TheReef.info                                                                                                      

This site was last updated: 08 May 2008

Aloha!  Welcome to The Reef!

The main aim of this site was to document the creation and evolution of a Hawaiian biotope coral reef aquarium in the UK.  The project ran from late 2004 to early 2007.

The Overview section explains how and why I decided to set up a biotope aquarium designed around the life found in a Hawaiian reef bench zone and my future plans.  Creating a biotope aquarium presents some interesting challenges for the aquarist, challenges which were further exacerbated by the uniqueness of the Hawaiian environment itself.  A read through About Hawaii will explain how the geography and geology of Hawaii has impacted on the development and ecology of its coral reefs and the creatures living there.

The main design features and philosophy underlying the aquascaping, and information on the aquarium equipment used, are detailed in the Set-up section.  Information on the marine fish, corals and other invertebrates kept in this system can be found in the Stock Lists section.

A few of my better pictures from this and other aquariums of mine, together with some movie clips, are set out in the Photos and Movies sections.

I have not attempted to create a guide to reefkeeping - there are many others out there who are much better qualified and who have already done exactly that.  So the Resources section contains some recommended reading, links to some experienced hobbyist sites, forums and other on-line resources, and retailers, as well as a short list of lessons learned that you may find helpful.

This hobby can develop a terrible hold on you, and I am not immune.  The 530 litre display featured here was deliberately set up as a stepping stone towards a much larger biotope system.  I am currently in the process of upgrading to a larger system incorporating a 2,300 litre (600 US gallon) main display.  Unfortunately, as part of that process, the system featured here was stripped down and dismantled towards the end of April 2007.  Once the new system is up and running, around Spring 2009, I will publish details on a new website hawaiian-reef.com.  TheReef.info site will continue to be maintained until then.

The Site Map sets out in a graphical form the full structure of this site.

I hope you find this project and website of interest.  If you would like to send me comments then have a look at the Feedback page.  And if you are just curious about the obsessive/compulsive who created all of this then you will find details in the About Me page.

Happy reefing!

Keith Jackson