The most exciting moments in reef keeping?

uniquecorals · Oct 7, 2015

So, we concluded yet another "popup" event with minimum drama, not too many frayed nerves, and a bunch of you walked away with some cool corals!

It's exciting to see reefers getting stoked on new stuff, and that never seems to get old. We actually get a vicarious thrill out of seeing everyone get all happy when they score that cool coral...'cause...we get it!

It got me thinking about things that get us excited in the hobby! I posed this question to some of my freshwater friends who do business with me at Tannin Aquatics, and they had a wide range of interesting answers. The biggest and most exciting events in the hobby, based on this very un-scientific sampling thus far, seem to be when you set up a new tank, and when you acquire/receive/purchase a new coral or fish....And I'm inclined to agree...!

I love when I help a fellow reefer score that cool coral and I get that email or text or call and they say, "Man I can't wait to get the package...!"

Few things in this hobby or business thrill me like hearing the sheer joy of a fellow hobbyist, stoked as heck about getting something that he or she loves so much.

Coolness!

However, I think there are other exciting things...Like going to conferences and having your head explode from all of the frags, gadgets, and reefers you encounter under one roof, nailing the perfect aquascape, securing that difficult Efflo to the rock work just the way you wanted it...dozens and dozens of tiny little moments that provide us that little "rush" which keeps the hobby so addictive.

I don't know about you, but I still get that little ping of excitement every time I enter into my LFS! "Will THIS be the time I find that crazy weird dwarf cichlid I've been looking for? Will the store have that awesome new coral food I've read about but haven't yet tried? Will I end up walking out with a new nano tank?"

All those kinds of cool things that create excitement, and keep us engaged in the hobby. Granted, we all get excited about different things: I hung with a bunch of guys at MACNA who had very passionate and (to them) exciting exchanges about testing for Vanadium in aquarium water (no, I'm serious! And they weren't really that drunk, either!)! And of course, "shopping" with friends for gadgets at shows is a thrill (especially when they're the one spending money!).

So many cool things.

And you know what? It even hit me this past month- after three years, I still get that twinge of excitement every time I step into our facility at Unique Corals...Because there is always something new and interesting...something to keep me excited, engaged, focused. And all of these things-all of these experiences, things, and moments of enjoyment of the hobby with friends- are what excites me the most.

I'm pretty lucky, I think.

So, that being said...What do you consider the most exciting things in the hobby? The most exciting moments in reef keeping? Let's here 'em!

Stay excited. Stay engaged...And stay wet!

Scott Fellman
Unique Corals

D maul · Oct 7, 2015

When the little nub you bought jumps the plug and begins its journey to be a colony.

uniquecorals · Oct 7, 2015

D maul said:
When the little nub you bought jumps the plug and begins its journey to be a colony.

Amen!

CastAway · Oct 7, 2015

Seeing my Sapphire damsels nest and lay was pretty cool. Most recently, while all flow was turned off and the tank was blacked out, I shined my little LED flashlight down into the water column to see tons of free swimming specs of white. Always amazed at the seemingly spontaneous plethora of life that's present. (Hope they're good!)

uniquecorals · Oct 7, 2015

CastAway said:
Seeing my Sapphire damsels nest and lay was pretty cool. Most recently, while all flow was turned off and the tank was blacked out, I shined my little LED flashlight down into the water column to see tons of free swimming specs of white. Always amazed at the seemingly spontaneous plethora of life that's present. (Hope they're good!)

Great point! "Stopping to smell the roses" as they say, is as exciting as anything else we do in the hobby!

jcdeng · Oct 7, 2015

When you wake up in the morning and all the GHA is gone in the DT and your newly added foxface has a fat belly. Made me want to grab him out and give him a big hug (if not for his venomous fin).

Dextereef · Oct 7, 2015

Super stoked about the corals I scored yesterday. You and Donna made it super easy and actually having to make a phone call to get what I was after was a refreshing change of pace in our ever increasing disconnected world. That was what I like to call "adding a second layer of cool" to the experience. I'm getting my systems back up and running after a crash and I didn't know how much I really missed and need this hobby until I didn't have any tanks running. The shopping experience and talking with other reefers is something I am absolutely looking forward to as the season gets going. Thanks again Scott!

uniquecorals · Oct 7, 2015

Dextereef said:
Super stoked about the corals I scored yesterday. You and Donna made it super easy and actually having to make a phone call to get what I was after was a refreshing change of pace in our ever increasing disconnected world. That was what I like to call "adding a second layer of cool" to the experience. I'm getting my systems back up and running after a crash and I didn't know how much I really missed and need this hobby until I didn't have any tanks running. The shopping experience and talking with other reefers is something I am absolutely looking forward to as the season gets going. Thanks again Scott!

