May meeting/swap

[Cline]

Hey all,

Just wanted to say thanks for making me feel welcome at the meeting today. I'm really glad my friend found this organization and look forward to being around come the fall.

For those of you reading who are not already a part of this group...
I met quite a few good people today. All very nice and sharing info is top of the list. No one makes you feel uncomfortable. You don't always find that when first walking into a place And the swap(s) were a lot of fun to watch and participate in ! There were some beautiful corals and rock finding new homes. My nano is now complete...almost...when adding my new babies this afternoon, I found the perfect spot for a bright finger leather... now to find the right one !!!

Thanks to everyone for their hospitality. I forgot to add my email address as we had to leave in a hurry, hubby was on call. Where/who can I get that info to?

Sonya

[Nanook]

Hi Sonya,


To Reef Central


BTW, do you work as a nurse in St Louis?


Dave

[Cline]

Hi Dave, and thanks for the welcome.

Yes, I'm a RN in SL. Have been with BJC for quite a while doing heart/lung surgeries and management. Really miss the OR though !!!

Now my time is spent with research, biology and chemistry of reefs and seahorses.

Sonya

[Nanook]

Cool, my wife is a BJC nurse and I am at the only union hospital now...hehe. I've done CVR nursing for about 9yrs, we are supposedly going to be getting more high tech in the coming years, time will tell. Glad to see another nurse into reefkeeping, most of the girls at work listen interested but would never try it.

Dave

[Cline]

I know what hospital you're talking about - I have a family member there, a RNSA who just passed her boards for NP (and her son has his masters in engineering!!!).

Earlier last week when I was setting up a 29 at my gma's, the dogs nocked over a 34gal trashcan full of mixing sw in the livingroom. Gma laughed and hubby said, "...sweetie, you can't always fight being female..." as he laughed too. That may have come from the fact that we (he and I) rebuilt a 72 Chevy Nova SS together (she's a buit)... I don't know what's wrong with some women! If they are truely interested in something, DO IT! This is a great hobby! Have you shown them pics of your tank(s), how could they resist!

Sonya

[Nanook]

Aha, there is the twist. Women who are handy or into mechanical stuff, like rebuilding cars, are often the ladies we see on Reef Central. Most of the other women don't find the necessary gadgetry very approachable. What is your family member going to do with her NP, hard to find jobs that pay good with an NP I thought? I finished my BSN at Webster with intents to do CRNA and thought better of it after talking with a few CRNAs. I might try my hand at selling pretzels in South St Louis someday though.


Nanook

[Nanook]

BTW, most of my coworkers have seen my tanks and marvelled at them. But they always comment on the gadgetry and become intimidated. I try to tell them that is how I automated the system for ease, but that goes in one ear and out the other.


dave

[Josh125]

Your system isn't the run of the mill tank though Dave........

You need to give them some hands on lessons, whatever that means LOL

[Josh125]

I'm even intimidated by your tank, or tub at the moment right.

[TooFar2Sea]

Sonya...thanks for your kind words about the meeting. I would also like to wish you good luck with your nano. I have kept a 2 1/2 and a 5 1/2. Be especially sure to keep up with the top off water as even a small bit of evaporation can cause a relatively large swing in the salinity of a small tank.
Early in my reefkeeping days I was lucky enough to come across Dave and his partner in brine, George. Their generosity with knowledge, live rock, and frags was an inspiration to me. I have tried to find ways to give back somehow, either to other reefkeepers or perhaps others not fortunate enough to have their own tank.
In that vein (or is it an artery?), the idea that I kept returning to was a club sponsored tank in a waiting room of a hospital. Is that possible? How much red tape would be involved? I would appreciate any thoughts that you both might have on this idea.

[Cline]

Dave,
NP in Peds. Had a job before her clinicals were completed. Her husband owns a rehab/construction co. and is excited about retiring to do his sculpting full time since she will be making so much money and can support him in the mannor he is accustom too...!!

Gary,
BJC is a very large organization, but if you talk to the right people, thing can get done without too much red tape. With that being said, Childrens Hospital has several tanks in their clinics, ER and main hallway. They have both SW and brackish displays. I'm not sure how they came about or who maintains them..
I think BJ North Campus (previously Jewish Hospital) has undergone major rehab and now houses most of the clinics. Since people going there are usually fairly sick or recovering from major illness, and are there the majority of the day (with testing and apts.), a place to find comfort and relax would be perfect for a display and all the living creatures. If you decide to pursue this in the future, I'd be glad to help with contacts or any way I can.

The nano has been doing great so far. I haven't had a problem with evap so far, but maintaining pH and hardness has caused some minor problems. I think it's my IO salt. I think I have corrected the problem with Kent Superbuffer-dKH. Been using since Fri. and both have stablized. I have used 1/2 tsp to aprox 3/4 cup fresh H2O once a day for three days. Now I'll let it go for a couple weeks and keep a close eye on it.
I use HBH blocks to maintain calcium and trace elements. Go through 1 every 4-5 days and levels have been good.

The things I got from Scott have all opened up sooo beautifully! The zoos are so full, I need to thin them out! Those will be going on my tonga bridge.

Okay, now I'm on a rant...

Sonya

[Nanook]

I'm even intimidated by your tank, or tub at the moment right

Me too sometimes, especially when I think about trying to do a first water change

Seriously, the 300g stock tank is great and all, but I am really looking forward to getting my new tanks. I am hoping to order them this week or next, I am looking at a couple of acrylic manufacturers and getting prices. The Stony tank will be 96x48x30, or 600 gallons and the Softy tank will be 96x30x30 or about 375 gallons. Total sumpage and refugium gallonage of 400 gallons will give me a total gallonage of 1375 gallons.

I am carefully planning the basement area to deal with dehumidification, cooling, electrical, plumbing, equipment areas, and water storage, as well as a Kalkwasser tub for continuous auto-topoff. The details at this stage are painful and expensive.

The main thing I am trying to accomplish is ease of maintenance, so I can enjoy the tanks as much as possible. I was hoping to go with glass tanks, but decided that moving a 600g glass tank was a task that myself and a dozen other reefers would have a most difficult time trying to do successfully without injuries.

The completion date is going to be sometime in 2004, before I have all the lighting, pumps, skimmers, etc. Meanwhile, I am having a ball planning the tankroom.


Dave

[Nanook]

We have a couple of large acrylic Cichlid tanks at my hospital, they are maintained by a private company.

The best way to go about it, would be to see if there is an interest from SEASL members in undertaking such a large responsibility. If the interest is high enough, I would suggest talking with an attorney to see what liabilities there could be for members involved in caring for the tank??? Not sure on that one, but it is worth checking out. If it looks to be a project that SEASL is interested in carrying out, then I would pick a few hospitals or other facilities, maybe a nursing or retirement home, then send out some letters or make appointments.

The main considerations are money for the project and time from the members. It is not like the tank is in the next room next to the fridge with the beer and the toidy It does seem like an admirable project though and I would be willing to help out.


Dave

[big red]

Gary,
I think a SEASL supported tank is a great idea. There are likely some very real issues with attempting something like this (Dave already named a couple) but I think it is worth exploring. Lets loop in a core group of people that are interested in gathering information and put something together for people to look at in the future.
Scott