Meet the R2R Reef Squad Team

Name: Dave
Age: 42
Year started reefing: 2016
Why you choose your user name:
Back when the internet was a wee little thing barely able to walk, I taught myself how to build websites. That went quickly from a hobby to a job, and once I needed to start billing clients, I thought it would be better to use something other than just my name. So I looked up what it took to start a business and discovered that if the business name included your name, things were a lot easier (which may or may not have been/be correct - I was 14 at the time and Google didn't exist yet...). So I went with my initials and "Design" (because I did both graphic and web design back then). The string is unique enough that it's never already taken, so it gives me a constant username everywhere I go.

Why you choose your avatar:
I'm a Cubs fan. Can't say I always have been, but I am now (and was before they started winning). When the wife and I took a trip to see some games at Wrigley (this was BK - before kids), we had flight troubles and ended up missing most of the first game we were scheduled to see. The next day, we (I) decided to get there right when the gates opened so that we could wander the ballpark. When the gates went up, I made a bee-line for the closest beer stand (it was hot that day) and ordered two Old Styles. When I got our beers and turned around, there was a lady standing there with a clipboard and an employee badge. She asked me if I would like to be the "Old Style Drinker of the Game" that day. I felt it would be impolite to refuse, so accepted. The job did not include free beer all game (nor even one free beer), so that was a bit of a misunderstanding. But I did get a cool jersey out of it (wearing it), got announced to the crowd with my "title", and got my name up on the scoreboard. This was before Wrigley got the modern digital wall installed, so it's actually rather hard to see my name - but it's there; trust me. But mostly; I got to stand within feet of home plate at Wrigley. That was awesome. I use this as my avatar picture anywhere that I want people to see me - which is rare, to be honest...

Favorite fish:
The ones that aren't dead, mostly. If it swims, I find beauty in it.

Favorite coral:
Again; the not-dead ones. I tend more towards softies than hard corals due to their hypnotic movement, but I appreciate any coral I can find.

And a little about yourself:
Married with two girls (currently 3 and 1), we also have 2 dogs (both female; a German Shepherd/Akita mix and Shiba Inu/cattle dog mix). I'm surrounded by women and wouldn't change a one of them. Luckily, we also have a turtle named Crush, so I get to talk "guy stuff" with him (he's a horrible conversationalist, but I take what I can get). My girls are my life and joy, basically.
Ever since high school, I've been a computer programmer. Websites back then; web applications now. It's been over 25 years now that I've been working on Internet software and I'm lucky now to be able to choose how, when, and where I work. Which is to say; I work from home as a contractor for various clients. It pays the bills and I don't hate what I do most days. I earn enough that my wife has the dubious ability to spend her days with the girls. Raising a toddler and an infant is harder than my work (and we plan on home schooling), so I'm not really sure I'd trade positions with her. :-|
I've not always enjoyed my job, however. At several points in my life, I've walked away from my career and tried something else (or sometimes worked multiple jobs at the same time). I've spent 10 years as a snowboard instructor - getting certified in the first year and working weekends the other nine. I attended culinary school at night (CCA in San Francisco) and got my degree, after which I moved to the Chicago area (became a Cubs fan) and worked at a sushi restaurant. I was the 6'2" white guy from California working behind the bar at a Korean-owned sushi restaurant in the outskirts of Chicago. We advertised that we had the only real California Rolls in town. :-| I had another option when I finished school, however - I could have moved to Maui (where I had a place to stay practically rent-free) and work on the line at Roy's on the Beach. I sometimes wonder what my life would look like had I gone that route instead of moving to Chicago in the start of Winter, but I have zero regrets (I'd never have met my wife, for one). These days, I mostly use my degree for cooking dinner and the occasional dinner party or catering event (I've done 4 or 5 weddings for friends - one was because the hired caterer got sick the day of; I ended up cooking for 150 people while in my suit).
As far as hobbies outside of reefing, the most prevalent would likely be SCUBA diving. I started when I was 14 and never stopped. For a while, it was just something fun to do on holidays (eventually my entire family would end up certified and we took family trips for the diving). Over the past few years, I've been upping my certification levels and am now a Dive Master - which is technically a "professional" level of certification. So I guess that falls into "career" as much as hobby now?
And - clearly - writing is something I do, I guess. Except it's not really; I just sort of ramble on. And on. And. ON...

