-autobiographical essay and the recommendation to adapt part of a "beginner's mindset" is to understand that that setbacks, attacks, criticisms...all of that stuff is secondary to just doing.

A "mental rewind", if you will.

Secondary to just learning your craft, perfecting technique, and sharing what you love. The only "failure", in my opinion, is when we are brow-beaten or intimidated by "them" into NOT following our passions and doing what we know to be our thing. 

So, the idea of "successful failures" is a huge part of what we do in the hobby- and when we embrace and own them, magic happens. That's where the growth and advancement comes.

The learning. 

The excitement.

That's the really cool part.

Stay diligent. Stay bold. Stay unwavering. Stay curious. Stay passionate. Stay persistent. Stay patient..

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

The application...

After quite a few years of doing this crazy botanical-style aquarium thing, I've begun to realize that one of the "constants" is that we all enjoy what we do in our own special way. And there are as many ways to utilize botanicals in the aquarium as there are aquairums!

One of the most common questions we receive from newcomers to the botanical-style aquarium world is, "How can I use botanicals to create blackwater without having them in the display tank?"

In other words, you like the "tinted look", but you're not the biofilms, decompositions, and other "nonsense" (as my wife calls it) which goes with using botanicals as part of the "aquascape." 

I mean, the idea of utilizing botanical materials to create blackwater-type conditions (tinted water, soft and acid) is as old as the idea of blackwater aquariums. Of course, the biggest misunderstanding is the assumption that that botanicals and leaves can soften water. 

They can't. We've gone over this many times.  We'll do it again here, one more time!

The perception seems to be based on the appearance of the water (yeah, the "tint!"); that being that if water is brown or golden or whatever, it must be sot and acidic! Like the old expression that "You can't judge a book by its cover", you can't really gauge the environmental parameters of an aquarium by it's color, either.

(Damn. We need to come up with something "catchier", huh? That shit's kind of uninspired! LOL)

First off, without delving too far into basic water chemistry, which I have neither the desire or ability to explain in simple terms, I think everyone needs to kind of delve into Google and refresh (or educate for the first time!) themselves on the concepts of carbonate hardness and pH. This will set you up well for understanding exactly what these parameters mean, and how they can impact your fishes!  

It will also make it clear, once and for all, what botanicals cannot do in this context!

Suffice it too say, botanicals cannot influence the carbonate hardness of the water! They cannot "soften" it. Soft water is water that contains low concentrations of ions- particularly calcium and magnesium. In order to achieve "soft water", these ions need to be removed from the water. 

In nature, soft water occurs where rainfall accumulates and rivers and streams are formed over hard, impervious, calcium-poor rocks. Geology, as we've discussed before, is a HUGE influencer of the carbonate hardness of the water in wild ecosystems (and in aquariums, for that matter!).

For our purposes, the process of "ion exchange" is the most efficient way to soften water for aquarium use. And that is easily achieved by utilizing an RO/DI ("reverse osmosis/deionization) unit, of which dozens are available for hobbyist use!

For a detailed explanation of THAT process, just google it! My head spins just thinking of how to explain it in a non-confusing matter. In my opinion, an RO/DI unit is one of the fundamental investments that any serious aquarist should make. Yeah, they're a couple hundred U.S. dollars to purchase- and totally with it!  And arguments could be made about their efficiency, etc., but if you really want to create optimum conditions for fishes requiring soft, acidic water, for most of us it's the best way to go. 

For those of you who have naturally soft water where you live, Mazel Tov. Rad. Awesome. However, for the rest of us, we need to buy a damn RO/DI unit and be done with it. 🤓

Now, botanicals DO have the ability to influence the pH of the water somewhat, particularly when you are using RO/DI water with little to no carbonate hardness. Because tannins and humic/other acids are released by many botanical materials when immersed in water, the impact can be rather significant if you have enough botanical material in an aquarium of a given size, and water with little to no carbonate hardness.

And of course, the next inevitable question is, "How much leaves/botnaicals/etc. should I use to achieve "X" pH in my tank?"

