This is Jasper Parris’ little piece of his homeland, Barbados.  He moved away at a young age but never forgot his days in Barbados. He joined the Navy, and it was here he became exposed to saltwater aquariums. He had already experienced freshwater and loved it, but this reminded him of home. According to Zaida, his wife, the current system was set up in 1996 when they moved to San Diego. She says he built this system himself, tank and all. Of course this system wasn’t as elaborate as it is now, that came later as Jasper, an engineer, continued to learn, add and modify his system. Jasper not only wanted to recreate a piece of his homeland, he wanted his creatures to thrive, grow, and be happy; not just exist. Due to his incessant thirst for knowledge he became somewhat obsessed. So much so that it became a family joke: Tank came first, Zaida came second.  His sister told me a story of how he went to New Jersey on vacation to see her once. She spent so much time driving all over town with him looking for plumbing parts, that she finally gave him the keys to her car so he could just drive himself while she stayed at home. I guess parts are cheaper in New Jersey.
He is known in our reefing community for many things: The famous Jasper Calcium Reactor is one. Several of you have one of these in either the single chamber or dual chamber versions. He built these with his own hands. The reactor came about as a result of his quest for Ionic Balance. He learned that the only way his corals could thrive was to keep the elements in his water as close to natural as possible. This meant that all elements had to be in balance with each other. If one element was off the others soon followed. He was a meticulous tester and water changer. If someone was having a problem with a piece, that was the first question out of his mouth, “What are your parameters?” I lost count of how many times I rolled my eyes at him when an innocent passing comment launched him into his chemistry lecture. I knew it was coming when he started with, “What are your parameters?”
Have you ever noticed that the quality of coralline algae was different if you used B-Ionic vs. a Calcium Reactor? Jasper did, B-Ionic coralline was a darker color and doesn’t fade much, with a Calcium Reactor the color fades, but grows in nice layers. I don’t know if there is anything scientific to support this; it was just one of the many little things Jasper observed.

Jasper was also a very humble man. He didn’t go around tooting his horn, he just grew awesome corals. There’s not much in his tank now in the way of large pieces, but if you look at the rock, it’s as if the tank is resurrecting itself. There are babies everywhere! It’s a bulletproof system that even Zaida, who had no experience, has been able to maintain in the months since his illness and passing. Jasper was a mentor to many of us in our San Diego reefing community. As beautiful and well thought out as his system was, he was always ready to learn more. Jasper felt he could learn just as much from others experiences as he could from his own observations.
He leaves a huge void in many of our lives, but he also leaves a legacy: the knowledge he shared with many of us. This was one of his last hopes: That enough people learned from him and would continue to create little pieces of thriving ocean in their homes. I think he has accomplished that goal, since I have seen some beautiful thriving aquariums from people that were also good friends of Jasper. During his final days we talked about this, and I was able to ask him if he felt he had fulfilled this wish. He closed his eyes and nodded his head yes. So those of you out there that knew Jasper and have those beautiful tanks, Jasper was impressed.  For me, I would just love to hear, “Quit rolling your eyes at me girl, and tell me what your parameters are.”

- Sue Swett