badxgillen

Upon entering the store you could tell that not only was the place stocked to the brim with cool corals, fish, and inverts but it was also exceptionally clean and healthy looking.

Just fields and fields of SPS and LPS.

I swear there was a small forest of Red Dragon Acropora in the back of this tank.

And lets not forget the fish! Tons of really good looking specimens all throughout the store, looking good you guys, looking real good.

As you all probably knew it was an all around event with a BBQ, raffle, and guest speaker lined up for attendees.

It was a sunny beautiful July day that was perfect for getting outside. ATA has s nice little courtyard in between its shop and the next that facilitates this rather well. I know I found it very convenient, especially since i was the "grill man" for the food stuffs.

Here we have Lewisfisherman getting an action shot of the flaming and smoking BBQ chaos! We went through 40 burgers and a couple packs of dogs in just a couple hours. A good turn out and some hungry people that's for sure.

And speaking of turn out, lots of old friends and some new faces made appearances including but not limited too...

FlashyFins, our Tanks For Teachers coordinator and  professional at running the raffles. Here just helping things run smoothly as usual.

Albertareef and HigherThinking right, chatting about the new build HT has going on. Custom tank, custom sump, an all out massive build coming on it sound like. Albertareef has been a  long standing member of the Board of Directors and HigherThinking is returning to the PNWMAS madness from a previous term served not too long ago. Good guys to have on your team, thanks you two.

Left is Colby of Piscine Energetics chatting with our PNWMAS Vendor Relations officer LexInverts.

Left and in the background we have Jorge and to the right is Board member Youcallmeny. Plenty to see here and to talk about, I also imagine both of your tanks are rocking and rolling now...Still need to make the trip over to check things out.

Obrian enjoying himself at the shindig, along with a couple other people I had yet to meet in person.

RockChalk! I like that name/ analogy, I have quite a bit of rock chalk nowadays.

This gentleman from the Greater Portland Aquarium Society came by to hang out and see what the PNWMAS meet was about...And that ATA is a cool place to be.

Ron came by for the festivities, it is a bit of a trip from down south but well worth it yeah? Good seeing you man.

These reef tanks sure are conducive to conversations! Left is the ZorroReef, hope you like those spackles , and right we have the generous Bicyclebill who brought a bunch of Montipora to give to fellow members. Share the Love.

Here he is, the main man himself. As I had mentioned Erin of All Things Aquarium  was very generous once again. In addition to getting us raffle prizes for the meeting through his wholesale connections he donated TWO different frag packs to the clubs raffles, What a guy! Thanks Erin!

Colby here gave up some of his time to come to Willsonvile and speak about the history and science of fish foods in our industry. It was actually an informative talk that I could go on and on about, but for now I will stick to the picture posts lest I get side tracked into the late hours. Thank You Colby! For the knowledge and the free Piscine foods you gave out and donated towards the raffle. Very cool of you indeed.

Once the talk was over we commenced into the raffle stage of the meet. BOD Lewisfisherman in the middle wearing the blue. Was lucky at the casino so might as well keep it going and throw down here right?

PNWMAS Treasurer JeremyEvans up front and in red, getting ready for the winning numbers to be called out. I got my tickets in hand too no doubt, I love a good raffle, and I heard there was coral frag packs in there!

BAM!!! What did I tell you!? Got me a good reason to visit another one of our sponsors, as if I needed one. Upscales here I come!

Lexinverts snagging the digital salinity pen, that should make testing 7 tanks a littler easier than the Milwakie yeah. Left and behind Lex is our newest member of the BOD Suncrestreef, thanks for taking th nomination my friend, it is good to have you with us. And that fruit salad was excellent.

Smiling on the left we have ReefRun, but with the even bigger grin from winning the LPS frag pack donated by All Things Aquarium is Snappy. Way to go man, that was a killer win.

And talk about wins, the victory of the Gyre went to this young lady, whom unfortunately I did not catch the screen name of. But as you would expect, she is extremely surprised and happy to take home the prize.

And that was the gist of it, a great day, a great time, and all with some great people.