Major spoiler: No matter what anyone says- product manufacturer, botanical vendor, "expert aquarist"- anyone- there is simply no "one size fits all" sort of "recipe" that tells you that "X amount of Catappa leaves will drop the pH of a liter of water by 'X' points. There are just so many variables as to make such assertions well- a guess at best, and stupidly misleading at worst.

I know, it sounds like a cheap "cop out" from having to answer this, but the reality is that there simply IS no single answer or "formula" that we can use with any degree of dependability.

I mean, what is the starting pH of the water? What kind of substrate do you have? What's the temp? Are you utilizing chemical filtration media? How many grams of what specific tannins acid or humic acid are contained in that particular batch of leaves or botanicals? How much makes it into the water column, and after how long?  What bot apicals have larger amounts of these substances in them than others? Etc., etc., etc.  

It's unpredictable at best, IMHO.

Blackwater "extracts" fall into the same category, as far as I am concerned.

Yes, these are generally quality products. And they will impart the aforementioned humic substances into the water.  Yet, how much, and for how long, I couldn't tell you. I'd suspect less than if you have an "on board" source of botnaicals releasing these materials continuously, but even that is speculative on my part. They can influence the pH, will do nothing to the hardness, and make the water a pretty brown color. But that's it, IMHO. No "magic bullet." 

No, "Just add this and you've gone Orinoco, baby!"

Nope. Like everything else, if it sounds too cool to be true, it usually is. 

Now, sure, you can get the "look" and some aspects of the environment without having to use decomposing leaves and botanicals in your tank. A win for some people, I suppose! It's just a different approach...Not necessarily "better"- or "worse", either.

Just different.

Now, you could utilize acid solutions to drop the pH reliably and with precision verifiable by testing. That's a little more serious proposition, but entirely doable. And it is something many hobbyists have done. You can do some research online and find out about this. However, trying to do it the "natural" way as we proffer is admittedly imprecise, subject to many variables (as re-hashed above), and unpredictable for the most part.

Now, to be honest, I sort of like that aspect! 

Oh, and you already know how I feel about using the "tea" from preparation of botanicals as a "home-brewed" sort of "blackwater extract..."

If not, I'll touch on it again: 

One of the things that I have an issue with in our little hobby sector is the desire by many "tinters" to make use of the water in which the initial preparation of our botanicals takes place in as a form of "blackwater tea" or "blackwater extract."

Now, while on the surface, there is nothing inherently "wrong" with the idea, I think that in our case, we need to consider exactly why we boil/soak our botanicals before using them in the aquarium to begin with. 

I personally discard the "tea" that results from the initial preparation of botanicals- and I recommend that you do, too.

Here's why:

As I have mentioned many times before, the purpose of the initial "boil and soak" is to release some of the pollutants (dust, dirt, etc.) bound up in the outer tissues of the botanicals. It's also to "soften" the leaves/botanicals that you're using to help them absorb water and sink more easily. As a result, a lot of organic materials, such as lignin, proteins, and other stuff, in addition tannins and humic substances- are released.

So, why on earth would you want a concentrated "tea" of dirt, surface pollutants, and other organics in your aquarium as a home-brewed "blackwater extract?" And how much do you add? I mean, what is the "concentration" of desirable materials in the tea relative to the water? I mean, it's not an easy, quick, clean thing to figure, right?

There is so much we don't know. We're just learning how to utilize the botanicals themselves correctly and safely; why push it further by adding what amounts to a concentrated "waste extract" to our tanks?

You can do whatever you want. However, since you ask- that's my thinking on the subject! You won't hear me advising you to add this water to your tanks.

So, with a basic understanding of what these materials can and can't do, and a little warning on adding that much-ballyhooed "tea" to your tanks, what's the alternative to using leaves and pods and cones and such in your display tank?

Use 'em in the filter.

Toss some prepared botnaicals into a mesh filter bag in your canister filter, where they'll receive a continuous flow of water, and they will more rapidly impart their humic substances, tannins, and other compounds into the water.

Or, you can purchase a simple fluidized media reactor- same thing...And no "mess", either! It's self-contained and keeps any debris out of your tank- perfect or those who want the "color" and not the "aesthetics..."

No matter how you utilize botanicals, they WILL influence the chemistry of your aquarium water...somewhat.  And everyone talks about it; none of us know for sure HOW much and to what extent..

And of course, that's why there is so much speculation and misinformation and "stuff" propagated out there online. It's been that way for a long time! And still, in todays internet-fuled hobby, the misconceptions- good and bad- continue.

So, let's get that thinking out of our heads once and for all.

For the one millionth time (and the second time in this piece!):

Yes, you can use botanicals to influence the pH of your water if the carbonate hardness is minimal. They can and will impart humic substances and tannins into the water. They will color the water. How much and to what extent is something that is simply unpredictable. 

Botanical-style aquariums are not "plug-and-play", "set-and-forget" systems. They are individual, unique, and highly dynamic closed microcosms which require continuous observation and maintenance- like any aquarium. Just because you're using Alder Cones or other botanicals in a reactor instead of in the display doesn't mean that you're circumventing any need to monitor things, right?

It doesn't mean their chemical/ecological impact on your tank is really that different than if you have them sitting on the bottom of your substrate, right?

Well, chemical- likely no. Ecological- perhaps.

Having that material in the tank "proper", on/in the substrate- interacting with the overall biotia of your tank IS a difference, imho. The possibilities for other life forms to feed off, metabolize, colonize, and otherwise utilize the botanicals "physically" as well as biochemically IS different, right?

I think so. 

In my opinion, a botanical-style aquarium (blackwater or otherwise), depends on these materials being "on board" (ie; physically in the tank) to provide/perform these functions. Using "extracts", maintaining botanical materials in a reactor is a different sort of thing. Not quite a botanical-style aquarium. You get, say "70% of the benefits" or whatever by NOT placing the materials in the aquarium. 

And that difference is the difference between a botanical-style aquarium and an aquarium that utilizes botanical materials simply to influence the water chemistry or apply tinting "effects".

It's about the "application" of the botanicals.

It's about understanding what these materials are potentially capable of doing; two they impact the life forms in your aquarium. And even more important- how to manage these aquariums long term. That's the evolving "art and science" that we are all working on.

Stay intrigued. Stay studious. Stay excited. Stay diligent. Stay informed...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

Botanically thinking...

I know. I know. If I say the words "mental shift" one more time...

However, after 5 years of running Tannin and pushing this evolution in the aquarium world, it's pretty obvious that's what has propelled the "botanical-style" aquarium movement has been hobbyists making those mental shifts. 

It is fascinating to watch the evolution of botanical-style aquariums in the hobby. For decades, hobbyists have been talking about "Nature" and mimicking various components of it in our tanks. Nothing particularly new there. And for many years, I think we have been collectively a bit timid to get (literally) "down and dirty" with our aquariums.

"Dirty", as in, not sanitized and polished. Our perspective as a hobby is starting to shift. We're accepting aesthetics and embracing function as never before.

This is changing, and will continue to do so.

Time to remove some mental "blocks" we have carried around for the better part of a century in the aquarium hobby.

And the list of our "aesthetically acceptable" features continues to expand!

Leaves scattered on the substrate of an aquarium is not exactly a super high concept to apply to Aquascaping...Or, is it?

I think it actually is.

It looks pretty cool in Nature, huh?

Sometimes, the seemingly most simple moves are the most complex, dynamic ones. With leaves, it's a bit different than other aquascaping practices, such as using specific rocks, wood, or aquatic plants. It's different because leaves are far, far more "ephemeral" than just about anything else we use.

There is now "new growth of leaves" on the bottom of an aquarium. Only the dynamics of decomposition, biofilm growth, and the influence on the aesthetics and chemistry of the water.

This is another one of those foundational aspects of the natural style of aquarium that we espouse. The understanding that processes like decomposition and physical transformation of the materials that we utilize our tanks are normal, expected, and beautiful things requires us to make mental shifts.

We need to get over the "block" which has espoused a sanitized version of Nature. I hit on this theme again and again and again, because I feel like globally, our community is like 75% "there"- almost entirely "bought in" to the idea of really naturally-appearing and functioning aquarium systems.

