J u n e 2 017 51 Trans-Atlantic Reefing
Getting down to business
Firstly, more and more Ameri-
cans seem to view reef-keeping
as not just a hobby but also a
business. This is probably due
to how expensive it has be-
come here, so as a result, once
people are in, they try to find
ways to keep from spending all
of their money on it. Con-
versely, many of the Europeans
I have met view it more as a
relaxing endeavor that they do
for fun and to add beauty to
their homes.
This is evident, and starts from
how each goes about setting-
up a tank, going through how
they stock and maintain it.
Europeans seem to focus on the
overall look of the tank by start-
ing with most beautiful looking
tanks, stands and hoods theycan find with the goal of having
a tank that adds to the beauty
of their homes and that will be
successful for the long term. In
order to achieve long-term suc-
cess they buy the best equip-
ment they can afford. While
everyone loves colourful corals,
European reefers often seem
less focused on “named” corals,
nor are they willing to pay a
king’s ransom for a “multidi-mensional rainbow anything”,
that is a coral named simply as a
marketing tool in order for it to
fetch a higher price. Americans
on the other hand often try to
“save” by cutting corners when
buying tanks, stands and equip-
ment and have no problem
buying equipment that they
know they may have to replace
quicker than if they had bought
a more expensive and higher
quality item. Also, we often do
not even consider how a tank
fits into the décor of our homes
and how it effects the overall
aesthetics. Conversely, Ameri-
cans are willing to pay signifi-
cantly higher prices for our cor-
als, especially if they are named,
even if they are just tiny frags.
This willingness to pay higher
prices thus translates into why I
think many Americans think of
this as a hobby/business. Since
we pay so much for a tiny “rare”
frag, we must then try to recoup
our costs by cutting frags off
as soon as possible. I believe
this is why we now see so many
US tanks that look like a frag
collection rather than European
displays which often feature
large, robust colonies. This is
also why I am usually impressed
by the European tanks I see,
where large, healthy colonies
of corals predominate. I hasten
to add that this is not neces-
sarily a criticism, but rather a
simple observation of what I
consider the biggest difference
between hobbyists on the two
continents.Colour coding
This difference is further mani-
fested in how the tanks look
once they are set up. In most of
the European tanks I saw there
seemed to be a plan in place
when the tank was set-up that
maximised the impact that the
different coral colours when
the tank is viewed. For lack of
a better term, the Europeans
generally seem to have a better
sense of aesthetics and how
to “harmonise” the colours of
the corals in their tanks thanThis is the beautiful tank of Martin Lakin showing how well tank’s are incorporated into a home in Europe
Large tanks like this 1200-gallon tank are more common in the US than they are in EuropeA selection of frags from the US, note their small size but bright colors