STARTING ZERO IMPACT REFF AQUARIUM

GEOTHERMAL AQUACULTURE RESEARCH FOUNDATION

Q. HOW DO GET STARTED WITH MY OWN ZERO IMPACT REEF AQUARIUM?

When sharing as much of my heart and soul about this topic with you I also feel that one can not side step the question of money and time. Having a reef is a commitment. At this point and time my oldest tank is over seven and a half years so time is also a huge investment.

Everyone at GARF understands that we simply can not save the wild reefs alone. We also understand that we as a Company could never have come this far without you. This is why within this calendar year we are going to work hard putting more DVDs together.

We will be putting together kits, that will have everything you will need to make your first rock, propagate your first coral, build a tank and so on. It you have ideas in regards to lessons you would like to be passed on to you please let us know and we will do the best possible job we can to reach as many of you as possible.

We never say that GARF's way is the cheapest way, or the most expensive way. We never say that GARF's way is the only way but if you want a way that works we've put it together for you.

Most of the pieces and parts of the Bullet Proof Reef are easy to find in all part of the World. Young and old can understand it and no more joy can enter the heart than to say I saved a reef - I grew my own. You take the hobby to a deeper level when you make your first cutting and to pass it on to your friends.

No one pays me to say the words I say. I share them to pass them on to you for I know they are the truth and my pictures in several books are my permanent records. You can see hundreds of images on our web site that document and celebrate each stage of our reef systems.

I don't know if anyone will ever be able to get rich in the reef farming industry. Perhaps all they will be able to do is pay the bills and plan for the years to come. Our goal is to teach about saving the wild reefs, for there is so much to learn, so much to share, so much to fight for, and so little time left.

To know that you have animals in your tank that would never have met in the vast separated oceans is another gift. Bringing together the Atlantic to the Pacific, sometimes on the same rock, even Mother Nature can not do that.

I am going to try and write some a little each day to inspire all of you. In the hopes of sharing and growing in this amazing resource we have so much to learn about. I learn from each waking moment at GARF. I also learn a great deal by the questions you ask.

My next subject will be about our famous GARF grunge, which is the tank raised live sand that seeds our man, made rock. This sand has been in an unbroken chain in captivity for over 30 years in Idaho and has so many amazing creatures.

One thing to watch for in the coming weeks is a new column titled questions of the week. I will take some of the weekly questions and put them on paper and answer them in as much detail for all to read.

If you have any special request please send them my way. This is such an important task for I am constantly reminding my staff there is not just one answer to just one question. There are no dumb questions, no two tanks alike and never ever a boring day.

So much depends on some many other things so I will try and relate it to all the contributing factors and lets see which path this will lead us in the final months of this year. I do know one thing for a fact that by sharing information we all grow, we all have hope and that is what this hobby needs to hold on to.