Larry Jackson
From Microcosm Aquarium Explorer
I have been keeping aquatic organisms for 50 years. In 1990, I began the long journey of learning how to keep a reef aquarium. I share my successes, failures, and insight in hopes of making marine aquarium keeping experiences more enjoyable for those who can benefit from what I have learned.
Currently I maintain a 200-gallon hard coral reef tank, a 125-gallon soft coral reef tank, and a multi-tank breeding and experiment system. I am an avid scuba diver and underwater photographer. My early enthusiasm for reef keeping made me seek out more information and I found CompuServe’s Fishnet. I served as section leader of the marine section in 1993 and 1994. After my stint as section leader I was asked to stay on as a consultant for the Marine sections, where I continued to give advice until 2000.
I am a Sustaining Member of the International Society for Reef Studies and have dived the Caribbean, Florida Keys, Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, Solomon Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Kangaroo Island, Sulawesi & Raja Ampat in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Malaysia, Palau, the Philippines and the Andaman Islands. Experiences in diving have had considerable impact on my reef keeping philosophy.
I have spoken to the Houston Aquarium Society, Desert Marine Society (Phoenix), Las Vegas Marine Aquarium Society, San Francisco Aquarium Society, Dallas-Ft. Worth Marine Aquarium Society, Western Marine Conference (San Francisco, 1996), Marine Aquarium Conference of North America (MACNA) VIII (Kansas City, 1996), MACNA IX (Chicago, 1997), Western Marine Conference (Seattle, 1998), MACNA X (Longbeach, 1998), Next Wave Conference (Dallas, 1999), Carolina Aquarium Workshop XV (Raleigh, 1999), Florida Marine Aquarium Society, 24th Annual Convention of the Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies (Hartford, 1999, 2006), Omaha Marine Society, Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society, MACNA XI (Louisville, 1999), the Annual CMAS Seminar (Chicago, 2000), MACNA XIII (Baltimore, 2001), Brooklyn Aquarium Society, Mid-West Marine Conference (Ann Arbor, 2002), Cleveland Saltwater Enthusiasts Association, Pittsburgh Marine Aquarium Society, Boston Reefers Society, MACNA XVI (Boston, 2004), MACNA XVIII (Houston, 2006), and Long Island Reef Association.
At MACNA X II in Ft. Lauderdale, 2000, I was the recipient of the annual award of the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America “For Outstanding Contributions to the Marine Aquarium Hobby”.
Larry Jackson has served as a contributing editor and advisor on many Microcosm/TFH Professional Series books. He lives near San Angelo, TX.