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Member Spotlight - February 2022 (1 Viewer)

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MARSH BoD

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Member Spotlight
February 2022 ๐Ÿ’˜๐Ÿ’˜๐Ÿ’˜
Valentine "Why you Love this Hobby" Essay


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Alrighty then Marsh-Reef family, we know that we have a lot of creative writers on here. It's time to put your special touch to this Month's contest. We are wanting to see an "Essay" on "why you love this hobby". So let's get those coffee cups and thinking caps out and draft up this quick essay. The Essay with the most "Likes" Win!!

Start posting your essay ASAP!


The PRIZE!!!

$50 ( BB's Fish and Pet)


1 - Photo must match the category.
2 - Submit ONLY 1 essay.
3- Contest now thru February 20th
4- Essay with the MOST "Likes" wins.
5 - No copyright infringements! You must be the owner of the essay.
6 - Please do NOT submit an essay of someone else's work.
7 - Members creating multiple accounts to vote for themselves will have all votes removed.
 

Tnconcept

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Why do I love this hobby?​

There is nothing more fun than when I get my hands wet, that means I am either getting a new coral or a new gadget. The thought of going on a vacation used to scare me, but now all I have to look at my phone to make sure my Apex is keeping things on point is amazing. Not to mention the webcam that is facing the tank.
When a guest comes over your tank is the talk subject involving "oh is that Nemo"? To me that is priceless! Being in this hobby for over a decade I don't think I can do anything else that long and kept it going. With the technology in this evolving hobby, the fewer things I have to do to the tank. I can leave it alone for months gives me more time to enjoy the tank and relax. Also, the Marsh family and the people I meet that share a common interest are amazing!
 

Betcao01

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Why I love this hobby?

I love this hobby because it allows me to have some time with my son, as I teach him the names of each fish and coral. One day he will grow up and won't allow me to hug him anymore. He will get his heart broken and tell me he's fine. Someone will make him lose faith in humanity and he will isolate himself.

Eventually he will figure things out on his own, and thrive in this chaotic world. For now, I will enjoy every second with him. I expect this to be put on hold when he goes through his awkward phases.

I love this hobby because it will allow us to "reconnect again" in twenty years. We will talk for hours about corals. He will try to convince me to give him my OG bounce. I will tell him no. He will thank me for trying when he was a kid. He will acknowledge and appreciate how difficult it was, now that he is a father. He will wonder how I did it all, and still managed to give him loving memories of this hobby.

This is why I love this hobby. It gives me hope and an opportunity to be there for my son. He just doesn't know it yet.
 

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Tnconcept

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BUMP no one has anything to say about the love of this hobby???

:(:(:(
 

Biglex

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Iโ€™m about 4 years into reefing. I enjoy growing and learning as I progresses in this fun adventure. I started with an Im14g peninsula with a ai prime. From there upgraded to an jbj45 gallon and hydra 26 and Hob equipment. and now my Red Sea 450 with radions and decked out sump. What I really enjoy is how calming this hobby can be at times. (then other times crazy trying to solve an issue) In this fast pace world itโ€™s awesome to come home just relax and enjoy the colorful coral and fish swim around. The reefing community is also very awesome from here to facebook groups, instagram, online forums and not to forget all the local fish stores everyone has been great. I hope to continue reefing for more years to come
 

BigRick

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Been in the hobby for almost 15 years now....
I've had 11 Display tanks at the house alone, now 4 + 1 QT tank... basically done it all.. volunteered early on at a few shops to get experience... went to Florida with Dennis to go dive at Richard's for my own live rock. Been to wholesalers in cali to hand pick coral, grew/fragged/sold coral, then got into breeding clowns... 27 breeding pairs and 35 total to take care off and breeding was fun, money making, but 24/7 365 days of year of work with 1000s of babies takes a toll on you. Bred first golden nuggets in Houston which was netting me 350 each! (Now 50 resale) .... bred berghia for a while... breeding is just hard work on a big scale. Had to take a break for a little over a year, just got burnt out, needed some vaca time so went with friends traveling the country again drag racing as part of the crew this time.... back into the hobby about 4 years ago and having fun but prices for coral are now 10x from 15 yrs ago not making it fun. Thanks big Corp. Still it is a fun hobby from the friends to club events but like our great treasury said... its a given minimum 60% money will be given to the waters. All the new tech is like a kid in a candy store. Oh well my last hobby was like 90% throw away money anyways(drag racing). I wish I could get my daughters more involved into reefing, my wife has her own tank but knows zero about how to do anything. She just wants it cause its her own oasis. Overall its still relaxing... every fish has their own personality.. some wanna be puppies, some one wanna be an orca at sea world and splash water out of the tank to say hey feed me.... BTW 4 reef tanks... still a full time job ๐Ÿคฃ
 

PicassoClown

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I spent hours staring at my fatherโ€™s reef tank, completely mesmerized by the way the anemone looked like an alien, calling me like a siren. The supple curves of the anemoneโ€™s tentacles drew my eyes almost as much as the vivid colors; the base of the foot was electric green that shifted to a brilliant hot pink at the bulbous tip, black-streaked through each tentacle like a myriad of dark lightning, and soft white speckled the entire animal like snow, lightly blanketed over everything else. This magnificent creature reached towards the light of the surface and the bubbled tips flowed around each other like helium balloons. When I touched it, the powerful nematocysts electrified my fingertips like the kiss of a firefly, but the skin was closer to that of a freshly cut mango; soft, vaguely slimy, and incredibly delicate.

