Smiley Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Hi!.. My name is Fred....and im a reef-a-holic! First off, I am a reefer and have been for the past few years. Currently I live in Northern California but may be moving up to the Portland area. I did say "may be moving". My wife has a career move that has a 90% chance of landing us there. Anyway..... if by chance she does take it, I will have to start completely over with my reef system. I know my livestock would not survive a move that far so I am trying to figure out what to do. My biggest fear is having to replace the many nice corals I have in my system. I have approximately 150 different species of corals atm. Some rare, some not so rare. I guess I could start by asking a few questions: 1. Are there places to purchase larger size tanks in the Portland area? I think I would like to a 375g tank with multiple satellite tanks on the same system. Of course, this all depends on the layout of the house we buy. 2. How is the supply of corals in the area? Should I have someone hold my corals and ship them to me when I get set up? 3. What is the weather like as far as cold days and sunny days? I have been wanting to do solar tubes to help cut down on the lighting bill. Do I need a chiller to maintain a constant 80 degrees? 4. How often does this club have frag swaps? Do you have a dbtc program established? 5. Do local shops order ORA livestock often? 6. How is the local water supply? Is there any extra filtration needed beyond an ro/di unit? Beyond that, I hope things go well and we do land ourselves in the area. I look forward to meeting most of you and helping to expand the reef hobby as a whole. Smiley http://picasaweb.google.com/116201675106549640401/Dec2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCLa_tp_z6K-fsQE&feat=directlink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Hi!.. My name is Fred....and im a reef-a-holic! First off, I am a reefer and have been for the past few years. Currently I live in Northern California but may be moving up to the Portland area. I did say "may be moving". My wife has a career move that has a 90% chance of landing us there. Anyway..... if by chance she does take it, I will have to start completely over with my reef system. I know my livestock would not survive a move that far so I am trying to figure out what to do. My biggest fear is having to replace the many nice corals I have in my system. I have approximately 150 different species of corals atm. Some rare, some not so rare. I guess I could start by asking a few questions: 1. Are there places to purchase larger size tanks in the Portland area? I think I would like to a 375g tank with multiple satellite tanks on the same system. Of course, this all depends on the layout of the house we buy. 2. How is the supply of corals in the area? Should I have someone hold my corals and ship them to me when I get set up? 3. What is the weather like as far as cold days and sunny days? I have been wanting to do solar tubes to help cut down on the lighting bill. Do I need a chiller to maintain a constant 80 degrees? 4. How often does this club have frag swaps? Do you have a dbtc program established? 5. Do local shops order ORA livestock often? 6. How is the local water supply? Is there any extra filtration needed beyond an ro/di unit? Beyond that, I hope things go well and we do land ourselves in the area. I look forward to meeting most of you and helping to expand the reef hobby as a whole. Smiley http://picasaweb.google.com/116201675106549640401/Dec2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCLa_tp_z6K-fsQE&feat=directlink Hi Fred, welcome to the forum! To answer a few of your questions, there are many places to shop for coral in the NW. Many of which happen to be sponsers of our forum. As for where they get them, I have no idea..lol Do you need a chiller? well as I am sure you already know, thats a bit of a loaded question because it all depends on few different factors. one being lighting and also what kind of heat your pumps and such give off. Are there places to get large tanks here? yup of course there is, this aint Siberia! lol Most of our LFS sponsers can get pretty much what ever you want. We also have a sponsor who builds acyrlic tanks. Water supply - Depends on where you live. My TDS last night was 126 going into my RO/DI. But Oregon has several different types of water supplys and each one handles their water a little differently (for the most part) Weather? most people would say rainy but I would classify it as mild. We have all four seasons here. PNWMAS has monthly meetings and a few events, and frags swaps and such are common. Anyways, welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 First off hello and welcome (if you make it up here! ) Lets see if I can anser your questions for you in order.......... 1- Yes we have many a fine shops that can order you a tank. But we also have one of the best acrylic makers in the country in our backyard! www.envisionacrylics.com and you can work with him first hand. 2- We have about 10 LFS within 50 miles of Portland and we also have a couple more that are farther away but great to deal with and easy shipping. 3-On average we get into the low 30's for our winter lows but we have had spells that have gone into the teens and 20's. But the high are usually in the 40's. Summer we have some 100's for a few weeks but the average is closer to the low/mid 80's with lows down to the high 50's. 4-We have swaps all the time. Maybe not a set up date like some of the bigger clubs in California. Mostly if you are ready to swap/trade a post will get the ball rolling. We have something similar to the DBTC. We call it "Share the Love" it's a cross between a free raffle and a banking system. 5- Yes almost every shop here can/will order ORA. 6- That depends on your area but a RO/DI is all we use. But there has been talk of the club buying a chlorimine tester and running those tests. Ask away if you have more questions.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfisher Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Welcome Fred! +1 above. I have central heat/ac and dont run a chiller ( 4 tanks), but we do have over 100 degree weeks up here. Coral supply comes from L.A. or Florida or trans shipped for our suppliers/wholesalers/LFS. Most shops here are also sponsors here at PNWMAS and all have a great variety of corals from frags to colonies. I have been to wholesalers in the L.A. and SanDiego area and we have a great variety and price here. It's a great group here and if you have a sense of humor, you will fit right in! Tank tour at your place when it's up and running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Welcome Fred, I put my answers in blue in your original message!(clap)(clap) Hi!.. My name is Fred....and im a reef-a-holic! First off, I am a reefer and have been for the past few years. Currently I live in Northern California but may be moving up to the Portland area. I did say "may be moving". My wife has a career move that has a 90% chance of landing us there. Anyway..... if by chance she does take it, I will have to start completely over with my reef system. I know my livestock would not survive a move that far so I am trying to figure out what to do. My biggest fear is having to replace the many nice corals I have in my system. I have approximately 150 different species of corals atm. Some rare, some not so rare. I guess I could start by asking a few questions: Welcome Fred and I'm a reefaholic too!(clap) 1. Are there places to purchase larger size tanks in the Portland area? I think I would like to a 375g tank with multiple satellite tanks on the same system. Of course, this all depends on the layout of the house we buy. +1 yes there are places to buy large tanks. I would recommend you go with James from Envisions for a tank. He does great work and he is world renowned. Smann another member just had a larger tank built by him. 2. How is the supply of corals in the area? Should I have someone hold my corals and ship them to me when I get set up? We are very spoiled in our coral supply and great corals. Look at our sponsor area to see all the stores. We have Westside, Rosecity, The Coral Mafia, Upscales, Davy Jones and more! 3. What is the weather like as far as cold days and sunny days? I have been wanting to do solar tubes to help cut down on the lighting bill. Do I need a chiller to maintain a constant 80 degrees? It rains a lot but the weather is pretty mild. The summer rarely gets above 80 degrees here. I don't use a chiller but have had heat issues simply because I'm an addict and had up to 5 tanks set up in the basement. Running a chiller really depends on your setup, lights, housing situation... 4. How often does this club have frag swaps? Do you have a dbtc program established? We try to do frag swaps at the monthly meetings but it does not always happen. Once you get to know people here, I have made lots of individual frag swaps 5. Do local shops order ORA livestock often? I have not had much luck with shops being interested or wanting to do ORA stuff. I'm not sure why 6. How is the local water supply? Is there any extra filtration needed beyond an ro/di unit? I was just using di but recently the water company in my area started adding chloramines so I now run ro/di. It depends on where you end up living as it can vary Beyond that, I hope things go well and we do land ourselves in the area. I look forward to meeting most of you and helping to expand the reef hobby as a whole. I hope to meet you soon too! Smiley http://picasaweb.google.com/116201675106549640401/Dec2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCLa_tp_z6K-fsQE&feat=directlink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Sounds sweet so far... I am originally from Michigan so I am sure I will enjoy living amongst you all. Hopefully I can get into snowmobiling again lol. I am big on the captive breeding aspect which is why I asked about ORA. My future plans involve a CB facility. As far as corals go, there are a few that i have in which i would love to have again. The Darth Maul Zoa, the Jedi Mind Trick monti, the pokerstar/reverse pokerstar montis, and a handful of others. Do you guys have any of these within the club? Should I worry about having these backed up or being sent to me at a later date? Please dont make fun of my camera skills. I have to blame the camera......... http://picasaweb.google.com/116201675106549640401/Dec2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCLa_tp_z6K-fsQE&feat=directlink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We will not hold it against you that you are from Michigan! If you trust someone to send you the corals at a later date you can do it and that is all up to you. But yes I have seen those corals around and I know members have them also. We also have a member that is great at breeding clowns and is starting other fish also now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 haha... one more thing.....is there such things as earthquakes up that way that I have to worry about? I am not a fan of acrylic tanks as I have a 3yr old gnome atm and hope to score another one soon. Her first word was "snail" and I want to think her second was "gobi". I have been able to scratch glass by mistake so an acrylic is by far out of the question. Go glass or go home i say! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We have had 2 earthquakes in the last 15 years, I believe. Atleast ones of size that have caused property damage. If you want glass you would have to order it mostlikely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Moving your corals really wouldnt be that big a deal...And I'm sure if you contacted one of the stores up in this area, they'd let you ship the corals to them, hold them for you til you get your tank set back up, and then pass them back off to you. I'd recommend contacting Tim at Westside, forum name bill, or Nick at Rose City Aquarium, forum name RoseCityAquarium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 oooh i wonder if he is part of the MBI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 MBI? Whats that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 The Marine Breeding Initiative Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 The Marine Breeding Initiative Guess I never heard it used shortened as MBI. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 youre welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I have plenty of room in my garage system and would be glad to hold your corals for you untill you get down here and settled in, may cost ya a couple frags Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackaninny Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Welcome to our humble forum. I'd have a heart attack moving a tank across the street let alone 500 miles assuming you are from the Bay area of course. Any good shops or clubs down there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Welcome aboard Fred, I am the person Mike is referring to that breeds clowns. I am registered at the MBI but haven't started my logs yet. I am barelycuda over there also. If you do some searches on this forum for clownhouse there are some threads with some pics. In a nutshell I have a 240 sq. ft. building in the back yard with 43 tanks now. 11 broodstock and 32 growout. I have spawned 10 different species I believe and currently have approx 2000 fish in the system. We have a couple other breeders locally also. One is Kate (electrokate) on both boards and Brian (Evansbr). Not sure how soon you may be coming up but there is the potential that we are bringing Matt Pedersen in to speak at the end of March also. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerv503 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Hello Fred welcome to the forum, in Portland there are over 10 retail stores available to shop. We want to welcome you to the club. Vin "Keep On Reefing" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Thanks for all the warm welcomes. As far as good shops go around this area, there are a couple, and there are also some bad ones. Some places are trying to sell beer bottle corals at champagne prices and others actually are able to give support and advise. The nice thing is we have local places to buy bulk dry goods which is very helpful. Sometimes you need it immediately and cant wait for BRS to ship it. The other nice thing about the Bay Area is there is a huge population of Asian people that go on vacations to their homeland. Usually they bring back nice corals they find while scuba diving. It is very common to have corals that nobody else has. I have a few in my tank that I want to be able to have again after I move. I will be super excited if this works out and we end up moving to your necks of the woods. Hopefully this job pans out lol. I am looking forward to having my dream setup and meeting new people to help me put it together. I heard you all are cheap labor (work for beer/steak) which is very nice to have around. How are the stay-at-home dad activities up that way? Are there things to do so I dont have to be stuck at home all day? Are any of you stay-at-home parents? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Thanks for all the warm welcomes. As far as good shops go around this area, there are a couple, and there are also some bad ones. Some places are trying to sell beer bottle corals at champagne prices and others actually are able to give support and advise. The nice thing is we have local places to buy bulk dry goods which is very helpful. Sometimes you need it immediately and cant wait for BRS to ship it. The other nice thing about the Bay Area is there is a huge population of Asian people that go on vacations to their homeland. Usually they bring back nice corals they find while scuba diving. It is very common to have corals that nobody else has. I have a few in my tank that I want to be able to have again after I move. I will be super excited if this works out and we end up moving to your necks of the woods. Hopefully this job pans out lol. I am looking forward to having my dream setup and meeting new people to help me put it together. I heard you all are cheap labor (work for beer/steak) which is very nice to have around. How are the stay-at-home dad activities up that way? Are there things to do so I dont have to be stuck at home all day? Are any of you stay-at-home parents? HA! I wish I was a stay at home dad! my wife (wife) has already told me if anyone is staying home its her..(laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Obviously you don't have kids yet....... I asked my wife to trade... I go out and get a full time job...... she could stay home....... i got that look....that stare.... she laughed...... said something on the line of "cold day in hell"......stared again, and walked out of the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 LOL actually I have 4! 15, 8, 4 and 3..and yes they all live with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Thanks for all the warm welcomes. As far as good shops go around this area, there are a couple, and there are also some bad ones. Some places are trying to sell beer bottle corals at champagne prices and others actually are able to give support and advise. The nice thing is we have local places to buy bulk dry goods which is very helpful. Sometimes you need it immediately and cant wait for BRS to ship it. The other nice thing about the Bay Area is there is a huge population of Asian people that go on vacations to their homeland. Usually they bring back nice corals they find while scuba diving. It is very common to have corals that nobody else has. I have a few in my tank that I want to be able to have again after I move. I will be super excited if this works out and we end up moving to your necks of the woods. Hopefully this job pans out lol. I am looking forward to having my dream setup and meeting new people to help me put it together. I heard you all are cheap labor (work for beer/steak) which is very nice to have around. How are the stay-at-home dad activities up that way? Are there things to do so I dont have to be stuck at home all day? Are any of you stay-at-home parents? Some of the LFS here sell in bulk, certain items. I want to be the first to say "dibs" on any unusual coral frags! Kinda suprised they can bring them back. But........................ Yummm- BEER!!!! Yummm- STEAK!!! There are things to do if you like to be outside........... hiking, golf, water sports, and so on. Then of course you can start a stamp collection too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 I love golf......and beer.........golf with beer is better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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