Ian Kerkhof (72), president of the Cerianthus saltwater aquarium club, talks about the ups and downs of the Netherlands’ last remaining reefkeeping club: “The internet has taken many of our members away from us.”
You’re the last club in the Netherlands. Why is that?
We are, in fact, the last seawater aquarium club in the Netherlands. Note, however, that there are other clubs that have a seawater section, but we are the only one in the entire country that maintains exclusively seawater aquariums.
There are several reasons why club activities are on the decline. Many people are simply less interested in joining a club, while others prefer to spend their time on the many online forums. As a result, many clubs have moved online, but we remain committed to our in-person activities.
Cerianthus also publishes a magazine.
That’s right. We’re sticking with our magazine. We believe it offers real added value. People still enjoy reading something they can hold in their hands. The Cerianthus magazine has been in publication for 48 years now. Ten new issues are published each year, with a print run of 250 copies.
There are also quite a few craft nights at Cerianthus.
That’s something you can’t do on a forum. Since we have a monthly members’ meeting, we can, of course, do a lot of fun things together. With the thirty to fifty people who attend, we can organize interesting lectures, photo nights, or, yes, craft nights.
So what are you guys making?
All kinds of things! For example, we made our own LED light. As you can see, it’s pretty bright. We also made a magnetic stirrer and a night light that mimics the phases of the moon in the real world. Now we even want to see if this has an effect on our corals in the aquariums.
And what are the results of that study?
It’s too early to say. The project was launched in June and will now be tested at the club. I don’t have an aquarium myself right now—though hopefully that will change soon—so we’ll have to have others test the system. Fortunately, we have about 150 active members!
That’s quite a few.
As a result, people come from all over the Netherlands to our location in Utrecht. Still, we see some people drop out because the distance becomes too great. No one likes to drive for several hours just for their hobby. With our beginners’ day, we’re trying to stop that exodus.
Beginners’ Day?
Every year, we organize a beginners’ day for people who want to set up a saltwater aquarium. The next event will take place on January 26, 2019, in Utrecht. For 15 EUR, participants receive a full day of information and guidance. We can demonstrate all the technical aspects of an aquarium right there on site. It’s a popular event, attracting as many as fifty registrations each year.
Do you organize any other events?
In addition to our annual booth at Vivarium, we also go on regular outings with the club. For example, we visit the Aquazoo in Leerdam or Triton’s offices in Germany. We always have at least one excursion every year.
