First frag swap?

[Fishtails]

When is the first frag swap supposed to be scheduled? Where will it be at? I'm so excited....:fun2:

[Noon]

A couple people offered to have get togethers at their homes, which is awesome. I have several emails but I can go through them and see who offered etc. If we can get people who would like to show up or participate, just post and let us know where you are exactly. That way maybe we can set a place to meet thats the most convinient.

I know you maybe the furthest away, but i forsee some road trips to your neck of the woods several times.

Anyhow hopefully more people will read my email and find this place and chime in.

[Noon]

So whats a good time for you folks to maybe get together and do some swapping, selling whatever, and also to maybe get to know each other better and to see where we wanna take this and maybe plan a few things. Alot of people have emailed me some good ideas and it would probabl be easier to throw some ideas out here, and discuss them somewhere if we can get together.

[Fishtails]

I'm guessing at the end of May or beginning of JUne would be an o.k. time for me. I could meet about half-way if anyone wants to host a frag swap at their home or at a lfs. I'll be out of school then and probably will only have a few frags, if any at all so I'll be buying more than selling/trading. Let me know what kinds of frags you all have and we can scheldule a day that would work out for us all to have the swap. Hope this can really happen.

I guess you can say I'm in.:D

Also can I get your email addressing or IM's so we can talk personally.

Thanks,
Alex

[EvilMel]

What kind of frags are you guys talking about swapping?

What size also?

I'm in Knoxville but I would come to Nashville in May or June. My family lives there so I go there a few times a year (as little as possible, but if I could do some coral frag swapping :)).

I have a real nice green leather (I believe it's a finger), a brown and green acropora, some other kind of flat sps that's mostly brown but all these grow like mad in my tank. Oh and something else, crap I can't remember it's name. I got all these from a friend myself. I will look to see if I can find the pictures if you are interested.

[Pandarian]

i will be in nashville the weekend of may 17th. however, if everybody is around the nashville/knoxville/chattanooga area, then why dont we have the meet in cookeville. just a thought.

EvilMel: are you a grad student at UT?

[Noon]

As far as most people being in the Nashville area, I would love to see people from all over get involved. Not everyone will be able to make roadtrips but it would be a fun getaway to have places to travel to, talk and buy hehe.


Lets say sometime around the first or second week of June. Who all would be willing to get together, and if anyone would be willing to host let us know. If we have all buyers and no sellers then we should try and have a get together just to plan out some future events etc. Put some faces to the avatars. I only have a small apartment atm, trying to get into a new house. If we get in next month like we plan, then I would gladly host some.

[cwa46]

I can make pretty much any date with a few weeks notice. I am out of the state every September......fishing!

[CatDog]

Hi guys,

I'm free the weekends of June 7/8 or June 21/22 and I can even host if we need a place to meet.

You're right, let's determine what the purpose is, either a frag swap or just a general get together. I'm probably more of a buyer than a seller/trader at this point since I'm just starting up with some corals. At most, I might have some small xenia frags to trade (thanks to cwa46!).

Why don't we start a running list of who has what to trade and see if there is enough to justify a swap.

Kraig

[Noon]

From what i am gathering most people are more into the buying phase. I think maybe a meeting sometime to get to know each other etc would be a good idea. Have an Idea Swap, and set up maybe some orders so we can get these tanks stocked up to trade later on!

[cwa46]

I could supply several candy corals, a green star pylop, and maybe an acropora.

[Pandarian]

i would be a buyer more then a seller :(

[etescape]

Hi guys,

For the record, my name is Adrian and I am glad to see some growth under this TN sun :D I am out of town this whole week however, I am open for buying and selling get togheter sessions anytime starting next week.

Right now I have the following live corals for sale or trade:

One cabbage on a big LR
Couple small and large LR with stripped green, purple and greenish hairy mushrooms
I might sale one xlarge elegance coral.
Daniel is buying my large bubble coral, I think, so that may or may not be for sale.

and, Drygoods:

1000W Aquanetics fireplug heater @40% off the best internet deal you can get.
2x96W power compact retro with reflectors and bulbs
Refractometer
Brand new Aqua UV15W Sterilizer
Brand new Kent Marine Aquadose 5 gallon
and if anyone is interested, I think I will sell my one of the kind 5?Gallon Revolution tank.

