Introduction to the Club, as well as its Members.

[Corpus Callosum]

Hey guys.

A couple months ago, I stumbled onto a thread showing the interest of a few individuals for a Long Island reef club. Although there is a Long Island fish club, it is not geared towards saltwater nor coral/reef keeping. I bumped the thread back to the top of the list and other people replied stating they were interested as well. There were varied reasons for this. Some were located out east on the island and just have too much of a hard time driving to brooklyn for BAS meetings all the time. Some believed that BAS was too crowded and it was hard to get to know people on a person-to-person basis. Along with other people believing that BAS got too commercialized and/or money hungry with all the auctions and such that go on. As well as many other reasons. I have not been to any BAS meetings so I cannot comment on them myself.

Seeing the interest, I collected everyone's emails to form a mailing list. Juggling ideas, I contacted Joe Yaiullio, curator of the Atlantis Aquarium. He was kind enough to allow us a meeting there. Although only half the people from the mailing list were available to make the meeting, it became a very nice turnout. We recieved an informative and interesting behind the scenes tour of the facility, and 20,000 gallon reef tank. Pictures of the tank exist in an older thread in this forum. Joe Y. was how we first found out about the cyclop-eeze food product, which was made later available to us by Les at Fishy, Inc.

The first meeting was in August, and more meetings will come later on. Eventually we plan on having monthly meetings. Future meetings will switch off between Saturdays and Sundays. Everyone on my mailing list is informed about future meetings as well as other information which I find important or useful. I am busy now but there will eventually be a website as well, with information on the members, member's tanks, future meetings, events, as well as good long island information such as locations of all the LI-fish/reef stores. If you asked me to be on the mailing list and are not on there, then I'm sorry I must have missed it. Contact me at sci33@optonline.net to be on the list. It is getting constantly updated with new emails.

One thing this club will let the newbies do, is gather opinions/knowledge/advice from the more experienced members, and decide for themselves how they would like to set up their tank. Members of the club can trade frags. They can also group orders together to save on shipping expenses. The club will always remain non-profit, and will be geared towards people helping each other. Once it is possibly more established in the future, speakers can be invited as well.

That is the introduction of the club, now since there has only been a couple meetings, everyone should state their introduction. Please reply to this thread, and write your introduction or background info. You can write a few sentences about yourself, your experience in the hobby, your tank description, your plans for the future, your opinions, etc.

Thank You,

-Mike.

[Corpus Callosum]

-

[Stix]

Hi guys,
My name's Nick. I'm 18 and from Brooklyn. I'm on my frst reef tank right now. It's a 225 with 80 gallon sump running for about 4 months. Only have a royal gamma, 180 pounds of LR (need more) and a few frags from friend's tanks. The frags are softies and one is a monti. I run T5s and PCs. I'm getting rid of he PCs soon when Andy at Icecap can get me T5 actinics. These bulbs are BRIGHT BRIGHT BRIGHT! I run an Aerofoamer 824 skimmer (Reef Concepts) and I love it! Frank Wilson at Reef Concepts is also a nice guy. If you're interested in his products let me know and I'll put in a good word for you. I go to the BAS (Booklyn Aquarim Society) events regularly and love them. Come down or check out www.brooklynaquariumsociety.org. I came upon this club in another pos and am very excited about it. I hope to meet all of you and exchange iformation, frags, sand, etc. I'm stixownzyou on AIM if you wanna chat. Gotta go now! Going to check out NY Aquaria in Mamaroneck today. See ya all soon (I hope).
-Nick

[Reefist]

Hi,
I'm Tom. I live on the north shore near Oyster Bay.I guess I'm the oldest so far on the list at 46. But we will see as more introductions come in. I've been keeping Reeftanks for 7 years.Before that FW for 3 years. I'm a cabinetmaker/carpenter for 17years now and before that a prototype machinist for Fairchild Camera building reconnascience cameras for the Government. Some actually for the space shuttle.
Anyway I'm running a 120G reeftank with a 50G sump and a 30G refugium. My tank is on the first floor and all the rest is in the basement. I use a MAK5 for circulation thru 2 Seaswirls. I use an ETS800 skimmer run by a MAK4.I run a MTC Minicalc reactor. The stand is custom built by yours truly.And the hood the same.I run -175W 10K MH with 2 URI Actinic white VHO,2 URI Super Actinic VHO and 2 URI Super Actinic NO on the main tank. On my sump I run another 10K MH( it's jam packed with LR plus a few corals that just grew there) and on my Refugium I run 2-36"URI Actininc white VHO.
I've made quite alot of mistakes learning about this hobby and I occasionally still have problems with my setup.But for the most part it runs well.
I hope to meet the contributers of this list but I know haw hard it is to get people together.I'm a very busy person by nature so it is hard for me as well. But we will try I hope!
See you around ;)

[Corpus Callosum]

-

[acropora]

Hello My name is Anthony Concialdi,and my R.C. name is Acropora. I was planning on posting later,but I have to let Tom off the hook,because I am also 46. I retired this year from the N.Y.P.D. after 20 years of service.I currently am renovating and adding a second floor to my house.Most of the work,I am doing myself,so this is what has been keeping me busy.I was planning on starting an aquarium business,but that has been put on hold for now. I am planning to set up a new tank some time next year. I have been addicted to marine tanks for 25 years now.Unfortunatly,as far as aquariums go,I have learned everything the hard way.As you know you can not always get the best information from your LFS,and a few years back,that was your only source.I am currently running a 220 reef Tank which has been up for 11 years. Circulation is provided my two Ampmasters,one of which is on a closed loop. I do not use power heads or sea swirls.The lighting is 3x 400W saki's with 2x 160W VHO actinics.On my next tank,I will add some 20000k's .I have a 6" DSB in the tank .I have a DSB in a 200+ gal sump,with some Frags for trade/sale.You can see some picshere (http://www.reefexotics.com) Like Tom above;I also have an ETS 800 .It is run by a Gen X pump.I hope to make the next meeting to finally meet some of the faces behind the screen names. Take care, Anthony

[DgenR8]

