Rappin' With ReefBum

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with hosts Keith Berkelhamer and Dong Zou with guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode we chat with Kenny Wayne, owner of High Tide Aquatics in Oakland, CA, Ali Atapour, who owns Amazing Aquariums & Reefs in Orange, CA and Cris Capp, owner of Aquatic Art in Highlands Ranch, CO. We discuss the role of LFS in today's reef keeping ecosystem.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with hosts Keith Berkelhamer and Dong Zou with guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode we chat with Dr. Sanjay Joshi, Mike Paletta & Andrew Sandler. We will discuss what the future holds for reef keeping.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with hosts Keith Berkelhamer and Dong Zou with guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode we chat with Chris Meckley and Chris Wood. Meckley is the owner of ACI Aquaculture, a coral wholesaler in Plant City, Florida. Wood is a marine biogeochemist and the Chief Science Officer of Captiv8 Aquaculture. He is also the founder and sole owner of Captiv8. We will discuss how to use ICP testing to dial in trace elements.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Chris Meckley, who is the owner of ACI Aquaculture in Plant City, Florida. ACI is a coral wholesaler and Chris runs the business with his wife Amanda and their staff.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Dr. Sanjay Joshi, Mike Paletta & Claude Schuhmacher. Sanjay has written many articles about reef keeping, he has been a speaker at several national marine aquarium society meetings and local clubs. In "real" life Sanjay is a professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State University. Mike too has written a lot of articles for many publications. He has also published two books and has also been a speaker at many reef keeping conferences in the US and around the world. Claude is the CEO of Fauna Marin and he has been a guest on many podcasts and live streams, including this one, and has a big following on the Fauna Marin YouTube channel.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Julian Sprung and Colin Foord. Julian is the owner of Two Little Fishies, co-author of a revolutionary series of books called The Reef Aquarium, a frequent speaker at reef keeping conferences and a legend in our hobby.Colin is a marine biologist and has a website called Coral Morphologic that provides a unique perspective on the hobby by combining science and art to help convey was it going on with endangered reefs around the world. He has a very cool live stream going on that you should check out of an urban coral reef in Miami. Coralcitycamera.com.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Dong Zou from AcroGarden. Dong has a PhD in chemistry and worked for several pharmaceutical companies in various therapeutic areas including anti-inflammatory, cancer, pain management and anti-infectious diseases. He developed his first interest in marine invertebrates when he was working as a post doc at the University of Virginia. He has been in aquarium hobby since he was in college and he got into the saltwater hobby in 2004 after setting up his first marine fish tank for a Nemo and after he discovered the Boston Reefers Society. About 10 years ago, he cofounded his first company on drug discovery. Soon after that, he was able to combine his passion for coral and his experience in the pharmaceutical industry and cofounded a new company, eCove BioMarine. This company focused on aquaculture coral for drug discovery and bone grafting. His current company, AcroGarden Inc, was then founded to hold the intellectual properties and to study coral farming. AcroGarden is now his primary focus. The company produces aqua-cultured coral, mainly SPS, for the hobby.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Walt Smith, who is the founder of Walt Smith International. The company's operations are based in Fiji and they have played a pivotal role in supplying ornamental coral and fish to aquariums and hobbyists worldwide, while advocating for the preservation of Fiji's rich marine ecosystems. Many of you probably have heard of Walt, he has been a pioneer in the Marine Ornamental industry since 1972, and thus he has quite an extensive background in the reef keeping world.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE/recorded talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Doug Dorrat, who is the owner and operator of Frag Farm UK.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Paul Allen, who is the President of the Boston Reefers Society.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Will Bramucci, who owns Epic Aquaculture.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Phil Gilbert from Polyp Lab. Phil is the CEO of Polyp Lab.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Joe Muscat from Tusi Corals. Joe's incredible tank has been a Reef2Reef tank of the month a couple of times. The tank was also featured on the World Wide Corals YouTube channel as well as on Mok-Yi's Innapropriate Reefer's channel. The tank was also featured in the September/October 2023 edition of CORAL Magazine.