Author Archives: tuncali

About tuncali

I began keeping aquariums as early as I was nine years old. Since then, I kept many aquariums and lots of fish, plant and invertebrate species. My favorite fish family is of course cichlids with their fascinating behaviors. My relatively new area of interest is low-tech natural aquariums as almost self-sufficient ecosystems that are I think ideal models for sustainable life.

Why I left the Swiss CFA Society

Posted on February 14, 2013 by tuncali
Good bye CFA

Until October 2012 I was a CFA charter holder and regular member of the Swiss CFA Society. After reading an article about Indonesia (as booming economy!!!) in a CFA magazine I definitely decided to resign from the society and informed … Continue reading →

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Jared Diamond’s Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Posted on December 30, 2011 by tuncali
Jared Diamond

Did you know that great Indian civilizations like Maya and Anasazi went down primarily due to environmental disasters like erosion and aridity? Did you know that the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, such a creative and influential society, collapsed due to the … Continue reading →

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Impressions from my Bolivia journey in 2007, part 1

Posted on May 1, 2010 by tuncali
Hot water lake in Robore, Bolivia

Impressions from my Bolivia journey in January 2007, organized by the retired Swiss biologist Robert Guggenbühl. Our travel group consisted of botanists, nature lovers and some passionate aquarium hobbyists. Passing from places like St Cruz, Robore, Trinidad, Magdalena and Bella … Continue reading →

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Take clean-tech one step further: A self-sufficient life style

Posted on January 26, 2010 by tuncali
Self-Sufficient Life And How To Live It from John Seymour

What is cleantech? Cleantech in the narrow sense includes green technologies like: Renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels) Green buildings Energy efficient and low emission transportation Biomaterials like bioplastic Water filtration With cleantech in the narrow sense one still means … Continue reading →

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Indoor plants for water purification and nitrate reduction in aquariums

Posted on January 20, 2010 by tuncali
Umbrella papyrus (Cyperus alternifolius) in a lowtech natural aquarium (see biotope in my room)

Ecology of the Planted Aquarium written by Diana Walstad is one of the books which inspired me most for low-tech natural aquariums. Diana Walstad explains why emergent plants are better water purifiers than the submerged water plants as follows (in … Continue reading →

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Posted in Natural aquariums | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments