It’s time to take a look back at the first-ever Aquatic Expo, hosted by the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America. The convention and show was held in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 2-3, 2022. The event was unique for MASNA in that it sought to include the freshwater side of the aquarium hobby.
If you missed it, catch our earlier “initial impressions” of the show report. For now, relax and enjoy some vistas from the event. Many of the photos were only able to be captured after-hours, as we, like many, were extremely busy during the event! While we tried to get everyone, we apologize to anyone we didn’t get a photo of for this report!
Late Friday night, Joseph Caparatta was putting the final touches on a large display encompassing Marco Rocks, PaxBellum, Triton, and Unique Corals.
The first new product to be seen at the show; MarcoRocks Powder, used to conceal the joints between larger rocks when creating an aquascape.
Welcome to the Expo! sera’s crew (Frank A. Abudlali, Claus Frenken, and Therese Neal) invites you in with open arms as the show begins Saturday morning.
sera’s L 150 internal sponge filter isn’t a new product for the company, but it is new to the U.S. market.
sera’s siporax nitrat-minus is a new take on their classic sintered glass biological filter media to encourage and fuel nitrate-reducing bacterial populations.
Something at the sera display happened to catch the eye of videographer Richard D. Back (Afishionado Channel).
Dirk Griffin of Red Wing, Minnesota, made the journey to Atlanta and brought the entire traveling Dirks, The Real Reefers Store with him!Aqueon and Coralife put on an impressive display.
Aqueon’s Andy Hudson walks expo attendees through one of Coralife’s BioCube all-in-one reef tanks on display at the show.
A little Xenia, some cherry red zoanthids, and a small Royal Gramma create the perfect, beginner-friendly ensemble for a small nano-reef display at Aqueon’s booth.It’s not a 55-gallon tank. It’s not a 75-gallon tank. What is this? Aqueon’s new 60-gallon “breeder” aquarium. Learn more here.While freshwater aquariums and fish were in the minority, they were certainly present if you slowed down and paid attention. These goldfish appeared to enjoy their 60-gallon breeder aquarium, even if only a temporary display for the show.Show sponsor Biota Aquariums had a large display and team present at the event; this quiet vista was captured in a rare lull…most of the time their booth was packed with people.Nothing was taken directly from the reef in this Biota Aquariums display; 100% aquacultured coral, Tridacna claims, and Forktail Blenny, Meiacanthus atrodorsalis.Biota’s captive-bred Gold Lined Rabbitfish, Siganus lineatus, are an instrumental part of the wild restocking efforts in Palau, but also happen to make voracious algae eaters in a reef tank. Biota’s Coral Beauty Angelfish, Centropyge bispinosa, were on display now in their second generation (F2) as captive-bred.Biota also facilitates the distribution of fishes produced by Wen-Ping Su and Bali Aquarich, such as this adorable juvenile captive-bred Magestic Angelfish, Pomacanthus navarchus.A show-stopper, one of Bali Aquarich’s captive-bred Regal Angelfish, Pygoplites diacanthus, investigating an aquacultured Tridacna derasa clam in the Biota display.While captive-bred Yellow Tangs have captured the hearts and minds of everyone in the marine aquarium hobby, Biota’s aquacultured Blue Lined Sea Bream, Threadfin Snappers, or Sailfin Snappers, known to science as Symphorichthys spilurus, were downright impressive.Not for the average home aquarist, Biota’s aquacultured Symphorichthys spilurus can reach a size of up to 2 feet in length; they’re very popular with public aquariums!Chara Billhimer and Ben Moua from Colorado-based MB Betta Aquatic, which was a highlight of the show for many who attended. More than one prominent reef aquarist may have flown home with a choice betta in their carryon.Dozens, or possibly hundreds of bettas, were on hand and all available to go home with attendees.Spangled and splotches, multicolor bettas, have come a long way and had many admirers.This monochromatic betta was a show-stealer.There was no shortage of corals and other reef life to view and purchase at Trash Panda Aquaculture.Frost Corals was on hand for the show with their typical massive selection of corals and inverts.
Interesting anemones were encountered at the show. These may have been offered by Frost Corals, but we can’t be 100% certain.
Just part of the KnockOut Corals presence at the Aquatic Expo.KnockOut Corals was showcasing this amazing 3-d aquatic art at very reasonable prices!KnockOut Corals also revealed an interesting solution for overnight security at frag swaps and shows; their frag tanks had custom-engraved locking covers. Not only do they prevent coral thefts, but they reduce evaporation and help stabilize temperatures as well.There was truly no shortage of corals at the Aquatic Expo.Unlimited Color Corals was on hand and showing off gorgeous coral.An after-hours glimpse at the Sicce booth -check out all that flow!Later in the show, we caught Terence Fugazzi of The Reefing Report interviewing Jason Wilson at the Sicce display.Reef Nutrition was in the house, as was “copegod” Chad Clayton, who somehow managed to elude being captured by the camera!
Dante Jarrett, CEO of Tsunami Coral Reefs and Aquariums, showcasing artificial coral aquascapes.
A closer look at the artificial coral reef decor from Tsunami Coral Reefs and Aquariums.
You’ve seen their corals in the pages of CORAL as beautiful MVargas Photography; meet NaCL, or North American Coral Labs!A wide range of PNW Customs Frag Racks were on display at the NaCL space.The amazing desktop reef tanks from PNW Custom are super tiny and fully functional!
This cube model of pico reef from PNW Custom was on sale at the show for just $149.