Build Thread Link:
Check the sig, though my current tank (525XL) is in the process of being mostly ignored (except when I use it to test out hardware or setups that I need for the new tank) while the new tank ("Water Lily") is little more than a plan and some equipment while the new house gets built...

 

Name:
Milan pronounced Mill-Anne, not like that fancy Italian city lol.

Age:
30

Year started reefing:
hmmm 2008 or 2009ish

Why you choose your user name and avatar:
Idk my username has been my username since I started, and in 2008 or 2009ish it sounded good. Now everyone knows me as reefqueen so it's too late to change it. My avatar is just me, no story there lol.

Favorite fish:
Clownfish have always been my favorite although lionfish are a close second.

Favorite coral:
That's tough, I don't think I could narrow it down to one, so I'll just say LPS in general is my favorite.

And a little about yourself:

Up until about 6 months ago I worked in the pet industry most of my teen/adult life. I started as a dog groomer and ended it as a store manager AND dog groomer at a local pet store chain. I am now a stay at home mom as I am 6 months pregnant with our second child, a little girl, and we have a little boy who will be 4 next month. I don't really have any other hobbies, any others that I pick up never stick around like this one

 

Name:
Jason Mack



Age:
47 and 3/4s

Year started reefing:
2016 ...I’ve always wanted a reef tank after diving in Egypt .. now I can look everyday at my own little reef ... I can sit for hours watching in wonder !!!

Why you choose your user name and avatar:
Unfortunately I didn’t choose my name my parents did !! But my friends call me “Mack “ or “Macky” so feel free too call me one of the above !

Favorite fish:
Clownfish have always been my favorite although.. I also love my Cbb !!

Favorite coral:
That's a tough one ... my rainbow acan ... my chalice ... my torches ... I’m just glad that I can keep them alive ...

And a little about yourself:
Hmmmmm ... I’m a Brit , Irish mother , Scottish father ... born in England .. so I’m just confused !! I moved too Holland 21 years ago , I’ve had several careers changes over the years ,when I left school I learnt my trade as a plasterer , went into structural fireproofing did that for 11 years or so then when I moved too Holland I was in demolition, then worked for a company installing light masts for football and hockey ,my last job I was foreman for a welding company doing construction and later thermal warming projects ( pipe line) for the large greenhouses over here , 6 months ago I had two heart attacks, now fully recovered ! So changed jobs for a more relaxed stress free job as house boss(security) in a coffeeshop , which I’m really enjoying !
Hobby’s include
Cars
Martial arts .. jeet kune do .. Aikido (black belt)

Link to build thread

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-little-reef-aquarium.292277/

 

Name:
Jason Mack

Age:
47 and 3/4s

Year started reefing:
2016

Why you choose your user name and avatar:
Unfortunately I didn’t choose my name my parents did !! But my friends call me “Mack “ or “Macky” so feel free too call me one of the above !

Favorite fish:
Clownfish have always been my favorite although.. I also love my Cbb !!

Favorite coral:
That's a tough one ... my rainbow acan ... my chalice ... my torches ... I’m just glad that I can keep them alive ...