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Rey Riveron from Pirates Reef Corals.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Steve Weast, a.k.a. OregonReef.Steve's 1000 gallon reef tank was one of the most iconic reef tank of its time. Very inspirational tank. He took a break from keeping reef aquariums but is now back with a stunning 400 gallon tank. His website, oregonreef.com, chronicles his reef keeping journey.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Jeff Turner from Reef Aquaria Design.Jeff has been involved with coral reef conservation, marine aquariums and ornamental aquaculture for a lifetime. Some accomplishments include being a member of the Florida Marine Aquarium Society since 1962 and President/Owner of Exotic Aquaria, Inc. from 1980 through 1998, which is when he merged his company with Oceans, Reefs, and Aquariums, Inc. or ORA.He designed, built, installed, and provided all aquacultured corals and marine fish for the Indo Pacific Coral Reef Aquarium located in the Sant Ocean Hall for the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in 2008.He has been the Florida Marine Life Association Vice President since 1995 and has been the current President since 2013. He is also a board member for the Rising Tide Conservation, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary SAC Committee Member for Marine Life and a Non-Native Fish and Wildlife Technical Assistance Group Member for Marine Life.Additionally, he is the Owner/President/CEO of Reef Aquaria Design, Inc., Boyd Enterprises and Jellyfish Art, LLC.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Dr. Alex J. Hall, who is an aquatic veterinarian.Alex practices in New York. He is interested in all facets of aquatic medicine, with a particular focus on tropical fish and coral disease. His personal tanks include a 180-gallon mixed reef, 55-Gallon Bubble-tip Anemone tank, with 3 additional frag tanks attached.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Julian Sprung, Charles Delbeek, Dr. Sanjay Joshi & Mike Paletta. All of these gentlemen have made major contributions to the hobby over the years, yet they don't necessarily agree on everything when it comes to keeping and maintaining a successful reef tank. And that's cool because there are many ways to reef, right? There is no single blueprint for having a healthy, thriving reef tank. One thing that sparked this get together is a difference in opinion on dosing ammonia to a reef tank, which will be one of many topics of discussion.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with coral farming pioneer Vincent Chalias.Vincent is a marine biologist, a diver and a passionate underwater photographer who has helped to document corals by contributing photos and articles to a number of publications in Europe and the US.He set up the first Indonesian Coral mariculture farms at the beginning of the century and spent over 20 years in Indonesia running these operations. These days Vincent is more focused on reef restoration.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Andrew Sandler from Polo Reef.Andrew is the creator of the famous 17,000 gallon reef tank in his home and is the Founder & CEO of Polo Reef.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Claude Schuhmacher and Mike Paletta.Claude is the CEO of Fauna Marin while Mike Paletta has written reef keeping articles, books and is blogging now for Polo Reef. Mike is also a frequent speaker at reef keeping conferences. We are going to be talking about the Fauna Marin Bolus Method.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Tony Vargas.Tony is an author, lecturer, consultant and an admitted reefaholic.He started his aquatic adventures at the age of seven with Guppies in a pickle jar. In the early eighties he assembled his first salt water aquarium (fish only). Moving on to more challenging waters, in the mid 1980's he experimented with marine invertebrates and corals. In the late eighties a handful of aquarist including Tony were among the first in the United States to successfully maintain Acropora alive in captivity. Tony began to share his experiences with others through the many articles he wrote in a column titled "Feature Coral" for FAMA magazine. One of the Acropora articles in FAMA was acknowledge in Carden Wallace's text book on Acropora titled Staghorn Corals of the World.Today Tony SCUBA dives around the world taking underwater photos and observing reef creatures in their natural environment. In addition to writing about his experiences and observations, Tony travels to give lectures and consultations on coral and reef fish husbandry, and aquarium system design.He now manages an aquarium shop in Qatar.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Leng Sy from EcoSystem Aquarium. In 1979, Leng, who is of Chinese descent, fled Vietnam with his family, through Cambodia, to a refugee camp in Thailand to pursue freedom and find opportunity. In early May, 1981, Leng and his family arrived in the United States, speaking broken English and with not a penny to their name! Thanks to the kindness and support of the people of Cambridge, Wisconsin, the U.S. government, and his uncle Lim (who was once in the Cambodian navy) and his family, Leng and his family were able to pick themselves up and start new lives in this wonderful new country. In the summer of 1989, Leng graduated from UCLA with a degree in mathematics and a minor in pre-med. Although he had been interested in keeping fish since he was a child, it was in 1987 that Leng was introduced to the hobby by his older brother and then later by his classmate, Claude Nanjo. It was the first time he had ever seen marine tropical fish! Currently, Leng is the President/CEO of EcoSystem Aquarium

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Ty Ta from Black Label Aquatics.Ty has been keeping reef tanks since 2004. He spends his days collecting and propagating the choicest acros and is a huge advocate of aquacultured corals. His education in Ocean and Coastal Resources at Texas A&M University at Galveston prepared him for the task of running a coral propagation business and helped him move forward with the creation of Black Label Aquatics, which was formerly known as FarmerTyFrags.com. He sells corals on Blacklabelaquatics.com, with a large emphasis on acros. Ty is a scientist, daddy daycare dude, and self-proclaimed coral slinger.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Greg Carroll. Greg is a very accomplished reef keeper who has won tank of the month honors on Reef Central, is president of the Southern California Marine Aquarium Society, and is one of the founders of Reefapalooza.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Chris Meckley, who is the owner of ACI Aquaculture in Plant City, Florida. ACI is a coral wholesaler and Chris runs the business with his wife Amanda and their staff.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Chris Wood from Captiv8 Aquaculture. Chris is a marine biogeochemist and the Chief Science Officer of Captiv8 Aquaculture. He is also the founder and sole owner of Captiv8. The company's R&D draws from Chris' experience and two additional scientists, with a total of four PhDs.Chris entered the aquatics industry in 2000 as a marine scientist and product development and support specialist, and since that time has worked with aquarists and organizations throughout the world to improve outcomes with aquarium systems and recirculating aquatic ecosystems. Some of the organizations that have used his formulations include the Smithsonian Institute, Disney, NASA, and the Israeli Government, as well as several aquaculture operations in the U.S, including ACI Aquaculture.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Dong Zou from AcroGarden.Dong has a PhD in chemistry and worked for several pharmaceutical companies in various therapeutic areas including anti-inflammatory, cancer, pain management and anti-infectious diseases. He developed his first interest in marine invertebrates when he was working as a post doc at the University of Virginia.He has been in aquarium hobby since he was in college and he got into the saltwater hobby in 2004 after setting up his first marine fish tank for a Nemo and after he discovered the Boston Reefers Society.About 10 years ago, he cofounded his first company on drug discovery. Soon after that, he was able to combine his passion for coral and his experience in the pharmaceutical industry and cofounded a new company, eCove BioMarine. This company focused on aquaculture coral for drug discovery and bone grafting. His current company, AcroGarden Inc, was then founded to hold the intellectual properties and to study coral farming.AcroGarden is now his primary focus. The company produces aqua-cultured coral, mainly SPS, for the hobby.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Dr. Gregory Barord, who is a marine biologist and the head of the Marine Biology Program at Des Moines Iowa Public Schools.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Jim Graham, who is also known as Telegraham. Jim has been a reef keeping hobbyist for about 11 years. He likes to take equipment apart to study build quality and to better understand how things function. He has operated on a number of products from GHL, Neptune and other manufacturers. The data from his tests have yielded some very unique and un-biased insights. Jim is retired Air Force, formerly assigned to the KC-135 aerial refueller, the B-2 Stealth Bomber, and the YAL-1A Airborn Laser. Additionally, Jim appreciates kind people and is a fan of technology.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Todd Gardner.Todd is a professor of Aquaculture at Carteret Community College in Morehead City, NC, and an Aquaculture Specialist for Biota Inc. which specializes in sustainably cultured marine fishes and invertebrates for aquariums. His life and his career have been shaped by his passion for marine life and he has written numerous scientific and popular articles about his research and experiences collecting, keeping, and culturing marine organisms.Todd's professional background includes work on a National Geographic documentary, commercial fish farming at C-quest Hatchery in Puerto Rico, and an 11-year term at the Long Island Aquarium where he spent much of his time developing techniques for raising difficult marine fish larvae. To date he has raised more than 50 species. In 2013 Todd received the prestigious Aquarist of the Year Award from the Marine Aquarium Society of North America (MASNA). In his spare time, Todd dives, photographs marine life, runs marathons, and plays the guitar.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with reef keeping legends Dr. Sanjay Joshi and Mike Paletta. Sanjay has written many articles about reef keeping and has been a speaker at several national marine aquarium society meetings and local clubs. In "real life" Sanjay is a professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State University. Mike has also written a lot of articles for many publications and has published two books: The New Marine Aquarium and Ultimate Marine Aquariums. Mike has also been a speaker at many reef keeping conferences in the US and around the world. Mike was named the 2022 MASNA Award recipient.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Dr. Eli Meyer from AquaBiomics and Dr. Andrew Bouwma, a science educator and hobbyist.Eli is a coral biologist and aquarium hobbyist and he owns AquaBiomics. AquaBiomics can analyze the microbiome of an aquarium using DNA sequencing. So they can diagnose issues & identify strategies for promoting a healthy microbiome.Andy has a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has published research on tropical ecology and science education. For the last 16 years, Andy has focused on teaching a variety of university courses in biology and conservation. Andy has kept aquariums for his whole life but started focusing on saltwater about 12 years ago. Andy currently maintains several systems with a focus on Acropora and Goniopora. Andy is also a power user of the Aquabiomics service and has a lot of data on his tanks.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Salem Clemens, a coral researcher and Reef Builders Contributor. Salem has been in the hobby for a decade and has worked in the industry for the last five years. He has worked with numerous fish stores and now farms coral, phytoplankton, and copepods on his own. Salem is in his senior year pursuing a degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology with a minor in Chemistry. He is researching coral pathogens, zooxanthella, and holobiont-associated signal transduction pathways. He wants to pursue a doctorate and would like to go into conservation work eventually.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Adam Derickson from Battlecorals.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Tim Kelley who owns Purple Monster Corals, which is a coral export business in the Solomon Islands.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with reef keeping legends Julian Sprung & Charles Delbeek.Julian and Charles are very well known for co-authoring a revolutionary series of books called The Reef Aquarium…there are 3 volumes. Julian has published other books and written numerous articles about the hobby. He co-founded his company, Two Little Fishies, with Daniel Ramirez back in 1991. Julian is also a frequent speaker at aquarium conferences and club events.Besides being an author and lecturer, Charles is currently the Curator of Aquarium Projects at Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, California. Prior to that we worked at the Waikiki Aquarium with Dr. Bruce Carlson. Charles was also one of the driving forces behind organizing the first ever MACNA in 1989, which was held in Toronto where he lived.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with hobbyist Duane Oestreich. Duane has been a SPS fanatic for over 18 years and he is an old-fashioned coral butcher and wholesaler for several local Seattle, Washington area locations. Duane was the treasurer and president of the Puget Sound Aquarium Society. He is currently running a SPS-dominated reef with a total water volume of 450 gallons.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Ken Colby (a.k.a. Kenny Wayne) from High Tide Aquatics.Ken has been keeping saltwater aquariums for over thirty years. He is the owner of High Tide Aquatics (HTA) in Oakland, California. HTA offers saltwater fish, coral, inverts, and aquarium supplies and specializes in selling fully quarantined fish. HTA is currently the only local fish store (LFS) in the nation certified by Humblefish. Ken is passionate about sharing knowledge with beginner and seasoned hobbyists alike. He creates in-person and online educational programming in partnership with some of today's brightest minds in marine science and biology.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Claude Schuhmacher, who is the CEO of Fauna Marin.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Ben Johnson from Captive Aquatic Ecosystems. Ben is an aquarium maintenance expert who has many types of clients, including both high-end and low-end clients. His company is based in Houston, Texas. Ben has spoken at MACNA and he has strong opinions about how things should be done with a reef tank. So we will talk about tank maintenance and husbandry, which are vitally important for having success in this hobby.Ben also co-hosts the Reef Beef podcast with Rich Ross.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with biologist Rich Ross.Rich has worked in the aquarium industry and trade for many years. He was a MASNA Aquarist of the year, has spoken at many industry conferences, including MACNA, written articles about the hobby and has done some ground-breaking research. We will be discussing coral spawning, something Rich does at his coral lab at home. Rich also co-hosts the Reef Beef podcast with Ben Johnson.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Than Thein from Tidal Gardens. Than is the founder and owner of Tidal Gardens, a coral reef aquaculture business located in Copley, OH. He is also an author and contributor to several reef keeping industry publications. Besides being a passionate entrepreneur, Than is a licensed attorney, has a Masters in Business Administration and Juris Doctor from the University of Akron and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Michigan.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Shane Backer from SBB Corals, which is in Jersey City, NJ.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Ali Atapour from Amazing Aquariums & Reefs, which is a LFS in Orange, California. Ali is the founder and owner of the store.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Bobby Miller, a.k.a. Humblefish. We will discuss how to identify and treat many types of fish diseases. Bobby has been in the saltwater aquarium hobby since 1978. Being in the hobby for so long has provided him the opportunity to keep just about every type of marine system possible. In addition, Bobby has worked in retail, maintenance and most recently owned & operated "HumbleFish Aquatics" which sold quarantined, conditioned saltwater fish. Around 16 years ago Bobby decided to devote himself to the fish disease & treatment aspect of our hobby, and this is considered his area of expertise. He also owns & operates Humble.Fish & Reef Community, an aquarium forum which is dedicated to helping fellow hobbyists.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Raj Shingadia. Raj holds a bachelors of science and bachelors of arts from the University of Georgia, is the owner of Reef Builders and is also the co-owner of MRC. He has 20 years-plus of industry experience in aquarium maintenance, fabrication, design and implementation, as well as industrial sales and marketing leadership skills. His work has been featured on national design shows and internationally in public zoos and aquariums of all sizes, and he has been guest speaker at various aquarium and entrepreneur conferences around the U.S.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Joseph Ghosheh. Joseph is a true coral connoisseur hailing from South Carolina. He and his fiancé own Carolina Coral Heads, a business that emphasizes sustainability and specializes in aqua-culturing rare corals.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Chris Meckley, who is the owner of ACI Aquaculture in Plant City, Florida. ACI is a coral wholesaler and Chris runs the business with his wife Amanda and their staff.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with reef keeping legends Dr. Sanjay Joshi and Mike Paletta.Sanjay has written many articles about reef keeping and has been a speaker at several national marine aquarium society meetings and local clubs. In "real life" Sanjay is a professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State University.Mike has also written a lot of articles for many publications and has published two books: The New Marine Aquarium and Ultimate Marine Aquariums. Mike has also been a speaker at many reef keeping conferences in the US and around the world. Last year Mike was named the 2022 MASNA Award recipient.

Rappin' With ReefBum is a LIVE talk show with host Keith Berkelhamer and guests from the reef keeping community. In this episode I chat with Dong Zou from AcroGarden. Dong has a PhD in chemistry and worked for several pharmaceutical companies in various therapeutic areas including anti-inflammatory, cancer, pain management and anti-infectious diseases. He developed his first interest in marine invertebrates when he was working as a post doc at the University of Virginia. He has been in aquarium hobby since he was in college and he got into the saltwater hobby in 2004 after setting up his first marine fish tank for a Nemo and after he discovered the Boston Reefers Society. About 10 years ago, he cofounded his first company on drug discovery. Soon after that, he was able to combine his passion for coral and his experience in the pharmaceutical industry and cofounded a new company, eCove BioMarine. This company focused on aquaculture coral for drug discovery and bone grafting. His current company, AcroGarden Inc, was then founded to hold the intellectual properties and to study coral farming. AcroGarden is now his primary focus. The company produces aqua-cultured coral, mainly SPS, for the hobby.