Hello Reefers,
I'm Larry, My Reef has been running for well over 2 years. I did fresh water for about 10 years before starting my Reef, and researched Reef life for about a year before setting up the tank.
I've made more than a few mistakes along the way, and spent TONS of $$$$$ that I didn't have to.
My tank is 125 gal. AGA with 2 X 400 watt halides and 660 watts of VHO. With sumps and 'fuges in my basement, my total system volume is around 300 gals.
I'm 35 years old, married, and we have a 1.5 Y/O little girl. I also have two steps, one 18 and one 20. I really don't like the two older ones ;)
I owned a limousine company for a couple of years, but 9/11 spelled the end for that, now I'm back to my humble beginnings, driving a truck.
I couldn't make the first meeting, but do have a face to put with at least a few of you guys. I recently met Anthony (Acropora) when I purchased my Ampmaster 3000 from him. Real nice guy, and even though his tank was dark when I got there, his set up is very impressive.
I look forward to meeting those of you I don't know, and seeing those I have met again. :D

[jarhead]

Hello,
My name is Alex and live in Syosset with my wife and 2 kids. I am 40 years old and working on starting my first tank. You wonder why so late in life? Well, my kids brought home from school's fare 2 gold fish in a bowl and asked me to buy a little fish tank for them. Being that I like to do things the right way, I started talking to a coworker who has a salt water tank and he pointed me to RC. Some people suggested to start out with a fresh water tank, but I decided to go all the way. One thing let to another and I wound up with a 135g in my living room. I have run the plumbing into the basement where I am currently setting up my sump and a refugium. Many of you have seen it on pictures and some in person. Yes, I know, I have been a pest about it ;) . I am hoping to have the tank up and running by the end of this year.

[pyro383]

Hello, my name is Eric age 26 married and my kids are my fish. I live in w. babylon and I have been doing this since 5/02 which started out as a 45g fish only that went onto being fowlr to a reef. Most of my corals are frags which will eventually go into a much larger tank in a few years. I can't wait for the next reefer mtg. Most of my stock has come from a fellow reefer named Rob if anyone is interested can email me for more info. Also if anyone is interested in helping me do my 1st frags I would appreciate it.

My setup:

45g high (AGA), Emperor 400, Seaclone 100, Rio 1400, Maxijet 400 & 900, Minijet 404, JBJ 144 watts PC
40 lbs live sand, 46 lbs live rock
(2) tank raised clownfish, (3) red sea reef chromis, clown goby, (2) peppermint shrimp, cleaner shrimp, coral banded shrimp, red spiney reef star, red sea star, red brittle star, (2) horseshoe crabs (4) feather dusters, (11) astrea snails, (10) blue leg hermit crabs, (2) scarlet hermit crabs, (9) turbo snails, (3) orange cats eye snails, (10) nassarius snails
chili frag, (2) diodogorgia (red, yellow)
(3) toadstool leathers, (2) green frogspawn, frilly mushroom, sun polyps, goniopora, xenia, green w/orange center zoanthids, green mushrooms, yellow polyps, green star polyps, button polyps,
all fired up
pyro383@yahoo.com

[MIKE NY]

Hey Reefers,
I'm 42, married with two kids and live in Franklin Square. I have a 90 gal with a custom made oak stand and canopy. It's been up and running for over 10 years and slowly evolved from a Fo to a FOWLF and has been a reef for about the last 5 years. It has been a learning process making alot of mistakes along the way. I'm realizing that the more I know the less I know, think about it!
Anyway my 90 gal has dual 175MH powered by a PFO ballast and PC true 03 actinics. They are on timers to create a dawn and dusk efffect. It has a 5" sandbed and over 150lbs of LR. An overflow spills into a refugium with a PClight which runs on a reverse schedule from the main tank lighting. A Quiet One pump returns the water thorugh a 3/4" Seaswirl. I also have a Precision Marine skimmer and MJ 1200 pumps which provide additional current.
As far as inhabitants go I have SPS, LPS, Xenia, shrooms, leathers, zooanthids. I have a couple of serpant stars, a yellow cuke and assorted snails and a large coral banded shrimp. The swimmers include a yellow tang, a percula clown, a clarkii clown, large green chromis, pseudchromis dutoiti, and a dwarf lion.
I had a good time as well as a learning experience at the first meeting out at Atlantis and I am looking forward to the next one....

Mike

[SWW1268]

Hi, I'm Steve and I'm still new to this hobby. I started in June with some dwarf seahorses and my old 30 gallon tank. Now, I have them in an Eclipse 6 with crushed coral, snails, starfishes, and lots of macro algae. The water is fine and they seem to be doing well, but they're not breeding like they're suppose to. My 30 gallon is fish only. I have a yellow tang, blue damsel, domino, 4 stripe damsel, and a tomato clown. This tank has lots of hermits and 2 big snails. For some reason, the nitrates are always between 10 and 20 and I can't lower it. Over the weekend, I started a 20 gallon tank. It has a 3" DSB and I'd like to put corals in it. I live in Queens, but I work in Hauppauge. I hope I get to attend one of your meetings soon.

[jarhead]

Originally posted by SWW1268
My 30 gallon is fish only. I have a yellow tang.. Where is the Tang Police when you need one? ;)

[SWW1268]

It's still small enough for now. It's only about 1.5" long. I'll have to find it a better home if/when it gets too big.

Maybe I can get a bigger tank! I'll let the Tang Police talk to my wife. :)

[fishome25]

Hey my name is Tom I've done reefs for 5 years and I'm still a beginner. I live in Massapequa, and I'm trying to sell my 95 firebird, sorry had to throw that in. I recently upgraded to to a 180 w/ a 75 gallon sump. I built the stand and canopy from scratch. About 200 pounds of live rock, way too much livestock too list.

[Musipilot]

Hi...Dave from Long Beach.

We have 5 tanks (yeah, I know, I'm always going to 'condense' some of them) that have been running for different amounts of time, the longest 10 years.

We have one dedicated reef tank, one aggressive tank, and 3 mixed community tanks.

I would love to meet others in the hobby locally, I always have some nice mushrooms to give away.

I'm an air traffic controller at JFK, since 1989.

Look forward to meeting some of you.

[pyro383]

"I'm an air traffic controller at JFK, since 1989"

Musipilot, small world, my father was the project manager for the entire upgrade at JFK, O'Brien Kreitzberg is the company he used to work for and I currently work for. We are still doing work 12 years later there.