And a little about yourself:
Hmmmmm ... I’m a Brit , Irish mother , Scottish father ... born in England .. so I’m just confused !! I moved too Holland 21 years ago , I’ve had several careers changes over the years ,when I left school I learnt my trade as a plasterer , went into structural fireproofing did that for 11 years or so then when I moved too Holland I was in demolition, then worked for a company installing light masts for football and hockey ,my last job I was foreman for a welding company doing construction and later thermal warming projects ( pipe line) for the large greenhouses over here , 6 months ago I had two heart attacks, now fully recovered ! So changed jobs for a more relaxed stress free job as house boss(security) in a coffeeshop , which I’m really enjoying !
Hobby’s include
Cars ( the lambo in my photo is not mine , I borrowed it for a couple of hrs)
Martial arts .. jeet kune do .. Aikido (black belt)

Link to build thread



https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-little-reef-aquarium.292277/

 

Name: Zack K
Age: 18
Year started Reefing: 2006
Why you chose your username: Just my name, and a very cool picture showing the craziest of relationships Shrimp and Toadstool
Favorite Fish: Butterfly Fish , sunburst Anthias if we are picking just one.
Favorite coral: Too many to choose

My name is Zack and I’m 18. I’ve been reefing for as long as I can remember. I have done a lot of work with Butterflies in the past and hope to continue. I am a maintenance Tech by trade and work long days. Hobbies outside of Reefing is classic cars. Never can satisfy my needs.

 

Name:
Jon

Age:
31

Year started reefing:
2012

Why you choose your user name and avatar:
I had an emerald crab and a coral banded shrimp in my first aquarium and wanted a catchy and edgy handle... Did I achieve it? Lol

Favorite fish:
Blue Star Leopard Wrasse or a Midas Blenny

Favorite coral:
Zoas for their colors and ease of care
Acros for their different growth patterns, colors, and the challenge.

And a little about yourself:
Originally from England, transplant in Chicago for the last 20 or so years.

Spending a lot of time these days on home projects included my basement bar tank build among others. This summer is refacing the fireplace with stone veneer, replacing a deck, and replacement floor in the basement.

Link to build thread:

https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?posts/3979368

 

Name: Freddie

Wife is Angelia (Been together since we were 14 and 15 years old, in 1982)
Two daughters (Heather and Holy-Marie) Grand Child at bottom left is Addie / Son in law on right is Josh

Username: Tennesse Volunteers "Football"

Been going to "Neyland" stadium since 1983


Age: 52

Favorite Fish: Achilles Tang

Favorite Coral: Space Invader / Pectinia

Strength: Asking for input from other reefer's that I fully trust.

Started my first freshwater tank in 1976 with the help and support of my father.

Got hands wet in saltwater (for the first time) in 1986, just after Angelia and I were married.

Current Reef: 2013 / Red Sea S-400 / Bare Bottom / Mixed Reef


Lost just about the entire reef in early 2015 / do to dino's

Build link is below:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/govols-red-sea-s-400.308824/

Have been in adverting my entire career and an research-holic ...
Including being an absolute "Other's" build thread, thief ... ... ...

All three granddaughters together

Oldest to youngest: Addie / Liesel and Heidi

Still have a long ways to go (in the hobby) and learning each and every day.

An true honor to be one part of the Reef 2 Reef, "family" and never take that for granted.

Can be outspoken, like to be playful and have fun.
Truly a humble person deep down, and try to keep God, close to the heart, at all times.

Regards, GoVols

 

Hey my name is Cameron
I'm 28 years old and I started this hobby 3 years ago.
I started out with a 26 gallon AIO and I didnt start the normal way, my dad did this when he was younger......so we got some sand and went down to the dock and got water and filled the tank up and let it clear up, then the next night we went and got fish from the side of the dock where all the stuff was grown into it. We got a couple gobys, baby puffers, a bat fish and no lie, two pistol shrimp lol. We ended up with alot of familiar fish you see in reef tanks today just not the colorful ones at all. Oh and pipe fish!
We got back home around ten that night and let them into the tank.......I didnt take my eyes off of it until about 4 that morning.
So we had that setup for a good little while until coral caught my eye.
I then purchased a 3 gallon for starters which is the very first post in "I'm bored lets see your reefs" and it took off from there.

