WHAT ARE THEY DOING THAT WE AREN'T?

[JMacedo]

Europeans pay so much more in taxes ... so we have to keep our expensive few frags growing into large colonies! LOL I am kidding! There was a time when the USA was trailing well behind the Europeans in terms of innovative products, now things have changed and IMHO the hobby in America has developed faster than ever.

Tony Vargas with his book "The Coral Reef Aquarium" (2011) show us some of the best tanks from around the world and if you look at the several USA tanks you will agree that they are as good and as packed with corals as the Europeans tanks. I have never seen in Europe events like MACNA or so many young people in the hobby like I think is happening in the USA.

Of course, this is just my opinion, I am an European based in Asia that learned most from American books about the hobby! lol

 

[atoll]

I have been in this hobby about 35 plus years so have experienced the changed in that time. Back in the day the Germans and Dutch had the most successful reef tanks with the Berlin method and Dutch Mini reef systems. Books and most of the information was not in English, quite understandable of course. Then some of the successful European aquarists many professional started writing articles for FAMA and slowly things developed from there.

European hobbyists were the first to successfully aquaculture many of the corals we see today like SPS and LPS as well as softies it would seem. It would seem back 35 years ago most US tanks were run on UG filtration but the US soon caught on. I know a number of professional US aquarists like Julian sprung who I have met a few times along with others used to come over to Europe to see how tank here are run and to see first hand some of the best reef tanks inc those in the UK but most were on the continent eg Germany, France, Belgium and Holand . Most here in the UK and I suspect in other countries start with relatively small tanks and the longer they stay in the hobby the larger their tanks grow with them. Modern houses here n the UK are built smaller than they were in the 60/70s for instance so room can be at a premium.

There is a large following as in the US for nano tanks with some often down grading from larger tanks to nano's. However I don't think you can generalise or even compare much in the way of differences between countries all over the world anymore and I put that mainly down to the internet. Through the internet, we have seen so many great reef tanks from so many different countries it would be folly to try and suggest who has the best reef tanks anymore.

In the UK we would have regular seminars and a number of reefkeeping clubs but they all but closed again due mainly to the internet which is a shame. I did many talks for the biggest local group that went under the name of the West Yorkshire Marine Aquarist Group W.Y.M.A.G for short. The met every month and had a couple of large seminars each year with the likes of Julian Sprung, Albert Thiel, Martin Moe , Forst Young from the USA attending along with many professional Europen aquarists speaking Like Sven Fossa. Peter Wilkins, Nilsen and many more.

 

[HmoneyReefOkc]

A couple of points if I may. Being from and living in the UK I can tell you the following.
1/ Many of the reef tanks in Europe have been set up a long time and have matured from frags or they have been transferred from one tank to the next. I have a mixture of colonies I have grown in previous tanks and frags have ben added as I have traded up.
2/ I have seen excellent tanks running so many different methods and hybrids as is my own tank that it is impossible to list them all.
3/ often it's not the method or lighting that makes a great tank but the effort put in by the owner.
4/ Experince in keeping the likes of SPS corals shows.
5/ when I was fortunate to dive and snorkel in the Red Sea a few years ago I noticed the reefs were predominantly SPS.
6/LPS SPS or soft corals tend to be dominant on reefs rather than mixed together as some try to do which IMO isn't so easy. I can't keep any LPS they just wither away as my water is to clean for them but my SPS are thriving.
7/ Although you may find in some countries in Europe the tanks maybe of a certain type by no means are they all. I can tell you there are just as many LPS and soft coral dominate tanks in Europe.
8/ SPS are considered by many to be the Holly grail of reef keeping and the biggest challenge hence so many wish to master them and produce stunning tanks.

**Yeah when I was a novice I thought the same about SPS being more difficult... then I realized the most challenging is actually keeping a fully integrated and mixed reef. If all you have is SPS and pristine water with little to no fish everything is SUPER easy. just my two cents...that's why I think we all see so many now going for the mixed reef.

 

[shoelaceike]

My system is based off the Dutch\Europe way because when I started that is all we had for books or information in my area. (The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium by Stefan A. Fossa and Alf Jacob Nelson) So I copied the Natural Method of processing my tank water of the time and honed it over the years.

My tank is just a little over 2 and a half years and is still maturing.

Hey, where did you get that T5 fixture? I'm thinking about adding some to my radions

 

[WetWhistle]

Hey, where did you get that T5 fixture? I'm thinking about adding some to my radions

If you are in the US you can get it from MOPS for the cheapest price. At least when I got them.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/5-ft-let-lighting-miro-4-t5-high-output-retrofit-kit.html

I got mine in Canada at Reefsupplies.ca for the cheapest.

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/LET-60-2x80W-Miro-4-T5-High-Output-Retrofit-Kit.html

They are fantastic! Easy to wire up and hook up and was the cheapest way of adding more light. Three hrs is all I need from them so the bulb replacement is not to bad and should last me more then a year. To be safe I will probably swat once a year.

 

[shoelaceike]

If you are in the US you can get it from MOPS for the cheapest price. At least when I got them.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/5-ft-let-lighting-miro-4-t5-high-output-retrofit-kit.html

I got mine in Canada at Reefsupplies.ca for the cheapest.

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/LET-60-2x80W-Miro-4-T5-High-Output-Retrofit-Kit.html

They are fantastic! Easy to wire up and hook up and was the cheapest way of adding more light. Three hrs is all I need from them so the bulb replacement is not to bad and should last me more then a year. To be safe I will probably swat once a year.

Thanks. I'm gonna check these out