The times, financially speaking, are rough for many of us, and for Advanced Aquarist it is also tough. I know that you know this, but what you may not know is that we pay our professional writers well. And, this is how we are able to provide the hobbyist month after month with first rate information. We are very proud of this, but it’s a lot of work, and its work that we do essentially for the love of our hobby. Furthermore, the creatures that we care for in our reef tanks deserve the best chance we can give them to flourish in captivity. Without good and accurate information that simply is not possible.

The bottom line is that it would be of considerable help to us for those of you that can manage it financially to help us with a donation, and if that is not possible, be sure to make your purchases whenever possible from our sponsors, who make our site possible. You can find all of our sponsors at,

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Freshwater Aquarium

As many of you know, when I moved my reef animals from Cape Cod to Portland, Maine I left the 10-foot glass tank behind. For a number of years now I have been staring at that empty tank. About a month ago I decided to do something about that, but another reef tank was not financially possible for me. So, I decided to convert it in to a Dutch style planted freshwater tank. Energy consumption and equipment needs are much lower for a freshwater tank. As I write this I now have water in the tank, gravel – which I got from outdoor gardening place – and even some plants. I’m lighting the tank with two 40-watt fluorescent bulbs. Too much light in a freshwater planted tank and you get unwanted algae. I will not even consider fish for at least a month.

The reason I mention all of this is not for you to call me a traitor to the reef keeping hobby- I still have my reef tank – but because I want to know if some of our readers would like a column on freshwater planted tanks.

Here’s a photo of a section of the freshwater tank that I took with my cell phone. Just let me know.