VIDEO: Confessions of a Well-Seasoned Hobbyist

19 Apr, 2018

Some of the gorgeous colonies in Trido’s Reef

When I tell you about Duane Oestreich, I’m telling you about a good friend of mine. He’s been an online friend of mine for about 15 years, and despite being separated by multiple state lines, our camaraderie has never suffered. We joke about how close we are, despite rarely getting together in person. He’s an exceptional hobbyist, and he grows corals better than most people I know. Online, he’s known as Trido, and you can read his build thread later, but first you’re going to want to watch this video.

View from the end of the peninsula. Note how the corals rise appropriately in the distance.

Duane is the guy that came up with the first way to use low voltage to remove Aiptasia from reef tanks, dismantling his front door’s doorbell while his wife was out of town. True story. But his superpower is growing corals so quickly that he rips his reef apart almost annually to make space for his beloved fish to swim in open waters again.

I’m the opposite; I won’t touch my reef, because I want the corals to do their thing. But Duane has proven repeatedly that he’s right, and his stunning reef never disappoints. Last fall, I flew Duane to my house to help me trim (should I say hack?) my reef back because it needed it, and I trusted him completely because of his personal experience doing the same in his own tank so many times.

I recently interviewed him so others could understand his thinking, and I know you’ll benefit from his shared wisdom.

You can watch this on any device, but I’d suggest you do so on your giant TV:

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