Well 2009 came to a close and we have our first week of the new decade in the books so now is the perfect time to take a look back at the year that was Ocean@Home. This past year was very kind to me in the hobby and my friendships, knowledge and skills (or lack thereof at times it seemed) grew tremendously and this blog has been a big part of that. Big thanks to all my friends, family and mentors in the hobby for the encouragement and support.

As a special holiday gift, I wanted to repost this awesome poem by George Adkins, who is the president of the Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society (COMAS), that originally appeared at Reef Builders. George has taken “The Night Before Christmas” and tuned it to our hobby. It is beautiful and funny, something you may want to share with your tank inhabitants on this blessed holiday—enjoy!

Happy holidays from my family to all of you! I am hoping you all enjoy your holidays and the special time with family, friends and especially your reef! It has been a chaotic couple of months on my end and am enjoying a 12-day break from work and am looking forward to the time to decompress and just enjoy some great times with family and friends.

This post came about after I noticed I really haven’t been too active here lately and it made me realize I need to take more time for myself and for my beloved reef tank. Plenty of psychologists, therapists and life coaches know that it is extremely important to take quality time for yourself linking it to happiness, less stress and increased productivity. I’ve noticed I’ve spread myself pretty thin in a lot of areas and that’s not always a good feeling. I know my home life and tank has suffered a little bit and I’m hoping to get that all in check.

I’ve been having a love/hate relationship with MACNA (Marine Aquarium Conference of North America) this week. I love it because its a great show and one many hobbyists, vendors and indusrty peeps look forward to each Septmeber. I hate it for one reason — I’m not going! Still, even though I’m not in Atlantic City for MACNA XXI I want to find out as much as I can and follow what’s happening at this reefing mecca. So here are some ways to keep up-to-date on what’s happening this weekend.

Boy, have I been lagging lately on posting. Its been a crazy month and at the end of the day I haven’t been able to get those bits of inspiration down in digital form–my apologies! I did have this idea after reading Scott Fellman’s post on tips to save electricity and money, so I thought it would be a good idea to share some of the tips and tricks I’ve found for saving money on fish, coral, equipment and more. Some of these are probably familiar to you and maybe a few are new to you, either way I hope you enjoy.

My friend Scott Fellman sure is coming out firing with great commentary and topics over at Reef Builders and today’s post is no different. Scott’s latest musing is titled “Energy Efficient Reefkeeping: 8 Tips to Help Save Money and Energy” and has some great tips to help cut back on the energy hogs our aquariums can become and a perfect Blue-Collar Reefing topic. I have decided to include Scott’s tips below as well as add my two cents worth to the conversation. Great job Scott and keep the great posts coming!

I think we’ve all been in that really dark place at one time or another in this hobby, you know the times where things just seem to be moving from bad to worse quicker than you can think. The last month or so has been really trying on my skills and confidence as a reefer but the good news is the tide is beginning to turn. You see, after enjoying a brief stint in the zero nitrate world-I was plagued with high nitrates and on top of that, was losing corals and having zero polyp extension.

I was browsing some other videos at Reef Builders and came across this April Fools video. I know its a little late but it made me laugh! Need a miracle in a bottle? Consider it Viagra for the reef….Instaflow!

I’ve started contributing to one of the best reefing news sites Reef Builders for the last few months and am pleased to announce my latest post “If it’s Broke, Better Fix it” went live yesterday. What a great Father’s Day surprise!