2024 Staff

[Cook]

Elected Officers - 2024
@Cook - President
@Steve Burton - Vice President
@Gabridge83 - Treasurer
@jcook54 - Secretary

Trustees
@Adam
@urbanknight
@ichthyoid
@Doberman13
@SaltwaterGardening

Moderators
@scuba steve
@chemaholic
@Trizzino
@hzheng33

Committees
Photo Contest
@ActiveAngel
Other members TBD

 

[Cook]

About me: Back in the Saltwater hobby since 2018. I grew up with freshwater aquariums, worked at a small pet store during college where I built custom wet dry filters for a short time. My most successful saltwater tank from that era was a 5 gallon pico tank with compact fluorescents. I have successfully raised Ocellaris clownfish during my time here, some are in club members tanks today. My current tanks: A Marineland 180 Gallon mixed reef and an 80 gallon Seapora frag tank. Build thread's below:

Cook's 180 gallon

I always like to start with a little history for these threads. This 180 Gallon Marineland Reef Ready tank was Leo's (@lmm1967) and I am very glad to have it for an opportunity to move from my Planet Aquarium 90 Gallon display to the largest tank I could possibly fit into it's place without...

atlantareefclub.org

Cook's 80g Seapora Frag tank

Let's get this part out of the way, @scottw, I can see how one can go through a few tanks in a short time span now. The impetus for me is that the maintenance and testing of three coral tanks is a lot. Also, my son is really missing raising clownfish so I need to consolidate to enable room for...

atlantareefclub.org

Outside of the hobby I enjoy old cars and have two. I 3D print stuff from time to time, mostly nerf related stuff these days. We have three dogs.

 

[chemaholic]

My wife and I have been in the reef hobby for going on two years. We have a 120g display, a 20g Waterbox, and a 350g frag/grow out system. I am going to be upgrading the 120g to a 220g in the next month or so.

Outside of the hobby, I manage a music store specializing in school band and orchestra instruments. I worked in the pulp and paper industry for 15 years prior to that. My wife is also in the hobby which makes it so much easier for me to be in the hobby!

 

[scuba steve]

I started my aquarium career at a small pet & SCUBA store in 1994 while in high school and put together my first reef aquarium in 1995. I moved to Atlanta in 2007 to work in Life Support Systems for Georgia Aquarium and worked there for over 14 years. I now run an professional aquarium services and consulting company. I have a 240-gallon reef in my home office.

240g In-wall Home Office Build

Since I bought my house I've always wanted to add a reef tank to my home office, I just wasn't quite sure where I wanted to try to fit it in. A couple years ago I was walking around my house and I started thinking about the interior structure and how the room lined up with each other. There are...

atlantareefclub.org

 

[Steve Burton]

I started in freshwater aquariums in about 1989. One quickly became several and I worked my way up to 8. In 2017 I converted a 29 long into a saltwater reef tank, with a canister filter and a cheap light. I joined Atlanta Reef Club that summer and it didn't take long to procure a used 60 gallon frag tank and a 32 gallon biocube along with all the associated equipment from other members. The 29 long became a 72 bow front for a while and was upgraded to a 180 @3 1/2 years ago, and the 32 Biocube became a 60 cube a year or so back. I retired when Covid hit, and when not enjoying my three reef tanks and seven freshwater tanks, I love playing poker, riding my Harley and spending time with my grandkids. I'll try to update my tank threads soon

Thread 'Steve's 180' https://atlantareefclub.org/threads/steves-180.1178474/

Thread 'Steve's 60 Cube' https://atlantareefclub.org/threads/steves-60-cube.1188177/

 

[SaltwaterGardening]

I’m a long time outdoor and indoor plant gardener that dabbled in freshwater for about 10 years. Pretty sure it started as a kid science experiment with sea monkeys and an apple snail, then moved to glo fish. I admired seahorse tanks and joined the saltwater scene in 2020 with a Red Sea 300XL, but no seahorses yet. I still enjoy the beauty of the tank in my family room and think about upgrading all the time. I like to volunteer with ARC and my kids schools when I’m not digging in the dirt, running errands or working.

 

[urbanknight]

I started this journey with a five gallon freshwater aquarium while stationed in Germany with the Army in 1980. When my wife and I arrived in Colorado Springs, CO in 1982 I decided to try my hand with a 55 gallon salt water tank. I wish I could count the number of tanks and changes since then. One thing for sure is technology has advanced to where the hobby is far beyond where it was when I started. New iterations of equipment have made parts of the hobby much easier. However, there are still parts of it that one must learn and keep an eye on for themselves. Even so...STUFF HAPPENS! Had a 300 gallon Marineland tank that burst at the seams! My current tank is a Red Sea 525XL with a 31 gallon sump. Reef Octopus 200sss protein skimmer, two MP40s, G4 Radions with Orphek supplemental light bars, Trident, Neptune DOS and all run by Apex. As I said earlier, STUFF HAPPENS! All this equipment was not enough to fight off the hair algae infestation I got while recovering from knee surgery! I have just about got it all out now but the battle continues! I said that to say this...There will always be setbacks. You just have to be determined enough to weather the storms because they will come and go! Happy reefing!

 

[ichthyoid]

I began this journey as a 10 year old and had 3 freshwater aquariums by high school. Growing up in Florida spurred my interests in all things aquatic. Trips to the many different ecosystems, provided rich playgrounds for exploration. The lakes, rivers, bays, beaches, sawgrass estuaries, Keys & Bahamas were diverse & bountiful. Then one day I walked into Perry Fagan’s local fish store and saw a saltwater aquarium. That was it, I’ve been hooked now for over 50 years. Ebbing and flowing as life dictated along the way. Everything from 10 to 300 gallon systems. During that time I’ve served as a Navy Electronics Technician, studied biology/chemistry, worked in engineering, corporate R&D, medical devices and more recently technology/cybersecurity. All due to opportunity, interest & to support my family. After it all, I found that nothing challenges me, on as many levels, as maintaining a healthy marine aquarium. I also learned that the most important things you ever put into an aquarium are patience & consistency, nothing good happens fast. Slow & steady. Happy reefing!
-ichthyoid (fish like) is a pun.
aka Bill