Charley Teel?

[sharkboy]

I noticed that Austin Aquariums is going to host a beginner reef course by Charley Teel. Can anyone tell me anything about this guy and whether or not it is worth the trip to Austin?

[wobbegong]

Ask Ed ... he is very knowledgeable.

[thedude]

I'll jump in as I work part time at Austin Aquariums.

Charley is one of Michael's friends, who opened the store with him and currently lives in Dallas. I sat through the class the first time he taught it and it's actually very good. He goes over such basic things as substrate choices, lighting, flow, protein skimming, dosing, feeding, and gives a great chart of what exactly is in the Austin city water.

All in all, this class is exactly what it states, a beginning reef course, so if you've been in the hobby for a long time, you probably won't learn anything eye opening. It is great however for anyone who wants to take the initial plunge into saltwater and has no real clue where to begin.

John

PS: DFW's marine society is also having Next Wave this weekend which has a TON of crazy speakers. If you're looking for advanced opinions on everything, that would be the conference to attend.

[brewercm]

How is Charley doing. We haven't heard from him in a long time. I remember meeting him at Austin aquariums several years back, during one of my first meetings actually to attend.

Actually we haven't heard from several of the old (as in old to MAAST) folks in a while, we used to have quite a large Austin contingency here that seems to have dwindled down lately.

[GaryP]

Hhhhhmmm, interesting idea. Maybe MAAST can do something along the same lines in SA.

[GaryP]

Mew Wave is going to be an awesome event. Anyone that is able to go should plan on doing so. Its not to late. Marc (Melevreef), the president of DFWMAS, posted an announcement here about it last week. Please check it out.

[thedude]

Charley is doing real well. Michael is continually trying to convince him to come back to Austin!