Alex looks back on his trip to London to attend the Reef Summit. An event aimed at getting industry leaders and influencers together to network, learn and share ideas.
When I received a message inviting me to be part of the TMC's Reef Summit event back in January I was a little confused. I haven't had a saltwater aquarium in almost a decade, why would they invite me. For a split moment, I had completely forgotten that I work for Practical Fishkeeping. While I may not play an active role in the hobby, I quickly realised I still influence it with what we publish.
Obviously, I accepted the invite and just had to wait for May to eventually arrive. In the meantime I needed to work out how I was getting there and book a hotel for the night as it was a two day event.
Day One- Fascinating Presentations
After an early alarm, I set off for London, via Matt Hayes's house (one of our contributors). He too was attending, and since we lived fairly close it made sense to share a car. The event didn't start until early afternoon at the Horniman Museum and Gardens and traffic was kind to us. We now had some spare time, so on the way through the capital city, we stopped off at Fish Planet.
A full write up of this store visit will feature in the magazine so make sure to subscribe so you don't miss it!
Two o'clock quickly arrived, and we were still in traffic (although quite close by). Great we are late, that'll be a good first impression! Luckily, we shortly arrived and hadn't missed any of the initial talks. The weather was rather hot, so after grabbing a glass of water, I began to chat to the other attendees.
Former editor and current contributor, Jeremy Gay of Reefkeeping and Fishkeeping News, was one of the many friendly faces. After speaking several times since I join Practical Fishkeeping, it was nice to finally meet in person.
Today's offerings soon began with a fascinating talk by Jamie Craggs of the Coral Spawning Lab. He spoke in depth about their work on spawning corals in captivity and how it can support wild coral reefs. Then, Samuel Neizer explained how the company SciReef began from a lab at the University of Oldenburg. Their aim is to provide sexually reproduced corals from captive specimens in Germany.
Perhaps one day I will be lucky enough to have one of these captive bred corals in my own reef tank. I'll need a marine aquarium before I can start dreaming of that though.
Exploring the Horniman's Aquarium
After the inspiring talks, it was time to see some marine fish and corals. The team at the Horniman's aquarium took small groups of us around both the aquarium and the coral lab. The group I was in toured the public facing aquarium first.
Here, there was a wonderful blend of both fresh and salt, hot and temperate, aquariums on display. This is something you don't always get to see so if, like me, you are a lover of all fish I'd thoroughly recommend visiting. It isn't the biggest place but there's plenty more to see at the Horniman to make the trip worthwhile.
We started at a native marine tank in an old school Philip Henry Gosse style fish tank. Seeing gorgeous snakelocks anemones (Anemonia viridis) took me back to exploring the coastline around Plymouth for my degree.
Sticklebacks and Rudd featured in the native freshwater aquariums before we reached an array of reef aquariums. Stacked full of live soft and stony corals and chunky, healthy fish (including moorish idols!) they were stunning. The marine life in these aquariums showed behaviours that you don't often get to see.
Anthias shoals were using the full heigh of what must have been more than a 2 metres tall aquarium. Angelfish were living in harmony with corals and each other. Sweeper tentacles of corals stretched out, fending off encroaching species.
The amazon display with a variety of tetras, catfish and discus was stunning too. I knew this tank from images shared by another one of our writers, Courtney Bogle. He was part of the team that came in to aquascape this display many years ago.
Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok to see videos of these tanks, and the rest of the event.
Coral Spawning Lab Tour
Going behind the scenes was a special experience too. The way they have utilised every inch of the limited space available to them was incredible. From rooms halfway up staircases to breed clownfish, and hidden steps to reach high up tanks. It made me realise how much more I could do with my converted garage fish room.
While there were plenty of beautiful, tropical corals, they were not what grabbed my attention. The pink sea fan (Eunicella verrucosa) may not look so bright, but this coldwater species is native to the UK. That's right, did you know we had corals off the coast here?
