Steve Weast is an aquarist with an outsized influence on the reef aquarium hobby and even if you don’t know who he is, chances are that he he inspired someone that you do know. Despite having only shared one example of his tropical reef aquarium style this thousand gallon reef aquarium still stands head and shoulders above most of the best reef tanks that have gained popularity in the fifteen years since.
Like most of the reefers that have epic display tanks Mr. Weast is not a blogger or Youtuber and spends more time making his tank actually successful than participating in online discussion or debate, so many have assumed that he left the hobby long ago. While it’s true that Steve took a long break, his passion for the art of reef building never faded and we’ve stayed in touch with him and consulted on a wide range of reef aquarium topics for years.
Steve actually kicked off a new reef tank over a year ago and his style and philosophy in this 400 gallon display is a mirror image of his classic aquarium with some of the most discerning attention to detail we’ve ever seen. Like all of his aquariums this new tank has no visible equipment, no corals on a meticulously maintained sand bed, highly vertical aquascape bommies, and some very showy anemones that few others would dare placing in a diverse reef tank.
While Steve’s latest creation is not yet ready for its spotlight feature, we were honored to welcome this legendary reefer to the Reef Builders Studio earlier this month where we got the chance to chat him up for a rare interview on the Reef Therapy podcast. This conversation with Steve Weast is filled with uncommon viewpoints about reefing that you won’t hear anywhere else and it’s certainly an oasis of ideas and creativity that is sure to change the way you look at and operate your own reef aquarium.
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