via Marine Aquarium Societies of North America (MASNA)

The MASNA Award is arguably the most prestigious in the realm of reef keeping. The list of winners is decorated with individuals who have been active in aquarium keeping for decades and whose impacts have molded the hobby into the multidisciplinary balance of science, art, and animal companionship as we know it today. These aquarists have demonstrated unwavering dedication to and significant impacts on the marine aquarium community. Championing excellence in reef keeping and serving to set the standard for best practices in our industry, it is our utmost pleasure to announce Marc Levenson as the 2024 MASNA Award recipient.

Marc’s passion for marine life began when he was just a child. His father would go on trips all over the world. On one such trip to the island of Mo’orea, 9-year-old Marc was lucky enough to tag along. Full of youthful energy and curiosity, he spent each day exploring the ocean world encircling the tiny Pacific Island. Young Marc would gather sea life in a water bottle he had cut open to create a microcosm and show it to beachgoers, encouraging them to explore the underwater realm just beneath the gentle waves of the lagoon. At this impressionable age, the sight of corals, anemones, and clownfish incited his life-long journey of marine aquarium keeping.

Marc’s passion for sharing knowledge is evident with his website melevsreef.com and the thousands upon thousands of interactions on various forums over the years, and then later further support of aquarists through his educational YouTube channel. Marc quickly chimes in without hesitation when a fellow aquarist needs help with that same excitement as the boy on the beach of Mo’orea. Anyone who has discussed reef tanks with Marc has undoubtedly experienced his enthusiasm and has been inspired to be the best aquarist that they can be.

Facing complicated challenges head-on is fairly commonplace for aquarists, and Marc has dealt with his fair share of less-than-ideal reefkeeping scenarios. Every aquarist’s nightmare is the venerable aquarium seam failure or cracked glass. The thought of waking up to a flooded living room often keeps many of us on edge. Horror stories frequently catch major attention on forums and blogs. This unfortunate occurrence has impacted Marc personally. What Marc did to remedy the situation is nothing short of heroic. Making quick decisions and acting fast, he assembled a backup tank and rescued every animal he could from the failed aquarium. One particular fish named Spock, a Naso Tang, was rescued and held for over a year in makeshift tanks until a new aquarium could be installed in his home. Spock is with Marc to this day and underlines Marc’s paramount respect for animal life and the measures he will take to ensure the well-being of those in his care. Marc has shared many of his innovations with the community to improve aquarium systems. After a tragic experience following a system pump outage, Marc and a good friend created what likely may have been the very first feeding timer applied to a reef aquarium. Before such a device was available at the local fish store, the duo built a homemade pump control box that would pause pump operation for a limited time during daily feedings and resume pump operation automatically. Such devices are now commonplace from a variety of manufacturers, and most reef equipment utilizes this fail-safe design, ensuring the safety of countless aquarium animals.

Another one of Marc’s innovations has humbly become the norm for many in-sump refugium layouts. This approach, referred to simply as “Model-F,” partitions waterflow returning to the sump into two pathways: one into the refugium, and the other into the main sump chamber. In this way, the refugium remains quiescent allowing macro algae to flourish without turbulent flow, and the second water pathway passes through mechanical filtration for the display tank to thrive. Although he does sell equipment he has manufactured, Marc has never capitalized on these designs. Instead, he shares these concepts with the greater aquarium community so that everyone may benefit from his creations.

Marc has been a familiar face advocating for and supporting organizations such as MASNA and MACNA since the beginning. He has not wavered in his support for continuing the traditions of our reefkeeping community and what it means to so many of us. When MACNA 2023 was not able to take place, Marc volunteered to host a 24-hour live stream on his channel and coined it MARCNA 2023 to ensure the reefkeeping community carried on the tradition. During those 24 hours, he had scheduled guests from around the globe.

His selflessness, can-do attitude, and positivity are characteristics all aquarists should embrace. The MASNA Board of Directors is delighted to add Mr. Levenson to the list of outstanding individuals who have supported the growth and advancement of the marine aquarium-keeping community. We look forward to Marc’s continued contributions to the hobby through his channel and as the current Executive Editor of CORAL Magazine and cannot wait to see what his next innovation will do for home aquariums.

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Publisher’s Note: The entire team at Aquatic Media Press congratulates Marc on this well-deserved recognition and honor. He joins the ranks of many notable aquarists that MASNA has honored over the course of decades, individuals who’ve helped expand our knowledge and shape the marine aquarium hobby we know today.

Please visit this companion post that details all of MASNA’s past honorees: Pioneer Awards, MASNA Awards, and Aquarists Of The Year.