I have fond memories of this species from my previous job in an aquarium lab. A researcher was working with pink sea fans and I was involved in caring for them. From memory they were looking at gene flow between the populations around the Uk and down to Portugal. I may be making this up, as my memory isn't always the best.
I could attempt to retell everything that I learnt about the coral spawning during this tour. But you are probably better off heading to their website to read and learn about it first hand.
Day 2- TMC Headquarters
After a lovely evening at the hotel, which included only a few pints but plenty of geeky marine hobby chat, we headed to TMC. I had visited a Tropical Marine Centre fish house before, the Bristol one before it closed, but it was a long time ago.
Our tour of the facility started with the BioSystems area. Here they develop larger equipment for commercial use. They had some of the large units used for coral spawning all over the world that we could investigate closely. Jamie Craggs was heavily involved in the design of these and he was on hand to show the ease of use of such a system.
Next we headed to the fish; I could write many words about the gems (literally when it came to the tangs) hidden within. However, if you don't already, it is worth following TMC on Facebook and TikTok for regular videos and photos. They showcase some of the best animals that the saltwater hobby has to offer.
The standout fish for many was the Dr Seuss soapfish, although it was never in a good position for me to photograph it. For me, it was less about the weird and wonderful but more the sheer volume and quality. Rows of flame angels all in perfect health, powder blue tangs without a spec of white spot.
The reason for the top condition of the saltwater fish became clear when we got to see the filtration, protein skimmers and UV systems. We, as hobbyists, can normally only dream of having equipment like this. Perhaps we all need to get better at building stuff, as I believe it was all built in house, by TMC.
In fact, Tropical Marine Centre build all their UV units on site still. We got to see where it all happened, but unfortunately just missed out on seeing the team in action. If only we were half an hour earlier!
Final presentations and pizza
Three presentations remained before we kicked back and enjoyed lunch before heading home. First up was Matt Bond of OATA. They are the voice of the hobby, setting the standards expected from the industry and fighting our battles. Without them, who knows where this hobby would be, so listening to the current status update in person was a great privilege.
Nick Bridel of BioSystems was next, explaining what this area of the business focusses on. The topic of the impact of light to animals was fascinating to me. Partially because in the lab I used to work in we installed the BioSystems lighting and the control system is insanely cool. You can copy the day/night cycles of specific places or even follow migration routes.
Tropic Marin were up next talking ICP testing and reef additives. Now, I have never had a full on reef system so a lot of this went over my head. But from what I did understand it sounded pretty awesome. To know more, I would head over to their website instead of speaking to me about it.
Now it was time to go home and reflect on the event. Time to dream about keeping some of the amazing species we saw. Maybe it is time to join the reefers again.
A Comment From TMC
"For over 50 years, TMC has been at the heart of the reef-keeping hobby. They are at the forefront of technological development in the UK and across Europe. We continue to lead the way in advancing technologies, while remaining aware of the challenges our industry faces. These include rising energy costs, environmental concerns, preserving natural habitats and engaging the next generation of reef keepers.
This year, we felt it was the perfect moment to bring everyone together. Not only industry experts, but also social media influencers, to explore the future of our hobby.
This is how the Reef Summit 2025 was born: An occasion to showcase a variety of initiatives and projects that are shaping the next chapter of marine aquatics. These include a collaboration between TMC commercial side – BioSystems and the Coral Spawning Lab, our Support Your Local Fish Shop campaign and sustainable ranching practices.
A key focus of our efforts is growing the hobby by inspiring and supporting a new wave of passionate fish keepers with products like the First Wave aquarium tank. By doing so, we ensure that the reef-keeping community continues to thrive.
At the same time, we are proud to demonstrate the cutting-edge work being done at the intersection of science and technology. From advanced aquaculture techniques to innovative equipment design – all contributing to a more sustainable and exciting future for marine life enthusiasts everywhere."