SECRET SANTA 2022 is LIVE!!! Register HERE!!

r20crazy · Nov 24, 2022

What country are you located in? USA
What is one thing you always need more of? SLEEP
What do you like to do on the weekends? Smoke meats/Cheese
What are your other hobbies/interests? Vintage VW's/ Graffiti art
How do you relax after a long day at work? not reef safe topic
Do you collect anything? Hotwheels, car parts, neon signs, useless junk
What is your favorite color? dark blue
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? Dr. Pol
What type of music do you listen to? ALL
Do you follow any sports teams? LA Dodgers
What's your favorite fish? N/A
Favorite coral? N/A
Favorite invert? N/A
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? N/A
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? N/A
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? Reflection of my tv as tank empty
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? N/A
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) elfster
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock*NO TanK.
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.) I CAN NOT do International or US Terriorites shipping or recieving.. Santa Knows why

Santa Claus · Nov 24, 2022

Hey everyone, I'm working on checking everything and getting our first match completed. If you haven't yet PMd me to get the Elfster link, you'll need to do that right away or wait until next week's matchup.

Santa Claus · Nov 24, 2022

If you have PMd me, I will respond before doing the name draw. In fact, I hope to have all PMs responded to in the next few minutes.

Reefer_kano · Nov 24, 2022

Santa Claus said:
If you have PMd me, I will respond before doing the name draw. In fact, I hope to have all PMs responded to in the next few minutes.

Hope I got matched lol

Santa Claus · Nov 24, 2022

Ok! I've reached out to those who signed up in the thread but who haven't registered yet on Elfster (or vice versa). Our first name draw will happen shortly!

Santa Claus · Nov 24, 2022

Our first draw is DONE!! You should have an email with the information about your match (or you can also find it in Elfster). Now...time to get those gifts together!

Santa Claus · Nov 24, 2022

Btw, if you weren't included in the first draw and you thought you would be, just reach out to me and we'll get it figured out.

Kristopher Conlin · Nov 24, 2022

1-What country are you located in?

United States

2-What is one thing you always need more of?

Superglue gel

3-What do you like to do on the weekends?

Sleep in, drink coffee, have a tank day

4-What are your other hobbies/interests?

Snowboarding, Going to the gun range, Harry Potter, cooking, coral photography

5-How do you relax after a long day at work?

Watch reefing videos and cook fun meals with my wife

6-Do you collect anything?

Zoanthids, ricordeas, blown glass

7-What is your favorite color?

Orange and purple

8-What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again?

I don't have cable or streaming, so I don't watch much TV. But my wife and I always try to watch Avatar the Last Airbender once a year

9-What type of music do you listen to?

Electronic, EDM drum and bass

10-Do you follow any sports teams?

No I don't care about sports

11-What's your favorite fish?

I love powder blue tangs but desjardini sailfin is a close contender

12-Favorite coral?

All euphyllia

13-Favorite invert?

Harlequin shrimp

14-Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread?

I have a 45 gallon, and two 20 gallons and a 10 gallon fry tank with my first clutch of baby clowns that I am raising. I have a 120 gallon being set up. My 45 and one of my 20's has an assortment of fish, and predominately euphyllia and zoanthids and nems with some sps in both tanks. One of the 20s is a frag tank. No build thread, need to make one.

15- Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)?

Finish the 120! I also just purchased a recirculating co2 scrubber and plan to get that running.

16-What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank?

I love watching the clowns dive in and out of their anemones, my flame angel swim, or the movement of the euphyllia! I can't decide what I like best.

17-Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over?

Meeting and nerding out with local hobbiests

18-What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.)

Practical and useful reefing items such as super glue and frag plugs. Outside of reefing I enjoy medium roast coffee (and by enjoy I mean I have a problem) I love chocolate, and I'm a big Harry Potter fan

19-Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock*

No thank you. It's very cold in Michigan now

20-Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.)

No these questions were thorough

somekindabonita · Nov 24, 2022

What country are you located in?
USA - PA

What is one thing you always need more of?
Hermit crab shells, I've weirdly struggled to find smaller assorted sizes

What do you like to do on the weekends? What are your other hobbies/interests?
I spend time with my horse, or out hiking, kayaking or skiing. On rainy days I'm usually inside knitting.