[DgenR8]

Musipilot,
[welcome]

[Musipilot]

Thanks for the welcome all, and hello Pyro, you have to come visit the tower some time, now that tours are allowed once again :)

Do you guys run meetings, or hold any events?

[pyro383]

Yes we do, 1 is coming up
http://archive.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=126247

[CaptiveReef]

Hi I'm Greg, or CaptiveReef. I live in BayShore L.I. I have a 90 gallon clam condo........ I was a fishkid in the early 70's and now at the age of 35 I have had alot of fun with fresh in the begining and for the past 15 years have been involved with saltwater.
I was in the business,(had a filtration manufacturing company), but now I'm enjoying the hobby and making plans for my own coral farm,(YEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!):D
I'm looking foward to making the meetings, but I work on Sunday's. I will make a meeting soon!!!!

Thanks, Greg CaptiveReef

[stealyourhouse]

Hi, my name is Marc, I'm 23, and I'm from Brooklyn. I'm 8 months into my first reef tank - a 36g bowfront with 10g sump. I had originally set the tank up with no sump and a BakPak skimmer, but I've since learned about the benefits of a sump, so I picked up a Lifereef overflow box and set up a 10g tank in the stand and hooked the BakPak up to the sump. Since the tank is a bowfront, the 10g hardly fits underneath, but it does fit. I really regret buying such a small bowfront tank - it made building the canopy so much tougher. But I'm currently renting a 1 bedroom apt and I don't expect to be there for too long, so I didn't want to go too big.

Right now my tank has got a pair of false percula clowns, a neon goby and a Sunrise Dottyback along with a bunch of porcelain crabs, snails and hermits. I've got mostly soft corals and one Montipora cap. frag that is doing well. My lighting is 3 65w Power Compacts.

I'm preparing to frag my colt coral, so hopefully I will get to trade some frags with you all in the future.
Marc

[Unseentric]

Hello all, my name is Pete. I have always been interested in keeping a salt water tank but the money barrier kept me away for a few years. Turns out it was one of the better things that could have happened, gave me loads of time to read books and surf these message boards. Anyhow, last May I set up my first reef tank. It is a 72 gallon AGA bowfront with a ten gallon refugium above (plumbed to the main tank) and a 2 compartment 20 gallon sump underneath. My lighting is a 2 x 175 watt Metal halide 2 x 65 watt PC CSL retro with a canopy built by me. I run a Euroreef skimmer, CSL T4 centrifugal pump, 1 3/4" sea swirl, Knop Ca+ Reactor, etc etc etc. The tank contains all sorts of unique creatures/corals; such as 2 spotted male/female mandarins, pearly jawfish, Shrooms, Xenia, purple acro, 3 diff montipora colonies, Frogspawn, Candycane coral, Blood-Red shrimp, 2 Maxima clams, and 1 Squamosa lots more but too much to list.
Eventually I hope to get rid of the softies and make the tank a SPS/Clam Tank. Hopefully I will get to meet you all at the next meeting.
Cheers
Pete

[paulf]

well, well its nice to see some locals with the same interest as me. very cool! Pete thanks for the heads up! Mike i e-mailed you, hopefuly you got it,

[DgenR8]

Hi Paul,
[welcome]

I HATE Cablevision, but I won't hold it against you. We have a meeting today at 2:00 in Bayshore, would be a great time to introduce yourself to the bunch! I hope you can make it. Check this link for directions and stuff:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=139363

[pmui]

Hi everyone!

I've heard from Larry that the LIRA is the place to be, we were just talking about it in the BAS meeting on friday. So, here my humble beginings...I'm from Manhattan originaly but have married and moved to Queens (Woodside). I have always has a freshwater tank in my life, either goldfish, tetras or chilids. I can't remember not having an aquarium. So as progression has it, i've moved to more challenging and beautiful thing. Let's say, nothing can beat the colors and challenges a saltwater tank can provide. I started my saltwater hobby about 3yrs ago. It started with dwarf seahorse then regular size seahorse then to marine fish to corals. My tank currently consist of several softies and a few SPS. The tank is currently a 30gal. w/ 20gal. sump. I recently acquired a 55gal. and am planning to move everything to the larger tank. I hope to meet you all, and trade tips that will help our tanks flourish.

Regards,
Peter

[montepora]

Guys:

I am Andrew, I live in Queens Elmhurst. I am 33 and single. I work for an advertising agency as director of business development.

I was a Navy diver and that is how I started this hobby. FYI, I collected my first piece of live rock after a war game. It is this big chunck of rock that I fell in love with while we are retriving the training missle. I believe the missle had broken this piece off the reef and I bribed my buddies with a case of beer and use the MK-5 to bring it back to base, then put it on a Hum-V to bring it back to my apartment then.

I knew then that this rock would help in maintaining the fish alive but I do not know anything about water circulation, lighting, water parameter, circulation and so on. The place where I stationed at had all these street vendors with bucket full of newly collected fish like puffer, clowns and butterfly and all they have is a piece of rock and an battery operated air pump to keep them alive. So I figure with the size of the rock I had, I can definitely keep these beautiful marine fish I see in the ocean.

I once collected a hughe school of damsles, the blue devil??? I must have 40 to 50 of them and they all died when the tank was cracked. This rock cracked my tank three times and finally I have to throw everything away when moved. (PS. a colonel lived under me with his newly married wife)


I currently have a 120G SPS tank. I use two 250W UShio 10Ks and 4 55W PC. I use an ETSS 800 pump by a Mag 24. I have been in the hobby for around 8 years and I am extremely addicted. I NEED HELP, then come and think of it, so do you all.

[DgenR8]

Andrew,
I, for one, am beyond help!

[montepora]

Larry:

When you change the stack of 20s in your pocket to 100s, then you really need help, LOL!

[acroboy]

My name is Mike, I have collected native fish that the gulfstream has generously deposited in New York for the last 22 years.

I have recently broken down my 150 gallon reef and sold all of it's contense to reefcentral members. I'am an acropora addict and have incorporated my own company in order to transship the best possible pieces I could get. The members who bought my livestock can verify this.

I have backed away from the hobby right now because of all the questionable approaches on lighting and skimming. When the hobby settles down and I am able to purchase top of the line equiptment without it becomming obsolete in 2 weeks Ill be back.

I have a abundance of knoeledge and experiences with stony corals. I would love to help anyone I can.


