This month we are honoring ca1ore again for his continued, excellent support to our membership.
Didn’t think one could be ROTM twice … but apparently one can J. Thanks to the staff, mostly for keeping this RC thing on the rails, but also for picking me again for ROTM. Nice to have the ROTM ‘logo’ back. As I noted recently, without the logo I’m just another shlub dispensing bad advice. Not to repeat myself from last time, but I have been in this wonderful, frustrating hobby for longer than most, but less than some. My aquarium journey started in earnest in 1986 when I met Albert Thiel who was setting up a Dupla tank at my then (and still) favorite LFS, Reef Encounter in North NJ. Had my first reef tank in 1988, a 75 gallon pictured here. Pretty basic, just softies and a few LPS. I don’t recall that SPS were even available back then – though other folks have told me they were. Equipment choices were limited (Tunze plus a few others), so I ended up doing DiY for most of it. Lighting was the biggest challenge, with no reef-specific bulb choices, so Osram neutral daylight double ended was my pick. Couldn’t get a reef ready tank back then, so no sump to be found.
Original 75
Moved quickly to a DiY plywood tank. Great dimensions and space for swimmers as you can see in the picture, but never could fully stop the thing from oozing, so it only lasted about 4 years. Built my first ATS, based on a design from Walter Adey.
Plywood 350
Bought my first reef ready, custom tank in 1991, initially for plants; but transitioned it to a reef once the plywood beast got retired. This was the tank I ran for the longest as a reef (1995-2007), though ironically I have only the one (bad) pictures of it – though you can see my long-tenured magnifica anemone. Took a break from 2008-2012 due to frustrations an young children. The later convinced me to get back in 2013, and thus my current 265.
FW 180
Reef 180
Everything is better now (other than the cost of the livestock L). Equipment is leagues better than it used to be and I’m amazed at how many folks are having success with things like SPS that were thought back in 1990 to be un-keepable. Same with some problematic fish. Perhaps the biggest change, however, is the prevalence of communities like RC. One unfortunate consequence is the demise of the physical reef book business, but the benefits far outweigh the costs.
265 @ Oct 2013
25 @ July 2016
My current tank is the best I have ever kept. Partly the equipment, partly the experience, and partly because I now quarantine all animals – maybe a bit of dumb luck sprinkled in.
Didn’t think one could be ROTM twice … but apparently one can J. Thanks to the staff, mostly for keeping this RC thing on the rails, but also for picking me again for ROTM. Nice to have the ROTM ‘logo’ back. As I noted recently, without the logo I’m just another shlub dispensing bad advice. Not to repeat myself from last time, but I have been in this wonderful, frustrating hobby for longer than most, but less than some. My aquarium journey started in earnest in 1986 when I met Albert Thiel who was setting up a Dupla tank at my then (and still) favorite LFS, Reef Encounter in North NJ. Had my first reef tank in 1988, a 75 gallon pictured here. Pretty basic, just softies and a few LPS. I don’t recall that SPS were even available back then – though other folks have told me they were. Equipment choices were limited (Tunze plus a few others), so I ended up doing DiY for most of it. Lighting was the biggest challenge, with no reef-specific bulb choices, so Osram neutral daylight double ended was my pick. Couldn’t get a reef ready tank back then, so no sump to be found.
Original 75
Moved quickly to a DiY plywood tank. Great dimensions and space for swimmers as you can see in the picture, but never could fully stop the thing from oozing, so it only lasted about 4 years. Built my first ATS, based on a design from Walter Adey.
Plywood 350
Bought my first reef ready, custom tank in 1991, initially for plants; but transitioned it to a reef once the plywood beast got retired. This was the tank I ran for the longest as a reef (1995-2007), though ironically I have only the one (bad) pictures of it – though you can see my long-tenured magnifica anemone. Took a break from 2008-2012 due to frustrations an young children. The later convinced me to get back in 2013, and thus my current 265.
FW 180
Reef 180
Everything is better now (other than the cost of the livestock L). Equipment is leagues better than it used to be and I’m amazed at how many folks are having success with things like SPS that were thought back in 1990 to be un-keepable. Same with some problematic fish. Perhaps the biggest change, however, is the prevalence of communities like RC. One unfortunate consequence is the demise of the physical reef book business, but the benefits far outweigh the costs.
265 @ Oct 2013
25 @ July 2016
My current tank is the best I have ever kept. Partly the equipment, partly the experience, and partly because I now quarantine all animals – maybe a bit of dumb luck sprinkled in.
Last edited:
