Sph2sail

My initial take is: 1. ORA is a solid business working on captive bred species for the hobby 2. PetCo, in particular, is starting to step up in products that actually support the reef hobby (liverock in particular) Is everything totally hunky dory with PetCo and their sales management of marine livestock? Historically, no. Future, we'll see. I get the impression they are trying. If the animal looks healthy and it is what you want, they may be a good supplier. Quarantine is always recommended, no matter the soured. Steve

Bill, a nurse shark can get upwards of 8' long. I would not recommend this species in captivity unless you can provide a massive tank for it. Please verify what kind of shark this is. steve

Would you please post a link to the flyer here? thx, s

Like I said... post pics. Keep us up to date. Also need your teacher's email address please. happy to donate. thx, s

Folks, we need some help. Any experienced users of Act! or internet based sales contact tools out there? We really need help getting the sales and contact management process automated for MACNA XVII. In particular, it is about vendor and sponsore sales, speaker lists, etc. Help Please! Soon! Please email me at steve@wamas.org or post here with info on how to reach you. Thanks, steve

Thanks for registering. Updating the website today. Hotel reservations will be available shortly. Will post when that's available. steve

kabala, a circuit is a run from the panel out to appliances based on a single circuit breaker. We recommend two breakers be used (two separate circuits) to avoid having the one breaker trip and all pump flow/oxygenation stop at once. You can use GFCI based circuit breakers to avoid having to install individual GFCI plugs. Saves money, but can be annoying if it is only the GFCI tripping. You have to go to the panel to reset it. No biggy, but what the heck. s

For a 10" blade saw, use a 42 tooth (or so) carbide tip blade. No melting, a clean cut. These plastics blades (fine cut, lots of teeth, zero kerf) are a waste, IMHO. They tend to melt the acrylic rather than cut it. A jigsaw is likely not a reasonable tool to use. You can't keep it straight enough to have a glueable edge. Recommend a chop saw, table saw solution instead. For holes, use SHARP spade bits instead of high speed metal bits. A drill press is best. hand holding with might work. s

LOL ROTF. I can't believe it. ok folks, it IS a 2005 event. Next year... s

Zounds. Sounds like a major coup... what are they gonna do if/when this baby grows UP? s

Fellow WAMAS Members, First off, a huge congratulation to Nathan and all the members who contributed to the WAMAS website, as it won the MASNA Website of the year award at MACNA XVI! Now that MACNA XVI in Boston is done, MASNA now allows us to advertise, sell spaces, sell tickets and in particular, communicate the themes and details for MACNA XVII. The officers have been working non-stop for the past several months preparing for this launch. As a group, the work effort has been huge, even at this early stage. So without further adieu, we proudly present to the WAMAS membership: MACNA XVII - Expanded Horizons September 16-18, 2005 The Hyatt Regency Crytstal City Arlington, VA The Hyatt Crystal City is a 685 room conference facility with a 23,000 square foot professional exhibit hall and over 30,000 square feet of meeting space. This location is surrounded by a vast selection of eating, shopping & night life, and free Metro & National Airport shuttle service. For the event we have secured a room rate of $129 a night. For locals, we have a $7/day parking rate in their garage. For the out of towners, it's $10/night. Over a 50% discount, folks. The conference schedule is still in the works, but Michael has a great outline focusing on beginner, intermediate and advanced hobbyists. We are planning sessions in the morning based on special[/i] tracks like "large Systems", "New Technology" "Bio-tope Engineering" and "Coral Identification" are just some of the great topics on the list. Along with the pure hobbyist sessions, we will be running both a Sustainable Harvest - Industry Regulatory Issues and a very exciting K-12 Education tract, not to mention the probability of professional Aquarist sessions. Afternoons, everyone gets back together for a plenary sessions. Keynote talks, special issues, and major speakers are in the plenary sessions. Everyone sees it all! The location allows us to run both a full 100+ vendor hall, and enormous speakers areas. With over 25 speakers, we can assure everyone will want to see everything. Everyone will get a great seat. Along with a reception on Friday and a Gala Dinner on Saturday, no firm details at this moment, but we can assure you they will not only be educational, but a lot of fun too! Plus, we are working on a few surpises too boot! To ensure that this MACNA is the best ever, we have formed an Advisory Committee, including speakers, vendors, MASNA and past host clubs. This committee includes the likes of Eric Borneman, Anthony Calfo, Sanjay Joshi, Mac Terzich and Dennis Tagrin. This group is very focused on issues surrounding our hobby and will ensure that the entire event will be designed for the maximum impact to the attendee! With all the work that's been done so far, it's only a drop in the bucket. The closer to the event date we get, the more work we will have, and that's where WAMAS will really shine. It takes quite a crew to pull off an event of this magnitude. The recent show in Boston reported they had the largest MACNA attendance yet, with over 1200 attendees. Many WAMAS members have already shown the spirit and sent us emails and posts on the boards asking to be volunteers. WAMAS member volunteers will clearly be our hallmark of success with this event. There will be a "town hall" meeting shortly where the officers get together with WAMAS members to discuss what we know, what we don't know, and what we need to drive a successful event. We will also be starting a discussion on volunteers online in the Forums on our website. Please climb aboard and show our fellow hobbyists why Washington DC is one of the best city's in the world, and that WAMAS is a world leading reef club! Sincerely, Steve, Glenn, Michael, Craig, Scott, Tamie & Nathan The WAMAS Officers

As Michael said, we are working the details. Ideas for consideration are trading volunteer work time for reduced fees, swag, etc. We will need a LOT of volunteers. More info to come very shortly. steve

yer darn right it is... Check out our MACNA Photos page (right on the home page under recent history). Way cool stuff. Vendors galore with the latest toys, colonies, frags, equipment, you name it. s

Yes, we finally made it. WAMAS has incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia as of 8/25/2004. We are now: Washington D.C. Area Marine Aquarist Society, Inc. Next steps: 1. Finish bylaws and file them with the Commonwealth 2. File our 501©3 application with the IRS We are finally making good progress! Steve

I'm impressed. Why did I pay so much for my tank? LOL. I have tons of frags of stuff to donate after you get your LR cycled and stablized... steve

WAMAS is sharing the MASNA booth to market MACNA XVII. We believe it is much more in the general interest to have a shared presence at this show with MASNA, as it IS their brand and show. We are doing a lot not to be as secretive as the Boston organizers, as we think this brings in a broader participation and audience to the show. s

Where can you find Oceanic salt? Does TRT carry it yet? s

Lemme know if I got it right. steve

I just installed my second GFCI protected circuit before vacation. I split my pumps between both circuits in case one of the circuits tripped. (main return and skimmer on one, powerheads and closed loop on the other) This saved my tank. While I was gone, the house sitters (thanks to all involved) found my main pump circuit tripped. Looks like it had tripped for over 10 hours. Without the second circuit running the powerheads and the closed loop, I would have had a dead tank due to oxygen starvation. Please do install the GFCI and if at all posssible, install two on separate circuits. Then divide your devices up accordingly. Steve

Ok, you brought it up. Did ya get any cool toys? s

Check out My New Sump. Lots of good views on that one as well. Mebbe he will let ya look at it, as he is local!?!

1 down, 99 to go... He's still a spring chicken. Happy B-day Craig!

Check out Melev's Reef sumps. This guy is from Dallas Reef Club and his is the basis of my sump design. He answers almost all of your questions in his write-ups. You should easily find my design in his... (I kinda stole it :-) s

Houshan, check out the gallery Setups category. You will see my new DIY sump and how I configured in the float switch. I use that to control top off w/RO-DI water driven through a kalk reactor. The float switch is the vertical tube in the back of the pump chamber, just right of the 'fuge section...

This guy needs a surge tank... we should hook him up w/Bruce Carlson! unbelievable. s