What is MACNA? For those of you who don’t know MACNA usually happens in September, annually. Some say it’s a conference, while others say its the best reef event in the world. What is MACNA and why should you attend?

Image credit: melvesreef

MACNA History

The first MACNA was hosted in Toronto, Canada by MAST, which is the Marine Aquarium Society of  Toronto. Since then there have been several MACNA locations through out North America. Here is a handy list from Brian Blank that lists all the different locations of MACNA.

* XXII Orlando, FL (2010)
* XXI  Atlantic City, NJ (2009)
* XX  Atlanta, GA (2008)
* XIX  Pittsburgh, PA (2007)
* XVIII  Houston, TX (2006)
* XVII  Washington DC (2005)
* XVI Boston, MA (2004)
* XV  Louisville, KY (2003)

* XIV  Ft Worth, TX (2002)
* XIII  Baltimore, MD (2001)
* XII  Ft Lauderdale, FL (2000)
* XI  Louisville, KY (1999)
* X  Los Angeles, CA (1998)
* IX  Chicago, IL (1997)
* VIII  Kansas City, MO (1996)
* VII  Louisville, KY (1995)
* VI  Cleveland, OH (1994)
* V  Toronto, Canada (1993)
* IV  Miami, FL (1992)
* III  New Jersey (1991)
* II  Aurora, OH (1990)
* I  Toronto, Canada (1989)

11 Reasons Why you need to go to MACNA

So what are those 11 reasons why you need to go to the MACNA conference?

1. You’ll have fun (I’m sure I’ll mention this again).

2. You’ll learn a lot about keeping saltwater/marine/reef aquariums.

3. You’ll get to see the latest in new equipment in person (besides reading Reef Builders).

4. You’ll get to meet some of the Reef Builders editors and writers. Along with a great handful of other professional authors and writers. These guys keep the reef saltwater world alive and kicking with their articles in various publications. Buy them a drink. They deserve it.

5. You’ll get sick of talking about reefs and saltwater aquariums after you leave. Seriously. You will.

6. You’ll see a lot of overflowed sumps in the exhibitors area and weird smells, smells that are familiar to you from your own aquarium systems. Sometimes the sumps make such a big mess that maintenance has to help clean it up after. But you just might see a fellow competitor help out too. There are few industries that do this. Truly a nice sight.

7. Each night, after the show you’ll get to hang out with fellow reef nerds across the country and either talk about reefs more, or not, its up to you.

8. You’ll get first dibs on some of the best livestock in the country for that week only. A true WYSIWYG experience. Sure seeing photos online is great, but even the greatest cameras don’t compare to the megapixel rating of your own eyeballs.

9. You can turn the event into a mini vacation with your family. All MACNA events are kid friendly, and most already have saltwater aquariums with their parents permission. You can drop the wife off at the local malls as most all MACNA events are located in large cities with great shopping malls. Or she can come if she likes seeing reefs 24/7. Although I might make a suggestion and let her buy whatever she wants at the mall. Trust me. You’ll want to buy so much at MACNA from corals to new equipment and books. It’s all there. It’s great.

10. Most MACNA events have a hosting hotel. These hotels are usually very nice. So nice in fact that the discounts you are receiving because of the conference don’t usually happen for us normal people..

11. MACNA as a reef conference has been going on for quite some time now. People like it. It’s fun to go to. Besides being able to talk about reefs 24/7 it offers the fun banquet meal which few conferences offer. Eating with a group of random strangers among a round table is a great experience, you meet new people, share reef stories and have fun. It’s like going to Medieval knights without the knights and a lot of other stuff.

Are there any other reasons to attend the MACNA conference? I’m all ears people.