Stephen Davis

I'm really an expert in carnivorous plants. They have been my passion for 25 years. That being said my neighbor convinced me to try a reef tank and my small one turned into my "dream" tank which is a 74 gallon bowfront. It's been a side hobby for years. When we moved from my very successful small tank to the larger tank things didn't go well. I lost most of the coral and I could never get the chemistry right. We believe it was a combination of using used water (There was an accident with the new water wasn't discovered until we had torn down the tank) and some used rock. Phosphates are a problem to this day, but is more reasonable. Good thing I love pulsing Xenia, right? Over the last 10 months or so the tank has turned around and the coral is doing great.

The thing that really attracts me to the coral is that they are so similar to my carnivorous plants. Most photosynthesize and get most or all of their nutrients from the sun, but they often do better if they get fed a little. Light is critical for my plants as well as coral and they require different levels of light. The plants are complicated and have complex relationships with insect and mammals that we are now just discovering. Mutualistic relationships exist in the coral world as well. Water quality is key for both. I use reverse osmosis water for most of my plants. Above all, we don't know everything about them and are learning. Even a guy like me could contribute to the community with observations and fresh ideas.

Looking forward to years of learning and experimenting ahead.