Meet the Reef Squad 2026!

[Gumbies R Us]

You are sooo beating me in badges now.

Now to try and have the most badges on the website

 

[Rocks reef]

Hello R2R!

My name is Keith…. And…. I will do a proper introduction in the morning.

Before I crash for the night, I want to say that the ReefSquad has some of the best reefers that I have had the privilege of getting to know. You are in good hands sending out the “bat signal” to call on the ReefSquad. We, as individuals, may not have the answer, but one of us in the group will!

 

[JumboShrimp]

REEF SQUAD 2026 -- the Pride & Joy of R2R️

 

[Red_Beard]

My name is Izaac (I also go by Zack or Ike, or whatever you decide to call me loud enough to get my attention)
I am somewhat of a jack of all trades (master of none), professionally, I've bounced around a bit. I did residential HVAC, commercial refrigeration, carwash automation/repair, telecommunications tower climber/erector, electrician welder, assembly line machinery builder, industrial automation tech, and now I work in wireless as a core network engineer. Before kids, i was an avid outdoorsman (still an outdoorsman, just less avid now), hunting, hiking, fishing etc. Other than that, I like designing things, building things, 3d printing things, and sometimes computer things.

I have been an aquarist of some sort for 20 years or so. I kept freshwater, planted tanks and grew out some discus prior to getting bit by the coral bug. Back in 2018, when my wife was pregnant with our first, I decided 'we' wanted to put a tank in the baby's room for something soothing to look at. She ended up loving it too. Anyhow, I was starting to get bored with all the freshwater options and was looking around for something fun and new, we almost went with a moon jelly tank, and settled on a salt water tank with the intentions of adding some easier corals. Here is the first iteration, a 30 gallon tank with a canister filter:

That tank ended up being too hard to coordinate maintenance with nap time (and also became an aiptasia wasteland) so it was torn down. I drilled and converted my discus tank (aqueon 75) and moved all the salty stuff into the living room in 2019, where it has been ever since. It has gone through some ups and downs, but I think it is looking somewhat decent these days:

I think I got addicted to sticks somewhere along the way...

 

[MasterClassReefs]

So you want us to do introductions???

Ok, here goes:

I'm Tim!

OUTSTANDING! It's like I've known you for years now......

 

[Gumbies R Us]

REEF SQUAD 2026 -- the Pride & Joy of R2R️

 

[Freenow54]

You may have seen a couple of people on Reef2Reef who have a badge called "Reef Squad". What does this badge mean? What exactly is "Reef Squad"? Well, let's talk about it!

The "Who" of the Reef Squad​

The Reef Squad is a dedicated team of some of the exceptional members of the R2R community! These members are tried and true, and they have committed to using their knowledge and experience to lend a helping hand to our community!

The "Why" of the Reef Squad​

It's no secret that Reef2Reef is full of incredible reefers ready to share. This team is not meant to silence or overpower those voices, but to add to them with intention, especially when a problem's solution isn't black and white. Got a problem that is a little more complex? The Reef Squad will do their best to help you work it out. Just use #reefsquad when you think you need some extra help!

This team was hand-picked by staff, not because they are "experts" at their craft (although we hold them in high esteem as the reefing proof is in their mysis shrimp pudding), but because they have consistently demonstrated experience, wisdom, and care for others in the community. They are a group of real reefers who care deeply about our community. We couldn't thank them enough for their dedication to our hobby and Reef2Reef.

Please welcome our Reef Squad!

#reefsquad #ReefSquash, please introduce yourself in the comments!

@4FordFamily @AcroNem @Bob2bob @cameronh @Crabs McJones @Fish Fan @i cant think @Idoc @jsker @Lasse @OrionN @P-Dub @Peace River @redfishbluefish @Red_Beard @Reefer Matt @Rocks reef @Ron Reefman @SPR1968 @tbrown @timmyrules @Troylee @TX_REEF @revhtree @Daniel@R2R @revhtree

Thank you All. I know some of you as you also post fairly Regular . I would however Like to know any Experience ie Trade , Schooling , you all may have , Example I was unaware that Lassie was in the Group . I already Know what his specialty is . So I would Like to know about you all . Not for frivolous questions but pressing Concerns . Regards

 

[Reefer Matt]

Thank you All. I know some of you as you also post fairly Regular . I would however Like to know any Experience ie Trade , Schooling , you all may have , Example I was unaware that Lassie was in the Group . I already Know what his specialty is . So I would Like to know about you all . Not for frivolous questions but pressing Concerns . Regards

I’m a nuclear mechanic by profession, but I also own a reefing side business in Michigan. SPS are my forte, but I have others as well. I like to aquaculture coral as a hobby and bring the extras to shows.

 

[tbrown]

I'm in municipal water. I have approximately 25 years in water distribution.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Thank you All. I know some of you as you also post fairly Regular . I would however Like to know any Experience ie Trade , Schooling , you all may have , Example I was unaware that Lassie was in the Group . I already Know what his specialty is . So I would Like to know about you all . Not for frivolous questions but pressing Concerns . Regards

Had an EMT license, 3 1/2 years of nursing school (dropped out), and 2+ years of PCT experience in the hospital. Now I get to work on a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff for R2R, wouldn't trade it for anything!

Also know some coding (not much, just some very basic stuff), know how to do photography and video editing.

 

[Freenow54]

I’m a nuclear mechanic by profession, but I also own a reefing side business in Michigan. SPS are my forte, but I have others as well. I like to aquaculture coral as a hobby and bring the extras to shows.

Nuclear Mechanic ? That's quite a statement . What exactly is that ?

 

[Reefer Matt]

Nuclear Mechanic ? That's quite a statement . What exactly is that ?

I work in a nuclear power plant. Basically any machinery that moves, I fix and maintain. But most of the time I work on unitized valve actuators for the main turbine. We are the only plant in the world with them (they’re obsolete), and it’s my job to keep them running.

 

[tbrown]

I work in a nuclear power plant. Basically any machinery that moves, I fix and maintain. But most of the time I work on unitized valve actuators for the main turbine. We are the only plant in the world with them (they’re obsolete), and it’s my job to keep them running.

Several of the water operators I trained at my previous municipality went to work for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generation Station.

 

[1ocean]

I'm in municipal water. I have approximately 25 years in water distribution.

and years and years of coffee drinking like me...buddy

 

[tbrown]

and years and years of coffee drinking like me...buddy

Yeah. I think I had my first cup back in 1993 or 1994 with my grandpa.

 

[Reefer Matt]

There are a lot more @ReefSquad members!

 

[1ocean]

There are a lot more @ReefSquad members!

there are ???

 

[Freenow54]

Apparently they are shy. Like I said I had a problem that needed an immediate answer. It was actually Matt that replied but I believe he told me that he could not answer the question , and that someone else with experience with the problem would answer. I have no idea but Matt you would know . If one of your group sees that you answered would they just assume its been dealt with? That is why I asked for the list , so I could selectively contact that appropriate person that has a degree or such to answer . Then if They cant at least I know to move on with my own research

 

[Reefer Matt]

Apparently they are shy. Like I said I had a problem that needed an immediate answer. It was actually Matt that replied but I believe he told me that he could not answer the question , and that someone else with experience with the problem would answer. I have no idea but Matt you would know . If one of your group sees that you answered would they just assume its been dealt with? That is why I asked for the list , so I could selectively contact that appropriate person that has a degree or such to answer . Then if They cant at least I know to move on with my own research

They are all tagged in post #1 at the bottom. Some may not be regular forum users though.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

They are all tagged in post #1 at the bottom. Some may not be regular forum users though.

Some have also been very busy with life stuff