by John Tullock
Welcome to Sevenports.com! Our goal: to create a comprehensive online source for information, equipment and supplies for planted tank enthusiasts, from beginner to expert. We hope you will visit our site often. You can use the comment section at the end of each blog post to pose questions, share your experience, or to express a different opinion. All we ask is that comments be civil, on topic, and family-friendly.
For younger readers, please allow me to introduce myself. I have been an aquarium hobbyist for more than five decades. I had the pleasure of attending graduate school under the tutelage of Dr. David Etnier, whose discovery of the snail darter (Etheostoma tanasi) in the 1970s led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling regarding the Endangered Species Act. As a Founding Director of Conservation Fisheries, I have been at the forefront of efforts to preserve freshwater biodiversity for over 30 years. Reef aquarium enthusiasts may recognize my name from one of my books on the topic, including Natural Reef Aquariums, still considered by some to be a fundamental text on the subject. Most of my books were written while my business partners and I operated Aquatic Specialists, a retail aquarium store, in the 1980s and 1990s. During all that time, and in the years since, despite having been heavily involved with the reef tank hobby, I have maintained a fascination with freshwater planted aquariums, and have created numerous tanks just for fun.
I am delighted to have the opportunity to share my experience and enthusiasm with people who enjoy working with aquatic plants, fish and invertebrates.
Here are a few things you can expect to find on this site in the coming weeks and months:
- Comprehensive database of aquatic plants
- Comprehensive database of plant-friendly fish and invertebrates
- Basic primer on how to grow aquatic plants successfully
- Basic primer on setting up and maintaining a planted aquarium
- Design ideas for various types of planted aquarium
- Regular discussions of advanced topics, such as water chemistry, plant propagation, and design
- And more.