How do you relax after a long day at work?
Spending time with my pets, reading, knitting or painting

Do you collect anything?
Hobbies! I enjoy trying new things all the time.

What is your favorite color?
Blues

What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again?
Friends, Arrested Development, and Cougartown are my go-to background noise shows.

What type of music do you listen to?
Mainly 90s - 00s country

Do you follow any sports teams?
Not a huge sports family

What's your favorite fish?
My dream fish is a green mandarin. I'm actually worried that when I upgrade my tank, I will get this fish and never be able to find him!

Favorite coral?
I love any with a lot of movement. Pulsing xenia are one I'm looking forward to adding to my office tank. I have GSP in my home tank that I love, so hoping it grows more that I can frag some for the office.

Favorite invert?
This is the hardest question for me! They're by far my favorite part of the tank. I actually cried on my way home from the aquarium (we had driven 4 hours to get there) because the peacock mantis shrimp I so badly wanted to see wasn't on display that day. I upgraded my ticket to a membership so I can go back later this year to see him.
The favorite on my wish list is a fighting conch, but tuxedo urchin is a close second. I have a few nassarius snails in the tank that I adore. My shrimp addiction is so bad that I had to expand to freshwater as well. I currently have cleaner shrimp, peppermint, a pistol shrimp, and added blue cherry shrimp to my planted tank. I could watch my hermits and brittle starfish all day long. I even was a little excited to see bristle worms in my tank one night...

Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread?
My tanks are a hot mess at the moment. I have a 40 gallon that's been rather successful for me for ~3 years now. I had a heater failure that wiped out the tank before that and it took me a while to come back around on the hobby.
I have a 10 gallon AIO that I'm taking to my new office soon - changing jobs and I'll get to operate a wastewater treatment plant, so it felt right to have an office tank!
But my future pride and joy is a 180 gallon that I've been slowly collecting equipment for over the last year or so. We bought our first house and I'm remodeling the basement to have this tank as the centerpiece of the living room. It's been so hard struggling with some things on the 40 that I know the new equipment will help with! I have a rollermat and algae scrubber but can't work it into the plumbing on the smaller tank.
On the freshwater side, I have a small AIO 5 gallon planted tank in my kitchen. We added blue cherry shrimp to it a few months ago and they are some of the funniest creatures to watch!

Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)?
I'm running a new electrical circuit that will be dedicated to the new tank. We live in the boondocks and regularly lose power. Have a generator, but it's manual and running extension cords through the house gets old quickly. I have a small UPS to run a powerhead & apex so I get an alert (if my internet was working) while I'm away. Not the most ideal setup, so we're going to be buying a generac with auto transfer switch someday. I wanted the tank on a different circuit so we can get away with a much smaller unit vs trying to run the whole house.

On the office tank, it's still in the baby phases so plenty of room for growth. I just ordered the IM aluminum stand for it during the BRS sales, so need to start planning out the equipment layout. Currently it's quite the mess of tangled wires on a desk at home, with the lovely salt bucket RO reservoir. I also ordered the prime mounting kit so I can finally set up the light I've had in my closet for a year...

What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank?
The inverts by far. I love how much comes out of the sand & rockwork at feeding time.

Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over?
The technology. I went to school for biological engineering, and I'm so excited to go work at a smelly wastewater treatment facility. Being able to set up control systems and play with new technology is just the best thing. Coding is not one of my skills but I want to learn to build my own controller.

What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.)
Please no salt! I am so sorry to anyone who couldn't buy it during the peak of COVID because I swear my husband bought it all. I was stressing about not being able to find the one I wanted in the quantity I needed when setting up the new tank, that he told everyone - and I mean everyone - that I wanted salt for birthday/christmas presents.
On that note, anyone in PA want to trade frags for a bucket of TMP? LOL!
One part of the hobby that I never seem to buy for myself are tools. I'm always in need of more testing supplies, syringes, tongs, new pads for my mag-float and things like that. The max flipper is on my wish list for the new tank because I don't think my mag-float is going to handle the larger tank well.

Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock*
No, only because shipping in the boondocks - especially in December - is extremely unpredictable. Our delivery drivers are great, but our township is terrible about managing our road in the winters. I do order from That Fish Place and try to make a trip there once a year for my livestock.