I thou rally enjoyed myself even though I lost all my arm hair and reeked of smoke when I got home. Lets do it again sometime soon yeah.

Thank you to the Erin and the folks at All Things Aquarium for having us over to your awesome establishment, you were generous hosts for sure.

Thank You to the Officers and Board Of Directors who get all this stuff put together behind the scenes, nothing would happen without your extra efforts and work. Much appreciated.

And last but not least, Thank You to all the PNWMAS members who make the club what it is, it was as great party/gathering, I look forward to our next one.

Reef On!

It was an amazing meeting with an informative talk on fish foods and some incredible generosity from Erin at All Things Aquarium.

And sorry I have been missing in action lately, I have been setting up a brick and mortar shop over in Corvallis and it has been intense. I feel like I practically live there now, only leaving to do even more work, ponds jobs, maintaining aquariums, children appointments, and to eat & sleep.

Anyhow, the long awaited pics I took of the July 2019 PNWMAS meeting are here in another tab I have waiting for me to finish the draft post. I will finish my late dinner and get back to it.

 

Hot Dam!!! That grill is gonna be Smokin!

Gotta Bump this up, the meet is going on tomorrow!

Summer is here!!! And with it road trips, BBQs, and fresh new sights. Put all these things together and you have yourself a nice recipe for a good shindig, and that is what we have going on right here.

The July PNWMAS meeting will be held in Wilsonville Oregon at the All Things Aquarium store. Another one of those gem of a sponsors tucked away up in the northern part of our Oregon state, ATA has been part of the PNWMAS club for a few years now and has always been a gracious host for our fellow members and I am sure that this go around will be no exception. There is always a large selection of fish and corals to tantalize our aquatic tastes as well as a nice little courtyard area to get outside and do some socializing while grabbing a bite to eat.

When?  Sunday, July 21st, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Where?  All Things Aquarium, 30789 SW Boones Ferry Rd, Wilsonville, OR 97070

What? Another awesome meeting from the PNWMAS crew and sponsor ATA with raffles, food, and fun!..And rumor has it there may be a guest speaker to give us some insight to our marine hobby. 

Instead of clamming up on a summer Sunday, come and join us in Wilsonville for another one of our great gatherings!

Stay tuned for additional details.

If it falls though I would throw you some cash or frags for the tanks, my 40 is hella scratched. Just keep me in line I suppose.

I think my re loading everything worked here, sorry about that.

Some Looooong overdue pictures that I found on my camera memory card listed under a different file\date along with my most recent photos.

Anyhow, obviously these are some follow up pictures of the awesome TPA meeting we had. To start off I must say that it was s gorgeous day in Salem that day, Lexinverts and I car pooled from Corvallis up north with coolers in hand. We know how to be prepared in events like this. You don't walk out of TPA without something that's for sure.

We got there a little early to help set things up a little and beat the crowd. This way we also got to see some of the killer coral selection offered up by the Premium Aquarium before it got picked through. Lets see, what do we have here...

STOP!!! Hammer Time! Euphyllia forests from what I can see.

Next to Acan gardens of all colors.

And a nice large selection of fish and inverts in their clean and tidy aquariums.

Sneaking around the place I was also able to find some of my favorite local reef addicts. On the left in the blue light is Eli of Aquabiomics and right of him is Lexinverts our club vendors relations officer.

El Zorro Reef was there spreading his enthusiasm for top notch corals. I got those spackles for you my friend so save a spot on that frag rack.

Reefermadness snagging some CUC from the loaded invert tanks. I got to get that sea hare back to you once I find him, he put in some work for sure.

Another cool cat here CJMD , a Salem resident coming in to hang out with the club and to listen in on the guest speaker of the day.

Knuckldragger taking a look at the fish in stock. There were some larger fish specimens in that day as well as some real good looking Anthias and clowns.

Snappy sharing the love by handing out extra frags of his Pavona and shrooms. Always nice to have a reefer who cares.

Albertareef and Flashyfins about ready to get their raffle on. Awesome officers here in our PNWMAS club that help make the club go round.

Chief here overlooking the shallow lagoon frag tanks with approval. Another valuable member of the PNWMAS club that has spent years serving behind the scenes helping keep things running smoothly.

