Opinion by Matt Pedersen, Publishing Partner, Aquatic Media Press

As written in the comments by @Krtzyy, “This channel is peak YouTube. Specific niche, passionate and educated creator, and great storytelling. I don’t own any fish, but I watch every video of yours.”

It’s been a while since an aquarium video on YouTube caught my attention and soaked up 30 minutes of my life when I really should’ve been doing something else. Clearly, 333,000 channel subscribers already knew something that I didn’t. I was wondering how I could be this out of the loop!

Quality Over Quantity

There are content creators who grind out videos on some sort of never-ending treadmill, focusing on the algorithm, playing a numbers game, and hoping to build an audience. But what I discovered on the @tanksfornothin channel is the type of quality, inspirational storytelling that inspires an aquarist to view the aquarium hobby from a new perspective.

In many aspects of what I do as a professional, I’ve often espoused the notion that “content is king”…meaning that the quality of what you do comes first, and everything else should follow. @tanksfornothin proves the idea in an unparalleled real-world example of quality over quantity, with just 5 videos in over a year’s time racking up over 14 million views. In fact, these deftly crafted, often humorous narratives transcend the aquarist, serving as captivating ambassadors of aquarium keeping for the general public!

Inspirational Storytelling

James Lawrence, the late editor-in-chief of and publisher who launched the English edition of AMAZONAS, often judged a submission by a simple but profound bar. What we publish should create a desire or leave you motivated to do something: seek out that new fish, set up that new aquarium, go to that place, or try that new method. If we leave you with more ideas than you’ll ever have the opportunity to achieve, then we’ve done our job. No one should ever become bored with the aquarium hobby – I think there’s more than any one person can ever master!

And so, too, now, I’m delighted to share the latest video uploaded to the @tanksfornothin YouTube Channel: “Making A Sunlight-Powered Aquarium (With No Filter)”. It isn’t a how-to. It doesn’t go into great detail. It may well leave you with numerous questions. And yet you will also wind up utterly captivated and inspired while perhaps bringing you back to those earliest days of your own aquarium hobby when even the tiniest development was a source of immense curiosity and joy.

In every sense, the creative minds behind this channel have done a great service to our shared passion, and the videos surpass nearly every high bar we would subject them to (I can always find some way that something could be improved…that’s my job of course!). We’re telling you about it, so now you go tell your friends, too! And yes, you’re going to want to subscribe to the @tanksfornothin channel while you’re at it, because it sounds like new videos don’t come out all that often!

Watch Them With Those You Love!

Unlike typical aquarium content, the mass appeal of these videos is remarkable. If you have the ability, I’d suggest gathering up your family or friends and casting this video on the largest screen in your home. Make an evening out of it! That’s what I hope to do when my kids get home from school! (Update: both my children loved these videos, and my daughter watched the entire channel with me!)

Watch the latest from @tanksfornothin on YouTube: “Making A Sunlight-Powered Aquarium (With No Filter)”