Hello from New Jersey!

[Nagel616]

Hey!

Quick introduction here..

Got OW certified in college in 1996 (as a college course, on Friday nights no less).

Then didn't dive for almost 20 years Life, funds, everything got in the way..

But! I had a crutch, I kept SW reef aquariums for years. Became a mod and later staff member of ReefCentral, and learned a TON about the life I kept in my tanks. Bred several species of marine fish, and even propagated hundreds, if not thousands, of coral frags.

Fast forward a few years, I got divorced, took down the tanks, and still have the itch for SW. One of my fellow moderators on RC became an instructor and kept egging me on to get my DM and instructor certs. Well, he's currently in Cozumel, and this past September I went down there for 10 days. Finished up my AOW cert, and dove on some amazing dives (my previous dives were all quarry dives for OW cert), and I got sucked in..

As for why my friend has pushed me to further my certification? LOL, I know my critters and corals! Scary, but I can identify more things than many DM's out there, and I can name both common and latin names. He knows I have a passion for the reefs, and it shows when I talk about the life we find down there. I have always been fascinated by reefs, and thought I had a good grasp on things, heck I've kept much of it in my own aquariums.. But the first time I dived Palancar Horseshoe in Coz, I realized just how amazing the BIG reef is! Just can't do a small aquarium (and mine was 300G!) after seeing spires of coral jutting 30+ feet up.. So, I guess I've got spend more time under the water now

So.... I bought myself plane ticket and booked a room on Utila for the month of January where I plan to do my Rescue Diver course, rack up a TON of dives and get the feel for a DM and Instructor courses on the island..

Needless to say, I'll be doing a LOT more diving than I had in the past..

Looking forward to this change of life..

 

[agilis]

Why on earth do you live in NJ?

Just kidding. I live here too, and like you I have kept SW fish and inverts, most of which I caught here in NJ during late summer, when the Gulf Stream brings us all sorts of things from the tropics.

When I was younger I would supply local shops with marine tropicals. Many of these shops have vanished, though I still am in contact with former owners, people like Doug and Charlie. If you saw large numbers of Lookdowns, Spiny Boxfish, tiny Cowfishes, Butterfly Fish, Seahorses or Catalufas there's a good chance I caught them. You mentioned a website: I think there may still be some of my photos on it, under the name "ackee'.

There is some very nice diving in local inlets and jetties, especially if you are interested in fish keeping. The nice part about collecting local Gulf Stream strays is that those that remain uncollected all die by the end of October, when water temps drop.

You will find a community of NJ divers here. Welcome.

 

[Nagel616]

Thanks for the welcome Agilis!

Yes, I'm definitely familiar with the gulf stream tropicals we get here. Love that there's no limits on collecting them. I've done a lot of seine netting at sandy hook for butterflies and threadfins.. I used to work at Hanover Pet (now aquatic visions), and we had a few collectors who would frequent the shop. Some would use slurp guns in Manasquan Inlet to catch fish on the jetties. I'd laugh if I've already met you when I worked at Hanover Pet! (been out of there since 2006 though so...)

On RC, I was (and still am) nagel, although I have since stepped down as mod / staffer there due to time constraints. But the friends I made there are amazing, and that site still holds a place close to my heart, especially since I like to think that the education there will help to offset the pressures on wild collections, as well as minimize losses..

Looking forward to meeting more people, locally and abroad!

 

[KDAD]

Welcome to the board. I recently did a small dive at Sandy hook while my daughter siened and caught silversides and jellyfish. Fun day.

A few of us post dives here and on dive buddy. Shark river, manasquan, round valley, we hit them all. Looking for some boat dives next year. Probably going to do a night dive Tuesday next week and a day dive later in the week. Possibly at dutch. I am in Fairfield.

 

[manni-yunk]

Hey!

Quick introduction here..

Got OW certified in college in 1996 (as a college course, on Friday nights no less).

Then didn't dive for almost 20 years Life, funds, everything got in the way..