My favorite corals are zoanthids and euphyllia.
Favorite fish would have to be the coral beauty angel being it was my first colorful fish.
I chose my avatar because Yoda is awesome and his name auto corrects to a capital Y when I type his name in.
Have been in the hobby ever since and love every minute of it. Just bought a clam today! For obivious reasons my user name is what it is because it's my name lol.
Happy Reefing!
https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/260811/

 

Fist name :Michael

Age:45


Why did you choose your screen name:

I have a 120 gallon Reef and believe that it has great dimensions for a Marine Aquarium.

Your avatar??

The Eagle, Globe, and Anchor is the official emblem and insignia of the United States Marine Corps.





Build thread:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-120-is-on-fire-emoji91-emoji91.233775/


Build thread #2:


https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aquaforest-and-waterbox-oh-my.343418/page-34

How long have you been Reef keeping:


I began keeping tanks as a kid and started with fresh water. Back in the early 1990's I tried my hand at saltwater for the first time with limited success and used a lot of sub par equipment. My real saltwater experience came about in 1999 when I converted a 72 gallon bowfront fresh water tank over to saltwater. It was tough and had many ups and down but I kept meticulous notes and learned. I've read tons of books as I'm sure many of you have.

Area of strength in the Hobby:

. My strengths are plumbing, welding and fabrication , tank builds, dosing , automation.

A Little about me:

I’ve been married to my beautiful bride for 23 years. We have been blessed with 4 children and soon to be 5 grand children. God is good!





I got my start in the mechanical field very young, I believe I was about 6 when I started helping my father working on cars. This passion continued in the US Marine Corps as a Fuel and Electronics mechanic , a Nuclear biological chemical Marine and as a 0317 military MOS specialist .During my years of service I was deployed to 15 countries for multiple different types of missions.





After my military years I went to work for the worlds largest Steel Producer as a Union Millwright and still do this today where I now hold the title Master Craftsmen .












My favorite fish:

The Achilles Tang, it’s a shame I have never had a tank large enough to have one. Lol upgrade right!


Favorite hobby outside of reef keeping:

Your kidding right?? There are other hobbies??

I love to Scuba dive , fish , hunt, work on cars and Read Books about the Marine hobby.

Closing statements??

Don't let that distract you from the fact that In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them ... maybe you can hire The A-Team.

 

Name: Dave Morris
Age: 52 years
Year started reefing: 1998 or so
Why you choose your user name and avatar: My user name on any forum I belong to has always been my full name. I have no desire to hide behind a screen name.
Favorite fish: Naso Tang
Favorite coral: Rainbow Monti
And a little about yourself: I get to travel a lot for work all over the world and because of that I have seen many other cultures. I also work as the union steward in the Sports Arena here in San Diego which allows me to work with a lot of big entertainers.

Build Thread Link:

My 130g as a reef tank
My 130g as a dart frog tank

My strong points in the hobby are controllers and automation and plumbing. I have had to always keep my tanks automated as much as possible due to my travel schedule.

 

My name is Adrian, aka lion king; I chose the name lion king because of my fascination with lionfish. I've been fishing and reefing for 30 years now, I've had many tanks, then several years ago I started a dwarf lion rescue. Through the years now I've rescued dozens of lionfish; some I kept in one of my 7 tanks, some I rehomed; my 90g lion reef being the main home and favorite tank of all time.

Although i do keep a reef and have had several through the years, fish are more my priority. My favorite corals are euphylias and I do enjoy lps corals above all others. My strengths would be the care of ambush predators, triggers, aggressive tanks and the care of some difficult to feed species. I like diy projects and am a big fan of algae reactors, so you'll see me post in the diy and equipment forums as well.

I'm going through sort of a moral dilemma at the moment; so I'm not as involved as I use to be; I try to keep my negativity to this forum and not spread it to rest of the forums. I had 2 tanks wiped out by velvet and have closed down tanks since the beginning of the year, I now have 3 tanks. I enjoy the tanks I have and still feel I have positive info I can share, but I am limiting my involvement until I can figure out how to proceed. The industry has changed since I started and we really do have to do something. The mortality rate and disease is unsustainable, as well as immoral(for me at least).

