The Keepers

The Origin

It started with my mom. She had kept freshwater tanks my whole life and dreamed of converting her 125-gallon system to saltwater. Local shops told her it was "too difficult" so I started researching for her. Before long I was the one hooked.

From a 29-gallon in middle school to a custom-drilled setup in my senior year, my education happened in the tank. I learned early that "difficult" just meant "different." Throughout college and grad school at UGA, I kept a reef tank with me in every apartment to experiment with custom overflows, sump designs, and the biology of closed systems.

The Coven & Community

The name "Coral Coven" reflects something deeper than an aesthetic. It represents the living reef ecosystems we’ve built into our Warner Robins home and the quiet rituals that define our days.

My wife, Stacy, has been my biggest encouragement. She watched my tanks progress and got hooked herself. We now share the obsession, taking road trips to Atlanta to visit fish and coral shops together. She even runs her own tanks now, including a 40-gallon breeder planted community and a 10-gallon planted tank focused on betta personality.

It has become a gathering place for our friends and a sanctuary for us. Sharing this world with her and our dogs, Ramsay and Stella, is what keeps me going. Her support inspires me to inspire others in the marine aquaculture hobby.

Data-Driven Reefing

I hold a Master of Science in Computer Science where my thesis focused on misinformation detection. With over 8 years of professional software development and experience as a certified Professional Scrum Master (PSM), I realized the reefing hobby suffers from the same problem. We often rely on bad data and anecdotal myths.

I approach the hobby with that academic rigor. I took extra microbiology classes to understand the invisible life in our tanks. Whether it is automating parameters or analyzing samples under a microscope, my goal is to combine computer science with marine biology to foster real conservation and education.

The Fish Room Specs

The "Coven" is a mix of high-tech reefing and freshwater experimentation.

• Primary System

  Waterbox 180.5 (Mixed Reef)

• Plumbed Tie-Ins

  2x 40g Breeders (Puffer & Mixed Reef)

• Propagation

  22g Long (Dedicated Frag Tank)

• Stacy's Tanks

  40g Breeder & 10g Planted

• The Lab

  Microscopy & Element Testing Station

Battling the Invisible

Expertise is not about avoiding problems; it is about solving them. In 2024, I faced a massive crash started by a stray foil blister pack that fell into the sump. The resulting Tin poisoning forced me to perform aggressive water changes. While this lowered the metals, it stripped the water of nutrients, opening the door for an outbreak of Large Cell Amphidinium (LCA) Dinoflagellates.

Standard advice failed. The turning point came when I joined the Mack's Reef Dinoflagellates Support Group and started following the Reef Moonshiner's method. Following their research, I purchased a microscope to confirm the diagnosis rather than guessing.

Once identified, I defeated the LCA Dinos by dosing silicates to encourage diatom competition. Later, I encountered a rarer species: Akashiwo sanguinea. Because I had the microscope, I knew these were water-column swimmers (unlike the burrowing LCA) and treated them successfully with UV sterilization. That experience defined the ethos of our online coral nursery: precise diagnosis over guessing.

The Mission

My goal is to offer aquaculture that is accessible. I am currently growing out specific strains of branching hammer, Zoanthids, and Sinularia that are conditioned to thrive in home aquariums. I want to sell quality, pest-free frags from our Warner Robins facility at lower prices to help new hobbyists succeed.