So recently we took a long-awaited trip to Polo Reef. We weren’t the first people to visit, video, and showcase Andrew Sandler’s 17,000-gallon home aquarium, and we certainly won’t be the last. It is safe to say that Polo Reef is the most talked about aquarium in the world right now. It is also fast becoming the most famous.
We see it getting even more popular too, we can’t see any other private saltwater aquarium eclipsing it and even with our experienced yet critical eyes, it is remarkable in many ways. The term “Dream Tank” is overused, but it should have been reserved solely and exclusively for this aquarium. It is a saltwater aquarist’s dream.
Our mission to visit this famous tank had a different onus, however. Of course, we wanted to see it and marvel at it, record it, and be wowed, but you don’t need us for that. You can do that yourself. We went there to place some of our own famous aquarist’s corals – Jake Adams’ own grown legacy corals, into Andrew Sandler’s tank. And that’s a big deal.
Philanthropy
For those of you who didn’t watch Chris Meckley’s appearance on Reef Therapy with Raj and Remy, when Jake suddenly, tragically passed away last year, the people who were closest to him rallied around his then-pregnant wife Windsor to offer support, and Chris was one of them. The Reef Builders Studio was full of corals, many of them unique, all of them with stories attached, but curating that collection had previously been a full-time job for two people, and although Windsor is a skilled saltwater aquarist herself, she was with child.
Jake’s high standards started to slip, and water quality deteriorated enough for Chris to notice when he journeyed all the way up from Florida. Something needed to be done. Few people had the capacity to handle dozens of basketball-sized Acropora colonies so an important phone call was made. Andrew Sandler’s response – how can I help?
He helped out Windsor, and we really appreciate it.
Evie’s dive
Months later and the corals that Andrew Sandler rehomed from the studio have been cleaned up, de-bugged, quarantined, and are thriving again, and Reef Builders Field Reporter Evie Anderson got to stick them in place in the big tank. Through this famous tank and its team of carers Jake’s corals will get the attention they deserve and a stable home for the long term. Watch the video to see the process in action.
