Our Team
The passionate people behind ReefZoo building the future of the reef hobby
Meet the Founder
Wilson MacFarlane
Founder & Developer
"I believe the hobby deserves a tailored platform made specifically for reefers by reefers."
Saltwater in My Veins
Reefzoo wasn't born in a boardroom—it started with saltwater splashing on my basement floor, frantic Google searches about bristle worms, and concerned parents looking at hundreds of gallons of flowing saltwater in their basement (sorry mom and dad).
Having a freshwater African Drawf Frog tank in my home as a wobbly-legged toddler kicked off my intrest in aquariums. The reef hobby quickly took all my time around 14, when I convinced my parents that a saltwater tank was an "educational investment." By 15, I had somehow managed to fill my space with an 80-gallon mixed reef, a couple of nano tanks, and dedicated systems for growing pods and macroalgae. My parents thought it was just a phase. Spoiler alert: it wasn't.
That same year, I sold my first frag at a local frag swap and landed a job at a local saltwater-only fish store—probably the only place that would hire a teenager who couldn't stop talking about zooxanthellae and flow dynamics. Working there opened my eyes to the community side of reefing, and I soaked up knowledge from everyone who walked through the door.
At 16, when most of my friends were not working much at all, I started Aquatic Installations—my first real dive into the business side of the hobby. Armed with nothing but a truck that was older than I was, a group of broke friends waiting for me to pay them, and an unhealthy amount of confidence, I began installing, moving, and maintaining reef systems throughout Colorado.
Those years taught me firsthand about the real challenges reefers, businesses, and consumers face, and the solutions they need.
I had to step away from active reef keeping at 19 to pursue my education, it turns out people are hesitant to rent to students - let alone students who like keeping large volumes of saltwater in glass boxes - but the saltwater never really left my blood. Now at 23, as I approach finishing my undergrad, Reefzoo represents my return to the community that shaped me.
This time, instead of just keeping corals, I'm building the platform I always wished existed—one created by a reefer who's been there, made all the mistakes, flooded all the floors, and still can't imagine doing anything else.
Where the Coral Grows: My Reef Journey
You haven't really lived the reef life until you've spent eight straight hours debating the perfect conditions for Acropora with strangers who become friends, all while surrounded by the glow of actinics in the back room of an LFS. Those endless days at the fish store weren't just about selling coral—they were impromptu masterclasses in reef keeping, complete with passionate arguments, wild success stories, unrelated hilarious stories, and cautionary tales of tank crashes that still haunt me.
My personal reef style has always gravitated toward the controlled chaos of mixed reefs. There's something magical about creating a miniature ecosystem where bubble tip anemones, curious micro-organisms, and vibrant macro algae all find their place from the inverts to the invert eaters. And if you ask about my favorite fish, be prepared for a dissertation on the personality quirks of the longnose hawkfish—the tiny predator with more attitude than fish ten times its size.
But some of my most formative reef memories happened in the fluorescent-lit basement conference rooms of budget hotels in Colorado Springs, where early frag swaps transformed humble spaces into underwater wonderlands. I'll never forget walking into my first swap—the hotel lights dimmed, blue LEDs casting that otherworldly glow across rows of frags, the excited voices of reefers sharing their latest successes. Those poorly-ventilated rooms, with their folding tables covered in coral-filled shallow tanks, felt like the coolest places on earth to teenage me.
There's nothing quite like the mixture of awe and community you feel watching a room full of grown adults collectively hold their breath during a raffle for a heater, or the shared laughter when someone tells the story of their cleanup crew escaping across the living room floor.
Having worn almost every hat in the reef world—passionate hobbyist hunting for that perfect piece, service tech solving crisis after crisis, shop employee helping newcomers avoid my past mistakes, and frag swap enthusiast with too many coral cups and not enough money—I've seen the hobby from all angles. These varied perspectives aren't just memories; they're the blueprint for Reefzoo's DNA.
A Bit About Me
Beyond the founder bio, I'm just a Colorado kid who found magic in marine ecosystems despite growing up hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean. While I'm busy coding Reefzoo into existence, you'll likely find me with an iced latte in hand (yes, even during Colorado's snowiest days—hot coffee just isn't my thing).
When I'm not building digital reef ecosystems, I'm chasing adrenaline on real-world water. I've spent six years as a commercial raft guide and love nothing more than navigating whitewater in my kayak. There's something about water—whether it's flowing through mountain rapids or carefully maintained in a glass box—that keeps pulling me back.
Reef Confessions
My most formative reef relationship was with my Longnose Hawkfish—the most intelligent, personable, and absolutely menacing fish I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. When I was young he also taught me one of many expensive reef lessons when he devoured six pricey peppermint shrimp before they even hit the substrate during what became known as "The Great Shrimp Massacre."
My mom and I could only watch in horror as our favorite fish had the feast of his life. (The smartest shrimp found secure hiding spots and lived for years afterward, proving adaptation is everything in reef ecosystems and business alike!)
Reef Stats
Random facts from my reef keeping journey
Gallons of saltwater spilled (lifetime):
Somewhere between 23 and 23,000. My parents' carpet has the receipts oops.
Favorite Corals:
Plerogyra (Bubble Coral) that look like underwater bubble wrap you can't pop (please don't try) and all Gorgonias
Most prized possession:
A Colorado Sunburst Anemone acquired through a trade that involved three corals, some specialized equipment, and a solemn oath not to tell who was getting the better deal.
