Is this Father Fish inspired aquarium doomed?

[Pepere]

I am looking forward to a @Jeff Miotke MDI inspired scape using all Pink Granite….


Take lots of pictures to bring home….

 

[*Ci*]

Yea I looked into all that. Anything I produce would be very photo heavy as it is visual art. Which makes the financials ugly as the publishers have a lot of costs for either printing or online to distribute. In the end it just doesn't make sense as I'd probably not even be able to rub two dimes together after it was all done. Thankfully Youtube seems to be working ok for distributing what I want to share with the world.

My sister has published with Amazon’s “Kindle Direct Publishing” where they only print the books as they are ordered, so there is no pre-printing overhead. Her work is an all original artwork children’s book and she is very fussy over the quality. They printed some samples for her approval and made some changes based on her feedback. She is very pleased with the outcome.
I don’t know much of the details, but it might be worth looking into for your ideas, Jeff.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

I had never once come across your channel until Art mentioned it here

Same here, I know his name among the elite but that’s as far as my knowledge of him goes. I can’t wait to dive into your channel @Jeff Miotke

 

[Count Krunk]

YouTube pushes videos based on views, comments, subscribers, thumbs up, and viralness.

The channels that have a good number of subs are generating a LOT more of that sort of data for the algorithm to say hey let's push this.

If your channel doesn't have the subs, well you gotta keep releasing good content with great thumbnails and cross your fingers haha.

 

[PeerUnk]

Low tech tanks that work well, work well because they generate adequate carbon naturally. There are no plants that "don't require CO2", though there are plant species that scavenge low CO2 levels more efficiently. In examples where setups can generate substantial amount of CO2 (such as Sudipta shaw's experiments), pickier species can grow well. One way to generate CO2 is through soil microbial action. Her book mentions this but with no concrete data, and doesn't describe principles to get a soil to generate CO2 - and this single action of soil is what makes low soil tanks successful. Multilayering? grain size? organic content? flow control? off gassing yes or no? how to practically replant stuff in soil substrates?

We need a better flag bearer for low tech tanks in general.

On the soil CO2 generation side, from my own experiments, certain soil mixes definitely work better than others. I had a soil mix (3 inch soil to 8 inch water ratio) that generated 18ppm of CO2 when left standing overnight. And I think that the future of low tech tank refinement lies in maximizing carbon generation through manipulating soil mixes. Unfortunately I have little commercial interest in refining this approach, as our (2hr Aquarist) customer base are mostly at the opposite end of the spectrum (high tech users, difficult plant selection).

Yep, aquatic plants need Carbon the most, that's an scientific fact which will stay around I guess. Most definitely a non CO2 supplemented tank can run into troubles, when plants mass exceeds a certain level of what a tank can produce CO2 by itself. At that point the low CO2 scavengers and species which use HCO3 as a carbon source (like Vallisneria) survive. The rest get sick due to carbon starvation/CO2 depletion (<0.5 ppm), and algae appears. Scarcity always ends up in survival of the fittest.

I am trying Sudipta's method for more than a year now on a small tank, but had no luck getting CO2 levels above 3 ppm after two hours of light with 3 inches of Amazonia V2. I still have no clue why microbial life isn't as active as (I assume) it could. Yes it grows Tonina and R. wallichii slow and healthy, but that's mainly due to pH around 5.8-6.6 @ 0 dKH . So I have the same question as raised by Dennis in the quote above: What specifics are there to get a soil to generate CO2?

Maybe a bit off topic, but I've managed to grow my display tank full with plants. Not with CO2 injection or a thick active soil/dirt, but with heavy aeration as a way to ensure I don't run into an absolute CO2 depletion. CO2 is mostly between 1.2 and 2 ppm. An extra benefit is 100% oxygenation 24/7.

I know I can't grow high CO2 demanding species, but she's rock steady and slow maintenance. I don't run mechanical filtration, so I currently have to live with a little haziness.

Cheers!

 

[Art]

Have you tried dosing carbon to increase microbial activity and, hence, CO2?

 

[Jeff Miotke]

My sister has published with Amazon’s “Kindle Direct Publishing” where they only print the books as they are ordered, so there is no pre-printing overhead. Her work is an all original artwork children’s book and she is very fussy over the quality. They printed some samples for her approval and made some changes based on her feedback. She is very pleased with the outcome.
I don’t know much of the details, but it might be worth looking into for your ideas, Jeff.

Yep looked into this and the book price would be too much due to the pictures. Amazon has a calculator on the site to adjust what you want to publish versus the cost. The pictures would be everything for what I want to do. So I got stuck and went with YouTube….which is no picnic either.

 

[Jeff Miotke]

YouTube pushes videos based on views, comments, subscribers, thumbs up, and viralness.

The channels that have a good number of subs are generating a LOT more of that sort of data for the algorithm to say hey let's push this.

If your channel doesn't have the subs, well you gotta keep releasing good content with great thumbnails and cross your fingers haha.

Yea it is seriously rough going. Im maxing out my abilities on each video. So Ill keep creating and see what happens.

 

[Jeff Miotke]

Does YouTube offer you a way to influence the SEO they use to rank and promote?

I'd consider myself a low to moderate user, but almost all my searches and views are aquascaping. Still no matter the search terms, YouTube just pushes (occasional new and endless repeats of old) content from George Farmer / GreenAqua / ADA / Tropica / SerpaDesign /MJ Aquascaping / Corey and MD Fishtanks .

Interspersed with random overseas content and occasionally Juris and The Cinescaper.

I had never once come across your channel until Art mentioned it here

Yea, I definitely missed the “easy mode” days when you could just share whatever thoughts you had and still grow a big following. Starting a channel now is definitely more challenging, and with AI-generated content becoming more common, it’s likely YouTube will be flooded with content.

I looked into YouTube’s option to promote videos for views or followers. At first, it felt a bit off, so I dug deeper. Turns out it can get your content in front of more eyes—for a price—but it doesn’t really help build a real community. It’s more of a short-term ego boost than a long-term strategy, so I decided it wasn’t for me.

With so much content being pumped out now plus AI stuff in the future, I wouldn’t be surprised if YouTube shifts even more toward a pay-to-play model in the next year or two. creators will have to focus even more on connection, creativity, and consistency to stand out. Ultimately the effort/reward will be upside down and people will have to pivot.

 

[Art]

In social media, the users are the product. It only makes sense for the platform to try to make money from the content creators once they max out paid ads.

Facebook is the same way. I have a bunch of friends but only a fraction actually see a post a make. Of course, Facebook book shows me how many more would see it if I paid to promote it.

 

[Jeff Miotke]

In social media, the users are the product. It only makes sense for the platform to try to make money from the content creators once they max out paid ads.

Facebook is the same way. I have a bunch of friends but only a fraction actually see a post a make. Of course, Facebook book shows me how many more would see it if I paid to promote it.

Oh yea its terrible. FB and Instagram I ditched my account at 50k followers. Was close to deleting it but a friend convinced me to just leave it sit. I did dump 99% of the posts and just left a taste of what it was.

 

[Dennis Wong]

Last post I swear!

 

[Kwyet]

Not defending Father Fish, but choosing plants that will grow well in a low-tech environment isn’t really any different than the advice to grow plants “that like the soup you’re serving” which is generally accepted as good advice.

 

[Burr740]

Georges book is pretty thorough. I'd consider it advanced advice for someone just starting out. On the other hand I see veteran plant growers that still dont know they need a solid focal plant.. He spends two pages on the golden ratio. I havent read it in depth, but I remember being impressed with some of the trimming advicce too

But the best thing BY FAR about Georges book is at the bottom of page 59



Lol, I didnt know which one he was gonna use til the book came out. He'd just asked if he could use one of my aga tanks.That tank wouldnt be in my top 3 out of my 7 aga entries.. Regardless of that I was flattered he wanted to use one of mine. Its a great honor

 

[Pepere]

Georges book is pretty thorough.

George Farmer?

Ok, dug out my copy. Joe, can you outline where he discusses trimming? Definitely an area I need to improve on as far as aesthetically trimming plants

 

[PeerUnk]

Not defending Father Fish, but choosing plants that will grow well in a low-tech environment isn’t really any different than the advice to grow plants “that like the soup you’re serving” which is generally accepted as good advice.

Totally agree on that one.

I can understand why some successful people in the hobby use their platform to sell their products and make some money. I guess Dennis is no different to Father Fish (or Amano)in that perspective

 

[Pepere]

I looked into YouTube’s option to promote videos for views or followers. At first, it felt a bit off, so I dug deeper. Turns out it can get your content in front of more eyes—for a price—but it doesn’t really help build a real community. It’s more of a short-term ego boost than a long-term strategy, so I decided it wasn’t for me.

Still, there is something to be said for being seen…. You wont get the same percentage of those folks to convert to regular viewers as you do with people who have the channel recommended by a fellow enthusiast, But if it comes to the knowledge of the right person and they spread the word…

“Quantity has a quality of its own.”

I learned of your channel here on Scapecrunch. I have been doing what I can to let others know about it…

So much of the fodder I fed on regarding aquariums early on I have discarded as falderal yet those are the ones that keep getting pushed.

Youtube just cares about eyes on the screen. It does t care if what is being pushed in the content works or not….

 

[Burr740]

George Farmer?

Ok, dug out my copy. Joe, can you outline where he discusses trimming? Definitely an area I need to improve on as far as aesthetically trimming plants

Last part of chapter 8. Looking now, its nothing really earth shattering. I just remembered at the time thinking hmm thats pretty good.

The kind of trimming skills your after can probably find a little bit in my journal on here

 

[Pepere]

Thanks.

I remember buying the book and being rather disappointed after getting it.

It just wasnt what I had been hoping for. It is a very nice coffee table book with great photos, but mostly an introduction to aquascaping for beginners.. It mostly left me with wanting more details.

It certainly isnt a reference I return to in order to refresh on details.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Thanks.

I remember buying the book and being rather disappointed after getting it.

It just wasnt what I had been hoping for. It is a very nice coffee table book with great photos, but mostly an introduction to aquascaping for beginners.. It mostly left me with wanting more details.

It certainly isnt a reference I return to in order to refresh on details.

I think a lot of people who love George’s contribution to the hobby felt that way, but he never advertised it to be an elite aquascaping guide. I myself purchased it out of support but realized quickly that the book’s intention was more inspiration to pursue the hobby and its benefits rather than a “how to” guide.