thE TINT

the art and science of botanical method aquarium keeping.

  • KEEPING A GOOD THING GOING…AND GOING…

    One of the more common questions that I receive here at The Tint Blog and via social media accounts, is, “How do you maintain one of these (botanical method) aquariums?” It really is a great question, because, although I’ve talked about it quite a bit over the last several years, it’s a very fundamental item which…

  • SEEMINGLY RANDOM. DECIDEDLY ORDERLY.

    The garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet Nature halfway.”-Michael Pollan It’s long been suggested that an aquarium is sort of like a garden, right? And, to a certain extent it is. Gardeners tend to keep their gardens neat, orderly, and organized. And so do many aquarists. Of course, we can…

  • OBSESSIONS AND COMMON “THREADS?”

    It’s not very often that I become obsessed with a fish. Oh, sure, it’s happened quite a few times over the years, but when you “amortize” it out over a lifetime in the hobby, it’s a shockingly infrequent occurrence for me! The fishes which have reached “obsession” level with me are varied, and the list…

  • IT’S THE BIOME, SILLY!

    As we’ve all started to figure out by now, our botanical-influenced aquariums are a lot more of a little slice of Nature that you’re recreating in your home then they are just a “pet-holding container” or “artistic display.”  The botanical method aquarium is a microcosm which depends upon botanical materials to impact the environment. This microcosm consists of a myriad of…

  • TOUGH LOVE . COOL FISH.

    There are certain fishes in the aquarium world that will simply grab ahold of your attention and not let go. For me, it’s been characins and killifish. Yeah, killifish! The seemingly forgotten, yet utterly engrossing group with amazing colors, diverse spawning habits, and adaptability should make them some of the most popular fishes in the…

  • STICKING TO THE PLAN…FOR A WHILE, ANYWAYS.

    So, let’s say that you have this idea for an aquarium. You kind of visualize it in your head…you’ve assembled the materials, got it sort of together. You add water. Then, you walk in the room one day, look at it and– you just …HATE it. Like, you’re done with it.  Like, no re-hab on this design.…

  • WITH THANKS, MR. AMANO.

    One of the most important things that I do here in The Tint blog is to encourage you, as my fellow hobbyists, to feel free to experiment, scheme, and just try new stuff with your aquariums. To question old “rules”, practices, methodologies, and ideas. To push the boundaries of aesthetics and function with aquariums.  I talk…

  • MEAL PLAN.

    One of the things that I enjoy most about the botanical method aquarium is that it can function much like the wild habitats it’s intended to represent. And part of that function involves eco diversity and the production of life forms which serve as food for our fishes. The ability for fishes to at least…

  • HOW GREEN IS YOUR IGAPO?

    Land and water… If there’s one foundational concept to the botanical method “philosophy”,  it’s that land and water are inexorably linked together. And, I think that when we contemplate the dynamic of how water and the aquatic environment interact, it makes us look at aquatic habitats- and our aquariums-a bit differently. Seasonally-inundated forest floors and…

  • GOING, GOING…STILL GOING!

    There is something fascinating and enticing to me about the idea of keeping an aquarium system “going” for very long periods of time, occasionally changing things up; yet leaving the “operating system” largely intact, while replacing the “soft” components over time. Huh? The “operating system?” Example? Okay, let’s say that you’re kind of “over “your…