Well, that's it folks, hope to cya soon. Bye for now...Adrian

[Noon]

Great stuff. Some of this stuff would be great for me to start out with etc. Now just wondering how bad of an algae boom im gonna get from my vhos =/

[CatDog]

Hey guys, Adrian has some nice stuff, the elegance coral is beautiful!

Which reminds me, Adrian, if you're going to frag that guy, let me know, I'm interested in buying a chunk. Just give me a call or shoot me an email.

Kraig

[EvilMel]

yes I am a graduate student at UT (not for much longer though).

[EvilMel]

I would be interested in the UV sterilizer. Would one that big be sufficient for a 135gal? I don't know that much about what sizes to get and whatnot. I have not really researcher it that much.

[cwa46]

I have a $200 credit at AC. If anyone needs something from there I could buy it and trade for frags or other equip.

[etescape]

Evil,

I think it may be just enough for your tank but I am not 100% sure. The UV is brand new still in the box. do you have anything to trade?

Chad, I would give you .5 to the dollar towards your store credit :D no really, is there anything that I have interests u?

[etescape]

Oops, the .5 cents to the one US dollar exchange rate is for cwa46 or come to think of it...is for everyone:D

[Tennsquire]

EvilMel,

I was through Knoxville the other day on my way back to Nashville, and I stopped by Aquatic Specialists. They are closing their doors for good, and are selling everything. It might be worth your while to stop by and see if they have anything that you might need or want. They had lots of used equipment, used tanks, and some liverock. FYI.

Scott

[Noon]

<<<< Chad :strooper:

[cwa46]

etescape,

I sell then corals and I don't really need anything. Last time I spent about $400 for my granddaughters 30 gal freshwater system. I will be getting another $100-$200 next time I take coral in. I need to get some more harvested.

[etescape]

cwa46,

if u sell corals I want some...let's set a get togheter date and I would buy some corals from you.

[Pandarian]

Originally posted by Tennsquire
EvilMel,

I was through Knoxville the other day on my way back to Nashville, and I stopped by Aquatic Specialists. They are closing their doors for good, and are selling everything. It might be worth your while to stop by and see if they have anything that you might need or want. They had lots of used equipment, used tanks, and some liverock. FYI.

Scott

when did you stop by? do you know when they are closing? i might stop by there and pick up some stuff.

[Tennsquire]

I stopped by Monday. They are tearing things down, and selling all their display tanks and everything. I don't know when the last day will be, but it will likely be soon by the looks of it.

[danieljames]

Hey evilmel....i am very interested in buying some of that green finger. How big are your frags?

[EvilMel]

Yeah Aquatic Specialsts was a really great store. They had some of the greatest live rock I have ever seen. Their curing system was just HUGE! So all kinds of things lived in their rocks. I routinely got polyps, tube worms, lots of coraline algae, some macroalgae off their rock. Plus it was some of the cheapest live rock too - like $5/lb. Another store here (the Aquarium) sells their live rock for like $8/lb and it is totally brown and ****ty looking. Sometimes it's like $10/lb. I stocked my tank with Aquatic Specialists rock and it has been just great.

Their livestock was pretty ordinary but I tell you I never saw a flowerpot coral, a seahorse, or a carpet anemone in their place, which to me is a great sign. And I have been going to this store for the past 5 years. But naturally any quality store that won't sell a bunch of showy stuff that you can't keep will go out of business. Places here like that are what people go to, unfortunately. But actually I chalk up them going out of business to a bad location. It was really horrible. Very out of the way and in a kinda ghetto area.

Anyways, yes that was a great store and I do need to go by and check out what's left, especally since I know Randle and Lisa (the owners).

Sorry for the rant, but if you've been in this for a while it getss annoying listeneing to store owners sell people things they could not possibly. Example: The Aquarium (store in Knoxvile) telling me I could keep a flower pot coral with 3 40W fluorescent bulbs! Which if you know anything, you know that is INSANE. Just about NO ONE can keep a flowerpot coral. I'm not saying odd things don't happen but I would be willing to bet anyone that one won't live long in their tank (nine months max).

So you newbies, look out. Check out forums like this and listen to experienced people before you take you LFS's advice. They are a business and many of them (not all) care alot more about the bottom line.

Sorry again for the rant.

[EvilMel]

Hey so about the green finger leather (I think that's what kind of leather it is) is great. It grows llike MAD, if you have the lights for it atleast. I have it under MH (400W), but the guy who gave it to me had it under 175W I believe. I can pretty much cut it however big you want because the thing grows so fast. I could easily give you a 3 inch piece. Bigger if you want.

My other stuff I can't cut that big.

The acropora I could break off at maybe 1-1.5 inches each.
But that grows like crazy too. And I have been at this so long I hardly dose anymore. I don't seem to need to though because all my corals are as healthy as they could be and grow like mad.

I also have green star polyps (looks like green grass). I could frag it at about 1 inch across or maybe more.

I have a couplle of other things too. But the thing is I have no idea what people usually pay for things like that. I was really hoping to swap. I would totally sell it, but that isn't my primary goal so I wouldn't want to sell it for alot. My main goal is to stock other people's tanks without depleting reefs. I have some stuff that's really adapted to growing in aquariums and I would like to share it. That's my motivation. So you guys let me know when you want to do this and I will come with things to share.

[EvilMel]

Hey etescape

I have plenty of corals to trade, and a bit of dry goods (though probably nothing you'd want). I have so rather good corals I would be able to give you huge pieces of.

Were you thinking of dry goods or like corals?

And if corals, about what size/number?

[Noon]

So how much of this stuff can i do well with 440w VHO on a 75 gallon?

[Pandarian]

hey EvilMel, i would like to see you tank. you wouldnt happen to be TA-ing any classes next semester would you? im a bio major.

[etescape]

EvilMel,

My tank is 180G and running Aqua Space light (250WDE x3). I have mostly LPS in it right now and thinking about swapping out some of my LPS for some colorful SPS. I like what I have but want mix it in with some more vivid colors. I guess, depending of the price and color, I will buy enough frags to fill in the empty spaces created by Daniel ;) 5 - 10 frags. I am in DE right now so, shoot me a PM with a phone number to call you and set something up.

Thanks.

[kevlouie]

hey i've got a "frag" to swap, its a nice specimen, highly aggressive towards tankmates, light coloration-but darkens up nicely under intense lighting, very specific diet-lobster, shrimp or steak once a week, not tolerant of similar specimens (especially superior looking ones), doesn't do well with fish, corals invertibrates or especially equipment, refuses to breed except when wants something

any takers

:lol:

guess this isn't "that" kind of swap meet

:mixed:

[danieljames]

lmao........i know those......EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE.

[danieljames]

evilmel....

sounds real good on the frags. I dont have anything to trade (yet), i'm just getting mine started. But i do have some of this green paper that everyone seems so willing to trade me corals for...i love this country.......

as large as you can go on that green finger would be great.

[Noon]

Yea i have 0 to trade but i wanna start getting some corals started in my tank. Went to AQ yesterday and hadda smack myself and walk away from buying something from there. Nice looking stuff, but $$$$.

[CatDog]

I was in AC today too and I always wonder which of the other customers in the store I'm talking to online.

Not to bash AC, but who's buying all of their SW stuff? The consensus on the boards is that no one is buying livestock from them, but AC goes through a ton of livestock every week!

For the most part, I like the people in there and I support them when I can, it's just too expensive. Also, IMO, the fish just don't look very healthy; I get better specimens MO who look better after a day of shipping.

CatDog

[kevlouie]

no kidding I was in there today around lunchtime, buying some plumbing parts, I usually try to get Ken to help me, he's one of the tall guys who look like brothers, I agree most of those guys are very helpful and while I'm sure they have very little say in what comes into the store, I agree with EvilMel that it probable is at least midly unethical to sell certain of the things they sell, like goniopora or powder blues to just any shmo off the street, cause they have about as much chance of survival as Rosie O'donnel on the Bachelor

[etescape]

I also, think that Ken and Chris are super nice guys to deal with and I support them as much as I can. I bought my 180G Oceanic tank from them and many corals and fish when money is no object:D I just bought two fire shrimp from them for about $10 more then the online price. For the extra few bucks , seeing what I get makes me feel that I am getting "quality" plus supporting the LFS.

CatDog, I am one of the guys helping move their SW stuff :D but, I am ready to try the online store for some stuff. Very soon check your email, list to follow.


Thanks...ACN

[Noon]

They are pretty knowledgeable, but none hardly agree on the same things. You can ask one one thing and then someone else will tell you the exact opposite hehe. I will never buy another fish from them as all but one has died on me. Ken is a great guy but the other day i saw him sell a guy 3 anemones and told him theyd not be too hard to take care of......He did tell them some other good info but a new reefer, anemone? Hmmph.

As far as where their fish go? I have been a victim of the multiple fish buy as alot of folks ive seen there. Needless to say it didnt work out and i have lost some money there. Theres a place in bell meade that supposedly is being ran by a former AQ employee and he promises to beat them out when he gets going. I checked it out when he first took it over and changed the name but it had 0 saltwater at the time. I also visit The Fish Bowl, on Murfreesboro Rd. The lady who own it is pretty nice and will order anything you want, and holds it till she knows its healthy. I have a sebae clown from them and hes been great since day 1, eats like a pig.

[EvilMel]

danieljames: So I have to tell you that I was sitting here going "green paper, what is green paper?" I even asked my husband and he couldn't figure it out either. Then I was like "OOOH green PAAAper". I thought you were trying to sell me pot (which I don't smoke), hahah.

So yeah I could trade you corals for money, whenever we decide to have this thing I will bring some for you.

I'm not entirely opposed to having it in Nashville, so don't like make it in Cookeville just for me. If everyone else is closer to Nashville then it's no big deal for me to drive. But I will say I probably would not drive to Nashville just to talk to everyone (no offense). I would like to see people but that's a bit far for me to come just for talking.

So I have gone to AC for years and years. Every fish I buy from there has died. That's not saying it's their fault, but I just do not have success with their live stock. I did however buy a mushroom from a guy that was breaking down his tank and selling all the stuff there. They totally let him sell me one without like charging me anything. So I thought that was quite nice. Their store is really neat.

I do have to agree that buying from your LFS is really good all around except for price. It's always going to be higher. But getting to keep an eye on your fish/corals for a while is extremely good. My problem is that I will look at a fish for a couple off weeks, not buuy it, decide to buy it, go to the store to find that someone else has just bought it! uugh!

All you guys in Nashville have you thought about placing an order together? Especially you new guys. I mean if you each want to get 1 or 2 things then it would be a great way to divide shipping costs.

Just a thought.

[EvilMel]

god my messages are always long.

Hope it doesn't bother anyone.

[kevlouie]

Hey I'll take all the info I can get, I agree the best way to stock up on fish, in the beginning is to get a large order from internet, watch out for temps where it is coming from, where it has to go, (Fed EX almost always goes thru Memphis) and what they are here, follow STRICT acclimation procedures, but you might be better off adding one fish from someplace where you can eyeball em a couple of days prior to purchace, I am in for a split in 1.5 to two weeks. I will say this about Aq. Cr. I bought a Hippo Tang from them and after 4 days he looked awful, was about to die, but I had called them each day to say he was looking worse. They traded with me no charge for a new one, which is extremely healthy 2 years later, fat, happy, peaceful. Cleaner shrimp kept him picked clean when he got the invariable ich all fish get from a reef tank. With an internet co. you get credit for the fish but you gotta pay next day air again.

[danieljames]

lol@evilmel......yeah...the green paper. I hand it over, i get handed corals. How cool is that???.....lol.....i love it.

How far is cookeville from nashville? I'm assuming that is where you are. I would drive there for frags if its not to far. Not a problem. Let me know.

[Noon]

Cookeville is about 45mins - 1 hr from Nashville.

[aquaman67]

The only livestock I have bought from AC is 3 turbo snails and a betta for my daughter's Sponge Bob tank. One died but the other 2 are ok. I think I had some evil whelk hitch-hikers.

Hey kevlouie, what's a hydrogeologist?