Understanding that stuff like the aforementioned decomposition of materials, and the appearance of biofilms- comprise both a natural and functional part of the microcosms we create in our tanks.

Employing natural materials which tend to recruit these life forms during their time in our tanks is actually one of the joys of our hobby pursuits, IMHO.

I'd like to continue to see more and more use of less common materials, like soils and various bark types, to simulate more unusual aquatic environmental niches in a more realistic pattern. I think that, in the very near future, we'll see more realistic simulations of vernal killifish pools, muddles, rice paddies, and other fascinating, yet underrepresented habitats!

I think that getting over the 'block" and thinking outside the box in aquarium habitat design and execution will be a leading force in propelling the hobby forward in coming years.

"Botanically thinking", we're en route to some pretty exciting times!

I can feel the creative energy..can you?

Stay  resourceful. Stay creative. Stay observant. Stay restless. Stay excited...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics 

Moving forward...quickly

When it comes to  our botanical-style aquariums, there those of us who do them, and those of us who think about doing them. 

And then, there are those of us who plan like hell, and do them.

Sometimes, the results are better than you expect... However, when you take the time to plan, you often kind of know what to expect, even though the results of your execution on the idea might pleasantly surprise you now and then!

Yeah, I'm big on planning of new aquariums. I keep a notebook with ideas, diagrams, scribbles...have for decades. Every detail of protective setups is usually there, somewhere, scrawled out or sketched onto those pages. 

Like, I think through all of the tiny details. Stupid shit, really.

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? Sure, I'm a shitty plumber, but as a reefer, I can literally lose myself in a hardware store for hours trying to find the right 45 degree elbow, ball valve, or whatever....

Of course, with aquairums, there are so many components of the plan, right?

Driftwood?  Which one? Yikes.

And don't even get me started on substrates! 

You know I'm obsessed with them. Not only do you have different materials, but you've got a choice of grades, colors, "live", and dry, botanical, etc. it's enough to make a fish geek's head explode!

Yeah.

Below is literally how my mindset was for decades 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- the "scape." I mean, all the planning in the world is kind of a wasted exercise if the tank looks like shit, right?

Well, you know what I mean.

 

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

I am crazy.

Well, I should say- I was crazy for a while, at least. For like, most of my fish-keeping career... And I suppose that the phrase "am crazy" is still up for debate!😆

I wasn't always a "human glacier", however.

When I was a kid, I would literally be re-configuring my 10-gallon community tank like monthly.

No joke:

In January, I'd have a Tetra 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..Barbs...and...well, you get the picture.

I was fast. Really fast. I think, likely too fast. I was trading in fishes so often at my LFS that they literally cringed when I walked in the door, plastic bucket in hand...

I think part of it was because I was an impatient kid with extremely 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 frazzled parents, who knew exactly why we were always short of clean towels in the household!

All of those little tanks and containers...

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

Over time, I slowed down quite a bit.

Yeah, 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, as I got older, 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 mean, when you're debating on different -sized substrate materials for like two weeks, something is up, right?

I did enjoy it a little, even if it seemed, well- slow. I think I've been on both ends of the extreme of this process, huh?

Flash forward to today, and at any given time, I'll have 4-5 home aquariums, each in varying stages of the planning/building/operating process. Each one radically different from the other. Financially, I'm slightly better than I was as a 14 year old (I mean, I'm in the aquatics industry, right? 😂), and, yes- I still have absurdly diverse interests.

Yeah, not much has changed, right? 

The difference?

I'm faster. And I multitask!

It's weird, but I"m getting used to it. I mean, I have a sort of "justification" for speed now. With Tannin, we need to try out and execute new concepts frequently, and get them photographed and documented to serve as a source of inspiration for our community. It's actually a responsibility for me to do more- and do it faster!

And to document it more- for better, or worse.

My, how times have changed!

It's a "do things" phase, and I couldn't be happier with this. It's a remarkable transformation for me, evolved over years of working the hobby from multiple angles and viewpoints. It's about being true to a mission I dedicated myself to: To push the state of the art in the hobby just a little bit forward, each and every day.

I love it.

And having multiple aquariums up and running hasn't hurt, either. Not too many, mind you. Just enough to keep things humming along.

