So, it being summer and all, many hobbyists are "distracted" from reef keeping with other things: Family vacations, home improvement projects, or just plain enjoying the beautiful weather- which, for many of you in the Northeast, who suffered through last winter- is a great idea!
Of course, you're starting to see the first rumblings of Fall- preseason predictions about college football, talk of the MLB Playoffs, and back-to-school-sales at retailers... Fall is not just the season for MACNA- it's the kickoff to what I like to call "Reefkeeping Season"- the time of year when, one again, our leisure focus turns to our indoor hobbies, and reef keeping once again grabs and holds us!
And of course, for many of us, it means new tank builds, or re-booting existing reef systems. So I kind of thought it would be fun to once again throw out a couple of ideas and see what those of you who are going to be doing some new stuff this Fall will be playing with.
First up, I think that the idea of a "monospecific" aquarium is just so cool right now. We have some of the most amazing corals ever in the hobby, and many deserve to be showcased in a way that puts them in the spotlight. A monospecific reef, although almost heretical by modern hobby standards, would be the ultimate way to show off a prized coral, and to unlock its secrets! Imagine how cool that crazy Acro or unusual Monti would look and grow if it didn't have to compete for space with more aggressive species? What if it didn't have to contend with the usual allelopathic "soup" of exudates from other corals? What if you could simply focus on the specific needs of that ONE coral? What could you learn? What kind of growth could you get? Of course, the idea of a single-species tank in this "garden reef" epoch we're in is asking a whole lot, but with the number of reefers I see setting up multiple tanks these days, it's entirely more realistic to envision than in years past. Who's gonna try a monospecific tank this year?
Not monospecific per se, but "category specific"- the "Chalice Reef" Jake spied in The Solomons.
Any discussion about cool reefs would be remiss if it did not include an admonition from me to keep an all "soft coral" tank! Yeah, no fuzzy sticks....Another idea that will generally get you pelted with frag plugs at the local club meeting should you mention it...However, I've seen some absolutely gorgeous soft coral-dominated systems creeping back into the hobby mainstream. The hobby stigma of "softies" being so-called "beginner's corals" has long-since wafted off into the breeze, and more an more beautiful tanks featuring these amazing, yet seemingly taken-for-granted corals are emerging. Yeah, they CAN be easier than an "SPS" reef to keep, but they have their challenges, too: Overgrowth, chemical competition, properly designing the aquascape for them, etc. One of the cool advantages is that you can use the soft coral tank to feel better about trying the quasi-reef-safe Dwarf Angels and such, as many of these corals are ichtyotoxic at worst, or just yucky-tasting (very scientific) at the least to many would-be diners. IN addition, you get that one intangible that you won't get in a tank of sticks- MOVEMENT! Yeah, polyps wafting in the current from your millie is not really "movement", so don't try to make that argument
My reef buddy Rod Azarmi totally gets the softy-only concept..okay, a few LPS, but man...
I'll throw out there (for like the umpteenth time) the concept of a marine palladium- a terrestrial/aquatic feature that's been perfected many times in FW practice over the years, but just hasn't caught on yet for marine tanks. Yes, challenges abound, such as how to keep terrestrial plants isolated in a marine environment, evaporation, building in overflows on a half-filled tank, etc. However, the potential reward is a stunning display the likes of which no one has really presented thus far...I've seen a few attempts, but not to the level we've seen in the freshwater world. Sticking a few mangroves out of the water is an evolution, but really just a stepping stone. I encourage you to study some of the cool AGA (Aquatic Gardener's Association) layout contest pages and scan the "Paludarium" category for inspiration. Crazy cool stuff there. For our purposes, think "Palau Rock Islands."
Those crazy freshwater guys...
This is more in our wheelhouse, right?
Finally, how about a "biotope" aquarium? Another freshwater derivative that has been underplayed in the marine world for too long. I've been pushing this idea for like 10 years, with some hobbyists going for it. I'm so into the biotope concept that I even developed another venture around offering things for biotope enthusiasts (insert shameless plug for my solo side venture here). The idea of creating a representation of an environmental niche, regionally-accurate display, or simply a re-creation of the reef you saw diving in Fiji last spring is just such a cool idea! Animals that come fro the same niche seem to do better together, in my experience. Think about commonality of environmental parameters, lighting, etc. With all of the information we have on the environments from where our corals come from, and high tech lighting, pumps, and even water testing (oh, yeah, plugging Triton again) to replicate natural reefs at our hands, it seems that the time has never been better to do this. We're building out a Solomon Islands biotope at UC to showcase the cool corals that Jake found down there. The possibilities are endless, and I encourage- no, PLEAD with you to try a biotope at least once in your reef "career!" The potential for enjoyment and education is HUGE!
Stunning attempt at a Caribbean biotope by "creatureteacher."
Okay, I've completed my now-obligatory annual plea to try some new stuff...Push yourself and you advance the hobby simultaneously! A win-win if ever there was one.
So, enjoy the rest of your summer, but start thinking of what you're gonna be doing, reef-wise, when the first chill of Autumn comes a-knocking, beckoning you back to your reef aquarium.
