Reef Tectonics Aquarium Maintenance and Design:: Lincoln & Omaha, Nebraska, Des Moines, Iowa, Kansas City, Missouri & Kansas

Learn About the Reef Tectonics Team

		Michael Schied (Owner) Mike started Reef Tectonics in 1993. His primary reason for getting into this business was his keen interest in aquatic organisms. He studied biology at the University of Nebraska and graduated with a degree in Biology. Mike has been keeping fish for 29 years and is most interested in marine invertebrates. He also enjoys live plant tanks that contain discus along with sympatric fish communities. Mike has many hobbies and vocations, including woodworking and also has a medical equipment business.

		Dave (Aquarium Maintenance Specialist) Dave has been keeping aquariums for over 27 years and has been in the ornamental fish trade for 19 years (this includes working at a number of aquarium stores in Omaha). He has been with Reef Tectonics since 2006 and is one of our large system experts. He works in the Kansas City area (or where ever else his specialized talents are required)! He is an expert on both marine and freshwater fishes and enjoys working with any type of aquarium system. His knowledge of marine fish husbandry has made him an invaluable cog in the Reef Tectonics machine. When he is not working on keeping fish healthy, Dave is plucking them from streams and rivers with his fishing rod, maintaining his reptile and amphibian collection or camping.

		Jason (Aquarium Maintenance Specialist) Jason has been keeping fish since 2006 and worked at a fish store in Manhattan Kansas while attending Kansas State University (he graduated with a B.S. in Biology in 2011). Jason really enjoys saltwater aquariums and is especially fond of marine invertebrates and aquascaping aquariums. His hobbies include motorcycles, sports and keeping crested geckos.

		Joe (Aquarium Maintenance Specialist) Joe joined the Reef Tectonics team in early 2012. He comes from a military family – he was born in Fort Hood, Texas and grew-up in a handful of locations, including Germany. He joined the Air Force and was a weather forecaster for six years, spending some of this time in South Korea. He currently serves in the National Guard. He has been keeping aquariums since 1998, setting up many aquariums for friends, as well as keeping his own tanks. He is especially fond of freshwater planted aquariums. When not engaged in aquarium-keeping, he cares for orchids, plays the baritone and enjoys friends.

		Josh (Aquarium Maintenance Specialist) Josh is our Lincoln “point person.” He has been keeping aquariums for over 10 years and has been with Reef Tectonics since 2009. He keeps both freshwater and saltwater tanks and breeds several different types of freshwater fishes and crustaceans, as well as propagates corals. When he is not working on his own aquariums, he enjoys woodworking, horticulture (before joining Reef Tectonics he worked for a local nursery) and playing soccer.

		Joshua (Aquarium Maintenance Specialist) Josh is our Lincoln technician, maintaining a variety of fresh and saltwater systems. When it comes to aquarium keeping, he has many talents. He has been in the aquarium hobby for over 10 years and has been with Reef Tectonics since 2007. He is an expert on cichlids, having bred and raised over 30 different species. Josh has dozens of tanks at home, which house his many piscine charges. Josh has a number of very interesting hobbies, including fencing, gun-smithing, scuba diving, fishing and hunting.

		Kimberly (Office Manager) Kimberly keeps the Reef Tectonics “machine” operating. She is responsible for the book-keeping, accounting and all those things that are often overlooked by those “in the field.” While she does not get out to maintain aquariums, she has one of her own (she has had a 20 gallon tank for over three years). She has been in the employ of Reef Tectonics since 2004. She has a BA in Business Administration. She loves spending time with her children, playing volleyball and reading.

		Matt (Aquarium Maintenance Specialist) Matt has been keeping aquariums for over 18 years and has been one of our large tank specialists at Reef Tectonics since 2005. While he started in the Lincoln market, Matt now spends his time servicing tanks in Omaha and Council Bluffs. His first love are marine aquariums, in fact he is a sucker for predators and odd seawater fishes. He also enjoys working with reef and live plant tanks. Matt worked with the biology department at University of Nebraska, Lincoln for four years and was responsible for the tanks in the bio-diversity lab. He also spent three years doing aquaculture – he raised the freshwater shrimp, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, for bait and human consumption at the UNL Agriculture and Resource Development Center in Mead, NE. Here his main focus was on aquaculture construction and set-up for high stocking density. This included making and designing large sand bio-filters for high density tanks. Matt’s hobbies include collecting cacti and succulents, “Frankensteining” guitars (taking several characters, qualities, and parts from different electric guitars and turning them into one that fits his current musical needs) and working with concrete.

		Melissa (Aquarium Maintenance Specialist) Melissa, an Omaha native, came from the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo to Reef Tectonics in 2010. She has been keeping aquariums for the last eight years and has an Associate Degree in Aquarium Science from Oregon Coast Community College; Class of 2005. She enjoys all kinds of aquariums and fishes, but has a soft spot for sharks. She has a specific interest in aquarium chemistry and fish nutrition. In her free time, she is an avid diver and water skier.

		Scott (Supervisor of Aquarium Services) Scott originally started the Reef Tectonics with Mike back in 1993, but soon found himself going a different direction. He re-joined Mike in 2008. Scott is a photojournalist, specializing in topics related to the ocean environment. He has written twelve books on sharks, rays and reef fishes and is currently working on a book on brown/grizzly bears. Scott also writes for a number of international publications dedicated to marine fishes. He has been keeping fish since 1976, has worked in the “pet fish” industry for 28 years. Scott has traveled to dozens of reefs around the world to photograph and observe their inhabitants. He serves as the Quality Control Manager for Reef Tectonics, visiting the clients and ensuring that we are providing the best possible service. He also orders marine fishes for clients and helps with husbandry issues. Scott’s hobbies include dogs, WW II history and Husker football.

		Thomas (Aquarium Maintenance Specialist) Thomas is one of our Kansas City Metro aquarists. He is a rabid fish and coral-keeper that has been immersed in the hobby for around 15 years. He has a particular passion for both reef aquariums and aggressive fish-only marine systems. Thomas also propagates stony and soft corals and is an avid scuba diver. Thomas has a B.S. degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Kansas and has been with Reef Tectonics since 2011. When he does not have his hands in an aquarium, he loves to fish and wakeboard.

		Tim (Aquarium Maintenance Specialist) Has been a part of the Reef Tectonics team since 2009 and is our primary contact in the Des Moines Metro. He is a native Iowan and a longtime fish keeper, starting in the hobby some 25 years ago. Tim is an African cichlid and loricariid catfish expert, having kept and bred many of these fishes over the years. At one time, he had 3,000 gallons of cichlid aquariums in his home. He is an avid outdoorsmen, enjoying camping, fishing and hunting.