I'm actually working on each one regularly, putting them together on a very accelerated pace. I decided on concepts, system designs, sourced/selected everything, curated all of the stuff, and started assembly on two of my tanks within three weeks a while back.

A record for me! 

Sure, it didn't hurt that they were "nano-sized" tanks, but hey- after decades, it's a significant achievement for me!

Progression in my hobby lately 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 amount of 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. 

So, the impatient kid in me is back!

Oh, and I will even "kill" ideas I don't see a way forward with quickly, instead of keeping them on "life support" indefinitely.

That's another huge thing for me.

 

I've learned to approach aquarium keeping like I've learned to approach my business: Methodically, yet "organically."

And I have a lot of ideas that I want to get to. And evolving my mindset AND the process has helped immeasurably:

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!

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.

Then again, I'm feeling better and better about those "all-in-one" aquariums!

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! Your have to at least try some of those ideas, no matter how absurd they are- so that you CAN move on.

And I've tried a LOT of lame ideas, trust me.

Yet, they don't bog me down. I gain what I can from them, and move on...fast.

Moving forward quickly never felt so good.

Pushing the boundaries on what is considered "attractive" and "viable" have been the "North Star" of my aquarium practice in recent years. Questioning everything I did before, and how I perceived an aquarium should look and function. It required numerous "mental shifts"- the same ones I ask of you and our community...

It's "exciting times" for me.

We're just scratching the surface on what we intend to do. In 2020, we're going to such harder to show you things that you may not have even thought of before- or perhaps, in some "fever dream", you might have...However, we'll execute. And we might fail on some stuff...Or succeed beyond our wildest dreams- and hopefully, inspire others to do the same!

What seems "odd" might just be "beautiful" in ways that we haven't yet come to grips with. 

This crazy stuff we all do. The weird ideas we execute- they're all indicative of a very interesting time.

A hobby renaissance.

A time to do instead if just plan. And most important- a time to enjoy. To enjoy the process of taking an idea from concept to completion. To enjoy the challenges, benefits, setbacks, and triumphs of pushing out further into a new frontier. 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, yet thoroughly enjoyable decades, and not to let your ideas get in the way of your execution!

Stay driven. Stay focused on your goal, but open your eyes and increase your flexibility. Be nimble, agile, and open-minded.

Stay on task. Stay progressive. Stay creative. Stay excited. Stay engaged...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics

 

The "art and the science"...Or, is it the "science of the art", or?

 

One of the interesting things about the aquarium hobby is the rather opinionated positions that we often take about subjects which are near and dear to us. And, sometimes, people can get a bit "touchy" when it comes to their particular area of interest, and they start placing "standards" on stuff.

It gets weird.

Every once in a while, I'll get into these discussions with other hobbyists about the various minutiae of the hobby...Particularly about areas that I'm fascinated by, of course. Like, oh, I dunno...blackwater/botanical-style aquariums, for example! I'm fascinated about how the perception of our "sector" has evolved significantly.

A couple of friends and I had one of those chats recently, and somebody remarked that the term "blackwater" is being used quite a bit nowadays - thrown around quite casually, actually.

Which I can't help but feel just a tiny bit proud of.

I mean, when we started the Tannin journey 5 years ago- blackwater aquariums were a "thing"- in that hobbyists were playing with them long before we came along, of course- yet it was a "thing" that tended to be viewed by the greater hobby as more of a "sideshow" of sorts. Something that you would play with that would invite hushed whispers, concerned comments, and even pity from fellow hobbyists when you shared your tank with them.

I think that we've played a small role in bringing blackwater aquariums and botanicals out of the shadows, and encouraging more experimentation with them. The aura of "mystery and danger" that surrounded these types of tanks seems to have abated. And most of the credit goes to YOU- for giving this stuff a try, despite the "bad press" it received for so long in the hobby.

Of course, the term "blackwater" in the aquarium context is becoming more and more commonplace, as aquariums featuring these types of conditions are falling more and more into the "mainstream" of the hobby. It's just a "kind of an approach you take."