Board of Director member Youcallmenny and family popped in from the neighborhood. I owe you a long overdue visit here soon my man.

You all know this face, Chef Dave helping run the show in the TPA house! Bag em and Tag em man.

And here comes some more of the Premium Aquarium Bad Boys! Left coming in to help wrangle corals is Cool Kid Chris, middle is the TPA main man himself Garret, and right is NateDawg.

As you know it was not a bad line up of raffle items for this meeting, I had my eyes on a few and my tickets prioritized... But you can't win em all, but I sure tried.

Golden Basket gift certificate going to Snappy here. Open on Saturdays I believe, you can go in and snag something new and exciting for your aquarium.

Mike must be having a lucky day to be winning that Prime light! I have seen some nice looking colors from that unit so get it dialed in right or use the pre setup programs.

The prize circ pump quiet drive went to Cjmdh, perfect for that upcoming tank upgrade.

The Ehiem Auto Feeder winning ticket was picked up by JeremEvans whom I am sure will put it to good use.

Digital Salinity pen tester headed home with the Deuce. I still want to see how these compare to other methods we all use.

Seasonedreef, one of many people who were very interested in the speaker of the day, that was able to get a Aquabiomics sample test kit. There was a limited number of promotional kits being handed out so it was luck of the draw. I just got mine processed in a few days ago.

And speaking about speakers! Here he is, our new sponsor Eli of Aquabiomics. In this particular picture he is going through the process of showing the steps of performing the samples for his microbiome DNA sequencing. Just the right amount of pressure is needed to allow the water to be strained by the micron filter leaving behind the population of bacteria.

And then the accumulated bacteria can be preserved by passing a Ethyl Alcohol through them, making them viable for processing. Over time the data base from the numerous collected reef tank biomes can hopefully be utilized for valuable information to help us have insight on keeping successful reefs beyond just the basic chemistry checks. I am almost scared to see how my bacteria population compares to others or natural reefs. I imagine over time there can be a lack of abundance or one kind can become slighted. I imagine, as usual, balance is key...But only time and more tests will tell.

Afterwards he was more than happy to answer all the questions we could throw at him, and being an OSU coral biology professor he was great in delivering the answers. Thank you so much for your patience Eli.

After dispersing some it was time once again time to look at the livestock and the display tank. Maybe pick something out to buy even though I have no space left in my home aquariums.

won't take long before you can't see the counter through the SPS fields.

Speaking of successful reefs here is some shots of the TPA display tanks just chugging along.

Mmmm Mmm, mighty fine!

So essentially it was yet another killer PNWMAS meeting with an amazingly informative speaker and a gracious sponsor for a host. Our officers and board of directors really nail it when it comes to meetings like this, one not to have been missed.

Thank You All!

 

Thank You everyone, it appears to be just the slightest change in the chemistry here, looks like a good group of people in my book though.

Alright, got some of those pictures I take here all cropped and sorted for sharing to those who were not able to make the trip to the coast this last weekend. That includes you Scott, I know how sad you are about missing this one. But I also know many of you all had unexpected plans come up at the wrong time making this one hard to get to. Anyhow...

I got to Newport relatively early to unload and setup a little for the afterwards BBQ. This was great because on such a nice day on a Saturday this place can get busy fast, here for a brief moment I had things almost all to myself.

As many of you know the Hatfield Marine Science Center has an amazing visitor area where you can get up close and personal with a number of fascinating animals.

Colorful anemones, urchins, starfish, sponges, algaes, and crustaceans are everywhere. These mini indoor tide pools are something that never gets old to me. If I could have one at home I would just go and setup a spot to just kick back, relax, and read a good book on marine biology.

Rich greens, purples, and even reds are on constant display to the fortunate visitors. I know I probably say this every time but coming through here makes me want to setup a cold water tank again just for the different types of cool invertebrates.

Several of their displays are top notch builds coming a long way from the recent renovation that went on last year. You can walk through the whole cave that is behind this tank giving it that mysterious feeling to it.

