So, yesterday was typical post-Reefapalooza day at Unique Corals. Everyone was bit groggy from a very long and busy weekend, yet eager to get back and keep going into Fall- the start "Reef Season", when we all break out of the summer "malaise" and get down to the business of really having fun with corals!
We had a little informal get together with our industry friends that were still in town, including Vic and Lou from Worldwide Corals, Justin Credabel from ReefGen, Mark Tetrault from Marco Rock, Dave Fason from Nanobox Reef, and a few other crazies who stopped by. It's a little known fact, but your UC Livestock Manager, Melvin Caranzza, happens to be a wizard on the grill, and whipped up some SoCal style grilling for those in attendance...Just a fun day overall.
Our "Grill Master" and the guy who makes sure your corals are in top shape, Melvin...showing more mad skills!
UC's Patty serves up some grub to some hungry visitors- Victor and Lou from WWC, and Marc from Marco Rock.
One of the funny scene during the afternoon- and really, a precious memory- is when Lou from WWC- one of the hobby's greatest guys and biggest lover of corals there is, from one of the best vendors in the business, grabbed some corals he liked from one of our raceways and just took it to the saws and was fragging away as if he owned the place..or at least, worked here...A testimony to our "culture" within the industry; it's not "cut throat like you might suspect; most legit coral vendors are friends with other legit coral vendors. A sort of bizarre "extended family", if you will, with trust and friendship at the core. It's that cool to have such dear friends in the industry to compare, share, and learn from. We are all blessed.
And it made me reflect a bit (oaky, EVERYTHING seems to make me reflect a bit) about how we all got into this game of reef keeping...What was the "spark" that ignited this whole thing? What paths led us here? Despite geographic, economic, cultural, and other differences, we are all bound together by a common love of reefs. It's amazing, actually.
It's really about the corals at the end of the day, right?
I asked some of the attendees what got them into the hobby and when, and, as suspected, received a variety of answers.
Some were lifelong fish hobbyists, like myself, who was pretty much given fishes the minute I could walk by my dad, also a fish geek. Others stumbled upon the hobby as a teenager, looking for something cool. Still others evolved from freshwater adventures. Some started later in life, starting right off the bat in the reef keeping world. Some started with a nan tank full of "Nemos", and others went the more traditional route. A few people I talked to started right in with 100 gallon plus reefs, and learned what they needed to know along the way, making a few spectacular failures on the way to equally spectacular success.
Remember these? Not a "Nemo" in the true sense...miss them now!
The common thread is that everyone who's been in the reef keeping game started with tremendous enthusiasm for the hobby, and it never seemed to leave. What is it about this hobby that gets into our blood, our essence, our DNA, that gets passed on to our children and family...and even to unsuspecting friends? What was it that got YOU into the reef keeping hobby? Did someone expose you to a cool reef tank, or did you sort of wander into the LFS and say, "I want one of THOSE?" Or, did you just covet reefs on the internet and "self-teach" yourself?
I'm curious, because we have so many people from so many diverse backgrounds who bring lots of different skills to the table. It's what keeps our culture the amazing thing that it is.
So to all of you who play with corals, glue, saltwater, tons of cash, and electricity....
Stay Wet
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
We had a little informal get together with our industry friends that were still in town, including Vic and Lou from Worldwide Corals, Justin Credabel from ReefGen, Mark Tetrault from Marco Rock, Dave Fason from Nanobox Reef, and a few other crazies who stopped by. It's a little known fact, but your UC Livestock Manager, Melvin Caranzza, happens to be a wizard on the grill, and whipped up some SoCal style grilling for those in attendance...Just a fun day overall.
Our "Grill Master" and the guy who makes sure your corals are in top shape, Melvin...showing more mad skills!
UC's Patty serves up some grub to some hungry visitors- Victor and Lou from WWC, and Marc from Marco Rock.
One of the funny scene during the afternoon- and really, a precious memory- is when Lou from WWC- one of the hobby's greatest guys and biggest lover of corals there is, from one of the best vendors in the business, grabbed some corals he liked from one of our raceways and just took it to the saws and was fragging away as if he owned the place..or at least, worked here...A testimony to our "culture" within the industry; it's not "cut throat like you might suspect; most legit coral vendors are friends with other legit coral vendors. A sort of bizarre "extended family", if you will, with trust and friendship at the core. It's that cool to have such dear friends in the industry to compare, share, and learn from. We are all blessed.
And it made me reflect a bit (oaky, EVERYTHING seems to make me reflect a bit) about how we all got into this game of reef keeping...What was the "spark" that ignited this whole thing? What paths led us here? Despite geographic, economic, cultural, and other differences, we are all bound together by a common love of reefs. It's amazing, actually.
It's really about the corals at the end of the day, right?
I asked some of the attendees what got them into the hobby and when, and, as suspected, received a variety of answers.
Some were lifelong fish hobbyists, like myself, who was pretty much given fishes the minute I could walk by my dad, also a fish geek. Others stumbled upon the hobby as a teenager, looking for something cool. Still others evolved from freshwater adventures. Some started later in life, starting right off the bat in the reef keeping world. Some started with a nan tank full of "Nemos", and others went the more traditional route. A few people I talked to started right in with 100 gallon plus reefs, and learned what they needed to know along the way, making a few spectacular failures on the way to equally spectacular success.
Remember these? Not a "Nemo" in the true sense...miss them now!
The common thread is that everyone who's been in the reef keeping game started with tremendous enthusiasm for the hobby, and it never seemed to leave. What is it about this hobby that gets into our blood, our essence, our DNA, that gets passed on to our children and family...and even to unsuspecting friends? What was it that got YOU into the reef keeping hobby? Did someone expose you to a cool reef tank, or did you sort of wander into the LFS and say, "I want one of THOSE?" Or, did you just covet reefs on the internet and "self-teach" yourself?
I'm curious, because we have so many people from so many diverse backgrounds who bring lots of different skills to the table. It's what keeps our culture the amazing thing that it is.
So to all of you who play with corals, glue, saltwater, tons of cash, and electricity....
Stay Wet
Scott Fellman
Unique Corals
