Reef Tank in Hawaii
- Thread starter Jordani
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mscarpena
New member
All you need to do to harvest in Hawaii except protected reefs is buy a $50.00 per year permit. I traveled to Hawaii and checked into it. The Wiakiki aquarium is just awesome. I also did not know you were not able to have a tank i Hawaii. Are you sure that info is correct?? You can have one in all other coastal areas of the US. They are very careful what pets come in and out of Hawaii so that maybe it.
ghostman
Active member
I lived in Maui for several years and wanted a reef tank very badly. Unfortunately, it is illegal to import corals or to collect most corals from the reefs there for the reasons specified above. It is legal to collect a small amount of live sand and rock each day. There are also some zoos that are allowed. The only aquarium store that I saw had a few fish, and shockingly some of them were not endemic to Hawaii. I thought of having a nice fish only tank, with live rock, sand, snails and hermits but decided against it. The locals would also report any illegal collecting as they value their reefs and habitat. Not worth going to jail for....
Daniel Reef
New member
Wasn't there an episode where Leland going fishing at night to catch a fish for the tank?
Ston3
New member
I don't really watch that show, but I happened to see that one where he was catching fish at night. He had a huge tank too (maybe 6').
serpentman
part time superhero
With some of the world's best scuba diving at your disposal, not being able to keep a reef isn't so bad 
Think of it as a trade off. For most of us landlocked folks, keeping a reef is as close as we can come to regular contact with the ocean. Think of the local ocean as your Billion+ gallon reef tank.
Think of it as a trade off. For most of us landlocked folks, keeping a reef is as close as we can come to regular contact with the ocean. Think of the local ocean as your Billion+ gallon reef tank.
Baltimore Bryan
New member
You can collect soft corals, such as zoas, and fish for a personal aquarium with a permit. You cannot collect stony corals without a scientific research permit. I am pretty sure you may not collect rock, but you can collect sand, water, hermits/snails, and algae. The only way I could think of (and I have no idea if this is legal) would be to collect water right after a coral spawning that contained the baby coral and raise it. I saw some chunks of coral when I was there that had broken off in storms and was trapped in tide pools, but still survived and had color, but I don't think you could take them either.
Bryan
Bryan
With some of the world's best scuba diving at your disposal, not being able to keep a reef isn't so bad
I agree, I wish I could dive even the crappy parts of Hawaii on a regular basis over having a tank.
Are you for real?
Niihau for starters.
Molokini Crater, ever dive the back wall? Its amazing.
Hanama Bay, you can even just snorkel and see lots.
The WWII corsair at like 100 feet down.
Sheraton caverns, fun diving the caves, most triggers I have ever seen.
I mean its no Belize with the Blue hole, and Half moon caye.
And I have to say I have not had the chance to dive many places, but Hawaii was still great, and different with the slightly cooler water.
Daniel Reef
New member
actually, thee best
^+1
Chris27
New member
You can keep a tank in Hawaii - just no coral. Last I read was that you could fill a 5 gal bucket up daily with rock and sand and catch your own fish....a FOWLR tank isn't so bad.....just think all you have to buy is the tank, skimmer, RO/DI for daily top off, and minimal supplements to keep the coraline happy. Water changes are free, livestock is free, no need for heavy lighting or calcium supplementation.....once you have the tank up you can go back to diving, surfing or drinking.
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