Midland Reefs was started in December 2001 by Tim Hayes. Originally Midland Reefs was set up as the first commercial coral farm in the UK but over time, with increased involvement in writing for the aquatic press and consulting for manufacturers, the emphasis has gradually moved on to product testing and research, although captive propagated corals are still being grown.

Midland Reefs has had a number of successes with breeding and raising marine animals including: - Peppermint Shrimps, Common Clownfish, Maroon Clownfish, Gold Chromis, Banggai Cardinalfish, a couple of coral species, numerous snail species, and most recently Berghia sp. nudibranchs.

Tim Hayes writes extensively for aquatic magazines on marine subjects, specialising in reef aquaria. He is a regular contributor to a number of magazines including Practical Fishkeeping, Tropical Fish, Aquatic Trader (trade magazine), and has just started writing for Aquarium Fish in the US.

Tim has had articles published in Aquarium Fish (US), Today's Fishkeeper (UK), Coral magazine (International), Reef (France), Reef Art (Italy,) FAMA (Freshwater And Marine Aquarium - USA), Pet Business World News (UK trade magazine), and Conscientious Aquarist Online (US online magazine).

His first book was published in 2005 - 500 Ways To Be A Better Marine Aquarist. Tim was principal author, writing over half the book, plus was technical adviser on the project.

He's currently working on a new title due to be published in 2007.

Tim does consultation work on reef aquaria and has given presentations the last couple of years to NAW – the UK public aquarium conference.

Throughout 2006 and 2007 he's been actively involved in popularising The Big Fish campaign through his writing in aquarium hobby magazines. This is the UK public aquarium campaign aimed at raising awareness of fishes that grow to a size unmanageable by hobbyists.

Tim is Reef Aquarium Consultant and part time lecturer at Sparsholt College – the UK's centre for vocational fisheries training. A series of research projects into reef aquaria are planned in conjunction with Sparsholt.

He is also reef aquarium consultant to the Blue Planet Aquarium, where he worked on the new Reef Magic exhibit.

ABSTRACT

This is a presentation that's aimed at the less experienced reef keeper, although it's still one of value to more advanced ones. Unlike presentations looking at planning a new reef in terms of hardware and technology this one looks at planning a reef based on the animal's requirements.

It's based around all the things that need to be taken into consideration when planning a reef. It looks at the needs of the animals being kept and how they should be best accommodated in captivity. There is an element of this talk that looks at our responsibilities to the animals we keep and, with that in mind, the second part of the presentation includes coverage of the UK public aquarium campaign: the Big Fish campaign (see Aquarium Fish Jan issue)

For more from Tim check out his Reef Ramblings at www.midlandreef.co.uk