Reef superstition I refuse to abandon:
Never name your fish unless you want them to meet their demise. My "Nemo" clownfish lasted 3 days. My unnamed clownfish? Still swimming in someone's tank 7 years later.
Most expensive reef lesson:
Learning the hard way that "reef compatible" and "won't eat everything in your tank" are very different concepts.
Tang Police certification status:
[REDACTED] But I've been known to occasionally grant amnesty to college students with tangs in "temporary" 40-breeders.
Reefing Hot Takes:
White light rules and GSP is underrated and under-utilized.
My journey with Reefzoo merges these two seemingly different worlds—coding logic and coral chaos—into something I hope will help our community grow. Every line of code is fueled by vanilla iced lattes (yes, even during Colorado blizzards) and memories of that troublemaking Hawkfish who started it all. Because if I can build a thriving reef ecosystem with that little menace in it, building a platform for passionate reefers should be completely possible...right?
Creating the Digital Reef We Deserve
I've had the idea for Reefzoo swimming around in my head for years. Like that dream reef tank setup you sketch on napkins, it was always "someday." But "someday" became urgent as I watched our community getting squeezed from all sides.
On Facebook people sell coral by labeling them "Fake aquarium decoration pm me", eBay officially banned all livestock then unbanned then restricted it, and shopping on the forums feels like browsing craigslist in 2007. All the while, the online spaces built specifically for reefers aren't evolving with the times—many of our best reef forums look and function exactly as they did when I first joined the hobby nearly a decade ago.
The problem became painfully clear: we're guests on a lot of platforms that don't understand us, don't want us, or don't know how to grow with us.
"We don't just need another website, another forum, or another blog—we need our own ecosystem."
I saw two reef worlds that rarely connected. On one side, the knowledge-rich but aging forums where discussions go deep but it requires wading through banner ads, popups and 90 different thread categories. On the other, beautiful Instagram reef photos with shallow "#coral" captions that tell you nothing about care, source, or context. What if we could bridge that gap? That's my goal.
The Moment Everything Changed
The tipping point came when I watched my local reef club—the one that had introduced me to mentors who fundamentally shaped my understanding of the hobby—slowly disintegrate while I was in university. We lost not just a club, but a community hub where decades of collective knowledge was shared over coral frags and pizza.
It wasn't just about losing a club. It was watching a vital reef ecosystem collapse in real-time. All that collective experience, those relationships, those trading networks—gone, with nothing digital to sustain them between increasingly rare in-person meetings.
That's when Reefzoo shifted from "interesting idea" to "absolute necessity" in my mind. I realized I had a unique combination of reef experience and technical skills to build what our community desperately needs.
Building More Than a Platform
Reefzoo isn't just about buying and selling coral—though we're making that seamless. It's about growing the hobby and the industry by creating a digital home where:
- Your local reef club can thrive even when in-person meetings aren't possible
- That incredible 300-page forum thread on Acro care is transformed into something visually engaging and easily searchable
- New reefers can find mentors without feeling intimidated
- Coral farmers can build sustainable businesses without worrying about arbitrary platform restrictions
- Your reef journey—from first tank to frag empire—is documented in a way that helps others
I'm building Reefzoo because I believe our community deserves a platform as beautiful, thoughtful, and sustainable as the reef systems we create. A digital space that evolves with us rather than constricting us. A platform where the next generation of reefers can discover the same magic that hooked all of us, enhanced by technology rather than limited by it.
Join Us in Building the Future
Today, that vision is becoming reality. Reefzoo is built by a reefer who has navigated the hobby's highest highs and lowest lows. Every feature, every design decision comes from firsthand understanding of what makes this community special.
Whether you've been in the hobby for decades or are just setting up your first tank, Reefzoo is being built for you. We're creating the digital reef ecosystem we've always deserved—and I couldn't be more excited to build it with you. We are only getting started, and while Reefzoo might be basic, imperfect and small right now, jump in and help us build the next generation platform!
The Future Team
While Reefzoo is launching as a solo venture, the vision extends far beyond what one person can build.
Lead Developer
Technical talent who combines coding skills with reef passion
Community Manager
Building and nurturing the ReefZoo community
Frontend Developer
Shaping the visual language of the platform
Business Developer
Growing partnerships and business opportunities
Community as Collaborators
Your Feedback
Your ideas and needs will directly shape our development priorities and the evolution of the platform.
Community Input
We're starting with a focused MVP and expanding based on what the community tells us they need.
Collaborative Growth
Whether you're a hobbyist, seller, or club, your voice helps guide ReefZoo's future.
This isn't just marketing talk—it's built into our development philosophy. We're starting with a focused MVP that delivers core functionality, then expanding based on what you tell us you need. Whether you're a hobbyist looking for better ways to track your corals, a seller seeking more effective tools to reach customers, or a local club wanting to grow your membership, your voice will help guide ReefZoo's future.
Our Promise
As ReefZoo grows from a solo project to a team effort, we promise to stay true to our founding vision: to build a platform that brightens lives, gives purpose, and advances the reef hobby for everyone involved—whether you do it for love, for work, or for both.
We're just getting started, and we couldn't be more excited to have you along for the journey.
Join Our Team
Interested in helping build the future of reef keeping?
Keep an eye on our announcements as we grow, or reach out directly with your background and ideas for how you could help advance our mission. We're looking for passionate individuals who share our vision.