Additional suggested questions - What's been one of your biggest struggles in the hobby?
Getting ahead of myself! Great example is the 180 upgrade. I knew we were going to need to replace the paneling with drywall in the basement before the tank could go in. We also needed to install a chimney and add another wood stove in our house so I wasn't relying on the electric heat in our basement. One would logically tackle that before buying the big tank... Couldn't pass up the great deal from another R2R member though! I honestly expect it'll be another year until there's water in the tank.

What's your least favorite part of the hobby?
Water changes and emptying the skimmer. Anything repetitive is difficult for me (darn ADHD). Thankfully my husband is the caring person he is and is willing to nudge me and jump in on tasks when I'm really struggling. I am concerned a bit with my office tank, but I really think I'll be more motivated to tackle these things when it's my mental break from working. Plus I had gotten my boss into the hobby & I know he'll give me crap for letting things slide on the tank! I think that's why I enjoy the automation side of things so much, there's a never ending list of things you can add to your tank to make it easier (or way more complicated) to care for.

Auquanut · Nov 24, 2022

What country are you located in? USA
What is one thing you always need more of? Socks and underwear.
What do you like to do on the weekends? Read, bar-B Que, go camping.
What are your other hobbies/interests? Camping, reading, fishing, diving.
How do you relax after a long day at work? Fiddling with the tanks, R2R, EATING.
Do you collect anything? My wife collects pewter figurines.
What is your favorite color? Green.
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? Lord of the Rings.
What type of music do you listen to? Classic rock mostly.
Do you follow any sports teams? Missouri Tigers football. (Glutton for punishment)
What's your favorite fish? No comment. (This question is too hard)
Favorite coral? See above.
Favorite invert? Urchins.
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? 125 mixed reef, 55 planted FW. I have a build thread that is WAY out of date.
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? Currently building a 130 gallon FOWLRish tank. Taking too long. It WILL be wet this year!
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? Dinner time.
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? Basically everything, but I guess the evolution of my reef over time is the most fascinating.
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) I'm an old landlocked Sailor, so anything related to the sea.
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* Probably not.
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.) Do you have enough towels?

brownjoshua475 · Nov 24, 2022

What country are you located in?
USA
What is one thing you always need more of? Salt or filter floss
What do you like to do on the weekends? Go to local lfs
What are your other hobbies/interests? NA
How do you relax after a long day at work? Watch YouTube and fish tank
Do you collect anything?
What is your favorite color? blue
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? Yellowstone
What type of music do you listen to? Country
Do you follow any sports teams? Colts and pacers
What's your favorite fish? Tangs and wrasse
Favorite coral? Acropora
Favorite invert? Fighting conch
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? I have a 90 gal aquarium and 30 gal sump
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? Always bigger
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? Coral and fish
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? New equipment
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) always need salt been using neomarine great stuff
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? Yes coral

Wayne P. · Nov 25, 2022

Secret Santa Questionnaire:

What country are you located in? USA
What is one thing you always need more of? Sunshine
What do you like to do on the weekends? Camp, Fish, Bicycle, Motorcycle
What are your other hobbies/interests? Video Games
How do you relax after a long day at work? Sit on the couch and play with the dog.
Do you collect anything? Cubs memorabilia,
What is your favorite color? Blue
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? Grand Tour/Top Gear
What type of music do you listen to? Classic Rock, Country, Classic Country, Rock
Do you follow any sports teams? Chicago Teams
What's your favorite fish? That I have - Sailfin Tang. Want a yellow tang
Favorite coral? Blastomusa
Favorite invert? Cleaner Shrimp
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? I have a Cade 1800 that I bought about 2 years ago. I have 3 tangs, a pair of nearly white clowns, a school of chromis, pair of fire fish, coral beauty, rabbit fish.
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? I have a couple of DOS pumps and a Trident I need to get in my system.
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? Watching the sailfin extend the fins.
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? Getting some good colorful corals to grow, to not kill LPS.
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) Reef roids, Chemipure Blue, some sort of fish art for the wall.
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* Sure, pretty much anything but SPS, I'll kill those in a minute.
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.)

bmkid1997 · Nov 25, 2022

What country are you located in? - USA Wisconsin
What is one thing you always need more of? Test reagents, Hanna ALK/Phosphate (not ULR)
What do you like to do on the weekends? Keep busy, take care of my tank and go to the gym. Spend time With S/O
What are your other hobbies/interests? Working out, Playing Games, Watching Movies
How do you relax after a long day at work? Go to the gym
Do you collect anything? Snow globes
What is your favorite color? Orange
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? Any horror movies typically
What type of music do you listen to? Rap $ RnB
Do you follow any sports teams? Any chicago team
What's your favorite fish? My yellow tang
Favorite coral? I love some sticks
Favorite invert? Not many, not my favorite
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? I have a 50g waterbox AIO, working towards drilling my 75g to get bigger space for my fish!
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? Working on getting my 75g set up, currently just have the tank and working to get it drilled and ready
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? Love to look at my coral, watching them grow over time
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? Finishing up any work I have to do then seeing the finished product
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) things to help me keep organized, wires, boxes, try to work on keeping somewhat sane!
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* Depending, only coral as it can get very cold in wisconsin
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.) Nothing I can think of!

Snoop_90 · Nov 25, 2022

What country are you located in? USA
What is one thing you always need more of? Sleep! Coral glue, and some reef safe magnets
What do you like to do on the weekends? BBQ, sports, spend time with family, make snow globes
What are your other hobbies/interests? Sports, gym, reefing? lol
How do you relax after a long day at work? Go to the gym
Do you collect anything? Funko pops
What is your favorite color? Red and black
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? Dragon Ball z, Lord of the rings, Marvel
What type of music do you listen to? Rap, hip hop, mostly 90s, and 2000s
Do you follow any sports teams? Eagles
What's your favorite fish? Powder Blue Tang
Favorite coral? Disney or any Acros
Favorite invert? Sexy Shrimp! But they're so dang small, next would be fire shrimp
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? 250 Gallon mixed reef tank
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? Adding new lights, and hoping to add more inverts (clams, shrimps)
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? When the Foxfaces swim up and down blowing bubbles
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? New additions
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) Anything affordable reefing related, or something from a local business that is special to you. It's the thought that counts
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* Yes
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.) Nope! Although, shirt size is a large

jlbrew3 · Nov 25, 2022

What country are you located in? US - Illinois
What is one thing you always need more of? In the words of my wife, “trashy candy” (think Jujubees, Laffy Taffy, Nerds, etc)
What do you like to do on the weekends? Spending time with my 2 young daughters, wife, and 100lb dog. We spend a lot of time at the playground, cooking, doing Legos, coloring, etc. also lots of house projects.
What are your other hobbies/interests? Photography (film especially), reading, wooden jigsaw puzzles, cooking, drinking bourbon, the occasional game (Switch)
How do you relax after a long day at work? Glass of bourbon or beer, a project with my daughters, mindless YouTube, another project on the tank, etc.
Do you collect anything? We’ve got a solid Lego collection going
What is your favorite color? Purple
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? The Office and Armageddon (yes, for real)
What type of music do you listen to? Whatever Spotify puts in my discover weekly - it’s mostly alt rock, acoustic stuff, maybe some electronic mixed in, some pop
Do you follow any sports teams? Chicago Blackhawks
What's your favorite fish? Lionfish (maybe one day I’ll set up a tank for one)
Favorite coral? Really gotten into elegance corals these days
Favorite invert? Decorator crab
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? Had a reefer 250 for 18 months in Boston and then when we moved this fall I set up a reefer 425 that’s now cycled but empty. 2 black storm clowns on order as the tank’s first inhabitants. It’ll be an LPS and softy tank. I also intend to bring in some anemones.
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s) I’m intrigued by a CO2 scrubber but haven’t ever tried one. I’ve got my eye on the new Octo C2T-90 but am not going to pull the trigger until the tank is more mature. No idea if I’ll actually need it.
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? New tank is empty for now but on the reefer 250 it was absolutely the fire shrimp when he’d clean fish.
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? I was a chemistry major in undergrad so I really nerd out over the whole water chemistry thing.
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) I’m actually less interested in stuff from the hobby. I’m thinking about covering the inside of my cabinet doors in sticker and picked up several at Macna and through other orders. Otherwise books, puzzles, legos, arts/crafts/other projects I can do with a 3 and 5 year old girl.
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* No
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.)