P.S. Montepora sucks :D

[montepora]

What is the Goldfishboy doing replying in the reef club forum????:D

[Corpus Callosum]

Mike,

There will always be many opinions on how to do things in this hobby. It will never settle down. If your decision is to stay away from the hobby until all the questionable approaches diminish, then I don't think I will ever see you again. Good Luck.

[acroboy]

Many opinions is an accurate statement, but few intelligent ones.
Im sure it's just a matter of time,Especialy after spending the day with Joe Y. and Tod Gardner yesterday at Atlantis.

[montepora]

Wow, Atlantis is starting a Koi pond??? :eek2: :eek2: Or a goldfish breeding program???? I have never heard Joe. Y discussing that.

Mmm.. good job Goldfishboy. :D :D :D

[Corpus Callosum]

Yeah I met Todd at the first meeting.. I believe he's going to be speaking at IMAC this year.

[Easily Distracted]

Holy cr_p! You guys are as nuts as I am! I don't feel so alone....

I found this forum(Reef Central) recently and have learned more in the last week than I have in the last 5 yrs from all the LFSs. I wish I could have made that last meetingyou guys just had.

How do I join or sign up and are there any fees, etc...
I will send a note to the e-mail mentioned in the first thread to start with.

I am located in Huntington. If there is anything I can do to help anyone out, let me know. Thanks -John

[pyro383]

Hey John, there are no fees at this time, send a email to sci33 and he is the one who started this group. We meet close to once a month and our group has grown considerably. This past meeting we had about 30 people. It is a great time and we are starting to form agendas at the mtgs.

[DgenR8]

Hi John,
<img src="/images/welcome.gif"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

And to the club.

[Reefist]

Welcome John,
Glad to see someone else from the northshore.I'm in Bayville by Oyster Bay. So far 2 meetings I've been to have been great.
Alot of things to learn.
Tom

[Easily Distracted]

Reefist,
I grew up in LV and "Baville by the sea". If you need anything or have an emergency(like more than 2" of rain and you live on one of the president streets), let me know. I'll do what I can. -John;)

[Reefist]

I went to LVHS and I been here for 41 years. Born in LV lived there till I was 5. Very funny but I don't live down there. Hasn't flooded here since Noah's ark.
Tom

[Evergreen]

My name is Kim and i live in Middle Island, the closest "landmark" would be Aqua Hut in Coram which is about 4 miles from me. My reef is still in the works but i have a 120 with 2 drilled holes, one in the overflow, the other in the upper right corner. The tank is plumbed to a basement sump of about 100 gallons. 4 VHO (2 fullspec/2Blueact) and a 175, 10k MH in the middle.

I am also thinking about taking down my 75 freshwater tank and integrating that into the system as another refugium of sorts. (Or just taking it down altogether). I plan to get a DSB of about 8 inches in the 100 gallon basement sump, and i have had about 400 pounds of aragonite in bags sitting in my living room and entrance to my house for the past 4 months. We also have 2 small sponge-filtered guppy tanks with live plants, i was thinking of getting something LARGE in the 75 gallon to eat them but...the kids need something to call their own!

Presently, i am married and have 3 young kids (boy 5, girl 3, girl 2months). I am working on a second bachelor's degree at Stony Brook, this one is in Biology with a Marine Science minor. (A ecology/evolution track bio major not pre-med like the rest of them!) The bachelor i got in 1992 was in French, with a Spanish/Secondary Foreign Language Education minor, and i taught Spanish and French for about 2 and a half years. I decided to return to my first love, Bio, since i am able to at the moment. For some reason in High School i never took science and math courses, so when i wanted to become a Bio major as an Undergraduate, the guidance people told me i would take too long to make up the prereq's, so i should just stick to the French. Bad idea! I always regretted that.

My past with aquariums began when i was about 12, with Freshwater but i also had a small salt tank around that time period too, i remember having a tiny puffer and a seahorse. :(

The one perk to having been a French major was that i got to study in France when i was a Junior, which wouldnt have been all that great except i had the luck of getting placed to live with a local family who had a serious cichlid tank! (They were breeding, etc) The guy took me to a local office building of some sort which had a GIANT tank with synspilums, etc, and as soon as i got home i got the 75 which i still have today. (Got ~6 juvenile Synspilum, 2 Dempsey, and several convicts. ) Tried my hand at african lake cichlids but it didnt work!

I have read many many books/ articles about reefs and i am just dying to get mine going. I am signing up for SCUBA certification, and we MAY go to Grand Cayman this summer to take a 1 week course in Reef ecology (1 week the longest my mom will take the kids for!!) through Rutgers University. I have one more year until my BS then i am going to go to Graduate school. Since we are not really grounded in NY it may involve moving somewhere south of here!

I am hoping to make it to more of the LIRA meetings, but it has been one hectic winter. Nice meeting many of you at Atlantis in February, see you soon!

[rhdhighness]

Hello:mixed: I'm from Riverhead, I work at Waldbaums bakery. I'm 42, single again, 4 grown kids n 6 grandkids. I'm new to the hobby, I have a 20 gallon that was fish only, a little over a year old, I decided to convert to reef. I have beach sand, a new jbj formosa 110 light and am adding live rock, I just put my first 1 1/2 in, I'm planning to add a lb or 2 a week. I'm also ordering 3 lbs of Garfs grunge, I've heard a lot of good things about it. I have 2 skunk clowns, a blue damsel n a stripped damsel. a large blue eyed hermit n a few snails, a maine clam n a curly anemone. So far everybody is doing well, but I dont have much in there yet. Was glad to find the club, I want to drive out to Les's store, the ones out here arent to hot. My local Petstores are ok, but they dont carry a lot, very high priced for low end stuff.:eek2: Well nice to meet everyone.

