|
Bob has been in the aquarium hobby for
fifty-seven years. He was born and raised in Queens, New York. He started with
freshwater aquariums as a young child and had his first marine aquarium in 1956.
During the past fifty years, whether living in the United States or the Far
East, he has maintained aquariums. Bob has also collected specimens for his
past aquariums from the South China Sea to the Caribbean. He has/is writing
for various publications, e.g., Marine Fish Monthly, Freshwater And Marine Aquarium,
Tropical Fish Hobbyist, SeaScope, and Practical Fishkeeping, and Marine World
in the UK.
Goemans is retired from a subsidiary of General Motors where he was the Environmental
Contracting Manager. He currently has aquarium and environmental consulting
businesses.
|
|
| At an early age Bob was a member
of the Jamaica Aquarium Society where he became the first person in the United
States to own an undergravel filter. |
|
|
Bob has provided question and answer sessions at new "Store Openings,"
spoken to aquarium societies worldwide, and even appeared in a TV hobby show
for an ABC station in his home town of Tucson, Arizona. Bob has also provided
many question and answer sessions for local school children and other interested
aquarists at his home or in their schools.Bob has never been an employee of
any aquarium product company and has no allegiance to any aquarium product company.
He considers himself a truly independent voice with nothing to gain but satisfaction
in helping his fellow aquarists. He has a Doctorate in Business Management and
is a Sierra Club member.
|
Without a doubt there are some strong positions being taken by plenum and deep
sandbed enthusiasts. Yet, the premise that one biological filtration method is
the best is quite ridiculous in my opinion. I've been a hobbyist for 57 years
and have tried almost all filtration methods along with most types of equipment
and additives. And because of that, can honestly say that any type system can
be successful if the proper amount of effort goes into them. 'Been there' and
'done that!'
Nevertheless, the controversy surrounding these methods has and is still generating
a flow of highly 'opinionated' statements. Often, I see verbiage that is vague
or based on an occurrence in the wild and which the author believes is normally
happening in a closed system. What does go on in different closed system sandbeds
and does it differ from the wild, and if so, why? Getting On the Same Page,
the title of my presentation, in-part addresses this flow of information and
will hopefully put those with an open mind all on the same page.
Even though many say I'm a plenum enthusiast, it doesn't mean I would not objectively
entertain data that would be of value, as the wellbeing of our captive animals
is paramount if our hobby is to continue. Improving closed system environment
is my goal, and since I sell no aquarium products or ever have, it's a direction
that fellow hobbyists can be assured will not be skewed by the intervention
of commercialism.
Don't miss my presentation, as I think you will find it an honest and informative
view of the differences between these two methods. Please checkout my new and
growing website at www.saltcorner.com.
Bob Goemans
|
