Coming back to the hobby - missing Jake Adams' wealth of knowledge today. Who's close now?

[austinsreef]

Hey everyone!

I got out of the hobby about 4 years ago but have continued to be an interested observer and followed the hobby somewhat closely during that time.

I'm working on getting back into the hobby within the next couple months and just have to say (because I think a lot of others can relate) I'm really missing Jake Adams and his wealth of knowledge.

During my time refreshing myself on the hobby, I've listened to both new and old Reef Therapy episodes and can't help but continuing to gravitate towards the old onees again and again. Nothing against the current Reef Therapy team, it's just...different.

ALL of that said, I have a couple questions if you've made it this far:

1. Who do you feel like is the closest to Jake that's making content these days? I'm talking focused on the more sciencey side of things, and not trying to sell me something.
2. If you personally know of some books or literature that can help me get acquainted with fish & coral taxonomy, I'd love some recommendations. I want to learn my taxonomy this time around and really know my stuff as it relates to taxonomy.

Thanks for reading. Keep on reefing!!

 

[BriansBrain]

There is nobody currently even close to Jake Adams and the content he used to put out.
I never met him, but I definitely miss him and his unparalleled passion for the hobby.
Listening to his videos for so long was soothing and made you feel like you knew him.

I feel you, most content is trying to sell you something or over the top Instagramy. That said my favorite podcasts now are Reefbeef, Reefbum, and a newer one Frag Garage. Video wise Coral Euphoria, Some WWC, Parker’s Reef, Fragbox, Seafriendly Reef, Reef Aquaria Design, tidal Gardens.

Again, none of them compare to the glory days of the beloved Jake but they are my go to. Reef Beef is probably the most sciencey no BS, and Coral Euphoria puts out some very infrequent but very good videos.

 

[Reefer Matt]

I don’t try to sell anything, just looking to share and help. But I won’t ever be like Jake. I also enjoyed how he could casually explain complex things in a way we could all understand. I am interested in learning the science myself, and have started to purchase books. Many of the authors of those books are on this forum too.

 

[Dom]

I'm working on getting back into the hobby within the next couple months and just have to say (because I think a lot of others can relate) I'm really missing Jake Adams and his wealth of knowledge.

Who is Jake Adams?

 

[kevgib67]

The loss of Jake Adams was a hard one for sure. @Reefer Matt is being humble, he does very informative and educational videos for no other reason than to help other reefers. Thank you Matt.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I think if you look past the click bait, shill content and filler - there is a wealth of knowledge everywhere, and that knowledge far eclipses what any one content creator or personalty brings (or brought) to the table, be it their knowledge or knowledge that they were passing on from somebody else.

 

[Reefer Matt]

The loss of Jake Adams was a hard one for sure. @Reefer Matt is being humble, he does very informative and educational videos for no other reason than to help other reefers. Thank you Matt.

Thanks bud. But I still stand by my comment. There is no comparison. I was just commenting on the part about people trying to sell stuff, etc. There are also many people on this forum with knowledge that eclipses us all, and they should be the ones listened to.

 

[BriansBrain]

I don’t try to sell anything, just looking to share and help. But I won’t ever be like Jake. I also enjoyed how he could casually explain complex things in a way we could all understand. I am interested in learning the science myself, and have started to purchase books. Many of the authors of those books are on this forum too.

I’ll definitely look into your channel, Matt. I’m always looking for down to earth content lol

 

[Dom]

Who is Jake Adams?

Quite a fellow. Thank you, Google.

May The Lord have mercy on his soul and may he rest in peace in the light of The Lord's face.

 

[austinsreef]

There is nobody currently even close to Jake Adams and the content he used to put out.
I never met him, but I definitely miss him and his unparalleled passion for the hobby.
Listening to his videos for so long was soothing and made you feel like you knew him.

I feel you, most content is trying to sell you something or over the top Instagramy. That said my favorite podcasts now are Reefbeef, Reefbum, and a newer one Frag Garage. Video wise Coral Euphoria, Some WWC, Parker’s Reef, Fragbox, Seafriendly Reef, Reef Aquaria Design, tidal Gardens.

Again, none of them compare to the glory days of the beloved Jake but they are my go to. Reef Beef is probably the most sciencey no BS, and Coral Euphoria puts out some very infrequent but very good videos.

Thank you for the recommendations. I haven't heard of most of those (other than ReefBum, WWC, and Tidal Gardens - love me some TG). I'll check them out!

 

[austinsreef]

I don’t try to sell anything, just looking to share and help. But I won’t ever be like Jake. I also enjoyed how he could casually explain complex things in a way we could all understand. I am interested in learning the science myself, and have started to purchase books. Many of the authors of those books are on this forum too.

That's awesome - I'll definitely check your videos out. Even you just saying "I'll never be like Jake, but I'm trying to learn the science and stuff myself" makes me really excited to check out your channel.

 

[austinsreef]

Quite a fellow. Thank you, Google.

May The Lord have mercy on his soul and may he rest in peace in the light of The Lord's face.

Absolutely. Jake was awesome. I'd absolutely recommend you check out some of the Reef Builders videos and Reef Therapy podcast episodes pre-October 2021. I still go back and listen to them - so much of the info is timeless.

 

[Spartan76]

I think Jake was cast in the mold of Julian Sprung. Julian is still active with his business and speaks at various events, but to my awareness doesn’t do his own podcast or YouTube except as a guest. I find a some of the larger followings on YouTube are people pushing sales with a only smattering of knowledge…

 

[DanyL]

Jake was one of a kind, I think many of us were driven by his motivation and dedication to the field, it was a casual thing for me to listen to his podcast, even if I sometimes disagreed with his methodologies.

There are a few other great channels like others mentioned here - some are more and some are less biased, but I haven’t found anyone with a regular YouTube/podcast appearance that can match Jake’s “thing”.

In addition to the other channels mentioned here I’d also like to recommend ReefDude - he did some great podcasts in the past that I enjoyed listening to.