Origami March 25, 2023 Share March 25, 2023 Event: WAMAS Spring 2023 Meeting (In-person, not streamed) Saturday, May 6, 2023 Time: 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Speaker starts at 3 PM) Where: North Bethesda Middle School, 8935 Bradmoor Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817 WAMAS members get in free. Guests are $5 each (paid at the door). Join WAMAS at this link. Refreshments provided by WAMAS. Speaker: Marc Levenson, founder and owner of Melevsreef.com From Ft. Worth, Texas, Marc “melev” Levenson has been in the hobby since 1998, blogging about his experiences with his own reef on melevsreef.com to help others learn husbandry skills. More recently, Marc has become an online personality with tens of thousands of followers on his YouTube channel (melevsreef) aiming to help other reefers through his personal experiences. His website features articles, blogs, and Critter ID and covers topics like pest control, feeding techniques, working with acrylics, reef photography and water chemistry to name a few. Twenty years ago, Marc added an online store to his website, making it his full time job in 2009. In it, he carries many products like his RODI systems, custom sumps and even includes some items that he himself invented as clever solutions to make reefkeeping easier. Marc is a nationally recognized speaker (including 6 times at MACNA); and recommends supporting local club events, shopping local fish stores, and interacting with others via social media. Marc is an avid DIYer and builds what he can’t buy, often out of acrylic. And, he loves seeing what others can accomplish or have tried to move the hobby forward. His other hobby is diving, exploring natural reefs. His current tanks are a 400-gallon reef and a 60-gallon anemone cube, filled with captive bred fish and aquacultured corals. Topic: Sump & Plumbing Considerations You Need To Know Planning out your sump setup and plumbing in advance is the best way to avoid all sorts of headaches later. Is your plumbing a mess or a work of art? Is it quiet or loud? Are you just avoiding it? Updating it now will be better for your fish and corals during an emergency. In his talk, Marc will delve into what types of solutions you can implement to keep things running smoothly, in good weather and in bad. Agenda: 1:00 Sign-in / socialize / frag sales 2:50 Club business 3:00 Speaker: Marc Levenson 4:00 Break 4:30 Raffle! Directions to North Bethesda Middle School: - NOTE: The school is just inside the north edge of the beltway near Old Georgetown Road. Here's a map from Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/bKz79Y9HmQF2 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 Platinum Sponsors - Air, Water & Ice - AquaHaus - Avast Marine - Blue Ribbon Koi - Capital Aquarium - ChemiPure (Boyd Enterprises) - Coral Magazine - Dr. Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture - Exotic Reef Creations - FishnReef.com - Frank's Tanks - ICP Analysis - Maxspect - Premium Aquatics - Puddle Aquatics - Reed Mariculture (Reef Nutrition) - Reef eScape - Reef Nerd Aquatics - SaltwaterAquarium.com - Supreme Reefs WAMAS Banner-Only Sponsors - Cobalt Aquatics - Jellyfish Art - MASNA - Two Little Fishies 2023 virtual meeting support provided by Eureka Strategic Consulting, Discover the Extraordinary. Raffle Prizes Fritz Blue RPM salt, 200G size. Donated by ERC. Five chances to win! 1-year subscription Coral Magazine. Donated by Reef2Rainforest Media. TEN chances to win! Coral Packs worth $150. Donated by Reef Nerd Aquatics. Two chances to win! TLF Coral Dip & Foods Pack, $40 value. Donated by SaltwaterAquarium.com 2-pack of 120 grams of Maxspect Professional Coral Putty, a $40 value (2 chances to win!) $50 Gift Certificate for Reef Nutrition products (with $40 bump-up for shipping). (2 chances to win!) $100 Gift Certificate for Reef Nutrition products (with $40 bump-up for shipping). 4kg of REBORN Calcium Reactor Media ($40 value) $50 Gift Certificate donated by Puddle Aquatics. (2 chances to win!) $50 livestock Gift Certificate donated by Blue Ribbon Koi. (3 chances to win!) More raffle prizes to be announced. Sponsors On Site, Selling Reef Nerd Aquatics More to be added. Stay tuned! Members On Site, Selling @Samayoa @Mr.Chalice More to be added. Stay tuned! Stay tuned to this post for updates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 12, 2023 Share April 12, 2023 Raffle items are starting to come in for the meeting in less than a month! First up, is 5 boxes of Fritz Blue RPM Salt, 200g size from ERC. These were very popular during the recent group buy, so I imagine they will be popular choices in the raffle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 13, 2023 Share April 13, 2023 Reef2Rainforest Media has just donated TEN one-year subscriptions to CORAL MAGAZINE to our raffle! Each subscription is a $37 value and includes both a print copy mailed to your home and access to their current Digital Edition. Hailed by critics as “the world’s best reefkeeping magazine,” CORAL is written by leading aquarium experts and marine biologists, lavishly illustrated with breathtaking images, and filled with ideas and inspiration for beginning to expert reefkeepers. Every big issue brings information about • Fish & Invertebrate Species • Reef Life Rarities • World-Class Aquarium Systems • Marine Aquarium Advice — Beginners to Breeders • Tropical Travel & Discovery, Thought-Provoking News, Portraits, Interviews, Technology Updates, and much more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 13, 2023 Share April 13, 2023 If a member or sponsor wants to sell on-site at the meeting please send me a PM @AlanM to help us coordinate. We also plan to have a table designated at the meeting as a "Meet up spot" for advance sales to meet each other and exchange items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 14, 2023 Share April 14, 2023 Lynn at Reef Nerd Aquatics is donating two coral packs worth $150 each for the raffle. Thanks, Lynn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 16, 2023 Share April 16, 2023 Donation by platinum sponsor SaltwaterAquarium.com: TLF Coral Dip & Foods Pack ($40 value) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 21, 2023 Share April 21, 2023 Also for the raffle, we have two 2-packs of 120 gram jars of Maxspect Professional Coral Putty. That's a $40 value. A 100% reef safe Coralline Algae Colored Coral Putty that can be used underwater. This two-part silicone-based coral putty cures in 3 minutes. No foul odor, will not cloud the water, and will not cause the protein skimmer to overflow. Can be used for both marine and freshwater aquariums. The color of the putty allows it to blend in with its surroundings making it easier to hide than other forms of adhesives used in aquariums. It is recommended to use a minimal amount since most corals will grow over the adhesive in a matter of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami April 21, 2023 Author Share April 21, 2023 And yet another donation to the raffle courtesy of our wonderful sponsor, Reed Mariculture (maker of Reef Nutrition products)! Alexie over at Reed has generously provided... One gift card valued at $100 (plus an additional $40 to cover shipping costs) AND Two more gift cards valued at $50 (plus an additional $40 each to cover shipping). These are great products that, once you've tried them, you're bound to love. Our most sincere thanks to Nancy and Reed Mariculture for their generous support! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM April 24, 2023 Share April 24, 2023 One more additional raffle item: 4kg of REBORN Calcium Reactor Media ($40 value) Donated by Two Little Fishies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary April 26, 2023 Share April 26, 2023 Our good friend Todd at Puddle Aquatics has donated two $50 gift certificates for the raffle! Todd is the creator of the Reef Boxx, a patent pending automatic backup switch that allows users to connect battery backup (in case you're feeling inspired to make improvements to your tank setup after listening to Marc's presentation)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary April 26, 2023 Share April 26, 2023 And there's more! John at Blue Ribbon Koi is donating three $50 livestock Gift Certificates for the raffle! BRK is known for its selection and new arrivals are often pictured on their Facebook page. Thank you so much, John! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefdUp May 2, 2023 Share May 2, 2023 Do you have young kids that have no interest in your aquariums since you don't have "Dory?" Do they just want to visit the vendors so they can splash around in all the water? Or do they just want to play "hide-and-seek" underneath everyone's chairs - while the speaker is giving the presentation? If so, WE HEAR YOU (literally). (And, I'm one of these parents, so I'm right there in the chaos too!) Now, you can bring your chaos and maybe manage it a little easier with our new kid-friendly corner. Just look for the colorful tablecloth and decorations. Please note - no supervision is provided for this activity center - please make sure your kids aren't eating the crayons or using the pipe cleaners to clean their noses. This was our last meeting's beta test. Activities included coloring pages, stickers, word searches, and color-sensitive coral anatomy models. This quarter, we're expanding! Check out these new craft projects! We hope to see you and your little ones there, as we work to make the WAMAS meetings more family-friendly. Thanks for your support! -Nikki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefdUp May 6, 2023 Share May 6, 2023 And now we're featuring a small contest! At 1:30pm, we'll announce the start of an Icebreaker Bingo game! Come see me to get your card and a marker. Participants will then mingle and find out who has what unique characteristics to their reefkeeping background. The game will go until someone yells "BINGO" when they have all five boxes completed in a row in any direction - or after 30 minutes. Note that a single person can only contribute once to a card (you can't have someone that counts for 7 squares - that's not the point of an icebreaker). Winner will receive a frag of a pink hammer coral! See me for any questions or details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefdUp May 8, 2023 Share May 8, 2023 Thanks to all of our Sponsors, Vendors, Marc our speaker, our volunteers, and all of the attendees! Even though it was a beautiful day, the turnout was still great. That speaks highly about how dedicated our club members are - and the value these meetings bring! Let's see those great finds - what corals, anemones, or even raffle prizes did you get?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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