[kevlouie]

aquaman..same thing as a geohydrologist, jk, well it is technically the science of groundwater within the earth's strata, but in practice it is a fancy word for a contaminated water samplin dude, do you work in Erin, too? I met a fellow from Erin the other day, Woody Adams (and his wife, can't remember her name), he is the safety director for Tennesco in Dickson, but lives in Erin, really nice guy, did you say Pet Palace in Clarksville has marine stuff? last time I was up there it looked like they were out of business, did they move?

[aquaman67]

kevlouie,

I work for the City of Erin, I run the water plant. It's actually in Palmyra, off Hwy 149 at Yellow Creek. We pump about 1 million gallons of water from the Cumberland River every day. I've always been interested in ground water sources. There is a spring in Erin that is under the influence of surface water. It used to be the only source of water in Erin. The state made us stop using it in 1996. We are thinking about re-opening it, after it is filtered and chlorinated, of course.

And yes Pet Palace moved from Ft. Campbell Blvd. to the 41A by-pass. It's close to K-mart kitty-corner from Appleton's Harley Davidson. They get salt water live stock in on tuesday afternoon. There is usually people there waiting for the shipment to come in. Most stuff is bought before the bags are opened. They have a small selection of corals. Wade, the guy who orders stuff can get most anything if you give him notice. There prices aren't too bad, and I like to see what I'm getting.

Take Care!

[dmaister]

I have actually bought most of my livestock from AqCr. I guess I'm the newbie, but I also like to see what I'm getting. And I guess we need to support our lfs, as well. There are a few things I wish they sold cheaper (dry goods), but as for livestock, I like looking. :eek1:

Most of mine have faired well, unless I've totally neglected the tank (which I have the habit of doing). (that's why I want a completely automated tank) :D

I've lost several polyps, and a few fish, but they were usually due to my carelessness. I've had a neon damsel, three stripe, tang clown and purple pseudo for about a year now. I've recently lost a firefish (which I got at the same time as the tang). It was being harasseed by the psuedo, and wasn't being fed enough(my fault). Other fish casualties: clown, yellowtail damsel. I've also lost some yellow polyps and green stars (I forgot to add iodine for too long, and waited too long for water changes). :(

I'm hoping that moving my corals to a reef only tank will help. Like I said, I'm still a newbie, and still gaining experience, so any help is welcome. (I wish the wife would let me spend more on equipment as well). :p

[EvilMel]

danieljames: I'm actually in Knoxville, which is about 2.5-3 hr from Nashville. But coming to Nashville is not a big deal if I am the furthest one because my mom, grandmmax2, aunts and uncles all live there. Well most of my uncles and aunts live there. My mom has been nagging me to see her more, so it would be a good excuse.

Secondly, I think buying from your LFS is great, even though it's expensive. But my problem is that every LFS I have encountered has either 1) tried to sell me something I don't need, want, or can keep, 2) had things in there that will TOTALLY die in anyone's tank but are showy so that's what sells, or 3) they go out of business.

For instance, today I went to the Coral Reef here in Knoxville, which I thought was gonna be a decent store. But I saw like 5 carpet anemones, 1 coral that looked very similar to a flower pot coral AND get this:

I bought a two-bottle set of the C-balance stuff, and placed an order with them to get some Reef Builder. Then later that day my husband found 2 HUGE bottles of the C-balance stuff at home. So I tried to take it back a few hours (HOURS) after I bought it and they would only give me store credit. I mean I hated to do that to a small store that is first opening, but they lost more business from me by not giving me my cash back than by keeping my $26.

It's not a huge deal but in combo with the corals I saw there and the fact that they really seem to try to SELL me stuff every time I go in there, I don't know, now I'm a bit leery of them too.

So basically I am just disappointed with all the marine stores. I mean, do you buy from your LFS, who is totally trying to sell you some stuff whether you can keep it or not, OR from a wholesaler that is buying so many fish in bulk that they don't really care how many die. It's really just sad. That's why I was kinda sad to see Aquatic Specialists go under (though I knew it was coming), because even though Randle totally wanted your money, he would NEVER sell you anything you couldn't keep.

Well there's my rant for today.

etescape: I have't looked at my leather under the 20,000K yet but I'll do it tomorrow and get back to you.
Mel