Tell us about yourself: 

My name is Ed Hahn and I live in Kennewick, Washington (Tri-Cities) with my wife, Stacy, and two children, Morgan and Zac.

I started in the saltwater hobby in 1992 with a small local club. It's now 2004, and I'm Vice President of the Midcolumbia Saltwater Aquarium Club - a medium-sized, lively, growing local club offering encouragement to all saltwater hobbyists in the area.

As Vice President, one of my goals is rebuilding the idea of people getting together both monthly at the local level and yearly at the regional level, to discuss saltwater aquariums. I want to bring people together to be educated and share with others wanting to learn this hobby. Too many people have been soured after making mistakes or being misled by uneducated advice. I want to prove this hobby is easy. I make a effort to go to as many saltwater club meetings as possible & I am thankful to people that have shared their time and thoughts. I've learned this hobby bears happy people that enjoy sharing what they know.

Monthly meetings are going pretty good and on August 13-14, 2004 the first annual Pacific Northwest Marine Aquarium Conference (PNWMAC) was born. The event was GREAT! We fed people, we had informative talks from experts, we had a coral auction, items were donated from vendors for give aways, we had over $750 dollars worth of give aways. Everyone had a blast & went away with more knowledge and new friends. Check our website for updates to both local and yearly meetings www.midcolumbiasaltwater.com .

I believe no one person can take credit for the success of the conference. This was a group effort by people that enjoy this hobby and wanted to promote it. . If over a hundred people can get together in such a short notice of three months what else could happen? This proved to me without a doubt that there is need for this to happen yearly.

I have never met a more supportive group in all my life. My wife calls us Fish People. I wish all people were Fish People. In my book Fish People should be thanked more often for the smiles they have put on everyone's face.

Thanks for the smiles,
Ed Hahn Vice President,
Mid-Columbian Saltwater Club

How did you get involved in the saltwater hobby?

I believe my Father loved animals and wanted us kids to learn responsibility. I found a love for Freshwater Fish early. I had to have the Zebra Plecostomos, Discus, Angel fish. I wanted the best looking fish always. I had been fascinated by the color of Saltwater fish and wanted to learn more about it. I just dove in Head first. I made many mistakes, through friends I learned more and more as time went on. I was hooked.

Tell us about your tank? 

My Tank is a 90 gallon IAP Acrylic tank. My tank has a Close loop consisting of a Sequence Stingray Pump that was upgraded. I would assume about 4000 gph. That flow is separated by a custom spray bar modeled after Nikki's 150 gallon on here. It was built by Mike O'Brien. The other half of the flow is regulated by a gate valve to operate two 3/4 inch Sea Swirls on the front of the tank. Rick Berg built more plumbing, Sea Swirl holders, and modified things for a clean look. The tank was built with a Coast to Coast with Dual overflows from IAP. The overflows contain one inch and a half Durso valves. It dumps into a Barr Aquatics Two piece Sump with individual frag or holding tank. My Sump holds my prized tool a Euroreef CS8-2 skimmer. Another goodie Barr Aquatics added to my sump was a probe holder/ media box for Calcium Reactor. This item allows your calcium reactor return and intake to be filtered while holding your probe. The return pump from my Sump is a Dolphin 2100. The Dolphin pushes water through a SCWD with Loc Line fittings and double flared nozzles to alternate current from Left side of tank to Right side of tank. My lighting consist of two 250 watt Metal Halides inside a Custom Oak canopy. I am now using a Hamilton 14K and a Coralvue 15K combination. Both bulbs are powered by Hamilton Ballast. My tank holds frags from Friends that love this hobby. I want those friends to know the value of sharing. Any Frag that was given to me from someone will be fragged for you if possible if you have a accident and lose original coral.

Things not added to my tank, but in my possession for future are...a 25 watt UV sterilizer, a calcium reactor, and a 1/4 horse chiller.

How did you become involved with Reef Frontiers? 

I had a Friend in Tri-Cities that introduced me to Reef Frontiers. That Friend is Yellotang. We know him as Matt Steele. Matt sent me a link on a thread. I could tell the information was accurate from reading the first few threads. The people were friendly and knowledgeable and took the time to explain things to me one on one.

What is your reef keeping philosophy? 

Always use RO or RO/DI water for your tank. I like to use heavy Live Rock. I like to use a pound and a half plus per gallon of tank. I believe your best investment is your skimmer. I believe if you keep water in NSW perimeters, keep your temperature 79-80, use adequate lighting,keep a routine time with a set photo period, have flow with no dead spots, that you usually produce excellent results. I believe if you want healthy SPS you need alternating flow, Metal Halides for required size tank, and lots of patience. The longer Live Rock is cured the better biological filter it is for you. If you modify any thing in your tank do it in moderation. I try to maintain my calcium 400-420ppm. I maintain my Alkalinity 2.8-3.5 meg/L. Remember that your calcium and alkalinity actually Teeter Totter. I do not add combination supplements. I add Kent Turbo Calcium in dry concentrated form. I add Kent Super Buffer in dry concentrated form also. Most of my water quality issues can be fixed by water changes. I premix my Saltwater. You want your temperature and salinity as close as possible before adding it to tank. I will clean a filter one day. Then do a water change days later. I try to change things as slow as possible not to disrupt the animals and put them into shock. I have worked in a routine where I shut my skimmer off once every two weeks. I believe everyone should have a poly filter as a back up in case of emergencies.

What is your dream tank? 

My dream tank would be a Nano tank or Large Tank full of colorful healthy SPS and LPS with Brightly colored healthy Clams.

Do you have any advice for others? 

Support your forum and Reef Society. The ability to work together as a group is a great importance to this hobby. We all are one group of people that enjoy doing the same thing. I am asking you to Please share the wealth.