MRM Contributor Page

Don Dia has marketed for most of the major health clubs in New York CIty. He successfully maintained an Filipino portal which was later absorbed by one of the largest internet firms in the Philippines. Currently, Don designs mostly for Fortune 500 firms. His work ranges from short movies and animations to company websites.

Randy Donowitz: I have been keeping aquariums most of my life. The mid 1980’s and 90’s, was consumed with the breeding of African Cichlid s. In 1994 I purchased my first marine system- a simple 55 gallon reef setup—and I have been an incurable coralholic ever since. My articles have appeared in numerous hobbyist publications including Aquarium Frontiers, Advanced Aquarist, Marine Fish and Reef USA Annual and Aquarium Fish magazine. Currently, I curate and maintain the 3 system, 500 gallon coral reef display at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn,NY where I have the privilege of sharing my knowledge and love of the hobby with students, staff, and community members from around the Tri-State area.

Paul Baldassano has been a life long fish keeper. As a small child his father would take him to the Fulton Fish Market in NYC where he acquired his knowledge and love for marine creatures. Most kids had toys, Paul played with dead sardines. "I have had a fish tank from the day I was born almost 59 years ago and I have always also had a local tank with creatures I collect locally". Paul has served his country in the armed forces and is a combat vet of the Vietnam War.

Terence Zahner has been diving since 2000 and took up underwater photography in 2005. His favorite subjects are nudibranchs and other small, easily overlooked creatures. His other main hobby is a saltwater reef aquarium, through which he can maintain a connection to the ocean when not diving. He lives in New York City with his wife Doris and their two cats.

Russell Leiner has been keeping aquariums for over 35 years. His entry into saltwater reef keeping has been a lifelong learning experience that finally culminated in his first reef four years ago. He is a graduate of Franklin Pierce University with a degree in accounting. His careers have taken various turns and his success as a home builder has afforded him the foresight to help create stunning and unique reefs for his clients. He is a founder of saltwatercritters.com. Russ is married to Donna for 22 years and has both a son and daughter attending the State University of New York. He is affectionately known to them as their reef nerd.

KathyC is a new member to the reef scene but no stranger to keeping fish. Her aquatic pets include two saltwater tanks, six freshwater tanks, and a 1,800 gallon koi pond. In her spare time she is the v.p of the Nassau County Aquarium Society, and a Medical Moderator on the NCAS web forum. She also is a foster mom for cats with leukemia and is always taking in new additions. While doing all this she finds time for her day job working for Foster Grant as the New York district manager. To relax she spends time on her boat,"Comfortably Numb" .

Jonathan Hale works as a photographer and furniture maker in new york city. He has been keeping fish since the age of 12, and set up his first salt water tank in his freshman college dorm room. The first reef tank was set up in 1993 and it has been a love hate relationship ever since.

Josh Saul is a consultant for Fortune 500 finance and banking companies. He has been involved in the aquarium hobby for 10 years and has been SCUBA diving for nearly 20. He spends his spare time planning dive trips, designing websites, DJing, and training his 3 Abyssinian cats. He is married and lives in Manhattan.

Jesus Zavala: I moved to New York from California years ago. I spent a lot of time at the beach watching my uncle surf and loved seeing the dolphins break the waves and stingrays come to shore . When I came to the big city the ocean part of my life was over. I was raised in Bushwick, Brooklyn and never ever seen any kind of aquatic animal besides a goldfish. Well really a goldfish was all I could afford. For the past couple of years I’ve worked for a Media Investment Bank and not until two years ago when I turned 24 did I decide to open that part of my life again and start my own reef tank. Being one of the newer reef hobbyist I continue to learn about this wonderful hobby and lifestyle with the help of my friends at ManhattanReefs.

Jim Curry is currently employed as an educational administrator at Pace University for 11 yrs. He started the hobby 6 yrs ago with a 30g tank and worked his way to a 92g corner bow front and then a 180 SPS dominant mixed reef tank which was featured tank of the month in the November 2006 issue of Advanced Aquarist. This past year he started JD’s Aquatics along with fellow hobbyist masterswimmer and is one of the founding members of Manhattan Reefs.