But! I had a crutch, I kept SW reef aquariums for years. Became a mod and later staff member of ReefCentral, and learned a TON about the life I kept in my tanks. Bred several species of marine fish, and even propagated hundreds, if not thousands, of coral frags.

Fast forward a few years, I got divorced, took down the tanks, and still have the itch for SW. One of my fellow moderators on RC became an instructor and kept egging me on to get my DM and instructor certs. Well, he's currently in Cozumel, and this past September I went down there for 10 days. Finished up my AOW cert, and dove on some amazing dives (my previous dives were all quarry dives for OW cert), and I got sucked in..

As for why my friend has pushed me to further my certification? LOL, I know my critters and corals! Scary, but I can identify more things than many DM's out there, and I can name both common and latin names. He knows I have a passion for the reefs, and it shows when I talk about the life we find down there. I have always been fascinated by reefs, and thought I had a good grasp on things, heck I've kept much of it in my own aquariums.. But the first time I dived Palancar Horseshoe in Coz, I realized just how amazing the BIG reef is! Just can't do a small aquarium (and mine was 300G!) after seeing spires of coral jutting 30+ feet up.. So, I guess I've got spend more time under the water now

So.... I bought myself plane ticket and booked a room on Utila for the month of January where I plan to do my Rescue Diver course, rack up a TON of dives and get the feel for a DM and Instructor courses on the island..

Needless to say, I'll be doing a LOT more diving than I had in the past..

Looking forward to this change of life..

Now for some local NJ diving!!!

 

[Nagel616]

I need to get me my own gear now.. Time to sell a few toys. LOL Know anybody who wants to buy XC (cross-country) ready race quads? I used to race a few series, and even placed nationally a few years back. But racing is expensive (especially breaking things every race, it just kinda happens), and my body is not getting younger and takes longer to bounce back after a race (a race is typically 90 mins to 2 hrs, racing a 12+ mile course thru the woods). Sure, scuba aint cheap either, but I think I'm genetically predisposed towards liking expensive hobbies (heck, the SW aquariums cost a fortune... both to stock, AND to pay electric bills!). One of these days I'll find a cheap hobby..

I am curious about local dives though. Spent a lot of time down near Seaside Heights as a kid (we have a family house in Ocean Beach III), and visibility was always a challenge going spearfishing with just mask and snorkel unless we didn't have rain for a few weeks. I know there's a ton of cool life down there! Never thought about Round Valley before, that could prove interesting. Heck, I'd love to dive in the Wanaque Reservoir to see the sunken town, but I doubt they will ever allow scuba in those reservoirs, getting a fishing permit is challenging enough!

Kdad - you're not far from me, being that I am in West Milford.. And funny enough, Dutch was where I did my OW cert dives!

 

[KDAD]

I drove past wanaque reservoir earlier today and thought the same thing. I was by upper greenwood lake visiting family and had my gear in case I wanted to jump in but they had lowered the lake. An already shallow lake was almost dry.

Round valley has an old sunken town also. We explored some of the old foundations a few weeks ago but diving there is closed until spring. Good Viz and depth there.

Dutch is closing for the season also next weekend so I would like to get there before it does. Might be going on Friday if you're available.

 

[tridacna]

Hey!

Quick introduction here..

Got OW certified in college in 1996 (as a college course, on Friday nights no less).

Then didn't dive for almost 20 years Life, funds, everything got in the way..

But! I had a crutch, I kept SW reef aquariums for years. Became a mod and later staff member of ReefCentral, and learned a TON about the life I kept in my tanks. Bred several species of marine fish, and even propagated hundreds, if not thousands, of coral frags.

Fast forward a few years, I got divorced, took down the tanks, and still have the itch for SW. One of my fellow moderators on RC became an instructor and kept egging me on to get my DM and instructor certs. Well, he's currently in Cozumel, and this past September I went down there for 10 days. Finished up my AOW cert, and dove on some amazing dives (my previous dives were all quarry dives for OW cert), and I got sucked in..

