Article and photos by Nate Schmuecker Freshwater Deep Sand Bed Filtration Many hobbyists claim that there is no way Deep Sand Beds work for reducing nitrates in fresh water. This Aulonocara Stuartgranti Blue Neon males’ tank is 17 weeks without a water change. I’m now going into my 3rd spawn cycle. …

Here is another useful use of disposable plastics. You can find a cup size to fit most of your needs and use good quality foam sheet.  You do need a drainage hole about 1 cm up the side of the pot to regulate the water level. I grow almost anything …

A Suriname Biotope Biotope 3: A small blackwater creek near Jodensavanne in Suriname Dimensions: 70*50*35 (l*d*h) Lightning: 1 x Aquatlantis Easy Led 6800 K (28 W) – time controlled. Filter: Internal sump with 2 sizes mechanical filtration media and a biological filtration medium. Peat substrate is added to the filter. Pump …

Today I received some of my supplies to get back into potting and propagating plants.  I bought a few carnivorous plants from fellow hobbyist and needed to pot them up.  Sarracenia flava varieties, a drosera, and a Venus fly trap got unwrapped and potted up for the balcony. The wife …

Printed Reefing Solutions has developed a printed Hamburg Matten Filter for your aquarium.  These are corner filters and they work well for shrimp and fish alike.  Many hobbyists like to use HMF’s for fry tanks.  They make great filters and now they are available pre-made and also custom to suit …

Sweat beading on his brow, a heavy framed man in a too tight t-shirt – the design become darkened by slowly spreading perspiration – huffs and puffs his way through a Food Court at a dying mall in Middle America. In a paper bowl, that when read from the bottom, …

The Pocket Scaper phone App has a host of aquarium information on your smartphone.  The android app has a calculator for making concentrations of liquid fertilizers for your tank and tells you how much to use to make solutions.  There is a calculator for dry dosing for those that prefer to …

Cryptocorynes can be acclimated to emersed growth with some work and patience.  These aroids are prone to melting back to the rhizome but they will grow back readily if left unaltered.  We see cryptocornes usually submerged at the local fish store and others hobbyists usually offer the plants in trade …

Anyone perusing through the Biotope One website probably and hopefully has noticed the amount of information regarding plants and propagating them.  Hobbyists can grow a lot of plants in their free time.  Not only does it help save money but it also helps reduce the strain on some wild plants …

I wanted to make something that was simple to do and had aquarium plants.  This method is called many things, wabi sabi, insularium, wabi kusa, emersed, among others.  To begin with I found a suitable jar that I could use.  This one came from IKEA and I claimed it for …