However, as we mentioned above, in the aquarium hobby, people do love to sort of "take possession" of various ideas, techniques, etc., and make a "land grab" for "mind share" in a sense. Suffice it to say, the concept of "blackwater aquariums" is subject to just as much analysis, classification, and discussion as any other aquarium movement or idea.

 

I've always been a bit leery of hobbyists "appropriating" for hobby use what have been largely scientific names/descriptors of things...I mean, not always, but some stuff becomes a bit problematic. Don't get me wrong. It's important for us to elevate our work; hold ourselves to higher standards to sort of push the "state of the art" of the hobby and educate our community.

Yet, occasionally, it goes too far. We sometimes dig in to a position based as much on third-party information, arrogance, or emotion than on facts gleaned from actual experience or firsthand knowledge. And some people become real jerks about it. The "danger of regurgitation", as I've talked about before, is a very real hobby "thing."

In the reef aquarium world, where I came from, you learn to be less than cavalier about tossing stuff about if you don't have the "goods" to back up your assertions, as you'll typically be challenged by those who do- and the results aren't pretty, trust me.

For some reason, in the reef side of the hobby, in addition to pure hobbyists, you have a lot of scientists who also happen to be reef hobbyists, and many take great pains to compel us to instill accuracy in things we all do, while still understanding that it is supposed to be a hobby...They're super cool and helpful.  

Still others are incredibly offended by us non-scientists even using scientific terms or concepts to describe stuff, and will just level you in forum discussions if you assert an opinion that is contradictory to what they know from their work. These discussions can get ugly, too: "You know that Vanadium is only found in seawater in concentrations of 0.0003 ppm, and that can only mean..."

Yeah, that hardcore. It's weird. Shit can get ugly real fast.

However, it instills in you, as a hobbyist, not to casually toss around scientific terms and ideas if you don't have a really good handle on them. Which is kind of good, because it does help limit at least some of the B.S. that gets tossed around out there, and elevates the hobby.

There is always a place for hobbyists sharing opinions, experiences, relating finds in scientific literature, and even offering theories about various topics. As everyday "field researchers", we can offer a lot!

And, in our world, things are perhaps a bit more "open for discussion" because a term like "blackwater" or "blackwater aquarium" doesn't have a real "official" descriptor, at least in hobby parlance.

I mean, really.

So, when I see us talking about "blackwater", I feel that occasional pang of "reefer's remorse" if I think it starts going too far.

I get that familiar feeling...

Sometimes, you need to look at the facts on hand to really get a handle on this stuff. Especially if you're going to dig in and take a strong position and defend it vehemently.

The reality is that the term "blackwater" as defined in science reference literature is a rather vague and somewhat broad definition! To strictly rely on what you read in one study or book is kind of incomplete.

In fact, you could argue that it's not really a "scientific" term at all, merely a "catch all" term to describe a set of characteristics of an aquatic ecosystem.

About the most cohesive set of characteristic descriptors I can find anywhere indicates that "blackwater" is typically acidic water with low ionic concentrations of sodium, magnesium, potassium, and calcium. It has low conductivity and relatively low concentrations of dissolved solids.

That's pretty accurate, IMHO!

Typically, blackwater occurs when vegetation or other terrestrial materials accumulate in rivers and streams, then decompose and leaches tannins into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling tea. There are other factors, like soil and geological factors, which contribute to blackwater aquatic systems as well, of course.

Yeah, this is spot-on.

And that pH-based descriptor, which hobbyists seem to love to float around as a "qualifier" isn't all that narrow, either! In fact, it's all over the place.

Natural aquatic ecosystems that are characterized as "blackwater" can vary in pH from as low as 2.9 to as high as 6.5 or higher. It's all over the map. I mean, a peat bog in Asia- most definitely a "blackwater ecosystem"- might have a pH of around 3.5, whereas a blackwater river, such as the beloved Rio Negro, might have a pH of around 5.1! And a small jungle tributary might have a pH somewhere in between, like 4.7 or so.

So, yeah.

I recently saw a discussion in a European Facebook group in which a hobbyist described his blackwater aquarium- which had darkly tinted water, no real mineral content, and a pH of about 6.2 -and the guy was just getting slammed by some wise-ass who claimed that these were not "blackwater conditions..."

