Gatortailale

Come on out. Grill is on fire. Cooking soon. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Hot items in stock. I upgraded my RO/DI system in the house. Have a used AQuaFX with spectrapure membrane 90 gpd & used spectrapure max-cap2 with TDI monitor to sell at yard sale. Note to self - based on the pictures Tom posted - don't wear black shirt and tan shorts.

View of past BRK socials:

See here for all the latest details in the BRK forum for updates, specials, and stock list updates. Saturday June 7th 2:00 pm - ??? YARD SALE!! -- Bring all of your used equipment and you can set up your own yard sale! (please bring your own blankets, or tables if you like) We will also have tons of used equipment for sale including tanks, lighting, hoods, stands etc. 3rd Annual Hermit crab race!! -- BYOH (bring your own Hermit) or buy one here to race! Winners will win BRK cash and prizes! Coral and fish specials -- to be announced as we get closer to the event! Live Coral Auction! -- thats right see it in person and bid right here for the WIN! Hot dogs, hamburgers and refreshments will be served. Possible speaker with FREEBIES, waiting on confirmation. (either way the freebies will be here..) Be sure to bring the family, the Koi are Hungry!!! And back by popular demand - Gatortailale be working the grill cooking some burgers & dogs. Finally: Koi kissing contest led by Byron

Update: Koi kissing contest led by Byron

All, Please come out and meet your fellow hobbyists & other WAMAS members at these local events: 1) June 7, 2014 - WAMAS Social at Blue Ribbon Koi & Marine - Manassas, VA 2) June 14, 2014 - Artfully Acrylic/Incredible Corals - 2nd Annual Pig Roast, BBQ, & Pot Luck Extravaganza!!! - Manassas, VA 3) July 13, 2014 - WAMAS Summer Meeting Frag-fest - McLean, VA 4) September 13, 2014 - WAMAS Social at Dr. Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture - Salisbury, MD Special thanks to theses sponsors. Please support them & say thanks next time you shop with them. You can find their website address by visiting their forum or the sponsor page on the WAMAS website. WAMAS Premium Sponsors - Air, Water & Ice - Avast Marine - Blue Ribbon Koi - Dr. Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture - Exotic Reef Creations - King of Corals - Pimped Out Aquariums - Reef eScape WAMAS Sponsors - Artfully Acrylic & Incredible Corals - Cobalt Aquatics - Fins & Feathers - FishnReef.com - The Marine Scene - Petland - Premium Aquatics - Reed Mariculture (Reef Nutrition) - Quantum Reefs * Save your receipts from our sponsors and get raffle prize tickets

Looking forward to the annual hermit races. Hope to bag a few good buys in the auction. Can't wait.

Please see the page on MASNA website for details & eligibility. MASNA (Marine Aquarium Societies of North America) - WAMAS is a member club of MASNA. http://www.masna.org/AboutMASNA/MASNAScholarship/tabid/83/Default.aspx

You didn't say if you are staying in same house /location - but assuming you are, and just upgrading to a 300. If so, then my initial advice would be to take it slow and allow a 2-3 month period transition if possible, or more. Map out in your head or make a sketch of your vision for rockwork. Then look at your current rock in 110 and think of those will fit into your vision. Do the same for rock in basement. Depending on vision and budget, decide if what you currently own fits into your grand plan. You should also decide how you will do rockwork. Some newer ideas involve using a paver for base and people using some type of rod and drilling the rock to make tower structures; then a concrete mix to hold it together - like Sanjay, Copps, and others have done. If time permits you can even dry fit the rock in your 300 of not crushed on time. As for cooking your rock or freshwater dip in RODI, I have no experience with that and can offer no advice. Depending on source of rock it could be helpful or it may just kill off beneficial stuff that didn't need to be killed. Can you add some power heads and heat to the water and see what happens to the rock if you bring it up to a tropical temp? In short, think it out and take your time with the move.

http://reefbuilders.com/2012/03/04/palytoxin/ http://wamas.org/forums/topic/48670-steve-outlaw-is-not-the-only-one-now/?hl=inhale&do=findComment&comment=407745 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/04/05/world%E2%80%99s-2nd-deadliest-poison-in-an-aquarium-store-near-you/ Careful with the Zoa fragging. See above links on dangers - just ask steve outlaw.

Past President - just added a few photos to thread in dedicated tank form of my tank. No shame in having a small tank or thinking your tank not very good. We all are here to share and learn & some people have different budget levels. As long as you are having fun and enjoying the hobby, keep on reefing. Few years ago I had some issues with tank and lost 2/3 of livestock. But I got frags from friends & WAMAS vendors and started again and just letting things grow out. again.