mbarton2010 · Nov 25, 2022

What country are you located in? USA
What is one thing you always need more of? REDSEA REEF ENERGY
What do you like to do on the weekends? Hang out with family
What are your other hobbies/interests? Fishing, smoking meats
How do you relax after a long day at work? Cold beer and reef tank
Do you collect anything? Hot wheels
What is your favorite color? Black
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? Family guy, South Park
What type of music do you listen to? All
Do you follow any sports teams? Astros and Texans
What's your favorite fish? Mandarin
Favorite coral? Bounce mushroom
Favorite invert? None really
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? 60G cube mixed reef and 7G cube softy LPS
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? Updated apex/trident
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? Mandarin zip around hunting pods
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? New tech
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) co2 media, different tools, pH/orp probes
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* more CUC
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.

12humuhumu21 · Nov 25, 2022

What country are you located in? USA
What is one thing you always need more of? SALT
What do you like to do on the weekends? QUILT OR SPEND TIME WITH MY FAMILY
What are your other hobbies/interests? QUILTING, SEWING, BAKING, SCRAPBOOKING, CAMPING…
How do you relax after a long day at work? IN A RECLINER WATCHING TV.
Do you collect anything? SALT AND PEPER SHAKERS
What is your favorite color? BLUE OR GREEN
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? FRIENDS
What type of music do you listen to?COUNTRY
Do you follow any sports teams? NO
What's your favorite fish? BLUE JAW TRIGGER
Favorite coral? BOUNCE MUSHROOMS OE ZOAS
Favorite invert? SEXY SHRIMP
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? 60 GALLON What do you keep in them? MUSHROOMS, ZOAS, 3 DIFFERENT CLOWN FISH, CORAL BEAUTY AND A BANGI CARDINAL Do you have a build thread? YES. Teeny tiny beginnings
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? I HOPE TO ADD SPS AS SOON AS I FIGURE OUT THE WATER LEVELS.
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? ZOAS
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? ZOAS
What are some good gift ideas for you?A UNDER CABINET LIGHT SO I CAN SEE MY LIGHT. GLASS SCRAPPER. ZOAS. They can be cheap. (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.)
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? YESIf yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* ZOAS ANY KIND
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.)

aws2266 · Nov 27, 2022

Santa Claus said:
Ho! Ho! Ho!! Thank you all for your patience while we worked out the details, but without further adieu...

Let's get this party started!! It's our 2022 Secret Santa for Reef2Reef!!

This is going to be a great time to spread Christmas joy!!

We're getting a bit of a late start this year, but we're still going to have a blast spreading Christmas cheer!!!

NOTE: To those who have been part of our Secret Santa before, this one will be slightly different. I promise there are some good reasons for the changes, and we hope they will lead to a better experience over all.

Here is how it will work:

Requirements to participate:

At least 18 years of age (only exceptions to this will be participants who have been part of our Secret Santa before)

At least 14 days as a member of R2R

At least 10 posts on R2R

Gift requirement: AT LEAST $25 value and a splash of Christmas joy! (Suggested gift range is $25-$50. More on this below.)

As you sign up, you'll get a link to the gift exchange on Elfster (it's the Secret Santa exchange website/app that we use to organize the gift exchange) where you'll need to register so that we can easily match you with your Secret Santa.*

The first matchup will take place on November 24th so that all of you eager Secret Santas can take advantage of Black Friday shopping. After this, matches will happen weekly through December 10th.

Sign up will be open until December 10, 2022

Buy or make gifts and ship them by December 17, 2022.

Delivery tracking is mandatory and will need to be sent to @Santa Claus and/or updated in Elfster.

International Participation: This year's Secret Santa will have 2 groups for those outside the US: 1) Canadian participants, 2) other international participants. While we wish that we had enough international participation to allow all participants to only send to members within their own country, that simply isn't feasible, so please be aware of the possibility that you may need to ship internationally to participate outside the US or Canada.

Here are a few guidelines for this year:

Please, PLEASE, be sure your R2R username is entered on your Elfster profile as your nickname. This really does help your Secret Santa to find you on Reef2Reef and get better gift giving ideas.

