Random Thoughts

Are you a “real” reefer? You know- a hardcore, not-afraid-of-getting-your hands-wet type? I thought so…of course you are! You must be a nervous wreck! You’ve literally got water on the brain! I know you do. It’s funny; we often hear of the “therapeutic” value of aquarium keeping: It’s stimulating, relaxing, intellectual, etc. Good for the mind, good for the soul…blah, blah, blah. Aquarium KEEPING, or aquarium VIEWING?

Let’s be honest with ourselves: Is a reef keeper ever truly “relaxed”? ...

Hey, kids- look! I’m not bashing something this week! Instead, I’ll try to convince you to try something a little different for your next aquarium!

If you’ve read my ramblings before, or have seen one of my talks, you know that I’m always trying to push you to create aquariums that are a bit out of the ordinary. So- how about a system based on the needs of just one animal? What would you keep if you could just keep one species of coral, invertebrate, or fish? Would you even be able ...

“First”. It’s a powerful word, huh?

Throughout our lives, we’re taught that it’s good to be “first”: Winning the race, being the first in line, the first one to finish our homework, etc. In the reef hobby, however, “first” sometimes carries a little more baggage with it.

When you’re the first hobbyist to keep a challenging fish, or proffer a different way of doing things, you have some serious responsibility- to the animal, the natural environment, and even tougher still- ...

Have you noticed our obsession with baby animals? We love cute little baby Harp Seals, Koalas, Pandas…Hell, I’ve even seen baby Jackson’s Chameleons that look sort of huggable. But what about baby fishes? Yeah, baby fish can actually be pretty darned adorable! Just think about these examples:

Baby Sweetlips are real cuties. I think it’s because their eyes are disproportionately larger than the rest of their bodies. And their mouths definitely look “baby-like”! I suppose the little ...

Steve Weast's famous 850 gallon aquarium:
A masterpiece of negative space utilization.

If you read my blogs and articles on aquascaping, you hear me blabber on and on about the virtues of great rockwork, avoiding the uninspired rock wall configurations, the Golden Ratio, etc. Yet for all my talk about rockwork, I seem to have neglected the need to discuss what is known as “negative space” or “white space” in an aquascape

What ...