ReefAquariumInfo.com is the aquarist’s one stop for detailed and organized information regarding reef, coral and marine aquariums. Its mission is to provide user-friendly, no-nonsense information on the creation, maintenance, and propagation of reef, coral and marine aquariums.
ReefAquariumInfo.com transformed from an idea into an HTML refresher course in December of 2008. It is based out of Pompano Beach, Florida, an area known for being between Boca Raton and Ft. Lauderdale on the southern route to Miami and The Florida Keys. We are always open to advise, suggestions, photos and articles so please feel free to e-mail us with anything you would like to say or add to our website.
Brian (the creator, designer, and webmaster):
During my last two years in Tallahassee, Florida, I worked at a local pet store that had a large saltwater fish and coral display. I started working there because of my interest in reptiles and my desire to acquire a venomous reptile license (which requires 150 hours of documented time with venomous reptiles).
During my time at the pet store I purchased my first 40 Gal breeder tank and quickly turned it into a flourishing reef community (mostly due to the availability of wholesale-priced equipment and live stock). I found myself enjoying the hobby and stocked my tank with an expansive collection of leathers, mushrooms, zoanthids and various LPS’s. I began to propagate the corals so I could sell them in the store to earn back a little of the money I had initially spent in my tanks construction.
Upon my acceptance to The University of Florida’s College of Engineering in 2002, I disassembled my aquarium and moved to Gainesville. When I got there I immediately set up a 65 Gal tank on my existing stand using the existing filtration (Wet-Dry sized for a 125 Gallon tank) and stocked it with one Tesselata Moray, affectionately named Billy-Bob. I had and enjoyed Billy-Bob until he reached a size that was too large for my aquarium, about 5 feet long!! When I graduated, I found myself traveling south to Pompano Beach where I now live with my beautiful fiance, Heather. With a solid job and a steady cash flow, I decided to set up another reef tank.
We’ve been in South Florida for six months as of January 1st, and my new 65 Gal reef tank is doing great!! All of the pictures on this site are of my tank and its inhabitants (unless otherwise noted). What led me to the creation of ReefAquariumInfo.com was the difficulty I encountered when trying to acquire the information needed to set up my most recent tank. I’ve always enjoyed creating websites, so I thought it only natural to make a site to help fellow aquarium hobbyists set up their tanks. I have a deep understanding of the methods used to create a reef aquarium and I’m excited to get ReefAquariumInfo.com stocked full of information for other aspiring hobbyists. There is always more to learn and I learn something new every day.
Thanks for visiting ReefAquariumInfo.com and we hope you find all of the information you need to create and flourish in the reef aquarium hobby.
Heather (the fiance, editor, and support staff):
Before meeting Brian, the closest I came to being an aquarist was feeding my brother’s Chinese Fighting Fish while he was away for a long camping trip with his Boy Scout troop’s was 11…and a bowl barely constitutes an aquarium. But now, more than a decade and a half later, I know that the Chinese Fighting Fish doesn’t practice Kung Fu and that there’s nothing remarkable about a glass bowl.
Though my knowledge of the reef aquarium pales in comparison to that of Brian’s, I’m learning. It may sound silly to that an experienced aquarist, but I’m proud to know that the accurate title for the fish I originally dubbed Poisonous Dart Frog Fish is Mandarin Gobi. It’s enjoyable to be a part of Brian’s hobby; honestly, it’s becoming my hobby. It’s gratifying to be able to build and maintain an ecosystem to be able to knowledgeably assemble an environment that fosters life.
Like a landscape architect, Brian carefully places corals and live rock to accentuate the aesthetics of each individual piece. His commitment and attentiveness to our aquariums truly inspire me. Conversely, the excitement and animation he shows when a recently ordered anemone plant itself absolutely entertains me. Unlike many, he’s a devout aquarist for the love of the art, not the narcissistic need to show off what he’s created; our aquariums aren’t even prominently placed within our home.
Since I’m still an apprentice to the art, my main tasks with the creation and maintenance of ReefAquariumInfo.com are to edit text, approve content supplied by readers, and remind Brian to eat while he spends countless hours constructing our website through HTML formatting (He’s an engineer; I’m an English teacher. The end.).
Art is born of the observation and investigation of nature.
Cicero (106 BC ? 43 BC)