This is an event that is meant to spread Christmas joy, so we're asking all participants to try to make this special for whoever you receive. While we realize that this may look different for everyone, we're asking participants to avoid sending $25 e-gift cards as your only gift. Suggested gift range is $25-$50. You may give more, but be aware that you may not receive more than this amount.

All participants MUST make a post or send a message acknowledging their gift and thanking whoever their Secret Santa is. Most of you do this anyway, so I don't think it's a problem to ask. However, due to some situations we've run into before, we're making this a requirement. We'll start a Thank You thread specifically for this and link it here.

About Elfster wishlists: We're getting away from using these this year. Instead, we're asking each participant to make a more detailed profile and asking each Secret Santa to get a gift based on that profile. Our hope is that this will take some of the focus off of receiving and refocus us on giving and why we do this to begin with. We realize some of you may still enjoy making wish lists, and we're fine with you doing that, but know that your Secret Santa is being encouraged not to really look at that for gift giving this year.

Your gift MUST be sent by December 17th. Now, we realize things can happen, and we're always willing to work with participants. However, if your gift has not been shipped and confirmation/tracking info sent to Santa by the deadline, you may be banned from participating in future Secret Santa exchanges on Reef2Reef.

Failure to abide by these guidelines may result in not being allowed future participation in Secret Santa gift exchanges. (We're really not expecting to remove anyone, but we do reserve the right to do so if a participant does not engage in the spirit of this gift exchange.)

All R2R Secret Santa participants will receive a special Secret Santa banner under their username.

To sign up, you will need to do these 2 things (PLEASE DO BOTH):

PM @Santa Claus with your contact information (name, email, and country you're located in so that we can PM you the link to sign up on Elfster and join the gift exchange).

Post in this thread with your answers to the questionnaire (see below) IN THIS THREAD (this is our official registration thread).

Secret Santa Questionnaire:

What country are you located in?

What is one thing you always need more of?

What do you like to do on the weekends?

What are your other hobbies/interests?

How do you relax after a long day at work?

Do you collect anything?

What is your favorite color?

What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again?

What type of music do you listen to?

Do you follow any sports teams?

What's your favorite fish?

Favorite coral?

Favorite invert?

Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread?

Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)?

What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank?

Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over?

What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.)

Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock*

Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.)

At this time, we are unable to guarantee matching users based on a preference for shipping coral. If shipping coral we ask that you notify @Santa Claus via PM when you would like 2 ship so we can notify recipient and make sure they will be able to receive it. If recipient can't be there we will ask them for 2 other days and work out with sender. (We don't mind playing the go between here to keep it more a secret.)

Also, notice that we have a special Secret Santa forum going on! Feel free to start other threads in here to talk about everything Secret Santa related, holiday related, or just anything you want to talk with all of us other SS peeps!

#R2RSecretSanta

Secret Santa Questionnaire:

What country are you located in?
USA

What is one thing you always need more of?
Salt, copepods, filter media for my canister filter(fluval 407),
cheap digital thermometers for water changes

What do you like to do on the weekends?
Like to visit my lfs and Petco. My 16yr old son
plays hockey so we do a lot of traveling on the weekends

What are your other hobbies/interests?
Love the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team. Also
a big movie buff(apple itunes cards
are always a good gift)

How do you relax after a long day at work?
watch my fish, watch a movie/show. Spend
time with my family

Do you collect anything?
Fish and corral. lol Movies

What is your favorite color?
Blue

What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again?
Community, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul
Star Wars, LOTR

What type of music do you listen to?
Mostly 90's alternative. My favorite bands right now
are Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Modest Mouse, and Bruce Springsteen

Do you follow any sports teams?
Pittsburgh Penguins

What's your favorite fish?
I love wrasse's.

Favorite coral?
don't really have one yet.

Favorite invert?
I have a cleaner shrimp named Morey.
He's full of personality

Tell us about your tank(s)!

What size are they?
I have a 120g reef and a 55g FOWLR

What do you keep in them?
In the 120g I have a mix of fish and coral
3 green chromis
2 clowns
yellow coris wrasse
possum wrasse
blue tang
dragon goby
yellow watchman goby
canary blenny

RBTA

For coral I have a couple of zoas, some mushrooms.