The maintenance crew here must have to go scuba on these aquariums because even the smaller systems hold a lot of gallons. Don't drop the feeding tongs or we will need to get the ladder again yeah.

The balance of educational presentations and hands on activities are perfect. Information is provided in easy to digest dioramas with fascinating subjects such as ocean driven weather, renewable energy methods, and the all important ocean food chain web.

The interactive exhibits let you get a feel for some of the research and data that can be relevant to our lives here on land, and some of it is just plain fun to play with. I wanted to get in on these kids fun here but I restrained myself from the "make it rain" feature listed.

After wandering around for a while the time just flew by and it was suddenly 1:00, time for our annual HMSC meeting. The PNWMAS attendees and the HMSC guide Sid met up in the lounge area of the center and proceeded to file into the left wing of the facility.

One treat that I sorely missed from the older meetings here was the behind the scenes tour of some of the class rooms and projects. This time around Sid was able to lead us back into a couple rooms with various specialized setups for observation and data collection. Sid explains some of the systems that are running and what goes on behind the scenes here, as well as the need to have a screen over any Sculpin fish tank. I think I see Fry in the background here too.

A nice collection of aggregating anemones in this shallow holding tank seem to prefer the flat rock and tiles to place their foots on.

And it wasn't a rock it was a SQUAT LOBSTER!!! 

After our exploratory walk we were taken back to the Aquatic Animal Health area where we have been shown fish health workshops as well as quarantining procedures in the past. An impressive build of systems here have intakes plumbed directly into the waters of our coast for a constant supply of fresh clean ocean water.

Here you can see another new project in the works, an aquaponics system being built from the ground up by the resident think tank. I imagine by this time next year there will be a bit of greenery popping out of this baby. Always nice to see how other people accomplish the same goals with different methods.

After speaking about a couple new charges in the hospital area Sid broke out the mystery surprise he had in store for us, and what a surprise it was!

A giant Pacific Octopus was awaiting out arrival.

This was an amazing once in blue moon experience. Being able to hand one of these elegant and intelligent creatures was absolutely mind blowing. Nothing short of an unforgettable experience for geeks like me. Emerald left, myself center, and Intothemystic right getting suckered right off the bat, this girl really liked humans that's for sure. Very very sociable.

Another fun thing to see in person was the color changing ability so readily used by these animals, the brighter red coloration came on in just seconds after engaging in some exhilarating activities.

At some points it was a little intimidating but I had my main man Sid there to keep my hands away from that center beak. Not that she tried anything off, just me being overtly imaginative I think.

Markv and Pat getting a Cephalopod handshake, reach out and touch someone on a whole different level. DO not try this at home kids, or in the ocean for that matter.

Being so intelligent I am not sure why I was so surprised that these creatures enjoy playing. This little girl had a number of toys floating around here temporary environment including little boats, balls, and her seemingly favorite, this garden water container. 

AS the filled container was poured into the water the octopus came charging over to get into that turbulent tactile sensation.

It was a truly incredible time with this animal, so powerful and yet so gentle. I am very happy to have been able to partake in this experience as I am not sure if the opportunity will come up again. So very Cool!!!

After the octopus visit was over we made our way into the court yard area in between the adjacent building\wing and started our aftermath BBQ. The last few years Sid has made available this convenient sweet spot for our gatherings. Nice and open but still isolated from the rest of the weekend coastal riff raff, making unwinding a breeze.

All in all it turned out to be a small gathering but still an amazingly good day. As I had mentioned earlier in the threads it was going to be FUN, and Educational and boy did it deliver.

Thank you again Sid, the Hatfield Marine Science Center, and the PNWMAS club for getting this all put together. You guys are Awesome!

Already looking forward to the next visit out to the Newport coast and my adventures at HMSC.

 

 

Looks like you have a lot of good info to go on here, swapping into new tanks makes it much easier than breaking one down and re setting it back up again in a new location. As far as transit I would't get too worried as long as things are separated enough and kept a good temperature in the transport vehicle. Just think about when you get fish or corals shipped to your home, that can take way longer than 8 hours and they are just packed in a styrofoam box.

Thank You Sid for taking the time out and opening up the facility to our club. As usual I had a blast and learned quite a bit in the process. Once again you went above and beyond my friend, much appreciated.

Very sorry to hear that, I wish the best for you. I will miss all of you who are not able to attend.

I just got here and unloaded the BBQ items, so we are a go for a great day...

See you all soon I hope.

YES! Thanks for the heads up my friend, I am Super excited for our coast meeting at HMSC. Gonna go and grab the final pieces to my part of the BBQ here in a few minutes. If anyone wants to bring something to throw on the grill I can do my best to cook things up for you while I am manning the burgers I am going to bring.

Well, I know it WILL be Fun, And Educational for sure! If you don't make it I will be bummed, but I understand how life can be, it thinks so little of even our best layed plans... This goes to everyone else who wants to make it but may not, the PNWMAS crew would love to see you all there, so just do your best to set aside the date to participate.

This is one that we try to keep going annually, but this years particular meet will have a surprise to shake things up some.

The meeting is not too far  off here, just a couple weekends away really!

I know I am going to make a side dish for the afterwards BBQ like macaroni salad, but I am also going to bring something to grill up like burgers or kabobs. Gonna try and prep everything up the best I can ahead of time to stream line things. Are there any vegetarians attending the meet, I can get some veggie burgers too if that is the case, I don't mind. And it should be a nice weekend so don't forget to bring the significant other/family to partake, we love good weather and good company.

A number of Devils hands, a Sarcophyton, and a few mean green Rhodactis mushrooms...

But still nobody needs any rock?

Sorry LadAShark, due to myself and the owner attempting to sell things at the same time many things where called for before I knew that they were gone. Basically I only have the live rock at this moment and some sofites. So unfortunately the only appealing thing is live rock that I need to get out at this point in time.

I will try to update/fix the original post to reflect that.

A lot of the rock is still available and all at my house now. Unfortunately the tank was sold by the owner before I knew it, sorry about that.

Well lets just say that that Cinco De Mayo celebration was one of the best ever at Cuttlefish and Corals. The massive turnout of people who attended were greeted by the pleasant aromas of authentic Mexican food, sights of beautiful corals, and the friendly banter of fellow hobbyists.

This was a day that I am glad I did not miss.

Culinary wizard Sirena setting up the delectable dishes before opening.Her and Scott spent a number of hours working days before the actual event preparing such a feast, and it was wonderful.

To have things run so smoothly with so much going on there needed to be some delegation of tasks. Emerald, Gill&Fin, Jeremevans, and Albertareef syncing clocks for operation CNC De Mayo!.. Just kidding, raffle ticket sales, and coordination were on their minds right here.

Seen standing here manning the group buys area is Lexinverts, in the Poma Lab shirt, and next to him is the Flash. So many people showed up early to lend a hand showing great community camaraderie.

The amount of raffle prizes was vast and with all the proceeds going to a great cause it was a great time to throw down a little more cash and feel good about it.

Maybe an hour after opening the store started filling up! I see Eclipse in there amongst the crowd and ReefNJunkie in the background holding down the fort.

Needles to say that the booming music and festive atmosphere attracted a ton of people from all around.

FlashyFins, Stylaster, and Gumby from up north. 

JackTheReefer and Bubbles getting the game plan going, it's gonna be busy that's for sure.

HigherThinking doing some higher thinking about his new huge custom tank build.

Mark admiring one of Cuttlfish and Coral's displays, this is the one with the Crinoid in it as well as some high roller corals and fish.

SunCrestReef with some camera gear, as usual, knowing that today there will be many good subjects for a photography session.

Snappy having a good time! A good looking reef tank can have this effect on people like us.

The Clark and his daughter stopped in for a while to pick up some goodies.

PDXMonkeyBoy just working hard slinging out those corals! Kudos to you and Holly for the huge contributions to that day. You Da Man!

Had to include a few shots of some familiar and unfamiliar faces. Here you may know this coral caper as the ZorroReef.

So many people having a great time! Just look at Optimus Prime in the background getting in on this fun photo.

Youcallmenny trying for the duck and cover tactic...Or maybe it was just so packed with people at the time this was the only shot I got. It was hoppin that's for sure.

 

WhatTheFrag in the mix getting his reef on, those group buys were killer weren't they!?

On the left here we have the main man Jeff, owner of Cuttlfish and Corals and host of the day. Here he is doing what he does, informing people on the livestock in the shop and finding what suits their personal needs. He likes what he does and is very good at it which makes all the difference in the works when it comes to the marine hobby trade. Like others with passion he has come a long way over the years.

Not just the inside was packed but so was the front of the building with the raffle tables, Reefrun getting those tickets in before the numbers are called.

And the back of the building were the food was in full effect! There were three tents in the back and all of them were used, it was a super nice an sunny day making the outdoors even more appealing.You can kinda see Spectra to the far right just grilling meats like a mad man over the BBQ. He does an amazing job, along with SIrena who is right behind him in this shot. Soooo many people!

Just mobbing the CNC parking lot! Reefer ran and owned!

And as usual a couple of gratuitous coral pictures.

And lets not forget about this little guy, wish he would come in front of the tank for a better shot but he wasn't feeling the Spanish vibe I guess.

A HUGE thank you to all who made it happen, especially Kim, Sirena, Scott, and Scott! So much work involved in these things. Much respect.

And Thank You to Jeff and the Cuttlefish crew for having all of us out and getting together such a huge raffle pool for the charity.

All in all, outstanding!

It is definitely still alive, I am headed over there later today to take some home with me...She needs the tank down ASAP so I am doing my best to help her out. Then I can get all the pics I want, right now it is hard as I have to coordinate times with her, and that makes it difficult to do being a "middle man". 

How large of pieces are you looking for? And I know I mentioned it in the first post but it can be hard to catch at a glance...

Located in Corvallis Oregon.

I have an account that I have maintained for the last year or more and unfortunately the owner has had a bunch of changes in their life and they no longer are up for keeping a large reef tank. Crazy right!?

Anyhow, there is a ton of live rock and a few odds and ends that need to find homes soon, I have exhausted my aquariums space at home as well as my other maintenance accounts, so I was hoping that someone would be interested in some good rock located in Corvallis. There are large chunks over a foot across as well as smaller pieces down to rubble. All of it is rather porous and full of protruding nodules perfect for lodging corals into.

I will try and update the thread with some more pictures and other things as they come up, I will be headed over to get some pictures later today or tomorrow. And for now I have to get all the livestock out before I can even think about the equipment and such.

Rock will be $2.00 a pound.

Thanks for looking, feel free to ask some relevant questions.

It's that time again Folks!!!

The Annual Hatfield Marine Science Center meeting is at hand! June is a wonderful month to get out to our lovely Newport Coast to have an amazing educational presentation, killer barbecue, and a great time on the beach.

Come and hang out with the rest of us PNWMAS crew this next month at our Newport Coast!

The head director Sid wanted me to mention that he had a couple surprises for us in store such as...

a back of the house tour for those who have not been behind the scenes before, an on-site cookout w/ refrigeration available for anyone, picnic tables, restrooms and prep space available, and an informative presentation in his lab.

It's always a lovely day for a drive to the coast on these warm summer Saturdays.

Take a gander at some of our previous years gatherings, education, exciting, and fun all rolled into one.

Microscope slides of protazoans and parasite.

A glimpse at the complete inner workings of the HMSC quarantine center.

and a possible hands on health workshop demonstration, this one was done on their resident giant wolf eel a couple years back, that was awesome!.. And what a trooper.

Nothing like this all year until now, the annual Hatfield Marine Science Center meeting.

Where - 2030 SE Marine Science Dr, Newport, OR 97365

When - June 22nd 1:00 PM until the BBQ is done...

What - An educational trip with the facilities director Sid! And a great time to hang out with the rest of us PNWMAS crew, all while on our wonderful summer time coast line in the pacific north west's back yard.

Whoop Whoop!!!

 

 

 

I do have a ton of pictures but unfortunately I have been super busy with my business, pond season, and family medical issues again.

I assure you all that I have plenty of photos that I will share here shortly. Thanks for getting it in motion my friends, it was a great time.