Hello from Germany

[Tavero]

Hi there,
Im a reefer from Germany and now 15 years in the hobby. Started with a Pico tank and softies. My current tank is a 56 Liter 60x30x30 cm standard tank (Fluval 13.5 size) thats around 3 years old. Most of my equipment like lights, dosing pump, cooler ect is DIY.
Sadly this hobby is kinda stagnating in Germany (government restrictions and popularity), a lot of forums are dying or are inactive so i guess i'll spend my time here from now on.
Thankfully i was able to aquire around 16 different zoas, which are my favorite coral, (one market that is starting to thrive here). Nice acans are pretty rare here though.
Greetings Tav

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

 

[Peace River]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

 

[Nano sapiens]

Hertzliche Wilkommen!

That is indeed a shame to hear that the reef keeping hobby is not so popular there as it once was. Is this at least partly due to EU restrictions on the marine trade? One could rightly say that our modern form of reef keeping owes a lot of its success and popularity to the original efforts of the Berlin club members and many others.

At any rate, I think you'll enjoy the atmosphere here at R2R

 

[Fred2482]

Welcome!

 

[dstockwell]

Welcome to the Reef

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!

Those are some beautiful corals!! Nice job!

 

[Slocke]

Welcome!

Was born in Germany but haven't been back for several years. I do miss it though.

 

[reaper93]

Welcome!

 

[Tavero]

Is this at least partly due to EU restrictions on the marine trade?

I think that is one reason why old reefers can't be bothered anymore and are stopping the hobby but it is only a very small part. Same with the new chemical restrictions in Germany that (kinda) made low range phosphate tests illegal - just the last straw for many reefers.
But the trend of the regressing reefing hobby started already many years ago. I think one reason are our record high energy costs due to the failed "Energiewende" renewable energy polytics. Large Tanks got kinda unaffordable. And because no one is reefing anymore, the assortiment in the LRS has always the same softie corals and just a few fish for sale.
On the other hand fresh water and cardina shrimp keeping is thriving. Many reefers switched already.

Well it could be worse. Switzerland made it illegal to trade corals without a cites formular this includes home grown ones. So always look at the bright Side.

 

[CoralB]

Welcome !!!

 

[Nano sapiens]

I think that is one reason why old reefers can't be bothered anymore and are stopping the hobby but it is only a very small part. Same with the new chemical restrictions in Germany that (kinda) made low range phosphate tests illegal - just the last straw for many reefers.
But the trend of the regressing reefing hobby started already many years ago. I think one reason are our record high energy costs due to the failed "Energiewende" renewable energy polytics. Large Tanks got kinda unaffordable. And because no one is reefing anymore, the assortiment in the LRS has always the same softie corals and just a few fish for sale.
On the other hand fresh water and cardina shrimp keeping is thriving. Many reefers switched already.

Well it could be worse. Switzerland made it illegal to trade corals without a cites formular this includes home grown ones. So always look at the bright Side.

Thanks for the insights as we here in the USA don't often hear that much about the reefing scene in the rest of the world. I had briefly joined a few German forums many years back (German is my 2nd language) and I could see that participation was sluggish even back then.

Based on what you are saying, I would expect that nano and pico aquariums (both fresh and saltwater) would be quite popular. But I can see that interest would wane if the selection of marine animals is limited.

Die Schweiz, well that's a whole different ball of wax

 

[bnord]

Nice looking tanks and corals

grat to have you in the forum

Thanks

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hi there,
Im a reefer from Germany and now 15 years in the hobby. Started with a Pico tank and softies. My current tank is a 56 Liter 60x30x30 cm standard tank (Fluval 13.5 size) thats around 3 years old. Most of my equipment like lights, dosing pump, cooler ect is DIY.
Sadly this hobby is kinda stagnating in Germany (government restrictions and popularity), a lot of forums are dying or are inactive so i guess i'll spend my time here from now on.
Thankfully i was able to aquire around 16 different zoas, which are my favorite coral, (one market that is starting to thrive here). Nice acans are pretty rare here though.
Greetings Tav

Hi Tav and Welcome! Glad you joined. Had no idea all that was going on in Germany. I've always thought of your country as cutting edge in this hobby. I was able to visit your country years ago and LOVED it!!! I'm glad you found R2R - you are in the BEST PLACE!!

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID)

This might help you find people local to you:

Global Local Reef Club Discussion

Looking for some locals to share frags and info with? This is the place! Find a local club that meets in your area! If you want to add your club just contact us.

www.reef2reef.com

This is a good reference book type online article I still review:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Tavero]

nano and pico aquariums (both fresh and saltwater) would be quite popular

Around 15 years ago when i started the hobby, pico reefs we're quite popular. There were several forums dedicated to tanks under 10g. It was also the time when LED finally got the correct spectrum and efficient enough to be used for reef tanks. There were no commercial lights available so everyone bougt the chips, drivers and heat sink to make their own. Exciting times.
Since then, the majority of these forums are gone, so are many small online shops that supplied nano inhabitants. Selling through ebay is also impossible nowadays.
No new reefers if people are unable to see actual tanks. Finding Nemo really boosted the reefing scene for a while.

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[shakacuz]

welcome aboard the r2r board!

 

[kingoftheHiLLpeople]

Welcome!!!

 

[billyocean]

Gluten Taco!

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Nano sapiens]

There were no commercial lights available so everyone bougt the chips, drivers and heat sink to make their own. Exciting times.

Still exciting for me as I am still using my original DIY LED array from ~7 years back on my nano