Just around the corner from NaCl; FreshwaterAquarium.com and SaltwaterAquarium.com
Wait…what’s this? Harley Finberg, the man behind PNW Custom, shows off the new “Small In One”, showcased as a beautiful freshwater planted tank at the FreshwaterAquarium.com display.
Get up close with PNW Custom’s Small In One! Finberg also took a moment to reveal the removeable multi-compartment back chamber, which can be put to use in any number of applications.Events like the Aquatic Expo aren’t just a trade show or vendor room; engaging educational presentations were available to attendees all weekend long.A glimpse at the Aquatic Expo’s 2022 speaker room, which doubled as the location for the end-of-day raffle drawings after the show floor had closed.The local organized hobby was on hand to share their events and recuirt new members! Atlanta Reef Club (ARC) was there for the marine aquarists.Aquarists interested in the freshwater hobby needed to meet up with the “Quad A”, AAAA or the Atlanta Area Aquarium Association!Visitors could meet with, learn about, and join the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America (MASNA).MASNA representative Tom Land was on hand to ask, “will we see you at MACNA 2022 in Milwaukee, WI?”Aquarium Partners was founded to create a bridge between European companies and the U.S. reef keeping hobby, making a wide range of products avialable from noteworthy companies like Probidio, MarinePur, Elos, Aquarochce, Reef Kinetics, and more.MarinePure ceramic biomedia was on display in many configurations.A beautiful Bashsea sump showcases many of the ways that MarinePure media can be utilized.
New Product Alert: MarinePure Biofilter Media Pods.
The shape of the new media is said to encourage colonization by amphipods and copepods.
Aquaroche offers ceramic reef foundations as an alternative to live rock.
This is what Aquaroche ceramic rock looks like, up close.Look at the interchangeable aquascaping system from Aquaroche, Acroporock!With the growing emphasis on “negative space aquascaping” (NSA), the Acroporock system from Aquaroche offers a highly configurable and inert option for creating your reef’s support structure.Another completely different configuration of Aquaroche’s Acroporock.
Ryan @ Elos was non-stop busy, talking about the impressive tanks and aquascapes on display during the Expo.
Another gorgeous aquascape showcased in an elegant rimless aquarium from Elos.
Elos – proof that tiny can be beautiful!
GNC LED Lighting is showcased on this tiny, shallow, pico reef featuring red macroalgae and Xenia. Gingerbread Tropical Fish & Coral was offering a wind assortment of livestock for reef aquarists.CaribSea offers a wide range of substrates for freshwater and marine aquariums; their Life Rock alternative to live rock was on prominent display.
Jud McCracken (center) explains the virtues of LifeRock…or maybe they’re talking about something completely different (a picture may be worth 1000 words, but it doesn’t come with an audio track!).
Tropic Marin and Ocean Realms were happy to talk about salt, reef additives, and of course, coral frags!
Herb Hickox (left) and Sanjay ‘Photon Man’ Joshi casually discuss live Mysis shrimp offerings sfrom US Mysids.
Kessil’s reknowned LED lights were on display at the expo.The Fishman and Dae’s Discus were one of the main vendors of freshwater fish at the show, and they were constantly busy.There was never an opportunity to snap a photo at The Fishman and Dae’s Discus without people lined up to talk to them!A sampling of fish seen at The Fishman and Dae’s Discus. We would have shown you more, but we would have had to push people out of the way to get the photos!Aquarists who also keep herps may recognize the company Ship Your Reptiles. Well, they also offer amazing services and shipping expertise to aquarium hobbyists and coral farmers through Ship Your Aquatics, as founder Chad Brown explains to aquarists looking to ship corals.Ship Your Aquatics offers a full line of vetted, reliable shipping supplies and the expertise to help you use them properly to ensure the safety of your live animal shipments.The Ship Your Aquatics Team: Jacqueline Bearden, Suzy Swett Lewis, and Chad Brown.
SpectraPure Operations Manager Nick Capertina was excited to show off this beast, the industrial-scale reverse osmosis water purification system that was used behind the scenes to generate all the water needed for the show in a matter of hours.
The backside of SpectraPure’s RO system used to generate thousands of gallons of water for the Aquatic Expo’s vendors.
Everyone was taking photos at Spike’s Corals!Everyone was shopping for corals, which kept vendors like Pop Corals busy most of the weekend.Towards the end of the show, we got to take a quick look at Speed Reefer Corals.Check out this unique Bubble Tip Anemone, Entacmaea quadricolor!Last-minute frag shopping as the show was coming to a close on Sunday.Was it a good show? The Reef Farm clearly looks happy!More happy coral vendors; the crew at Queen City Corals.Perhaps one of the best aspects of MASNA’s Aquatic Expo was the return to gatherings in person, seeing old friends, and making new ones. The notion of “no sleep” (or minimal sleep) was alive and well. It may look like a bit of a “who’s who” but the reality is that attendees who go to aquarium events should make the time to find folks after the show is done…most all are simply down-to-earth aquarium lovers and are terribly welcoming of kindred spirits. Thanks to Raj Shingadia of MRC America for sharing this candid look from one late night after the expo.
Great show. Almost felt I was back seeing everyone. So many memories especially years of Ariel’s booths and Hugo’s Atlanta Keynote Zooxanthellae Rulers of the Sea presentation.
Great show. Almost felt I was back seeing everyone. So many memories especially years of Ariel’s booths and Hugo’s Atlanta Keynote Zooxanthellae Rulers of the Sea presentation.