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Pictures from Feb. 27, 2014 Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

www.superpetexpo.com/Chantilly 14th Annual Super Pet Expo Chantilly, VA March 21-23, 2014 Fri: 4-9pm, Sat: 10am-7pm, Sun: 10am-5pm Dulles Expo Center 4320 Chantilly Shopping Center Chantilly, VA 20153 Stop by the Reef eScape booth & say hi - WAMAS Sponsor!

Bump

There will be a MEMBERS ONLY summer meeting SUNDAY, July 13, 2014, 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. * You can join WAMAS at the door for $20.00 individual; $35.00 family = 1 year of membership, access to member area of forum + free frags at this meeting. Location will be: Charles Wesley United Methodist Church's all purpose room 6817 Dean, Dr McLean, VA 22101 Special Guests and Highlights: - Speaker: Colin Foord - Miami's Paradigm-Shifting 'Urban Corals' Exhibitors at the meeting selling corals & clams: - Dr. Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture - DaveS. - Incredible Corals - Exotic Reef Creations - Copps - Petland Primary coral donations from:Reef Escape - Blue Ribbon Koi Other raffle donations from: Avast Marine - Gift Certificates Premium Aquatics - Gift Certificates Cobalt Aquatics - Cobalt Aquatics Fish Food & a Canister Filter Air, Water & Ice - Typhoon Extreme RO/DI unit Current plans for FFE include; * Talk by Colin Foord * Demo on how to frag several types of corals * -- More events to be added. WAMAS will also have door prizes and the usual awesome raffle ticket items: * Coral donations will also be taken, If you have corals for fragging, please contact officers@wamas.org. * If you can bring 5 - 15 g's of saltwater that would be helpful as well. [We will start a post so we can get idea on how much is coming] NOTE: Vendor space is limited - the officers will be posting updates in the near future on procedures & guidance of exhibiting at this meeting. Most likely, we will request that members not set up a sales display to save space for sponsoring vendors. Special Guests and Highlights: - Speaker: Colin Foord - on the topic of Miami's Paradigm-Shifting 'Urban Corals' Abstract: Marine biologist Colin Foord of Coral Morphologic takes attendees on a magical underwater tour of Miami as he presents his hypothesis on why the corals living within the ‘Coral City’ might just change the paradigm in our collective understanding of coral biology and adaptability. After six years of exploring the sewery waters of Miami’s Biscayne Bay, Colin will share his thoughts on how these corals represent a glimmer of hope for reefs worldwide and what research should be done next. While the natural reefs offshore have languished, these ‘urban corals’ have successfully pioneered into new artificial habitats; habitats that have only recently become available to them through the complete environmental reengineering of South Florida’s native ecosystem. Working independently, Colin has identified more than 25 species of stony corals and discovered two species of zoanthids previously undescribed by science, all growing within the city limits on man-made structures, trash, and debris. Special thanks to theses sponsors. Please support them & say thanks next time you shop with them. You can find their website address by visiting their forum or the sponsor page on the WAMAS website. WAMAS Premium Sponsors - Air, Water & Ice - Avast Marine - Blue Ribbon Koi - Dr. Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture - Exotic Reef Creations - King of Corals - Pimped Out Aquariums - Reef eScape WAMAS Sponsors - Artfully Acrylic & Incredible Corals - Cobalt Aquatics - Fins & Feathers - Fish n Reef - The Marine Scene - Petland - Premium Aquatics - Reed Mariculture (Reef Nutrition) - Quantum Reefs * Save your receipts from our sponsors and get raffle prize tickets

WAMAS SPRING MEETING - Oakton High School, Vienna, VA - April 5, 2014 (Saturday) The Spring Meeting of The Washington Area Marine Aquarist Society (WAMAS) will be on Saturday April 5, 2014 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. at Oakton High School, 2900 Sutton Road, Vienna, VA 22181. Go in through Door 5. Special Guests and Highlights: - Speaker: Mitch Carl - SECORE: The Sex Just Keeps Getting Better Vendors on site: - Dr. Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture - Exotic Reef Creations - Quantum Reefs * [VENDORS can enter hall at 12:00 p.m. to set display] WAMAS Members selling/trading (table display) - Captain Ron - Copps - DaveS - Gantz Aquatics - Bn251 - HLem - Old Reefer Along with lots of frag swapping and a great raffle, this is sure to be a meeting NOT to miss! For further information on the WAMAS Spring Meeting, visit our web site http://www.wamas.org/ Who: WAMAS (Washington D.C. Area Marine Aquarist Society) When: April 5, 2014 (Saturday) Time: 1:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M. (EST) Where: Oakton High School (Door 5) 2900 Sutton Road, Vienna, VA 22181 Agenda 1:00 - 2:30 Sign-in / socialize 2:30 - 2:45 Club business 2:45 - 3:00 Break 3:00 - 4:15 Mitch Carl - SECORE: The Sex Just Keeps Getting Better 4:30 Raffle! Miscellaneous - food & drinks provided BIO: MITCH CARL Mitch Carl was born and raised in the hotbed of Marine Biology, Omaha, Nebraska. After a brief stint in freshwater, he began his saltwater career at Animal Talk Pet Center in 1994. After quickly realizing that he had no customer skills whatsoever, he obtained his Biology degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Not because he wanted to go there, but because he could afford nothing else. With degree in hand, he marched immediately to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium and demanded/pleaded for a job. After being mocked mercilessly, he was offered a volunteer scuba/underwater custodian position. Soon after, one of the aquarists mysteriously disappeared, and he was offered the job as a coral aquarist and began his zoo career in 1997. He backstabbed and connived his way all the way to being the Curator of Aquatics. In his job as curator, he oversees the entire zoo’s aquatic collection, and can constantly be heard telling his employees how awesome he used to be at keeping corals. His latest endeavor was a complete renovation of the zoo’s aquarium, which took many years off his life. Mitch continues his work with the SECORE (SExual COral REproduction,www.secore.org) project. The SECORE project started as a public aquarium initiative to get corals to have sex. We have since found out that corals have sex in captivity about as often as married couples do at home, so the focus has shifted to trying to save the endangered Acropora palmata of the Caribbean, through sexual reproduction. Through SECORE’s efforts, over 1000 corals have been raised from the annual coral spawn, and then have been planted on the reefs of Curacao. Mitch and his lovely wife Jena have three daughters that are o.k. looking, with the middle one showing the most promise for being good looking and successful. However, even that one is a bit sketchy. Directions: - NOTE: HS is about 1/4 mile from Vienna Metro stop on Orange line Here's a map from Mapquest Map link Special thanks to theses sponsors. Please support them & say thanks next time you shop with them. You can find their website address by visiting their forum or the sponsor page on the WAMAS website. WAMAS Premium Sponsors - Air, Water & Ice - Avast Marine - Blue Ribbon Koi - Dr. Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture - Exotic Reef Creations - King of Corals - Pimped Out Aquariums - Reef eScape WAMAS Sponsors - Artfully Acrylic & Incredible Corals - FishnReef.com - The Marine Scene - Petland - Premium Aquatics - Reed Mariculture (Reef Nutrition) - Quantum Reefs * Save your receipts from our sponsors and get raffle prize tickets Raffle Items include: Gift certificates to Premium Aquatics 1 acrylic sump from Pimped Out Aquariums Gift certificates to Artfully Acrylic & Incredible Corals RO/DI system from Air, Water, Ice Bulk dry rock from the NADC Gift certificates to King of Corals 24" NOVA Extreme 4 bulb T5 fixture from Marine Scene

Here is your new WAMAS Board. Congratulations to Tom, Scott, & Jenn! You can view their bios in the About WAMAS page. President - Tom Land (Origami) Vice President - Dave Lin (davelin315) Treasurer - Scott Friedman (scott711) Secretary - Hilary Foster (Hilary) Member Relations - Jenn Vickrey (sachabballi reef) Big thanks to Doug Arthur (dbartco) and Brian Ward for their service to the club and all the time they spent volunteering to help make WAMAS great. Although they have stepped down from serving in an officer role, I'm sure they will find ways to continue to contribute to club events in the future.

If you do drill on bottom, go with a hole for schedule 80 bulkhead. The extra threads will help you sleep better. Mine was made by Oceanic back in 2005 & they drilled it where they said was "popular" on bottom & only did holes for schedule 40. So far it has not leaked, but I'm very cautious to mess around with the bulkheads and closed loop plumbing under the tank.

Wanted: a few energetic WAMAS members to lead a beginner class / introduction to reefkeeping project similar to the efforts done in the past. SEE here: http://wamas.org/forums/topic/11750-intro-to-reefkeeping-2 The club can provide some assistance for the host(s) for snacks & drinks. Please contact one of the officers via PM or email to officers@wamas.org if you are interested & have time to help put a program together.

Less than 12 hours away. Vendors can access the hall at 11:15 to start setting up.

Looks like millepora or prostrate to me. The ends get the blue/purple when the halides are new. The white bumps just new growth. I have a few frags growing on frag plugs. Care of Idol - This is the 2nd one I have attempted. First one held well for 2-3 years. This one I have had since January I believe. It eats nori, frozen, flake, pellet / anything added. Doesn't nip at anything more than the flame angels do. Purple tang nips it's streamer ever few weeks.

Full tank shot on 10/12/13