I mean, just slapped around like you wouldn't believe.

And I was like, "WTF? Here we go..."

Yes, I sat on the sidelines in that discussion, but monitored the sad and inevitable argument that ensued. I probably should have spoken up. On the other hand, I would have gotten pulled into a real ugly situation, and it would have not changed much. The guy who was attacking was a real jerk...And offered little but attitude, arrogance, and loud bluster to back up his position, which was really not too strong.

And the reality is that, based on the set of characteristics/factors used to describe "blackwater" habitats that we ferreted out above, the hobbyist was being assailed for having tank parameters which definitely fell well within the generally accepted ones that are applicable to "blackwater ecosystems!"

I mean, if we try to apply a specific pH or TDS level to the definition of "blackwater ecosystem", we'd be woefully inaccurate-or incomplete, at the very least. There's simply too broad a range to do this. 

So, the takeaway in all of this?

"Blackwater" seems to a have a broad set of descriptive characteristics that are more of a "range" as opposed to a specific factor or factors, and it is irresponsible to try to narrow this description down too much.

And... from a "hobby culture" standpoint:

We need to have a good understanding of what we talk about, and be open-minded enough to accept the positions and information provided by others.

And we need to ditch the pretentiousness. No one owns the damn title of "expert on blackwater aquarium characteristics" or whatever. Sure, some people might understand more about specific topics than other do, but your obligation at that point is to share, encourage, and mentor others- not to be a loud-mouthed bully.

Full stop.

And I think the importance of a certain degree of "accuracy"- in whatever hobby application we're discussing- is important. This can head off a lot of these "misunderstandings" at the outset. That's part of why I never make blanket assertions about the stuff we work with. We report facts on hand, question our own ideas, and those not verified elsewhere, refer to scientific literature when applicable, and aren't afraid to say, "We haven't a clue" if we don't!

As hobbyists, we can "self-regulate" to some extent and correct things that we're doing work, for the greater good of the hobby. It always works out best. That goes for us vendors, too!

For example, I'll relay the story of how we arrived at the names of the botanical materials that we work with...

When we first started Tannin, it was fun to sort of create a "flavor" for our site and come up with exotic-sounding names for the materials we sourced. We made up a lot of fun Portueguese names for the botanicals. Why Portueguese? Because that's the primary language spoken in Brazil, where there happens to be that cool region called "Amazonia" that we're kind of intrigued by, and...

Well, yeah- it made sense at the time.

Helped define us. Distinguished this stuff. Helped popularize botanicals. Romanticized it a bit.

But here's the thing.

It was kind of...stupid.

What? You heard me. STUPID.

Let me digress:

As I discussed before, I came from the world of reef aquariums and coral propagation...You know, the expensive, over-hyped $100-per-square-centimeter coral frags that have, well- silly names and equally silly prices. I used to laugh at that stuff. The names...the over-romanticizing of them...

Yet, in an odd way, it sort of made sense to do this very thing with botanicals to create more interest in them initially- to make 'em more relatable; to give context and identity...

No one knew what this shit was, and the idea of overwhelming skeptical hobbyists with unpronounceable scientific names seemed pretentious. So, I went with the "fun" names. It seemed to work fine.

And it did. For a while. It was a great way to refer to various botanicals.

In fact, I think- I think- we were actually the first to even utilize the term "botanicals" to describe these materials...I don't think that, prior to 2015, you even heard about botanical materials used in aquariums even described as..."botanicals!"

So I think it's kind of cool that (perhaps) the fun names might have helped to make these things more popular; less mysterious or off-putting to some.

Yet, at times,  I kind of wished that I "kept it real" from the start, because not only are the actual endemic vernacular names and the actual scientific names of these botanical materials intriguing, they're more helpful when you're the real hardcore type, trying to figure out what belongs in a specific aquarium...

That sort of thing!

However, the fun names did serve to create a "vibe" and a buzz around Tannin and what we do initially...Fostering new excitement in a hobby sector that was obscure at best, and virtually non-existent at worst.

