While working as a Customer Service Analyst at a worldwide energy trading firm, Daniel took an interest in the company’s 150-gallon salt water aquarium located in the headquarters lobby.  He began a mentorship to learn how to best maintain the tank himself and care for its many life forms, turning his interest into a full-blown passion.  Through this tutelage, he was able to work with a wide variety of aquariums. He developed a keen understanding of how to design, install, and maintain a thriving aquarium system as well as how to operate a successful business doing what he loved.  He also spent several years performing contract plumbing, electrical repair, and troubleshooting work for the highly complex Petco, Petsmart, and Walmart multi-tiered aquarium systems.  After finding his joyful work in aquatics, it didn’t take long for him to abandon his work as a number crunching analyst and officially establish his company, Authentic Aquariums, in 2010.