Reefing around the world.

[Tony Thompson]

I am UK based and I love meeting fellow aquarists on my travels, so I thought I would start this thread to document my experiences of the reefing scene from around the world.

 

[Tony Thompson]

Had the great pleasure of attending Love2Reef show at the weekend in Harlow, set up by local reefer and hobbyist Paul Longhurst. Our shows tend to be a fraction of the size of the USA shows, however with that, I feel comes a form of intimacy and comradery. Getting to meet back up with some of the UK reefing hobby and trade members I have not seen since I retired. Viewing new products and chewing the fat about the hobby and trade was very enjoyable.

Much more enjoyable than the trade only shows I have visited in the past. Open to the public, with a limit on the number of tickets available the show was just the right size for me. None of the usual vying for trade, competition and sales pitches like the other shows I have attended. This was much more casual and informative.

Getting to sit down and have a coffee and chat with Jamie Craggs (Coral Spawning speaker)and David Saxby (D-D aquarium products), always inspirational and amazing knowledge to be gathered. I could have spent the whole day chatting to them two.

Nice to catch up with Jermey Gray (Reef Builders) since our chats in Manchester. Jeremy also was a guest speaker covering a wide range of topics.

An absolute pleasure to finally have a long chat with John Clipperton (Ultra Marine Magazine) Discussing Photography and everything aquarium hobby related. Catching up on old discussions and new topics.

Some new faces and some old, from the trade, great to speak with Craig Timms (Aquatic Now - Seneye ex TMC) whom I have had email and telephone conversations with for the last 8 years and finally got to meet face to face.

I planned on videoing the event and taking lots of photos, however I was so immersed in the event I only had time to take some shots with my compact camera and a yellow filter just before I purchased some new snails and left for the long drive back up to North Yorkshire. So here are some of the tank and coral shots I took whilst there at the, events hosts store, Paul Hughes, Essex Coral Farm. Advanced Aquarium Consultancy.

 

[Tony Thompson]

Sorry no fish shots as it is just to difficult without my DSLR, John Clipperton was doing the fish shots so should be some in Ultra Marine magazine next issue. There was an abhorrent tang, a hybrid captive bred Scopas x Purple Tang and a wrasse that he had a particular interest in.

So here are few more coral snapshots I took with my TG6 Compact..

 

[Doctorgori]

so I thought I would start this thread to document my experiences of the reefing scene from around the world.

Are You saying you are going travel outside the UK for tradeshows, swaps, et et? Like in going to Germany, France and the Netherlands? And documenting who you meet, what you saw, et….

You going to anywhere in Asia, the New world?
Is this thread going to be a documentary/blogish/ thing?
Pardon the interrogation LOL

 

[Tony Thompson]

Are You saying you are going travel outside the UK for tradeshows, swaps, et et? Like in going to Germany, France and the Netherlands? And documenting who you meet, what you saw, et….

You going to anywhere in Asia, the New world?
Is this thread going to be a documentary/blogish/ thing?
Pardon the interrogation LOL

I thought I would share my experience travelling and meeting fellow reefers and the reefing scene around the world. Thought it may be of interest to those especially outside of the USA.

You asked about Asia. I have just arrived back from Hong Kong and Macau.

My next post is a short video I made of my visit. I had a great time chatting to fellow aquarists and some of the store keepers. I don't video my personal chats but thought I would share some of the images.

A bit like a blog yes , instead of a tank build.

 

[Tony Thompson]

Just got back from Hong Kong and Macau, had a great time chatting to fellow aquarists and store keepers.

Here is a small video showcasing some of the LFS.

@Doctorgori as you asked, here it is.

Play with sound and HD.

 

[Tony Thompson]

Across the pond in Dubai.

A small video I made on my recent meeting with Coral Vita in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The farm in Dubai grow specimen corals which they put through a measured heat stress process to find genetics that may be less susceptible to global warming events. The corals are not the usual bright coulerful ones we see in our aquariums and LFS, but they are extremely resilient and grow very quickly.

Thanks to Amir for accepting my request and Achmed for spending time with me to chat about corals and reef aquariums in general. The audio is not great as I forgot my remote mic, but I hope the Ai generated subtitles help.

More info can be found here. Home

Play video with sound. Chose HD for best quality.

 

[Tony Thompson]

Thought I would do a short Update to the thread starting with something from my archives, a past visit to The Two Oceans Aquarium is located in Cape town, Victoria and Alfred Dock, South Africa. The largest of its aquariums has a volume of 1.6 Million Litres (530,00 US Gal).

I had the pleasure of having a meeting with the Aquarium Curator who gave me a guided tour of the aquarium and I also spent time above the main reef tank chatting with the staff about the reef aquarium hobby (sorry no video or phots). The aquarium also supports local education establishments by hosting classrooms at the aquarium, with access to the animals and expertise of the staff.

The Cape is where the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean meet and is home to a number of interesting species.


For more information on the aquarium follow the link. Aquarium map

Here are some of the pictures and video I took on my visit.

Best played back in HD.

Victoria and Alfred Dock Cape town

Cleidopus gloriamaris (Deep water Pineapple Fish )

The cape of good hope

Boulder Beach African penguin colony.

 

[Tony Thompson]

My second Home is France (my wife is half French) we have a house in the Dordogne just south of Bordeaux.

My other home in France was a small beach apartment near St Tropez on the Mediterranean coast, my local aquariums where Antibes, Lyon and Musee de Oceanographic in Monaco. I have included some photos and a short video I have taken from each.

I have also included some pics from the LFS in Lyon run by Guillaume pujol, I had some very enlightening conversations with Guillaume, a very passionate and knowledgable aquarist. If you are ever around Lyon please check out his shop here. VPC coraux, poissons, détritivores et aquariums récifal. - MarineHome

LFS in Lyon ,Marine Home. Since moved location to another part of Lyon.

 

[Tony Thompson]

Few more pics from the Antibe Aquarium