[Reefist]

Welcome and don't forget the Pignoli cookies at the next meeting!
:lol:
Tom

[JB NY]

Just realized I never posted here. Anyway, my name is Joe. I live in Port Jefferson. I'm married and 35 with no kids. I've been keeping tanks for a long time. When I was in grammar school I kept fresh water tank for years. A 55, 20 and two 10's for when the fishies had babies. I had another fresh water 20gal that I kept in college. After I graduated I wanted to set up a salt water but didn't have the time or funds to do it the way I wanted. A few years ago I bought a townhome and started planning my salt water tank, I decided to go full reef. After seeing the money that it would cost, put it off another year until I could save the cash. I built my own stand and canopy. My first major woodworking project since high school shop class. So I finally set up my first salt water reef in April 2001. I work in the computer industry and really like fiddling with things, so the reef was the perfect perpetual tinkering device. I've been upgrading the system over the last two years and have swapped out one thing for another and eventually hooked the whole system up to a computer (Like my wife didn't see that one coming). The tank is a 180gal reef using LR and LS that has become heavily SPS dominated. In September 2002 my tank was chosen as RC tank of the month, which was very cool. Right now I'm pretty happy with the system, although I'm starting to run out of room in the tank... hmmm, maybe that 450gal would fit nicely :-). I've learned tons from RC and had lots of help from a bunch of great people on LI who are reefers too. I try to make the meetings every month, but this winter was very busy for me, hopefully I can make the rest from now on. That's about it.

[joefish]

Hey JBNY ,
If your tank is running out of room , mine has plenty . You know , just to help you out .:D

[joefish]

I might just as well get this overwith .
Hi my name is Joe and I'm a reefaholic . I started with fresh water in 91, until Oct 2001 when I started the reef thing . In the begining all info was from LFS guys(big mistake) . Then I found reefcentral and learned quit a bit . Plus I bought everything all over again .( the right equipment) . Now I have a 120 in the wall with a DSB & LR .I just bought my first few SPS frags , And when I'm done it will be dominated by SPS's and Clams . After finding Reef Central I found this club . I try to make most of the meetings . You never know when you can learn something new , but with all the great people here, it seems to be alot and all the time . :D

[zeus007]

Hello, I live in Malverne. I have a 55gal stock AGA aquarium. My tank consists of a Lifereef overflow, Lifereef Berlin System, Lifereef VS2-24 skimmer, Lifereef auto-topoff, MyReef Cal Reactor, (2) 250 Watt AB 10Ks and (2) 65 Watt 03 Actinic PCs. I have about a 5-5.5" DSB mostly southdown and live sand (Florida & Figi), which really shortens the height of the tank. I have about 80 pounds of life rock (figi, tonga, marshall, florida). A large yellow figi devil hand about 12 inches, purple and gold maxima clam (3.5"), large squamosa clam (12"), blue, purple, red, orange, white, watermelon mushrooms, and green yuma recordia. Also I have various acroporas ( brown with purple rim caps, purple acros, brown pocciliopora, brown birds nest, pink birds nest, green hydronophora (very strong stingers), blue tip stags, pink and white tip stags, orange monti digitata. Also have a flowerpot in the tank as well. It is heavily stocked and I know I have no more room for anything else so looking to get a larger tank.

At work I have a 7gal AGA bowfront nano with an Acquaclear 150 filter running with a little carbon, and a 32watt 50/50 PC, and a Rio 200 for current. The tank has a 2" live sand bed, 10 pounds of figi and tonga rock, a hawaiian feather duster 2 crowns, blue, purple, red mushrooms, green yuma ricordia, and a blaustomussa(Brown and red), and a weslophilia (green with a pink outer ring), green trumpet coral, and a colt coral.

I keep my tanks heavily stocked in corals and lighter on fish.

Hopefullly, I can make it to one of the meetings already, I think I have missed 3 or 4 already.

[ronp]

Hi everyone.

I was at my first meeting on Sunday and got a chance to talk to some of you. I am new to reefs (actually I am in the last stage of planning and about to start purchasing!). I really enjoyed meeting some of you and hope to meet more of you as time goes by. I am looking to the club as a source of help and knowledge right now but I hope to start giving back when I have gained some experience of my own. I have kept FW tanks for the last 10 years and was hit with with a sort of 'calling' to put up my first SW reef tank recently. I have 5 FW tanks right now and I am in the process of reducing that to just one 55 gal FW planted tank. Hopefully I can devote the time saved ;) to the new reef. I can't bear to tear down all the FW tanks since I have put so much time and effort into it.

I have one question right now for the group. I went to HD in Commack today to look for Southdown but only found two other brands of play sand and one was even labelled 'Not for aquarium use.' Which HD's on LI have this stuff right now? Thanks for any help you can give me.

[DgenR8]

I've had good luck in Freeport and Hempstead.

[Evergreen]

Setauket HD had some Southdown, just east of the SmithHaven Mall on Nesconset HWY, call first i guess. Also, "Reliable Garden & Fence" in Middle Island.

[ronp]

Thanks DgenR8, Evergreen and Easily Distracted for the info on locations carrying Southdown. Was in the area and swung by the HD in Westbury on Sat morning. They had 20 bags and I bought 4. A little more than I need for my new 55g tank but its cheap. Next purchase is a nice RO unit. I can't wait to get this tank up and running!:D

[pyro383]

For a great RO/DI check out airwaterice, they are a sponser on this forum

[DgenR8]

While in your search for an RO/DI, make sure you stop at www.AquaticReefSystems.com they offer a Reef Central member discount, and have an excellent track record with folks here. I used them myself, and can recommend them on the strength of a great buying experience.
Air water Ice also has a great rep here. I've never used them myself, but never read a negative post about them.

[ronp]

Thanks for the RO advise guys, but I have already purchased a RO unit. I was on the phone with Aquatic Reef Systems about 2 hours ago, had a long chat with John about choices and options and I whipped out the CC and placed the order right then and there. Yahoo:D :D :D One step closer!

[onegreenray]

Hi all. never even new there was a club out on long island for reefs. i live in smithtown. i have a 90 gallon fresh water tank that is heavly planted. i also have a forty gallon reef. i think i went a little over board on the lights though. i use 1 10,000k 250 watt ushio mh, with 1 96 watt coral life smart light in the back of tank. also have in the hood with mh two 55 watt coral life acntics. have fish wise one yellow tang, lawn mower blenny, two perculas, i fat mandarin, potters angel, basslet, and two neon gobies. ya i know a little much for this size tank. also bunch of softies for corals and four clams. but i do do water changes once a week of five gallons. as well as other little maintences. have plenty of filtration and circulation. i work for the post office in kings park. i am only 24. i have only been doing saltwater for about a year and a half now. was very nice to meet all of you.

:bounce2: :bounce1: :bounce3:

ray

[Easily Distracted]

OK. Who's gonna say it?!!!!:D

[onegreenray]

go ahead:)

[Easily Distracted]

Ray,
Everyone must be asleep. It's not official yet and I've never done it yet. Just hang on. Someone will notice soon enough....

[JohnL]

I'm a little late to the party but count me in :D

[Easily Distracted]

JohnL,
Tell me this isn't your first time posting on the LIRC forum also... You have a bazillion posts and you are a moderator. Never mind. I just saw a thread you started about Eric Borneman. You never did introduce yourself though.

[DgenR8]

JohnL's been undercover!

[Easily Distracted]

Who's gonna do the honors for onegreenray and JohnL?

[DgenR8]

Easily,
Could you be referring to a [welcome] for JohnL and onegreenray??

[Easily Distracted]

That's what I'm talkin' about.:D

[JohnL]

I feel complete now :D

[onegreenray]

theres no place like home.

[magyk74]

Name is Keith

I live in Valley Stream and am currently turning my 75 into a reef. I just built my first canopy and am in the mist of trying to get southdown sand. If any one has any suggestions on how and were I should get my LR let me know.
I'm going to be placing a 20-25 gallon sump under the tank which is great and that's about it for now.

[Easily Distracted]

Hey, DgenR8. Take it away!... ...or Joefish...:D

[joefish]

http://reefcentral.com/images/welcome.gif

[onegreenray]

let me know how you set up your sump. thinking of using a 20 for my 90 gallon when i convert it over to a reef. welcome

:wavehand:

:celeb1:

[LCGoldman]

I just stumbled upon this thread by accident... I feel like I opened up a time capsule from two years ago :)

[Easily Distracted]

Hah! I got a message in my email that this thread had a response. I thought I was seeing things......

[eboonaman]

Interesting Thread.. Love It...:thumbsup:

[sleezyp1]

Keep it going

[FalsePerc]

Wow. This is pretty cool. :D

[terranova]

Whoa! This was fun to read, I wonder where half of these people went?! I think we should all add to it!!!

[FalsePerc]

Do I sense impending stickification as a means to introduce oneself?

[terranova]

Fine by me...!

[FalsePerc]

Hi all,
My name is Mike. I'm 15 and live here. I have a 15 gallon clam/anemone/sps reef with a breeding pair of tomato clowns, matched myself, spawn regularly (my pride and joy), 24-ish anemones, but that's counting the tapetums, 4 clams, some zoos and sps, and an angler in the 'fuge. It is lit on a 200w metal halide pendant and skimmed (skum?) by a CPR BakPak 2R. I circulate the water with a Mag Drive 7. I do water changes every other day. I also happen to have 4 other tanks, all freshwater: One 55g Kribensis colony, a 5g Apisto breeder, 20g long apisto community, and a 40g Jellybean Parrotfish breeder, whose fry I sell to fund an organization I founded, Death by Dyeing.org (http://www.deathbydyeing.org). Because of DBD, I've been on PetFishTalk radio Show, alt.gen magazine, and CityTV. I am really quite heavily involved in this hobby, and answer queries for the Q&A site WetWebMedia (http://www.wetwebmedia.com), which is headed by Bob Fenner and Anthony Calfo. I have volunteered at two Local Fish Stores: I was at The Pet Den from age 9 to 13, and Pet Stop from 13 to 15. I may now move on to Aquarium Adventure, but I have bigger things on the horizon, as myself and my former boss at Pet Stop are going into the online retail business together. I do the site, ideas, promotions, ads, all that, he does the fishroom. But I think that's all I'm allowed to say before becoming a sponsor, lest I breach the user agreement. :)

Alright, time for everyone else to post!

[terranova]

Hi guys!

My name is Liana, and I'm 16 years old.

I'm in the process of setting up my first saltwater tank. It's a 72 gallon RR all glass bowfront with a 30 gallon sump. Im running a mag 12 on the return. The lights that I will be running consist of dual 250 watt MH with supplemental T5's. I have an AquaC EV protein skimmer with a mag 5, and an Oceans Motions super squirt with a panworld pump. I've got a DSB made of Southdown, and roughly 100lbs or so of live rock. Right now I'm in the process of plumbing an RO/DI unit with auto top off. The tank will be SPS dominated with a few LPS and clams. Oh, and I love anthias. :)

I'll be a high school junior this fall, and i'm a competitive gymnast. I also run track for fun. I'm short and bubbly and love to talk, and I guess that's all about me. :)

[Reefist]

I'm still here. Check 1st page 4th post.
Tom

[diverrad]

Hi
my name is Konrad
I hate this hobby, but I do like the quasi elitist attitude one derives from it.
I'm tall and bubbly and love to talk.....
I'm a video/film editor and I smack people around for fun.

[terranova]

Konrad you are not bubbly!!! :lmao:

[diverrad]

hey at 6'4" and 300 lbs I'm as bubbly as they come

[terranova]

*giggles* You're 3x my size!

[janco]

Guess I'll join the crowd and add mine to the fray:

Hi, I'm Jan. I'm a man-Jan (thanks mom). I left Oceanside back in 72' to join the Air Force for 20 years, spent about 15 of those in various places in Europe where I sewed my wild oats and corn. Got married (dumbest thing I ever did), became a dad, got divorced (almost smartest thing I ever did), returned in 92' to Deer Park with my then three year old son Eric. Mom wanted a career, I wanted a kid, I got one. He's now almost 16 (next month), I've gone grey, big and fat. Now trying to address the fat...

Extensive background in microwave rf and digital electronics, computer hardware and software (SUN and Windblows), now employed by a major telecom equipment manufacturer as an <cough> information architect and quasi project manager. Basically, that means that I determine how to provide instructions to Wireless providers on how to install their cell sites, get them running, and keep them so. I'm overworked (aren't we all), underpaid (aren't we all), and heterosexual (no comment, it's the '90's). I also have done web sites on the side since the advent of Mosaic, am fairly well versed in graphic illustration, and have been looking for my parachute for years now but only seem to come up with bungie cords.

Major hobbies include but are not limited to: photography (used to do color darkroom, now digital), Jeep off-roading (I like denting and breaking things, and getting dirty), making my strat weep, and this new one, spending alot of money on reef tanks. I'm also looking very forward to getting my first dogge in September: an Olde Victorian Bulldogge. He's gonna be my new buddy and is currently in the oven and should be done cooking about the beginning of August.

I've ridden Harleys. gotten tatoos, dj'd in biker bars, and slept with the Greatful Dead. I'll laugh when dirty jokes are told but don't necessaily need them to chuckle. I've also testified before the US Commission on Child and Family Welfare back in '95, my main focus being conflict resolution between parents. I like to eat too much and too many unhealthy things, but hey, that's me. If you come across too strongly as an expert on anything, I might respond by telling you "I didn't know that..."

I could go on and on and on, but hey, without sounding overly long-winded, I think you get the point.

And finally (again), hi all, I'm jan, and damn glad to be here. Look forward to meeting all of you in one form or another, sooner or later.

jan

Oh, yeah, and P.S. - Eric, can I get a membership card now? Pretty-please with brown sugar on top...

TIA

[FalsePerc]

Originally posted by AcRoPoRa x3
Konrad you are not bubbly!!! :lmao:
There are different kinds of bubbling substances. Perhaps you're soda-bubbly and he is Volatile-Acid-in-the-process-of-Dissolving-Nuclear-Waste-Bubbly. :)

[diverrad]

heheh and all this time I thought Jan was a woman... sorry

[janco]

heheh and all this time I thought Jan was a woman

Only sometimes, well after midnight.

:bum:

jan

Coming up: my new avatar, once I hit 100 posts:

http://www.agearedgrafix.com/images/reefermadness.jpg

Candy came from out on the Island
--L. Reed, ca. '72

[LCGoldman]

Me too LOL... Sorry Mr. Jan.

[LCGoldman]

Ok, here's my story... Got in to reefing in February 2004 after keeping a saltwater fish only tank with fake corals for half a dozen years. I found a GREAT deal on Live Rock that someone was selling on Reef Central that I just couldn't pass up. Put it in to my 55g tank and I quickly realized that I needed a LARGER tank.

So now I have a 92g corner tank, 150lbs or so of Live Rock, some SPS, LPS, zoanthids (want MORE), 10 or so fish, and I'll be totally happy(?) when I have my new custom made hood on my tank (thanks in advance Brad :) and Bobby for helping with the design and taking measurements). No wait, then of course I'll want a refugium :)

As for life outside the fishbowl, I worked 24 years in the IT field until getting laid off in January. I'm still job hunting as well as taking licensing exams to become a Financial Advisor. To date I have my life and health insurance licenses as well as my Series 7. In three weeks I hope to have my Series 66 license, and shortly thereafter I can help ALL of you with your financial goals, dreams, and aspirations.

Outside of the tank and work (or current lack-there-of), I have a wonderful and supportive wife, and an amazing two year old son, and two great step-sons. Oh, thank you Webster for reminding me... Two dogs and three cats.

[eboonaman]

Well, let me think... I was thinkin' I could use me another couple cans'o that potted meat if ya got any extree. … Mmmmm ( * that was my sling blade impersonation)
anyway….
Hi, I'm Chuck, an anti-social 48 yr. not bubbly at all grinch. I have 3 daughters, 2 dogs (Cosmo & Jack)and one lovely bubbly wife.
4 months ago I decided I was tired with raising Discus and sold my stock took one of the 55 gals and decided to get into reefs. Been in it for only 2 months so far and loving it! Much more interesting then FW.
Have 6 (65w) PC over the tank probably going with LPS and Ricordias but in reality I'll be raising anything that I can keep alive.

[Spracklcat]

Hi, I'm Christie, I like long romantic walks on the beach, Virgos, and sincere, sensitive muscular men..

Oh, no wait--that's one of Konrad's "coworkers"

Hi, I'm Christine, and I started my reef tank less than a year ago as a means of not going crazy from being a mostly stay-at-home mom. Prior to having my son Jeremy I was a medical student, a microbiologist, a genetics researcher, a veterinary critical care specialist, and a geek. Now I'm just a geek (and a part time veterinary hematologist). I'm very good at playing both the guitar and mandolin badly. I like mountain biking over regular road riding because exercise is always more fun when there's a real potential for breaking a bone. I'm a little shy so if I don't say hello at meetings don't take it personally--just come over and say hello. Being as there are so few women (not Jan) I'm not difficult to find.

See you all in August,

Christine

[diverrad]

heh anytime you want to change careers Christine just give me a call.

[Easily Distracted]

Originally posted by diverrad
heh anytime you want to change careers Christine just give me a call.


heh, anytime you want to mountain bike, Christie, just give me a call... : )

[Spracklcat]

Wow, I haven't had so many propositions in a while--don't know which I like better though...

Christine

[cb747]

Im a virgo and you know the other thing LMAO

[eboonaman]

You very funny girl Christine…. very funny girl....:lol: :lol: :lol:

[eboonaman]

wondering you guys/gals have any steady chat nights I can crash?

[cb747]

Yes we do its called The NERAC birthday thread :)

[joefish]

Originally posted by cb747
Yes we do its called The NERAC birthday thread :)

You should give a warning with that statment .:lol:

[terranova]

Yeah really...you could say that again.

[FalsePerc]

For the Birthday thread:

http://www.deathbydyeing.org/rr.jpg

[terranova]

Lonnie is my accompanying guardian then. :lmao:

[diverrad]

nice you chose a mass murderer to be you guardian ,, good choice

[FalsePerc]

I don't have a guardian. :(

[cali_reef]

You guys should keep this mess to the "other" thread.

Don't screw this one up!!

[terranova]

We'll try Pierce. :P

Konrad, talking about the bodies he's buried in his backyard makes him uneasy, so shhh. ;)

[dougwilliams]

Ok- so after lurking around here for a few years and going to the last bunch of LIRA meetings I figured I'd say hi. I'm Doug - the younger brother of Christine (aka Spracklcat). In fact, she was the one who convinced me to go with her to the meetings; something about being afraid of walking into a room full of all male fish geeks pulling out their frags made her a bit nervous I suppose.

Let me first start by mentioning my favorite contribution to the club has been the designing the official LIRA flag:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/77641lira_flag.jpg
(You can purchase your own here http://www.cafepress.com/lireef under the secret code name "thong")

So- aside from that - I'm 30, married - have two kids. When I bought my house about 3 years ago I decided that I was going to build in a large reef - right behind the bar - in what was then my semi-finished basement. But a whole bunch of other stuff had to be done to the house and now finally I'm to complete the basement. Right now, I'm looking at doing one main tank and 2 or 3 satellites, all in the same system, and all built in - in unique ways. Maybe one in the shower... not settled on all of them yet- but thats another post.

Anyhow, in actuality I'm an electrical engineer - have a BS and MS, and work designing processor boards for military applications.

As soon as I have a few free moments (and as part of the basement project) I plan on finishing up what I started for Christine's tank and have been thinking about for a few years now: a completely programmable - and yet affordable reef control system. I was horrified at the price most controllers are going for - especially given their lack of features. So I finally decided to design one that would meet not only my own needs - but be flexible enough to handle the smallest tanks and the biggest ones as well. I know there have been some efforts before to do this but they ended up going nowhere because of arguments on features and software (the posts are on the main RC somewhere). So I purposefully kept mine quiet, and developed it myself. Again, a topic for another thread - but in short, the last time I had time to work on it, it was capable of real time light, fan, and thermal control. depending on the actual hardware you use, lights were dimmable (ie moonlight LED's fading on and off with realistic moon cycles); AC accesories (pumps) and ballast controlled lights could be switched on/off with almost any desired frequency or patterns (ie wavemakers and stepped lighting); and fan speeds could be thermally controlled for power/noise savings. Oh yeah, and complete PC hook up for real time data logging (or data logging and retriaval for when you werent PC attached) - and a nice GUI for all of the settings on your PC. All of that (and more) for a target cost of under $50. Or maybe just open the design up and make it free for anyone???

Anyway - nice to meet you all ...

[FalsePerc]

Doug, do you have any of these for sale? I may be interested in a few.

[billsreef]

Doug,

Good to see you posting finally, and I thought Christine was supposed to be the shy one :lol:

Nice job on the flag design :beer:

[Spracklcat]

Wow, I got out-geeked by my own brother (runs in the family I guess...)

Good job Doug!

Christine

[dougwilliams]

I'm not shy- just reserved in my judgement. I tend to hold back a bit first to get a feel for the situation and let other people show their colors first I guess.

Do I have a few for sale - not yet. In actuality I have a single one that I made by hand with way too much hand soldering and wiring. If you open the box it's very ugly. I have a bit more work on the software and then that one will go into service on Chris' tank (one day).

To eliminate the ugliness I'm going to spin a printed circuit board. When I'm at that stage I'll solicit beta testers - who wouldnt want to buy a unit per se, but might chip in for components as part of a "co-development" effort. Honestly my big hesitation on this is a legal matter. Although my design is very safe and has many built in fail-safes and protection circuitry - all I need is for someone to stick their tongue into it after opening it up under water. That would be compounded by the fact that I "sold" it to them. For me to have any legal ground I'd have to get it UL approved and all of that - which would be thousands. But first you'll see a request for the most critical features that people need and expect before using one, so I can roll those in before I build up a few of them. If anyone's interested I'll post a new thread with it's features and where I'm at now and some pics.

[billsreef]

Doug,

Go for starting a thread on that controller. It sounds quite interesting. You'll also have plenty of volunteers to Beta test :D

BTW, Christine and Doug , I just came across a clone recipie for Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA ;) I'll be trying it out in the fall when it gets a bit cooler. Somehow I just can't see standing over a pot of boiling wort for 90 minutes right now :lol:

[terranova]

I'll be a test! I'll be a test!

[Spracklcat]

Oh, and I'll be a beta tester of the beer--BTW I've got a nice batch of orange marmalade if you're interested--

Christine

[terranova]

I'll have to test the controller since I'm not old enough to drink. :lmao:

[billsreef]

Trading beer for homemade goodies like jam and marmalade is definately a win win situation :D So yes, you have a deal ;)

[FalsePerc]

Doug, you have a PM.

[terranova]

Mike I'm not digging the ava...

[dougwilliams]

I'm always up for running beta tests on beer. I understand the implications, the dangers, and the emotional highs and lows that it can impart on a person. And yet, selflessly, I am willing to take on that responsibility for mankind as a whole.

As for the controller, I'll start a new thread for that tonight when I can snap a few pictures of it or throw up some screen captures of the software that I have so far.

[FalsePerc]

Originally posted by AcRoPoRa x3
Mike I'm not digging the ava...
Why not? I don't approve of it much, either, but it's better than nothing. Or is it?

[billsreef]

Originally posted by dougwilliams
I'm always up for running beta tests on beer. I understand the implications, the dangers, and the emotional highs and lows that it can impart on a person. And yet, selflessly, I am willing to take on that responsibility for mankind as a whole.


:lol:

Also remember the health benifits. As it is made from grain, you have your bread group ;) Also brewers yeast is high in vitamin B, this only applies to live non filtered beers :D Hops is a natural antioxidant, and dark beers like stout have the same compounds as red wine that are known to help lower cholosterol. So :beer:

[terranova]

Originally posted by FalsePerc
Why not? I don't approve of it much, either, but it's better than nothing. Or is it?

I guess it's better than nothing but it still looks terribe. I vote for a change...

[FalsePerc]

There we go. Now I have nothing.

[diverrad]

now all you have to do is realize you are nothing , then you will be one with the universe and not the center of it. ;)

[FalsePerc]

:lol: Konrad's daily words of wisdom...

[terranova]

Konrad is really good with the universe/environment quotes.

First the thing with the ozone, now this.

[diverrad]

Originally posted by FalsePerc
:lol: Konrad's daily words of wisdom...
I try to help those that need it

[terranova]

The Gentle Giant...

[diverrad]

yea ok

[eboonaman]

master:D

[terranova]

:lmao:

[cb747]

Konrad is the master dude! well master something anyway LOL

[Easily Distracted]

Doug,
Use me for bet testing. My aquacontroller is driving me nuts. The software is archaic.

Bill,
Use me for bet testing, also. :D

[billsreef]

John,

You should have been to NERAC or the BBQ :beer:

[Easily Distracted]

Originally posted by billsreef
John,

You should have been to NERAC or the BBQ :beer:

Sure. Just rub it in........ :(

[LCGoldman]

BUMP