My favorite room of the house:

 

My name is Jeff Bowlin.

I am fifty-one, I think.

I started reefing in 2014, after many years of reading, wanting, and wishing. My first book reefing book was Albert Thiel’s The Marine Fish and Invert Reef Aquarium, circa 1988. Suffice to say, that’s over 25 years of dreaming and waiting. I find it very interesting, changing methods over time, around unchanging chemistry and biology. It’s truly amazing to me how far the hobby has come. RIP Mr. Thiel.

I chose my user name and avatar quickly I think. While I like the idea of being stranded on a tropical island, I’m sure the reality of it would be different. I use the name on Insta as well - @CastAway2018.




I suppose my favorite fish would be the Orange Spotted Harlequin File Fish. I don’t have one, but maybe one day. My favorite fish in my system today is probably my female Leopard Wrasse, followed closely by my Scopas Tang. I think that the closer one looks at almost anything, the more beautiful it becomes, and the Scopas is a testament of that, drab as some may find it.

My favorite coral is probably my pink and green stylophora pistillata. It the highest piece in my tank and has a unique tabling structure I have not seen before. I’ve recently lost most of my SPS, but the stylo is holding on.

I’m from the Kansas City area, but have lived in Colorado, Iowa and now Knoxville TN. I married and have three kids, two in college and one out on their own. I work in the engineering business as kind of a software specialist. While between jobs recently, I did have the pleasure of working with Dennis Tagrin, of DT's Phytoplankton - me starting cultures above. I learned a lot, about algae, reefing and people.

My build thread is not really a “build” thread anymore. It’s more of a tank thread I guess. I do have more building to do, stuff I’ve never finished, so it may evolve back to its namesake one day.

R2R is a pretty unique place if you haven’t noticed; if you’re not here reading this because of it. There’s more than meets the eye that lie behind the success of the site and the people who manage it. I’m thankful for R2R, for that uniqueness, and the social aspects of reefing that I never expected. I’ll confess, I’m really in no way qualified to be deemed Reef Squad. It’s the cumulative knowledge, experience, zeal and engagement over time that bring value to the group and to the site.

Happy Reefing, and stick to the fundamentals,


Jeff

 

First Name:
Billy

Why you chose your screen name:
I love transformers and gears of war, I put my two favorite characters together and got my name

Current tank specs:
60G Cube

Area of strength in the hobby:
My time is dedicated to my clownfish and Anemones.

Favorite hobby outside reefing:
I fish regularly and hike with my family looking for herps. I also fron a Scott Weiland Tribute band www.seecontrabandlive.com

How long have you been reef keeping:
Since 1996... does that show my age?

Been married for 12 years, We have two daughters, and have a son on the way in Sept.

I have been away from R2R since December when my father was diagnosed with stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer on Christmas Eve, life is slowly getting back to normal and I will try my best to be here regularly

Happy Reefing!

 

First name: Ranjib
Age: 35
Strengths: Nano and pico reef tanks. DIY Electronics, software & computer stuff
Started Reef Keeping: 2015
Why you choose your username & avatar: My username is my first name. My avatar is Jimi Hendrix's "Axis bold as love" album cover, he is my favorite musician
Favorite fish: orange spotted filefish & blue stripe pipefish (its a tie )
Favorite coral: Rainbow montipora
About Me: I had freshwater tank back as a kid, for almost a decade. Then I got very busy with all things software and internet but always wanted to keep a reef tank, and kept on reading about it for 4 years. I took the plunge to keep a nano tank in 2016 when my son was born, to spend more time at home and also to learn electronics.