As for why my friend has pushed me to further my certification? LOL, I know my critters and corals! Scary, but I can identify more things than many DM's out there, and I can name both common and latin names. He knows I have a passion for the reefs, and it shows when I talk about the life we find down there. I have always been fascinated by reefs, and thought I had a good grasp on things, heck I've kept much of it in my own aquariums.. But the first time I dived Palancar Horseshoe in Coz, I realized just how amazing the BIG reef is! Just can't do a small aquarium (and mine was 300G!) after seeing spires of coral jutting 30+ feet up.. So, I guess I've got spend more time under the water now

So.... I bought myself plane ticket and booked a room on Utila for the month of January where I plan to do my Rescue Diver course, rack up a TON of dives and get the feel for a DM and Instructor courses on the island..

Needless to say, I'll be doing a LOT more diving than I had in the past..

Looking forward to this change of life..

I started out on Fishforum in 1991. Witnessed the many battles between Albert Thiel, Julian Sprung, Charles Delbeek, Dr. Craig, Joey etc etc. Went to MACNA about 4 times. Those conferences were fun. We helped Ira Glass set up his first tank - he named his fishes on air. I mean he gave them names! Also ended up with a monster reef tank and sunk mucho $$ into that but now much prefer viewing natural reefs without having to worry about the alkalinity or DKH of the environment. Like you, I can ID more fish than any DM or instructor I've met. I actually sat in on a PADI FishID course once and nearly peed in my pants with laughter at the joke of a curriculum. Enjoy Utila!

 

[Nagel616]

Kdad - I'd love to go but work has me scheduled, and I'm banking all that OT for Utila.. Plus I still need gear (Santa is coming!).. Keep me in mind for next year (if I leave Utila haha)

Tridacna - You sound like me. I did MACNA 5 times, And the name escapes me, but the other conference (that was only held in Chicago) 2 times. Was a co-founder of the NJ Reefers Club, and involved with them for years.. Also met, and know, most authors on my bookshelf, from Borneman to Calfo, Delbeek and Sprung, only one I haven't met was Joyce Wilkerson (Clownfishes book). Were you ever on RC? I do remember a Tridacna there, but that shouldn't surprise me hehe Heck, one time I even participated in a rather large bust of someone importing illegal acanthastrea (They were bringing normal torch, frogspawn and hammer corals into Japan, changing what was in the boxes in Japan to the really colorful acanth's that were all the rage in 2005-2006, and shipping it stateside.). Luckily RC actually had a Border Patrol agent and a Customs agent on staff, and we all coordinated on this bust. Sure, I had my name and number plastered all over by him, and threats from this guy, but he ended up with a few years jail time for his illegal importation.. In the end, I just want the reefs to still be there 100 years from now for others to enjoy...

My buddy who encouraged me to further my scuba certs is on SB, his handle is sloeber, and the two of us were probably the most conservation minded staffers on RC. Always encouraged fragging, and pushed the limits with regards to breeding. In my early years I did keep a few tangs, gorgeous Red Sea Purple and RS Sailfin, Chevron, but after diving in Coz, I know I could never do that again. My 300g reef tank just didn't compare to the open water swimming that these fish do in the wild.

For now though, my only fish I keep are Koi, in my koi pond out back. Just can't keep me away from water. LOL (oh, and I work for Garden State Koi, we're a retail store with installation, maintenance and wholesale divisions, one of the largest in the area too!). So my day to day involves water as well

Even when I was younger, between all the visits to OBIII, I was also a Red Cross certified Lifeguard, as well as taught swimming lessons for 15 years as a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor (WSI). If you don't think I'm a fish out of water now, you probably never will LOL...

 

[KDAD]

Kdad - I'd love to go but work has me scheduled, and I'm banking all that OT for Utila.. Plus I still need gear (Santa is coming!).. Keep me in mind for next year (if I leave Utila haha)

Well as much as I would like to dive with you when you get back I would understand if you don't return

As you seem to be an active member of boards and one who does his research there is a ton of information here about gear even though we tend to favor certain gear choices. Definitely do your research before buying and definitely consider used. Ebay and Craigslist have been great sources of gear for me.

Keep in mind that we do have to support our lds also if we want them to stay in business.....