Stay inspired. Stay open to new ideas.
And Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
Of course, you're starting to see the first rumblings of Fall- preseason predictions about college football, talk of the MLB Playoffs, and back-to-school-sales at retailers... Fall is not just the season for MACNA- it's the kickoff to what I like to call "Reefkeeping Season"- the time of year when, one again, our leisure focus turns to our indoor hobbies, and reef keeping once again grabs and holds us!
And of course, for many of us, it means new tank builds, or re-booting existing reef systems. So I kind of thought it would be fun to once again throw out a couple of ideas and see what those of you who are going to be doing some new stuff this Fall will be playing with.
First up, I think that the idea of a "monospecific" aquarium is just so cool right now. We have some of the most amazing corals ever in the hobby, and many deserve to be showcased in a way that puts them in the spotlight. A monospecific reef, although almost heretical by modern hobby standards, would be the ultimate way to show off a prized coral, and to unlock its secrets! Imagine how cool that crazy Acro or unusual Monti would look and grow if it didn't have to compete for space with more aggressive species? What if it didn't have to contend with the usual allelopathic "soup" of exudates from other corals? What if you could simply focus on the specific needs of that ONE coral? What could you learn? What kind of growth could you get? Of course, the idea of a single-species tank in this "garden reef" epoch we're in is asking a whole lot, but with the number of reefers I see setting up multiple tanks these days, it's entirely more realistic to envision than in years past. Who's gonna try a monospecific tank this year?
Not monospecific per se, but "category specific"- the "Chalice Reef" Jake spied in The Solomons.
Any discussion about cool reefs would be remiss if it did not include an admonition from me to keep an all "soft coral" tank! Yeah, no fuzzy sticks....Another idea that will generally get you pelted with frag plugs at the local club meeting should you mention it...However, I've seen some absolutely gorgeous soft coral-dominated systems creeping back into the hobby mainstream. The hobby stigma of "softies" being so-called "beginner's corals" has long-since wafted off into the breeze, and more an more beautiful tanks featuring these amazing, yet seemingly taken-for-granted corals are emerging. Yeah, they CAN be easier than an "SPS" reef to keep, but they have their challenges, too: Overgrowth, chemical competition, properly designing the aquascape for them, etc. One of the cool advantages is that you can use the soft coral tank to feel better about trying the quasi-reef-safe Dwarf Angels and such, as many of these corals are ichtyotoxic at worst, or just yucky-tasting (very scientific) at the least to many would-be diners. IN addition, you get that one intangible that you won't get in a tank of sticks- MOVEMENT! Yeah, polyps wafting in the current from your millie is not really "movement", so don't try to make that argument
My reef buddy Rod Azarmi totally gets the softy-only concept..okay, a few LPS, but man...
I'll throw out there (for like the umpteenth time) the concept of a marine palladium- a terrestrial/aquatic feature that's been perfected many times in FW practice over the years, but just hasn't caught on yet for marine tanks. Yes, challenges abound, such as how to keep terrestrial plants isolated in a marine environment, evaporation, building in overflows on a half-filled tank, etc. However, the potential reward is a stunning display the likes of which no one has really presented thus far...I've seen a few attempts, but not to the level we've seen in the freshwater world. Sticking a few mangroves out of the water is an evolution, but really just a stepping stone. I encourage you to study some of the cool AGA (Aquatic Gardener's Association) layout contest pages and scan the "Paludarium" category for inspiration. Crazy cool stuff there. For our purposes, think "Palau Rock Islands."
Those crazy freshwater guys...
This is more in our wheelhouse, right?
Finally, how about a "biotope" aquarium? Another freshwater derivative that has been underplayed in the marine world for too long. I've been pushing this idea for like 10 years, with some hobbyists going for it. I'm so into the biotope concept that I even developed another venture around offering things for biotope enthusiasts (insert shameless plug for my solo side venture here). The idea of creating a representation of an environmental niche, regionally-accurate display, or simply a re-creation of the reef you saw diving in Fiji last spring is just such a cool idea! Animals that come fro the same niche seem to do better together, in my experience. Think about commonality of environmental parameters, lighting, etc. With all of the information we have on the environments from where our corals come from, and high tech lighting, pumps, and even water testing (oh, yeah, plugging Triton again) to replicate natural reefs at our hands, it seems that the time has never been better to do this. We're building out a Solomon Islands biotope at UC to showcase the cool corals that Jake found down there. The possibilities are endless, and I encourage- no, PLEAD with you to try a biotope at least once in your reef "career!" The potential for enjoyment and education is HUGE!
Stunning attempt at a Caribbean biotope by "creatureteacher."
Okay, I've completed my now-obligatory annual plea to try some new stuff...Push yourself and you advance the hobby simultaneously! A win-win if ever there was one.
So, enjoy the rest of your summer, but start thinking of what you're gonna be doing, reef-wise, when the first chill of Autumn comes a-knocking, beckoning you back to your reef aquarium.
Stay inspired. Stay open to new ideas.
And Stay Wet.
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
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