ADG may just seem like a trio of letters to everyone else, but to me, they symbolize the birthplace of my love for science. Fish tanks line every available wall, blue coral lights cast rippling shadows on the ceiling, and the soft gurgle of rushing water provides the perfect soundtrack. Blue Hippo tangs (Dory!) munched on seaweed, schools of anthia ran laps around their tank, and eels slithered through PVC elbows. But none of this captured me. It was the thing that ADG is known for that drew me in. The Aquarium Design Group maintained a special darkroom in the back of the shop, mysteriously alluring with the sound of bubbling filters and waterfalls emitting from it. I ran to the room as if it were an old friend who welcomed me. My heart swelled through my chest and a grin stretched my face wide as my eyes ate up the beautiful living art in front of me. Layers of reef glowed under the blue lights, stony corals branched wide and unmoving while fleshy large polyped corals swung their long tentacles through the current. Hundreds of tiny flower-like corals carpeted the rocks and massive meaty doughnut corals loomed in the sand. Dozens of fish darted in and out of the intricate reef- some schooled, some dug burrows beneath the rocks, and some picked at the rocks with long snouts looking for stray algae to eat- but nothing captured me more than the smallest fish in the tank. Two tiny clownfish wheeled around in their anemone; diving, spinning, shimmying, and cuddling into the beautiful creature and adding life to its beauty. For years, I watched these two frolic in their anemone and today would be the day I could bring that joy home with me. I was eight years old, and today would be the day I would buy my very own clownfish and start a lifelong obsession.

As my obsession with aquatic animals bloomed, so did my curiosity about the biology, chemistry, and physics behind their way of life. What was the physics of waves? What elements did my water need so that my corals would grow? How did the zooxanthellae work with the coral to produce energy through photosynthesis? What was the biology of their relationship? How do my baby Conchs use the calcium from the water to grow their shells? How do they make the spiral pattern and spikes identical to their parentsโ€™? In my tanks, my love for biology has grown with my corals and it has become profoundly obvious to me that this is where I belong. Nothing sparks my enthusiasm like reading a scientific article detailing the digestive processes of Acanthophyllia Deshayesiana and I am overwhelmingly enthusiastic to have the opportunity to study under the guidance of experts in the field of biology. I am also excited to participate in research projects that are designed to develop methods to protect the environment, especially the ocean ecosystems, to preserve the Earth for future generations.
 

Erin

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I spent hours staring at my fatherโ€™s reef tank, completely mesmerized by the way the anemone looked like an alien, calling me like a siren. The supple curves of the anemoneโ€™s tentacles drew my eyes almost as much as the vivid colors; the base of the foot was electric green that shifted to a brilliant hot pink at the bulbous tip, black-streaked through each tentacle like a myriad of dark lightning, and soft white speckled the entire animal like snow, lightly blanketed over everything else. This magnificent creature reached towards the light of the surface and the bubbled tips flowed around each other like helium balloons. When I touched it, the powerful nematocysts electrified my fingertips like the kiss of a firefly, but the skin was closer to that of a freshly cut mango; soft, vaguely slimy, and incredibly delicate.

ADG may just seem like a trio of letters to everyone else, but to me, they symbolize the birthplace of my love for science. Fish tanks line every available wall, blue coral lights cast rippling shadows on the ceiling, and the soft gurgle of rushing water provides the perfect soundtrack. Blue Hippo tangs (Dory!) munched on seaweed, schools of anthia ran laps around their tank, and eels slithered through PVC elbows. But none of this captured me. It was the thing that ADG is known for that drew me in. The Aquarium Design Group maintained a special darkroom in the back of the shop, mysteriously alluring with the sound of bubbling filters and waterfalls emitting from it. I ran to the room as if it were an old friend who welcomed me. My heart swelled through my chest and a grin stretched my face wide as my eyes ate up the beautiful living art in front of me. Layers of reef glowed under the blue lights, stony corals branched wide and unmoving while fleshy large polyped corals swung their long tentacles through the current. Hundreds of tiny flower-like corals carpeted the rocks and massive meaty doughnut corals loomed in the sand. Dozens of fish darted in and out of the intricate reef- some schooled, some dug burrows beneath the rocks, and some picked at the rocks with long snouts looking for stray algae to eat- but nothing captured me more than the smallest fish in the tank. Two tiny clownfish wheeled around in their anemone; diving, spinning, shimmying, and cuddling into the beautiful creature and adding life to its beauty. For years, I watched these two frolic in their anemone and today would be the day I could bring that joy home with me. I was eight years old, and today would be the day I would buy my very own clownfish and start a lifelong obsession.

As my obsession with aquatic animals bloomed, so did my curiosity about the biology, chemistry, and physics behind their way of life. What was the physics of waves? What elements did my water need so that my corals would grow? How did the zooxanthellae work with the coral to produce energy through photosynthesis? What was the biology of their relationship? How do my baby Conchs use the calcium from the water to grow their shells? How do they make the spiral pattern and spikes identical to their parentsโ€™? In my tanks, my love for biology has grown with my corals and it has become profoundly obvious to me that this is where I belong. Nothing sparks my enthusiasm like reading a scientific article detailing the digestive processes of Acanthophyllia Deshayesiana and I am overwhelmingly enthusiastic to have the opportunity to study under the guidance of experts in the field of biology. I am also excited to participate in research projects that are designed to develop methods to protect the environment, especially the ocean ecosystems, to preserve the Earth for future generations.
Excellent writing!!! You're already the winner in my book :)
 
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