Presentation: “Proper planning for an industrial sized reef tank in ones home”

Bio: For the past 40 plus years Andrew has had a passion for the hobby that started like most of us with small tanks full of livebearers, through discus and Rift Lake cichlids and has finally ended with reefkeeping. This success has led Andrew to build bigger and bigger reef tanks over the years, culminating in his current masterpiece, a reef tank that is over 17,000 gallons situated in his home. Remarkably this is not his only tank as he also currently has six other successful reef tanks in his home and is currently planning a 2500-gallon reef tank for his office and a 200-gallon jellyfish display.

His passion for the hobby has prompted acknowledgements in the reefing hobby. He received tank of month in 2014 from Reef Central for his 1,200- gallon SPS dominated reef tank. There have also been several write-ups in ReefBuilders about some of his unique and rare fish, and his 17,000 gallon mixed reef tank.

Andrew is currently collaborating with and on the board of various charities and in the process of developing PoloReef. He hopes to educate hobbyists and aid in reef restoration as a way of giving back to the hobby he loves so much. Despite his busy schedule between business and family his passion for the reefing hobby is unmatched and provides a much-deserved respite from his hectic lifestyle.

While building and filling his 17,000-gallon reef system he has worked with his team to develop many unique processes for both fish and coral quarantine. He has analyzed how certain pathogens and fish process, respond, and react to different treatments and antibiotics. Understanding these interactions is undoubtedly useful and important for most reefers to understand. This is just one aspect of what has gone into the successful building of this system. Everything from the plumbing, lighting, filtration, flow and maintenance are unique and provide insight into what is necessary for not just a large reef tank, but small tanks as well. Just the planning of this, which took several years, would be valuable to anyone serious about the hobby. Andrew has built this 17,000-gallon system using common principals in the hobby but on an industrial scale. If this were not enough Andrew also has one of the largest collections of rare fish that are the icing on the cake for his showcase reef system.