Under the Sea! California Reefs Delivers

    We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came.

~ John F. Kennedy 

I grew up in Southern California and enjoyed many weekends going to the tide pools with my family. I can still remember so clearly the ocean spray hitting me on the face, and feeling my cheeks getting pinker from wind and sun. I think roughly about four-thousand of my freckles are from those weekends spent out at the beach - maybe more. 

As life happens, we move out of state- away from the beach and for me it has been like leaving a part of my soul just sitting at the other end of the country. For awhile we lived in Alabama and now we're in New Mexico. (I'm getting closer!) How can I bring the magic of the ocean to my two year old son? This is so important to me. He is only two but he's the strong silent type. While we work on getting him talking, I began to notice that he loves to watch things moving. He wants to be involved in this world. During walks he is very curious about bugs and tumbleweeds. I began to wonder how can I bring him more to experience? 

My husband and I have been toying with the idea of a fish tank. Growing up my dad had one. It was home to a few frogs and some guppies. I remember him complaining as he cleaned it, but he did it. There might also have been a sucker fish, whom my father thought was pretty lazy. I remember a few frogs escaping and I like to think they made it back to a fresh water creek. Where that creek is located in Temple City California is beyond me, but I like to think that. Magic. I didn't want to go with a fresh water tank - I wanted something more. 

There are A MILLION hits on Google for all kinds of salt water tanks. I wanted something else though. I wanted more help, more opinions, like 'What is the smallest tank I can get that would be useful but small?"  We live in an apartment, I don't want something I can't move easily. In this world that anything can be found at a click of a mouse button I wanted more interaction. I found it. 

It's a new forum called California Reefs ( www.californiareefs.com) and it's just starting out (just like me!), but there is a wealth of information and the web operator guy is very helpful (Hi Salty!!)  I have been to so many web forums over the years, but this one is very helpful and incredibly friendly. I'm so glad I signed up and joined. I haven't gotten my salt water tank yet. YET. I'm still learning and there is a lot to know. It's not just dumping salt into a water tank and throwing in some salt water fish. I'm very excited that this is going to be a new family thing to do together and I want my son to have a part of the sea even if we aren't able to go to the tide pools every weekend. The great thing is he'll have his own tide pools in his room and how great would it be for that to be parts of his happy childhood memories, much like the ones of my dad are a part of mine. 

So the rundown on my review of this site is thus: It's very new, but the people who run it are very intelligent and knowledgeable. It is very friendly, and great for the family. From my interaction I'd give it a 5 star rating and I can't imagine that will go down much. So if you are in the market for a salt water tank system and need help, or if you have one and you want to share that love, go visit California Reefs (www.californiareefs.com). Please say hi to Salty for me  You can also say hi to me! I'm on there as well. :)