Those of you that know me personally, know that I am extremely passionate about our hobby and industry. Like many of you, I will never forget the first time I saw the saltwater section in my LFS when I was in college in Gainesville, Florida. Vivid colors, movement, and unique marine life hooked me and hasn’t let go of me since. This hobby has helped me overcome extremely dark times of my life, and inspired me to start my youtube channel and to work for various publications to get a broader reach and help people enjoy their aquariums the same way that I do, but hopefully without the heartache. To this day, that mission hasn’t changed.

After constantly being inspired by industry pioneers like Julian Sprung (an absolutey amazing human being who always blows my mind and challenges how I think about marine life) and Charlie Veron (Godfather of corals whom I just met at this MACNA. He is still so passionate about the corals after all the years that he has worked with them and advocated for them. He calls them his family and that resonated with me and inspired me), I have decided to do what I can to reach out to not only hobbyists, but to non-hobbyists to advocate for our hobby. I want to let everyone know how far we have come, how our hobby is helpful, and what is being done sustainably and responsibly.  But I wasn’t sure of how to do this in the most effective way.

Enter Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science.

I have had a great relationship with this museum since 2013. I have donated many corals over the years to them with our local reef club, Florida Marine Aquarium Society, and have worked with them to promote their facility over the years. I reached out to my good friends Zach Ransom to ask him what he thought of creating an small exhibit with me that is 100% filled with aquacultured corals and captive bred fish. After many closed door board meetings, I am excited to report that we have received the green lights to make this amazing tank.

This is part 1 of the video. It shows what we are doing, what we are replacing, and what we have in mind.
We have had so many visions to this tank and I am extremely excited to show off what we are going to do with it. Stay tuned and stay with me as we go through journey into public aquarium to reach a different audience to make a difference and to raise awareness.

Enjoy!