In my 55g FOWLR
dwarf lionfish
dragon wrasse
picasso trigger
fiji damsel

Do you have a build thread?
Yes

Build Thread - 120g mixed reef build

Here’s my little, “How I got back into the hobby story.” While taking our first beach vacation in 10 years I cut my foot on a horseshoe crab. When we got back from vacation we decided to go to our LFS to check out the horseshoe crabs. They didn’t have any but while there we got to looking at...

www.reef2reef.com

Build Thread - 125g Predator

Was in the hobby for about 3 years with a FOWLR when my wife and I had twins. Not much time for anything when you've got two newborns. Jump ahead 15 years and I'm back with a 55 gallon that I plan on making into a reef tank. I found a cheap tank and stand on CL, cleaned it up and now I'm two...

www.reef2reef.com

Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)?
I purchased a hang-on refugium a while ago and I'm finally getting it
working right and wanna start seeding it with pods.
I'm wanting to add an ATO to my reef setup.
Also wanting to get a UV clarifier for my 55g

What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank?
Watching the fish interact with each other. In most cases, we're putting fish
together that would never meet in the wild. It's interesting to watch them figure
each other out.

Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over?
I love the ocean. For me, it's creating a little bit of ocean in
my living room. Also, love going to fish stores. We have 3 here
in Dayton if you count the one petco that does saltwater. The biggest
is 5 mins from my house. In there at least once a week.

What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.)
I'm always in need of T-Shirts XXL that are hockey, movie/show or fish themed. Can always use salt. Those little $3 digital thermometers off amazon, I'm always
dropping one in my water change bin. Itunes gift card for movies and ocean docs. Check out my elfster list for more ideas

Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock*
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.)
Yes, only pod type livestock though

CelestialCorals · Nov 27, 2022

What country are you located in? United States - Texas
What is one thing you always need more of? MicroBacter7 & Flipper Blades
What do you like to do on the weekends? Enjoy my family time
What are your other hobbies/interests? Crystal collecting
How do you relax after a long day at work? Netflix & Chill lol
Do you collect anything? Crystals display pieces (gemstones)
What is your favorite color? Purple
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? Grey’s Anatomy
What type of music do you listen to? Everything, mainly mixed playlists of todays hits.
Do you follow any sports teams? Nope
What's your favorite fish? Whitetail Bristletooth Tang
Favorite coral? Softies
Favorite invert? Cleaner Shrimp
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? Red Sea 135g, 2-IM tanks 30L, 25g & all Reef tanks with softies, just getting into meat corals but love anemones & zoas.
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? Eventually want a 200g+ tank & definitely hoping to get the Apex 3 Pro
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? Everything flourish & grow
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? New corals
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) Reef related
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* Yes, zoas or meat coral
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.) Things not wanted or needed

Just a Wrasse. · Nov 27, 2022

What country are you located in? Ireland
What is one thing you always need more of? Fish food
What do you like to do on the weekends? Walk in the Burren
What are your other hobbies/interests? Woodworking, Programming
How do you relax after a long day at work? Sit down and watch the tanks or netflix
Do you collect anything? coins
What is your favorite color? red
What is one TV show or movie you can watch over and over again? the office
What type of music do you listen to? I don't listen to music
Do you follow any sports teams? Clare hurling team
What's your favorite fish? All wrasses
Favorite coral? None
Favorite invert? Boxing shrimp
Tell us about your tank(s)! What size are they? What do you keep in them? Do you have a build thread? 50L, 200L, fish coral and inverts, not an active one
Do you have any planned upgrades or hopeful future tweaks to your tank(s)? nope
What's your favorite thing to watch in your tank? clownies
Are there any parts of the reef hobby you get really excited over? fish fry (Though sadly they all get eaten)
What are some good gift ideas for you? (This isn't meant to be a wish list. Just some general thoughts or ideas for whoever draws your name.) My Hanna Ph checkers broken
Would you be interested in receiving livestock? If yes, what would you be interested in? *disclaimer due to the busy holiday season we recommend not shipping livestock* No
Are there any additional questions you wish we had asked that we didn't? (Add those questions in under these and post your answers.) No that about covers it!