About Us - A 15 Year History

Owned and operated by Trina Parsons and Patrick Foster, Reef Wholesale, has strong roots in the reefing community.

Both Trina and Patrick have been reef keeping enthusiasts for over 17 years starting with a 30 gallon tank, lit with a T12 shop light and a massive green hair algae problem ;)

Our passion for the hobby was evident quickly as we started learning how to fragment Caulastrea (Candy Cane) and Euphyllia Divisa (Frogspawn) to pay for our  "addiction" and often traded our lovingly raised frags for new unique pieces to try and grow out to cultivate.

As our experience grew, our interest in invertebrates grew. Watching the symbiotic relationships between the gobies and shrimps, crabs and corals and cleaner shrimp at their cleaning stations, quickly become one of our favourite pastimes. And so the search for the proper clean-up crew began and Ottawa Inverts was born! 

 

Over the years, we have refined our skills, and now, confidently support hobbyists and retail stores in their mission to successfully maintain reef tanks.

 

 

We entered the reef hobby, around the time where higher Kelvin lighting was just starting to be investigated and coral propagation was quite new.

Originally, Patrick's enthusiasm for technology encouraged him to  hang out at the local fish club.

 

We recruit staff based not based on their hobby experience, but their passion and commitment to the health and upkeep of the animals. Which results in a passionate team, willing to go the extra mile to provide our dealers (and eventually end users) with healthy animals.

RW Supports reef keeping initiatives around the world including but not limited to;

Marine Aquarium Society of North America (MASNA)

Ottawa Valley Aquarium Society (OVAS)

Marine Aquarium Society of Toronto (MAST)

Coral Labs Initiative (Partnership with EcoTech Marine)

Volunteering with Cayman Eco Divers

(pictured below, Patrick Foster - Reef Wholesale, Deven Rich - ReefDudes, Ian Bell- Sustainable Marine Canada, Volunteering with the Cayman Eco Divers Reef Foundation)