About Me

I’m Brian Blank and Ocean@Home is my online oasis where I get to delve deeper into the fascinating hobby of reefkeeping.I have been active in the saltwater hobby for my second time since December 2006 doing a lot of research, building and planning before finally getting water in my current 75-gallon tank in May 2007. Besides my blog Ocean@Home, you will find me contributing content at Reef Builders for Jake Adams and Ryan Gripp. Reef Builders is a great site and a must read for everything new in the hobby.

I began keeping aquariums as a kid and have to thank my Dad and his guppy tank we had growing up that got me interested. I maintained a 10 gallon aquarium for a while before taking a hiatus from the hobby. After serving four years in the US Navy, I decided to get back into it buying a 65 gallon tank in 1994. I kept a freshwater community tank and ventured into a brief stint in saltwater before having to tear down my systems in 1997 to head to San Jose State University to finish my degree.

After graduating with a degree in public relations in 2000, I began work at FutureWorks, a boutique hi-tech PR firm in the Silicon Valley, for nearly two years. An avid sports fan, I decided to pursue my dream of working in sports. I spent the next six years working in collegiate athletics at San Jose State, UC Riverside and Cal State Stanislaus before joining FutureWorks once more for my next go-round in the tech industry.

I live in Modesto, CA with my uber-supportive fiance Romney, her incredible 12-year-old son Sebastian (who I infected with the aquarium bug!), our two dogs DOG (pronounced dee-oh-gee) and Joe, and two cats Buddy and Bailey. I am currently the vice president of my local reef club, the Northern Valley Reefers and am active on a number of reef-related forums including Talking Reef and Reef Central.

Product News and Reviews

I currently am accepting products for review and beta testing. If you are a manufacturer and interested in a product review, please email me with a description of the product and I will look it over and see if I can fit it into my current system to give a proper evaluation. I do not charge for reviews and will return all equipment at the end of the agreed upon review period. For more information please email me directly at bfblank [at] gmail [dot] com.