Thanks, we love to hear that! Honestly, there are many reasons why the old fashioned phone call works best for an event like this, and the "second layer of cool", which you beautifully quantify, is an important one of them...Interaction- in this forum, in person- on the phone...that's the best part!Besides, in UC "Popup" tradition, many callers "requested" different corals to be added, and a number of good deals were scored that way! FUN!

Thanks,

Scott F.

rajkovich207 · Oct 7, 2015

I dragged my dad into the hobby shortly after I started. Ever couple of weeks we get together and hit the road earlyish on a Saturday morning and hit as many lfs as we can. That is super exciting especially when a new store or place we haven't heard of pops up.
Another thing that just floors me with excitement is watching your new fish eat for the first time. I came home with a fathead anthias Saturday. He wouldn't eat for me Sunday or Monday and finally she filled her belly yesterday. It was unnerving to see it turn from food, even after I spent 45 minutes taking my first stab at diy fish food and when I saw her grab that first bit of brine I new this was going to be a happy relationship.

uniquecorals · Oct 7, 2015

rajkovich207 said:
I dragged my dad into the hobby shortly after I started. Ever couple of weeks we get together and hit the road earlyish on a Saturday morning and hit as many lfs as we can. That is super exciting especially when a new store or place we haven't heard of pops up.
Another thing that just floors me with excitement is watching your new fish eat for the first time. I came home with a fathead anthias Saturday. He wouldn't eat for me Sunday or Monday and finally she filled her belly yesterday. It was unnerving to see it turn from food, even after I spent 45 minutes taking my first stab at diy fish food and when I saw her grab that first bit of brine I new this was going to be a happy relationship.

Love that! My dad got me started in this hobby and I can't thank him enough...He passed away in 2013 and I miss him every day...but he lives on in my fish obsession..You bring up a great point- having someone to share this hobby with is super precious...just do it!

jared graves · Oct 7, 2015

As stressful as it was when I left my tank for almost 3 weeks (my family runs a nonprofit in Haiti) and got to come back and see how much stuff actually grows when you don't stare at it for 3 hours a day looking for growth

defugium · Oct 8, 2015

maybe im just an addict lol because of my sleeping/work hrs I keep my lighting timer to come on around 1230pm on the days when im home up early bumming around the house an my lights are about to turn on. When they turn on finding a p on a zoa frag or a new branch on a sps colony or frag. Love it! Or when that washed out looking sps coral you picked up for 5 bucks at a lfs starts to color up.

westreef · Oct 9, 2015

Shining a light in the middle of the night and found the pe were so amazingly long swaying in the water.

1stNoel · Oct 9, 2015

Jumping into the world of corals, my biggest enjoyment initially was setting up the aquascape. My biggest enjoyment now is sharing the hobby with my 10 year old daughter.

But my biggest excitement was when my frags started producing new polyps. It was confirmation that I'm providing a quality environment.

uniquecorals · Oct 9, 2015

1stNoel said:
Jumping into the world of corals, my biggest enjoyment initially was setting up the aquascape. My biggest enjoyment now is sharing the hobby with my 10 year old daughter.

But my biggest excitement was when my frags started producing new polyps. It was confirmation that I'm providing a quality environment.

Love the sharing with your daughter! That's THE single most important thing we do!

SciGuy2 · Oct 9, 2015

Most exciting moments in reef keeping?

2002, when the ECO-Aqualizer was introduced to the market.

(Photo by Madyatto at another board)

-A product using miraculous almost NASA related technology, the ECO-Aqualizer uses "powerful, unseen, magnetic forces to tweak the hydrogen bonds of water molecules resulting in improved light transmission in reef aquaria." After months of exhausting R&D, the "perfect combination of light photonic energies, magnetic flux, and acrylic transmitting medium was found." This led to a device that reduces the need for water changes, and improves all things that need to be improved in the reef aquaria. The device reduces ammonia, nitrite and nitrate; and increases pH and ORP.

All you had to do is pass your aquarium water through the magic tube.

Sadly, the ECO-Aqualizer is no longer available and the manufacturer's website is now a parked domain. No doubt this boon to reef keeping was lost to us through the combined dark forces of corporate suppression of emerging technologies, the U.N., and the unseen hand of global politics.

debby · Oct 9, 2015

when your LFS 'gifts' you a spec of a frag, or something that is failing and you bring it back...I've had a few successes and some...well...anyway - it is very rewarding to see the bit become a small, growing colony. Next save I'll have to photograph it when I get it, and then when I consider it thriving!