Outside reefing, I am an avid opensource software & hardware person, also very much involved in model railroad & robotics

 

Hello all,just like to formally introduce myself. My name is Ben aka Ndrwater. I live in Southern California and am deeply involved with our local club SCMAS or Southern California Marine Aquarium Society. As some of you may know, SCMAS is where Reefapalooza all started. All of us on the board put in long unpaid hours to make these shows what they are today. We do it not for anything else than for the love of the hobby.
As for my background, I have been keeping aquariums in one way or another since I was 8 years old. When in college, I worked at a LFS that at the time was known for keeping reef tanks when there was very little if any info out there. All pre internet, so books, articles and good ole trial and error was the way to try and figure things out.
I was the buyer and the Saltwater and reef "go to guy" back in those days. I left the retail side if the business to move to the South Pacific in Tonga to run a collection station focusing on Live Rock and LPS and softie corals.. in those days, SPS was just something that was beyond the average reefer and not something as a supplier I focused on..
After spending a couple of years in Tonga, I moved on to Fiji. This unfortunately didn't end up exactly how I planned, so I ended up coming back to the States. With the bad tast in my mouth that was left by my experience in Fiji, I left the hobby to persue my other passion Scuba diving. I taught diving professionally for 6 years before that too became a job and no longer fun..
All of this leads to today.
With my wife's support, I decided to get back into the hobby that had directed my path through life for so many years with a 240 gallon SPS tank. I had done everything else to that point,so it seemed like a logical idea...
Fast forward 5 years, and here we are today.. I would consider myself pretty successful in my SPS endeavors.. there is always something else to learn, but the basics never change...
There have been lots of stories over the years, and I always enjoy a trip down memory lane over an adult beverage at shows like RAP or MACNA with other members of this fishy fraternity. Look me up, as I am at all of the RAP's and MACNA..

 

Hi everybody,
My name is Minh. I am 57 as of 8/2018. I came from Vietnam to the US in 1975.
My Avatar is the picture of my three boys. Orion is the name of my middle son. It is a fairly unique name so that was the reason why I choose it for my online name.

I keep fish and breed them as long as I can remember. In 1980, my freshman year at UT-Austin, I saw a anemone and clown fish at a LFS and was hooked forever. I have keep marine aquarium, and rarely without a marine aquarium since then. At one time I have 15 aquariums of various size in my apartment.
I keep a variety of animals, but my favorites have always been host Anemones & Clownfish, Tridacna clams, and Fairy/Flasher wrasses.
My biggest contribution to our great hobby were two treatment protocols: Fresh water dip for Pinched Mantel Disease in clams and antibiotic protocol for treatment of infected host anemones.

I am very blessed to be married to my beautiful wife for 26 years as of this months. We have three perfect boys. Two in college and my baby still in 7th grade. At this time, I keep 4 systems. 65 gal Anemone reef in my office. 40 gal reef as QT system, and a 30 gal sump less cube as another QT system. and my main DT which is a 320 gal DT system. I finished with fish acquisition mode so I will take down the 30 gal, and convert the 40 gal QT to the same sump as my DT over the next few months.

This is a picture of my family. We were having a lot of fun this last summer.

 

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/in-memory-of-philip-rodriguez-phillrodrigo.191647/#post-2197603

 

My name is Mike and i am a doctor by education. never practiced, (parents wanted that degree). I became a computer programmer (degree i wanted). I am 39, live in Tulsa Oklahoma and married.
Been in hobby for about 25+ yrs.
Its me with green wrist band

 

Name: Dennis and Stacy

Why you choose your screen names: DSC stands for Dennis, Stacy, Cali. It was created before our daughter Esme and son Dennis were born or it would have been longer lol. Lovemyreef2015: well, I love my reef lol and 2015 was the year our daughter was born.

In the process of upgrading to a Redsea Reefer750 XXL!


Favorite fish: Purple Tang, regal angel and Achilles Tang

Favorite coral: LPS and of course tridacna clams

How long have you been in the reefing hobby: I started (Dennis) about 10 years ago or so. I started (Stacy) about 8 years ago.

A little bit about us:
We have been married for 5 years and have two beautiful children that we hope to teach about this wonderful hobby. Outside of being in love with reefing, we also have a soft spot for reptiles! We are a team in life and on this wonderful forum and hope to help everyone we can enjoy this hobby. You guys are our second family.