AlanM June 8, 2019 June 8, 2019 The location for the meeting has been changed. The Air Conditioner is broken at our original location and the record heat this weekend means we can't guarantee that it will be doable. The meeting will now be at the McLean American Legion Post 270. http://mcleanpost270.org/ The address is 1355 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA. Fragfest this year is on Sunday, July 21 at the Charles Wesley United Methodist Church (McLean, VA). What is FragFest? Check out the FragFest FAQ here. Topic: 25 Years of B-Ionic Reef Keeping and the Simplicity Beyond Complexity, by Bob Stark My journey from the early days of the US reef aquarium hobby through modern day natural coral reef research and examining it's potential to be incorporated into simple husbandry techniques. I will also discuss the incredible collective success the hobby has achieved as a whole with regards to maintaining and propagating coral and fish which was ultimately achieved by our own individual creativity, research and experimental interests in the uncharted waters of closed reef aquaria. Perhaps our collective success earned over the years will intersect with the great challenges involved with sustaining our own natural reefs. Bio: Born in Queens, New York, Bob Stark has been a marine aquarist for 50 years. He graduated from the Southampton campus of Long Island University in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology. For the next 27 years he worked as a chemical engineer at his family's chemical specialty company, ESV Company Inc. During this time he privately maintained marine aquaria and was caught up in the revolutionary wave of reef aquariums when it hit the United States in the mid 1980's with the series of articles by George Smit published in Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine. In 1995 he formulated and started to sell B-Ionic Calcium Buffer, the first easy to use, ionically balanced two part calcium and alkalinity additive which could be manually dosed directly to the aquarium without having to be slowly dripped to avoid a dangerous pH spike, like kalkwasser. Soon after he formulated B-Ionic Magnesium, the first ionically balanced magnesium additive. The company also introduced the first dried marine phytoplankton and sugar fine aragonite sand to the USA reef hobby. In 1996 he was a speaker at MACNA XI in Louisville, Kentucky and has presented his ideas and philosophies to several aquarium clubs over the years. In 2003 his simplistic approach to reef keeping was featured in Mike Paletta's book "Ultimate Marine Aquariums: Saltwater Dream Systems and how they are Created" as the "Bare Bones Reef". In 2006 Bob and his brother Rich ended the chemical specialties company and formed ESV Aquarium Products Inc. to exclusively manufacture and sell products for the aquarium industry. Soon after the formation of the new company, he formulated the 4 component B-Ionic Seawater System to address the problems of impurities and inconsistencies in single component, dry synthetic seawater mixes. Bob's major interest is to extrapolate research from marine science journals into the design of simplified closed marine ecosystem models with applications in energy efficient aquaculture and to provide a simple, economical methodology to help beginning reef aquarists entering the hobby. ***** This is a MEMBERS ONLY summer meeting SUNDAY, July 21, 2019, 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. (We're starting a little later because setup takes longer for this meeting.) * 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. 2:00 PM Doors open to WAMAS members (only) 2:40 PM Club business 3:00 PM Speaker Bob Stark 4:00 PM Break 4:15 PM Raffle! 4:45 PM Frag Giveaway (Yes, FREE frags!) 5:45-6:15 PM Cleanup Location will be: (Updated!!) McLean American Legion Post 270. 1355 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA 22101 Charles Wesley United Methodist Church's all purpose room 6817 Dean, Dr McLean, VA 22101 *********** Raffle Prizes* - Three $50 gift certificates to Aquarium Depot - One $100 and one $50 gift certificates to Avast Marine - 1 year complimentary subscription to Coral Magazine. The world's premier marine aquarium magazine. $37 value. Donated by Reef2Rainforest - Regular (8 ounce) flat pack of LRS Reef Frenzy premium frozen fish food. $22 value. Donated by Larry at LRS (reeffrenzy.com). - 4 chances to win - Regular (4 ounce) flat pack of LRS Reef Frenzy Nano premium frozen fish food. $10 value. Donated by Larry at LRS (reeffrenzy.com). - 3 chances to win - Five pack of Chemipure Blue Nano donated by Chemipure. Lasts 4-6 months. $18 value. Ten chances to win! - Chemipure Blue (5.5 oz. in a filter bag) for tanks up to 35 gallons (donated by Chemipure). Lasts 4-6 months. $15.50 value. Three chances to win! - Chemipure Blue (11 oz. in a filter bag) for tanks up to 75 gallons (donated by Chemipure). Lasts 4-6 months. $26 value. Three chances to win! - 5.0 ounces (supersize) Cobalt Marine Vegi premium fish flakes. $21 value. Donated by Cobalt Aquatics (cobaltaquatics.com) - 5.0 ounces (supersize) Cobalt Brine Shrimp premium fish flakes. $20 value. Donated by Cobalt Aquatics (cobaltaquatics.com) - One USB-rechargeable single port air pump (operates 24 hours on one charge). Perfect for emergency backup or for transporting livestock. $30 value. Donated by Cobalt Aquatics (cobaltaquatics.com) - Aqua-el LEDDY Slim LED lighting (10W, plant spectrum, fits 20"-27.5" tanks). $90 value. Donated by SaltwaterAquarium.com. - Aqua-el LEDDY Slim LED lighting (32W, 10000K marine spectrum, fits 32" - 40" tanks). $120 value. Donated by SaltwaterAquarium.com. - Aqua-el LEDDY Slim LED lighting (36W, 20000K Actinic spectrum, fits 40" - 48" tanks). $200 value. Donated by SaltwaterAquarium.com. - Galexea frags. $29.99 value. Donated by Dr Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture. Ten chances to win! - Reef Nutrition: Samplers of their bottled reef food products! (2 chances to win!) - Reef Nutrition: Chroma Boost pellets (three 3-ounce bags raffled together) - Jellyfish Art Nano cylinder from Jellyfish Art $269 value - Mixed frag pack with 20 corals, $250 value from FishnReef.com - 100 gal salt mixes, 2 chances to win, $60 value from ESV Aquarium Products - 64 floz units B-Ionic, 8 chances to win, $23 value from ESV Aquarium Products - 2 gal units B-Ionic, 4 chances to win, $34 value from ESV Aquarium Products 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 - Aquarium Depot - Avast Marine - Blue Ribbon Koi - Capital Aquarium - Dr. Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture - FishnReef.com - LRS Reef Frenzy - Marine Depot - Pimped Out Aquariums - Premium Aquatics - Reed Mariculture (Reef Nutrition) - Reef eScape - Reef2Rainforest Media (Coral Magazine) - SaltwaterAquarium.com - Supreme Reefs WAMAS Banner-Only Sponsors - Cobalt Aquatics - Coralvue - Jellyfish Art - Live Aquaria - MASNA - Spectrapure - Two Little Fishies Get Free Raffle Tickets! We have a "bring your receipts" program where if you bought stuff from one of our sponsors since the last meeting you can bring your receipts to the check-in desk to get one free raffle ticket for every $25 that you spent at a sponsor up to $500 (20 tickets). We don't need to keep the receipts, but would like to see them in hardcopy form (not on your phone because it takes too long) to give you the free tickets. Sponsors on-site: - Dr Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture - Blue Ribbon Koi - FishnReef.com Members selling on site: BtmDweller copps gws3 jbarre03 KingOfAll_Tyrants Mr Chalice Leishman Watch this space for more information to be made available as it arrives!
AlanM July 8, 2019 Author July 8, 2019 We're getting organized for fragfest coming up. Just two more weeks! If you were planning to set up a tank to sell frags please let me know because space will be tight and we give first priority to our sponsors and then to people that contact me first.
AlanM July 10, 2019 Author July 10, 2019 Starting Raffle prize additions: First up: Three $50 gift certificates to Aquarium Depot Thanks!
AlanM July 10, 2019 Author July 10, 2019 Avast Marine Gift Certificates: One $100 certificate, One $50 certificate Thanks Avast!
AlanM July 11, 2019 Author July 11, 2019 Added raffle item: - 1 year complimentary subscription to Coral Magazine. The world's premier marine aquarium magazine. $37 value. Donated by Reef2Rainforest
AlanM July 11, 2019 Author July 11, 2019 Raffle Item: Regular (8 ounce) flat pack of LRS Reef Frenzy premium frozen fish food. $22 value. Donated by Larry at LRS (reeffrenzy.com). - 4 chances to win Regular (4 ounce) flat pack of LRS Reef Frenzy Nano premium frozen fish food. $10 value. Donated by Larry at LRS (reeffrenzy.com). - 3 chances to win
AlanM July 12, 2019 Author July 12, 2019 Raffle Items: Five pack of Chemipure Blue Nano donated by Chemipure. Lasts 4-6 months. $18 value. Ten chances to win! Chemipure Blue (5.5 oz. in a filter bag) for tanks up to 35 gallons (donated by Chemipure). Lasts 4-6 months. $15.50 value. Three chances to win! Chemipure Blue (11 oz. in a filter bag) for tanks up to 75 gallons (donated by Chemipure). Lasts 4-6 months. $26 value. Three chances to win! Chemi-pure Blue is specially created for fantastic results in reef and marine aquariums. Our NEW proprietary blend of premium, low-dust pelleted carbon and high capacity ion-exchange resins are skillfully combined to create a superior all-in-one filter media in a nylon bag. Chemi-pure Blue significantly reduces organic compounds and phosphates while raising redox and helping stabilize pH for a healthy, crystal clear aquarium. Lasts 4-6 months. THE BENEFITS OF USING CHEMIPURE BLUE: Keeps pH stable and constant Reduces fish loss due to pH changes or polluted water Keeps aquariums crystal clear Provides positive neurological reactions in fish, mimicking a natural environment Removes dissolved organics Helps fish have a better appetite Eliminates osmotic shock Increases fish life span Filters out coppers, metals, odors and phenol Prevents ion antagonism
AlanM July 12, 2019 Author July 12, 2019 Raffle items from Cobalt: - 5.0 ounces (supersize) Cobalt Marine Vegi premium fish flakes. $21 value. Donated by Cobalt Aquatics (cobaltaquatics.com) - 5.0 ounces (supersize) Cobalt Brine Shrimp premium fish flakes. $20 value. Donated by Cobalt Aquatics (cobaltaquatics.com) - One USB-rechargeable single port air pump (operates 24 hours on one charge). Perfect for emergency backup or for transporting livestock. $30 value. Donated by Cobalt Aquatics (cobaltaquatics.com)
AlanM July 12, 2019 Author July 12, 2019 Raffle Items from SaltwaterAquarium.com: - Aqua-el LEDDY Slim LED lighting (10W, plant spectrum, fits 20"-27.5" tanks). $90 value. Donated by SaltwaterAquarium.com. - Aqua-el LEDDY Slim LED lighting (32W, 10000K marine spectrum, fits 32" - 40" tanks). $120 value. Donated by SaltwaterAquarium.com. - Aqua-el LEDDY Slim LED lighting (36W, 20000K Actinic spectrum, fits 40" - 48" tanks). $200 value. Donated by SaltwaterAquarium.com.
AlanM July 16, 2019 Author July 16, 2019 Quick Alert! We are looking at changing the location of this meeting. We just learned that the air conditioning at the church in McLean is broken and will not be fixed by Sunday afternoon. With hot temperatures all this week it will be brutally hot in there by Sunday afternoon. Watch this space for updates. If we find a new location we will post it here and I will send out an email blast alerting everyone of the new location.
AlanM July 18, 2019 Author July 18, 2019 The location for the meeting has been changed. It will now be at the McLean American Legion Post 270. http://mcleanpost270.org/ The address is 1355 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA. I am updating the top post. The times are the same. Volunteers should arrive at 1230 to begin setting up and members are admitted starting at 2pm.
AlanM July 18, 2019 Author July 18, 2019 New Raffle Item! Thank you very much Reef Nutrition/Reed Mariculture! Platinum Sponsor, Reed Mariculture has donated sampler packs of their feed products to our raffle. Come on out! Two chances to win! Pack #1 ($84 value): Pack #2 ($73 value):
AlanM July 18, 2019 Author July 18, 2019 Raffle Item: Thanks to JellyFish Art! Jellyfish Art Cylinder Nano - $300 Value
Hilary July 19, 2019 July 19, 2019 Platinum Sponsor Dr Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture is donating Galexea frags for the raffle. $29.99 value. Ten chances to win. Thanks Dr. Mac!
Hilary July 21, 2019 July 21, 2019 Platinum Sponsor FishnReef.com is donating a mixed frag pack of 20 corals! $250 value. Thank you!
AlanM July 21, 2019 Author July 21, 2019 Our speaker, Bob Stark, brought some things from ESV for the raffle. Thanks Bob and ESV! 100 gal salt mixes, 2 chances to win, $60 value from ESV Aquarium Products 64 floz units B-Ionic, 8 chances to win, $23 value from ESV Aquarium Products 2 gal units B-Ionic, 4 chances to win, $34 value from ESV Aquarium Products
AlanM July 21, 2019 Author July 21, 2019 WAMAS T-shirts will be for sale at FragFest! All sizes available in two colors, $10 each.
AlanM July 21, 2019 Author July 21, 2019 Notes, about the free frag giveaway: During the frag giveaway you will not get an opportunity to pick through the free frags. It just takes way too long to do that. We will ask folks to line up in a line that will likely curve around the room and will likely be long, but fast moving. We will distribute one type of frag until it's gone and then move on to the next. We will announce what we are handing out in general terms (acropora, montipora, pocillipora, birdsnest, etc), and we will know what we're starting with, but with hundreds of frags to hand out we probably won't know specific "popular" names for the corals because we won't have blue lights to shine on them to know exactly what they are. You're welcome to trade with others at the event if you like a frag better that someone else received. You're not welcome to sell them on the forum afterwards. These frags should all be healthy, we won't give out dying ones (except to our last speaker, Nikki Bridges, who will nurse them back to health), but they will not have been quarantined or dipped for pests. Please exercise appropriate caution before introducing them directly to your tank when you get them home. You're reefing with all of the other frags and people these corals have reefed with. We hand them out at the end of the meeting to avoid mishap at the meeting and to give you the best chance to get them home intact. Bring a container with you if you plan on getting a few of them to contain any leaks.
.thumb.png.40db71e145957fbc22a7d873e5f3065b.png)
Recommended Posts