Fast forward to late 2018, and we had a full-blown hobby movement with botanicals! People all over the world were really getting into it! We arrived  at a new "maturity" level in the practice of utilizing botanicals and creating more natural, "functionally aesthetic" aquariums...

And with this "maturity" came more responsibility for us as a "thought leader" to continue to lead in this area. And with it, came responsibility to educate, inspire, and inform.

A responsibility to be more accurate and authoritative.

Yeah, it was time to ditch the cute names.

It was getting a bit too much, even for me!

Although it might be a bit easier to pronounce and remember cute names, it is better in the long run to embrace the more accurate nomenclature. This botanical aquarium "movement" is bigger than any one company. More important than any one brand or person. 

We offer botanicals.

Nature "makes" them.

And we are a brand which stands for something. And the brand supersedes the goofy individual "product names." And the botanical-style/blackwater aquarium movement supersedes any one brand...Even Tannin Aquatics. 

And a few other vendors are trying to do this botanical thing now, too- which is great. What it is a bit funny, however, is that a few of 'em started using the very names that we coined to describe similar materials that they are offering-even though, as discussed above- they're essentially "meaningless"...And in at least one instance, someone who tried very hard to replicate what we do "translated back" our silly botanical names into English to name his offerings...A 360 degree cycle of absurdity! (Hint, if you try to rip us off- do a better freakin' job. Seriously.)

It was inevitable, I suppose.

And I realized that if I didn't step up and show some real leadership and confidence at that point, this could have turned into the world's goofiest "coral frag swap" all over again, with out-of-control stupid names, absurd claims, "limited edition" botanicals and such.

And that wouldn't be helpful... I mean, there we were at Tannin, with over 700 blogs all about the most arcane aspects of the botanical/blackwater aquarium hobby- pushing and poking around the hobby in lots of crazy ways- hopefully educating and inspiring...

And then, we'd call a Dregea volubillsis pod a "Concha Pod."

Cute. Entertaining. But not helpful. 

We stepped up, because it was the right thing to do for the hobby.

Okay, okay, I"m not relaying this story to you to prove how badass we are. I'm using it as an example of putting some of the "science" into the "art" of what we do- for the greater good. Holding ourselves to higher standards.

I've said it a thousand times, so I'll state it again: No one "invented" this stuff. 

We sure as hell didn't.

We curated it. Studied it. Loved it. Sourced it. Shared it. But we didn't invent it. NO ONE DID.

Now I admit, I was rather fond of a lot of the names we came up with...some of these materials simply never had a "common name", so we invented ones that fit our vibe. When I embarked on the process of transitioning to more accurate, appropriate names, it took a lot of research and talking to my suppliers in the countries of origin to find out if there even was a "common" or "popular name" for some of these materials..

And when applicable, we still use some of them. Or, we go by the genus/species name and call them "_______ Pods." 

It worked out just fine.

Yet, I remember how I was worried that it was going to be a bit confusing at first...And remarkably, it wasn't. Why? Because I think our community- YOU guys- was ready for a little bit of "elevation" of this stuff.

You took to it so easily.

Yes, this has been a rather tortured explanation of why I think that as much accuracy as possible is important for this "movement"- and for this hobby.

Embracing the art and the science and attempting to learn, experience, and share our hard-won knowledge is what elevates the whole thing!

So, the next time you see one of those discussions where someone is getting all bent out of shape about some hobby topic that you know well, make the effort to understand where they might be coming from. Try to be a bit diplomatic if you have to engage with them, and gently mediate with facts if necessary to calm them down. Share what you know with confidence, not arrogance.

Don't allow arrogantly-presented incorrect information to propagate online and elsewhere in the hobby. Yeah, I sort of regret not jumping in to that one conversation, although I think my time was better served doing what we do here everyday.

Be open-minded, of course.

However, if you know you're right, and that the facts and information that you offer are able to offer up are correct, accurate, and helpful, be earnest in presenting them to the hobby. Knowledge gleaned from research, observation, personal experience, and success (or failure!) is the best kind to share! 

That's how the "art" can elevate the "science"- and vice versa.

Stay curious. Stay educated. Stay inspired. Stay gracious. Stay humble. Stay smart...

And Stay Wet.

 

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics