{"id":7835,"date":"2024-02-21T04:48:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T03:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/?post_type=docs&#038;p=7835"},"modified":"2025-01-22T00:03:32","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T23:03:32","password":"","slug":"shawn-arbuckle-my-history-in-aquaria","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/en\/knowledge-base\/shawn-arbuckle-my-history-in-aquaria\/","title":{"rendered":"Shawn Arbuckle: My History in Aquaria | Blog about aquariums | Resources | Aquaforest"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7835\" class=\"elementor elementor-7835\" data-elementor-post-type=\"docs\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a2d9387 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"a2d9387\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8a7ba72 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"8a7ba72\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"385\" src=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-4.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-7855\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-4.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-4-300x144.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-4-768x369.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-4-360x173.jpg 360w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1-4-600x289.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c694d9f e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c694d9f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c579f07 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c579f07\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><strong>Early Years &#8211; How it all started.<\/strong><\/h3><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>I\u2019ve always been drawn towards nature and animals.<\/p><p>Most kids when asked what they want to be when they grow up would answer Policeman, Fireman, or Space explorer. Not me. I would answer, Wildlife Photographer.<\/p><p>We never had your typical pet growing up. No dogs or cats. However we had rabbits, birds, and where it all started for me, goldfish.<\/p><p>When I was 8 years old I won a goldfish at the local fair. I was so excited to get it home and into a fishbowl. I stared at it for hours and would check on it throughout the night. I couldn\u2019t sleep. Unfortunately, I woke up to a floating fish, I was devastated.<\/p><p>My parents seeing how sad I was went out and bought me my first \u201caquarium\u201d. Not your standard glass rectangle, but a bubble gum machine designed to be an aquarium. Complete with plastic gum ball substrate and a bubbler it was ready to go. We got it all set up and off we went to the local pet store. I came home with two small goldfish and I fell in love.<\/p><p>I had that aquarium for a year or two until the two fish passed away. Years would go by until I turned 15, got my first job, and had my own money to spend. My first \u201creal\u201d aquarium was a 20 gallon Mainland kit that I purchased from Big Al\u2019s aquarium. I bought some tiger barbs and a female betta and set that baby up in one day. I was obsessed with watching planted freshwater tanks on YouTube at this time and tried to replicate what I saw. The next day I went back and bought some plants, Java fern, some amazon sword, among others. This would lead to approximately 9 freshwater tanks in my moms basement. It became an obsession.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b707820 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b707820\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5acb9ba e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"5acb9ba\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1483fed elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"1483fed\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2-1.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-7852\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2-1.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2-1-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2-1-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2-1-360x270.jpeg 360w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2-1-600x450.jpeg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cfcb6a4 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cfcb6a4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0719294 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0719294\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4><span style=\"color: #1e0123;\"><strong>Reef Tank &#8211; My first saltwater experience.<\/strong><\/span><\/h4><p>Fast forward to 2006. YouTube was growing and saltwater videos started to emerge. I remember seeing a 10g nano reef and being absolutely blown away by the colours. The shrimp, hermit crabs, clownfish, and red digitata. I was hooked. I went to big als and to my surprise they had a large saltwater section complete with corals, inverts, and fish. I went home and did some research on nano tanks. Ending up on nano-reef.com I signed up and asked one million questions. This forum took all of my time and focus, I was on it probably 6 hours a day.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aab0813 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"aab0813\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-38bf1d9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"38bf1d9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>I took some time to decide what size tank to purchase and ultimately landed on a 15 gallon long. I purchased live sand, salt, live rock, and a swing arm hydrometer. Excited to set it up I picked a spot in my bedroom, mixed the water, added the sand and rock, and let the cycle begin. Knowing nothing about lights or even having money to buy some, I purchased a DIY t5ho kit online with moms credit card and built a crappy hood out of scrap lumber and hand cut plywood. My first experience was learning about flow, all I had was a used aqua clear filter and it was my only source of flow. With so many dead spots I ended up with a hydor koralia, my first powerhead.<\/p><p>I don\u2019t remember exactly what my first coral was but I\u2019m 90% sure it was a frag of dragon eye zoanthids, a frag of pulsing Xenia, and some green star polyps. I had mini panic attacks every time I noticed something off in the tank. Coraline growing on the glass, diatom algae, or even the \u201cbaby shrimps\u201d that came only at night. It was all so exciting and scary. The tank did well for over a year but I quickly wanted bigger and better.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8ddd2ed e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"8ddd2ed\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-82b7830 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"82b7830\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3333a9c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3333a9c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4><span style=\"color: #1e0123;\"><strong>Upgrades &#8211; More space, more fish, more coral.<\/strong><\/span><\/h4><p>Those who know me well know that I always get the itch to upgrade and change tanks. One of my favourite parts of the hobby is setting up a new tank. The plumbing, the aqua scape, the building phase, I LOVE it. Over the years I think I\u2019ve had about 15-20 different reef tanks. Im not sure I will ever find myself in a position where I have one aquarium that doesn\u2019t change for more than a year or two, its a real problem.<\/p><p>Some of my favourite tanks of mine which can be found on the internet still are my 40 Gallon soft coral reef. This tank won Tank Of The Month on Nano Reef in October 2018. Probably my proudest moment in the hobby.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-567c980 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"567c980\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-53c4d11 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"53c4d11\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-3-400x300-1.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-7849\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-3-400x300-1.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-3-400x300-1-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-3-400x300-1-360x270.jpeg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e12003e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"e12003e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8869a1f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8869a1f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>I\u2019ve also had a beautiful 90 gallon soft cube, a 70 gallon sps tank, a 120 gallon lagoon and so many in between. I tell myself that one day I\u2019ll set up a large peninsula tank and that will be my forever tank, only time will tell.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b80ee55 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b80ee55\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8349a72 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"8349a72\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-361b750 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"361b750\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-3-400x300-1.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-7849\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-3-400x300-1.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-3-400x300-1-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/3-3-400x300-1-360x270.jpeg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2415560 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2415560\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-37562f5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"37562f5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4><span style=\"color: #1e0123;\"><strong>Trial and error &#8211; Learning as you go.<\/strong><\/span><\/h4><p>I\u2019ve had many ups and downs in the aquarium hobby. My biggest failure would probably be losing 18 fish in 48 hours to a severe case of velvet. Some fish included a pair of Split Face clownfish which were only bred by one person in Ottawa, Canada. You can no longer get these fish as he has stopped breeding for many years. A friend of mine bought a tank shutdown with some beautiful big tangs and wrasses and had nowhere to keep them for a few weeks. I agreed to house them in my sump for him. Not quarantining these fish was my biggest mistake and regret. Within 24 hours I noticed my fish were absolutely covered in a white slime. 24 hours later, all but one fish was dead.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-40c6be3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"40c6be3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2943d3e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2943d3e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>It\u2019s so important to learn from your mistakes. Only buy fish and coral from trusted sources, setting up a quarantine system is even better. These animals are precious, we must treat them as such. Take your time and be prepared. I think the best way to learn and apply knowledge is to have some sort of journal. Whether it be on a forum, in a book, or even just posting about your tank on instagram or Facebook. Having a database of changes made or even test results is an invaluable resource to look back on.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6303201 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6303201\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-60ba688 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"60ba688\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ea97cfd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ea97cfd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4><span style=\"color: #1e0123;\"><strong>Favourites &#8211; Fish and Coral.<\/strong><\/span><\/h4><p>The answer to what\u2019s your favourite fish or coral changes for me over time.<\/p><p>Years ago my answer would have been zoanthids and pearly jawfish.<\/p><p>Today, the answer would be Sarcophyton and dwarf angelfish.<\/p><p>Although I don\u2019t currently own a dwarf angel, my dream fish is the Tigerpyge.<\/p><p>When I finally set up my forever large soft coral peninsula I will build it around getting a Tigerpyge.<\/p><p>I NEED to have one.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3e1bff6 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3e1bff6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e6eec26 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e6eec26\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/5-1024x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-7843\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/5-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/5-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/5-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/5-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/5-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/5-360x360.jpg 360w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/5-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/5-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/5-50x50.jpg 50w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/5.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4bc1c96 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"4bc1c96\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-33c43b8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"33c43b8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><span style=\"color: #1e0123;\"><strong>Moving forward- What\u2019s to come?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3><p>I\u2019ve often wondered what the next step in reefing looks like to me. I\u2019d really like to try my hand at breeding some sort of fish. Captive bred, sustainable, and disease free corals and fish will be the future of our hobby. For now, its nano soft coral reefs that are simple and easy to manage.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-817b90b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"817b90b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-187a9bb elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"187a9bb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"369\" src=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/6-1-1024x472.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-7840\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/6-1-1024x472.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/6-1-300x138.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/6-1-768x354.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/6-1-1536x708.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/6-1-360x166.jpg 360w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/6-1-600x277.jpg 600w, https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/6-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0ab050d e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"0ab050d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-34e4a35 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"34e4a35\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4><span style=\"color: #1e0123;\"><strong>Words of Wisdom &#8211; My thoughts.<\/strong><\/span><\/h4><p>Do you. Don\u2019t listen to everyone else and follow the latest trends on livestock or equipment. I mean it\u2019s cool to have a list of named corals that you can brag about but at the end of the day it\u2019s all about how much you are enjoying your tank and the hobby.<\/p><p>Take your time, research your livestock, plan your aquascape. It\u2019s been said by many reefers before me but nothing good happens fast.<\/p><p>Reefing doesn\u2019t have to be complicated or expensive. You do not need the internet or a smart phone to have an aquarium. Buy the nicest glass box you can afford, and fill it up with things that YOU think are cool, not what everyone else likes.<\/p><p>Don\u2019t skip water change day.<\/p><p>Be kind to one another.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve always been drawn towards nature and animals. Most kids when asked what they want to be when they grow up would answer Policeman, Fireman, or Space explorer. Not me. I would answer, Wildlife Photographer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"doc_category":[1340],"doc_tag":[1602,1316,1603],"class_list":["post-7835","docs","type-docs","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","doc_category-history-of-the-aquarist","doc_tag-aquaforest","doc_tag-blog","doc_tag-seawater"],"acf":[],"year_month":"2026-04","word_count":1329,"total_views":"898","reactions":{"happy":"0","normal":"0","sad":"0"},"author_info":{"name":"krzysztof.mandecki@aquaforest.pl","author_nicename":"krzysztof-mandeckiaquaforest-pl","author_url":"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/en\/author\/krzysztof-mandeckiaquaforest-pl\/"},"doc_category_info":[{"term_name":"History of the aquarist","term_url":"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/en\/knowledge-base-category\/history-of-the-aquarist\/"}],"doc_tag_info":[{"term_name":"Aquaforest","term_url":"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/en\/knowledge-base-tag\/aquaforest\/"},{"term_name":"Blog posts","term_url":"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/en\/knowledge-base-tag\/blog\/"},{"term_name":"Seawater","term_url":"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/en\/knowledge-base-tag\/seawater\/"}],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Shawn Arbuckle: My History in Aquaria | Blog about aquariums | Resources | Aquaforest - Aquaforest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aquaforest.eu\/en\/knowledge-base\/shawn-arbuckle-my-history-in-aquaria\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shawn Arbuckle: My History in Aquaria | Blog about aquariums | Resources | Aquaforest - Aquaforest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve always been drawn towards nature and animals. 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