Thanks very much for selecting me as ROTM for February. There really is no better place than reef central to ‘meet’ fellow reefers and share experience and opinion, and I have learned as much or more from others as I imagine they have from me. If the value of any network is the sum total of the people who participate, then RC is a rare value indeed.
I have been keeping reef tanks for a long time. My personal obsession with aquarium keeping began in 1985 with a fateful visit to Reef Encounter in Hackensack, NJ where some chap named Albert Thiel was setting up the first ‘high-tech’ tank I had ever seen (somewhat rudimentary through the lens of 2014, but a revelation then). Eureka, here was the approach I had been looking for: trickle filters, metal halide lighting, float switches, under-gravel heating …. man, I was hooked!
I played around exclusively with freshwater plants for the first few years, but then started my first reef tank, a 30H, in about 1988, I think (memory fades), which subsequently popped a bottom. Undaunted, I got a 75 which housed softies primarily (that was pretty much all you could get back then) and ran that until about 1992. At that point I decided to try my hand at building a big plywood tank, and while generally successful, it ended up oozing and was dismantled in 1997. No substitute for a big tank though, and never since have I been quite as successful at keeping larger groups of Anthias fish than in that tank. The next tank, re-purposed to a reef from live plants, was a pretty standard 180 (bought in 1990 custom as that was the only way then to get a reef ready tank) which I ran almost continuously until 2007. Then, as many of us do, I took a break. My kids were little and I found myself a bit burned out. Four year on, though, I got back in with a 90 gallon ‘craigs list special’. Far too small of course, so it wasn’t long before my current 265 was sitting in the same spot as the old 180. In the process of looking for a bigger tank I even stumbled across somebody selling my old 180 right here (a 24 year old tank, yikes) on RC – what a kick!
I’m a far better reef keeper in 2014 than I have ever been; partly because the equipment is better, but mainly because of the amazing advice, ingenuity and experience of all my fellow reefers. I’ve made lots of mistakes in my time in the hobby, some multiple times, others brand new; and have had my fair share of tank crashes, but I always emerged better than before. Although it needs to grow a bit (and I have to address an ich problem, grumble, grumble) I’ve never had a tank look better than my current effort.
Full Tank Shot - January 2013
The 'brains' behind it all .....
.... and an inability to keep things simple!
I hope folks have found my advice and experience helpful – I have certainly benefitted from you! I look forward to many more debates on ‘tank sizes for tangs’, whether to run an ATS or not, or how to setup a quarantine tank. Important stuff !
Best,
Simon
I have been keeping reef tanks for a long time. My personal obsession with aquarium keeping began in 1985 with a fateful visit to Reef Encounter in Hackensack, NJ where some chap named Albert Thiel was setting up the first ‘high-tech’ tank I had ever seen (somewhat rudimentary through the lens of 2014, but a revelation then). Eureka, here was the approach I had been looking for: trickle filters, metal halide lighting, float switches, under-gravel heating …. man, I was hooked!
I played around exclusively with freshwater plants for the first few years, but then started my first reef tank, a 30H, in about 1988, I think (memory fades), which subsequently popped a bottom. Undaunted, I got a 75 which housed softies primarily (that was pretty much all you could get back then) and ran that until about 1992. At that point I decided to try my hand at building a big plywood tank, and while generally successful, it ended up oozing and was dismantled in 1997. No substitute for a big tank though, and never since have I been quite as successful at keeping larger groups of Anthias fish than in that tank. The next tank, re-purposed to a reef from live plants, was a pretty standard 180 (bought in 1990 custom as that was the only way then to get a reef ready tank) which I ran almost continuously until 2007. Then, as many of us do, I took a break. My kids were little and I found myself a bit burned out. Four year on, though, I got back in with a 90 gallon ‘craigs list special’. Far too small of course, so it wasn’t long before my current 265 was sitting in the same spot as the old 180. In the process of looking for a bigger tank I even stumbled across somebody selling my old 180 right here (a 24 year old tank, yikes) on RC – what a kick!
I’m a far better reef keeper in 2014 than I have ever been; partly because the equipment is better, but mainly because of the amazing advice, ingenuity and experience of all my fellow reefers. I’ve made lots of mistakes in my time in the hobby, some multiple times, others brand new; and have had my fair share of tank crashes, but I always emerged better than before. Although it needs to grow a bit (and I have to address an ich problem, grumble, grumble) I’ve never had a tank look better than my current effort.
Full Tank Shot - January 2013
The 'brains' behind it all .....
.... and an inability to keep things simple!
I hope folks have found my advice and experience helpful – I have certainly benefitted from you! I look forward to many more debates on ‘tank sizes for tangs’, whether to run an ATS or not, or how to setup a quarantine tank. Important stuff !
Best,
Simon
Last edited:
