badxgillen

As usual many of us got to socialize some with our aweosme group, I got to meet a few people this time around that I had not before. Mtrillion and gram, glad you two could make it, I will bring you another zoa frag on our next meet. Chief , Highthinking, and Sroberts leading the pack, first to get the group rolling. Sinister Jeff...No just Jeff. Hamstern with some killer camera skills. Andrew next to a Boss sand filter. Fernando checking out the shallows, killer corals you are keeping man, stellar colors.

So many different setups to take in, here is a tide pool biotope with a surge device that floods the pools every half hour or so making a natural wave type action, he made it sound so easy to build in your backyard. Most of them were pretty informative, especially if you were not versed in the subject of marine biology. Gotta love the jellyfish exhibits with the full on kresel and LEDs The reef tank was an impressive sight wich fro some reason suprised me. It looked really good, I saw a number of things I wanted to take home.

The February Meeting for 2015 was held at the Portland Aquarium wich was a great choice of location. There was plenty of space for the group as we got a table to call our own and a dedicated tour guide to show us all the displays and there inner workings,very cool. Everything at the Aquarium was very clean and well taken care of, the tour guide was well versed in the knowledge needed to maintain not just the aquariums and the equipment but the other animals as well. We took up the whole last 2 hours of their time going through the whole place inside and out and that is exactly what I had hoped for. A pretty decent turnout this time around,makes me sad I did not bring any corals but there is always next time tight...And now for some pictures. Here was a nice picture of many of the people who attended the meet, there is a couple people missing form the picture but you can get the idea that we were all having a good time and were in good company. Being in the Aquarium made it a bit more open and free so not every one was at the same place at the same time, I found myself running behind trying to take everything in. Like I said the speaker was great and really had our attention during the behind the scenes part of the tour, look at all the equipment in there. I would hat to do the maintenance on all these filters, skimmer after skimmer after sock after sock...

Cutting corners again might not be advisable at this point, good screws and wood glue are not that expensive, maybe 10-15 bucks. Or are you talking about a finish to the stand? Kilz is the go to matrrial but any indoor outdoor paint nd primer will also work. There are also some fence and deck stains that I have seen used that also look good if you want the wooden look. Any pics?

Where are you at? Scratch that , I just saw that you are in Vancouver, hope you find what you are looking for.

Wicked stuff as it is tuff and not much will eat it, I know my sailfin will eat it.your tang won't eat it?

Yeah they are different slugs, I was just saying that these 2 and I believe one other have already been know to have the ability to utilize another algae\plants means of photosynthesis. There must be a breakthrough in the mapping of the genome or something along those lines.Actually I believe this was a cool thing from that article that caught my eye. Mary Rumpho from the University of Maine discovered the key to the partnership – the sea slug has also stolen vital genes from the algae that allows it to use the borrowed chloroplast. It has found a way to patch its own genome to make it photosynthesis-compatible.

I think I still have an Elysia Crispata lettuce slug in one of my tanks right now. Always thought they were interesting little guys but so are all of the sea slugs and nudibranchs. Only in our hobby would some one be able to have such biological diversity in ones own living room.

These guys have been around in the trade for some time.

Did you try raising your PH? The dinos cannot self regulate their own internal PH very well and the imbalances in the higher tanks PH cause them to go down hill pretty fast.

Are you headed to the meeting by chance? Maybe we could work something out. I had a GFO incident in my display and am in need of a few new acros to put on the rock work.

No Sunday meeting?

I presume you are going to be at the meeting Highthinking? If I can break away from my house I would come along, I might even bring my son but no promises. There are some issues at home with my other son so I may have to sit this one out depending on how the cards are dealt. We will see.

I do miss the membership cards regardless if the vendor had asked for em or not, kinda a coolness factor, wish I still had mine. I think it is also a great place for a meet , so much marine life in one place and I hear there are a number of reptiles now. A couple of years back there was some controversy behind the owners but I believe they were prosecuted and things have changed. I know for a fact there was a reputable member of the PNWMAS who had a direct hand in turning the QT, treatment, and animal care onto a better path. It will be a great time to ask some questions about the filtration and feeding methods of the facility, I always have questions about larger aquariums being run as I run a maintenance business myself. Always learning new things in the hobby thats for sure. Like the last meet with Scott, it was nice to get the presentation but some of the real jewels were in chatting with the fellow for a few short minutes. I am hoping the Portland staff might give us some VIP treatment, I have heard alot of good things recently.

Just give the word when you are ready for corals and I am sure I can have something to throw you're way. Taking it slow is much betterthan ggoing to fast, just the patience and research will prevent the majority of your big mistakes.

So true what has been said about QT. SO both of those are beautiful reef safe fish, are you going to run a reef tank?

Dang . I will not be out that way any time in the near future, maybe if we went to a meeting a the same time we could cross paths. Good luck with the sale, those are some different shrooms.

Holy Smokes!!! Where are you at, and can you send me a list of what you already have so we could possibly trade? I know another mushroom collector here in Corvallis who would love to acquire a couple of these as would I.

looks like a killer start to me, Running a sump too?

Looks like a sweet Bubblicious Lobo, so envious. That is one of those pieces I hate to ask what the price is, might end the coral shopping in a single purchase.

with 4 50w whites, 2 50w Blues, and 2 90w RBG inst that like a 480 watt light? Or am I missing something? It does look pretty nice in the pictures via side by side comparison.

Where do I get my Han Solo Frag Tiles!?

I was thinking the same thing about silicates, I have used silicate absorbing media before with god results, hopefully it is temporary.

Aww man that is pretty enticing!

I think I may have mentioned I do not mind shipping if you don't find someone local. You should be able to get some nice specimens from all of these folks here, you don't have to look far for nice corals around these parts.