The Living Reef

The Living Reef
October 2007
Next meeting: Wednesday 31st @ 7.30pm
It looks like it’s going to be a fun day so come
along if you can.
Hi guys & girls
I hope your tank has been flourishing over the
past month.
Welcome to all our new members. Hope to see
you at the Amazing Race or one of our upcoming
meeting.
This month’s meeting is at my place in Forrestfield
- my 4 footer is only new (about 6 months) so is
quite bare!
Shona Whaite
This Sunday is the MASWA Amazing Race –
there is still time to enter if you haven’t already.
Inside this Issue....
MASWA Calendar
Upcoming Meeting Information
MASWA Contact Information
Fishy Links & News
Classifieds
MASWA Amazing Race
MASWA Message Board
Feature Article
Did You Know …
MASWA Sponsors
Last Months Meeting Rundown
Eye Candy
RTAW Reefpedia
This wiki has been established as
an encyclopaedia of reef keeping by the
Marine Aquarium Societies of Australia (MASA).
The Marine Aquarists Society of WA is a name that we, as a group of friends with like interests have applied to ourselves for the purpose of information exchange. No one person,
nor the group as a whole, can be held responsible for liabilities, injuries or other that may result either directly or indirectly as a result of our gatherings or the information exchange
therein. The same applies to the information contained in this newsletter.
1
MASWA Calendar....
9:30am, Sunday 28th October – MASWA Amazing Race
Kings Park
7:30pm, Wednesday 31st October – Shona Whaite
29 Connaught St, Forrestfield
Guest Speaker!
Sunday 2nd December – Christmas & AGM Meeting
Chris Sutton - Warnbro
November – no events
MASWA Contact Information....
COMMITTEE – 2007
Acting Newsletter Editor – Newsletter Submissions
Shona Whaite – 0428 746 620
[email protected]
WEB ADDRESS
www.masa.asn.au/masa/maswa
EMAIL
[email protected]
Web Editor – Web Page Enquiries
Shona Whaite – 0428 746 620
[email protected]
President – General Enquiries
Stuart Hoskin - 0413 315 059
[email protected]
Social Coordinator – meeting venues, advertising
enquiries, raffle donations, even ”just to be sociable”
Maria White – 0416 206 647
[email protected]
Vice President – General Enquiries
Heath Boucher – 0416 240 115
[email protected]
Frag Fest Co-ordinator
Ronald Tan – 9304 7890
[email protected]
Treasurer – Treasury/Payment Enquiries
Paul Tayler - 0419 908 264
[email protected]
Secretary – Membership Enquiries
Chris Sutton – 0419 858 108
[email protected]
MEMBERSHIP PAYMENTS
Cheque/money order: Make payable to MASWA
Postal Address:
EFT: BSB 086-136, A/C 8724 73681
A/C name: MASWA Inc.
(please include your name on all EFT transfers!)
MASWA
c/o Paul Tayler
PO Box 7185
Shenton Park, WA 6008
Cash: Make cash payment in person only.
Classifieds
Omnipure OMB-934-10M coconut carbon filter
cartridge and 1 micron polyspun cartridge from
PSI for sale. $18 for a set of cartridges (carbon
& polyspun) suitable for all PSI RO systems.
Contact: Ronald Tan - 9304 7890 or
email [email protected]
Your stuff for sale here!
Please try to keep it aquarium related
(equipment, fish, corals, etc)
Email a committee member to get
your ad shown!
The Marine Aquarists Society of WA is a name that we, as a group of friends with like interests have applied to ourselves for the purpose of information exchange. No one person,
nor the group as a whole, can be held responsible for liabilities, injuries or other that may result either directly or indirectly as a result of our gatherings or the information exchange
therein. The same applies to the information contained in this newsletter.
2
MASWA Message Board....
YEARLY PHOTO COMPETITION
MASWA TEST KITS - Free water testing
Our yearly Photo Competition is still running!
Photos can be submitted at meetings or via
email. The topic is obviously your aquarium, but
it can be single fish, a prized coral, or a full tank
shot.
MASWA members are able to bring along water
samples to any meeting and test their water.
Prizes will be as follows:
The kits are mainly Salifert tests and include
pH, Calcium, Carbonate Hardness/ Alkalinity,
Nitrate and Silicate.
This is handy to verify your own test kits, or to try a
kit you don’t have at home.
1st place: A reefing book.
2nd place: LFS voucher
3rd place: One year MASWA Memership
Chris also brings along his Phosphate Light Meter
and MASWA now has a Refractometer to test the
salinity of your water.
Photos have to be
submitted by the end of
November, and the
judge’s decision will be
announced at the
Christmas Meeting.
This is a great free
resource so be sure to
take advantage of it.
If you are unsure of how
to test your water, bring
along about 100ml and
ask for help (also free!)
Email your entries to a committee member
today!
Did You Know?
What Do Fish See?
Most fish have an adequate sense of vision, but
this is usually not so impressive as their sense of
smell and ability to detect vibrations through their
lateral lines. Fish usually use their sense of
hearing or smell to initially perceive their prey, and
then use their vision only in the final attack. Most
fish can see in low-light conditions or dirty water,
and a few can see objects over moderately long
distances. Fish such as tuna have especially good
vision; others less so. Fish are usually
nearsighted, although it is believed that sharks are
farsighted.
“Scientists really do
not know exactly
what fish see, or in
other words, what
images reach their
brains. Most
research on the vision of fish is done either by
physical or chemical examination of different parts
of their eyes or by determining how laboratory fish
respond to various images or stimuli. Making
broad generalizations about a fish's vision is
complicated by the fact that different species may
have different vision capabilities and that
laboratory results may not represent what
happens in the real world of an ocean, lake, or
river.
The majority of fish have developed eyes that will
detect the type of colors typical of their
environment. For example, inshore fish have good
color vision, whereas offshore pelagic fish have
limited color vision and detect only a few if any
colors other than black and white. This is not
surprising from an evolutionary point of view,
because nearshore waters are lit with many
colors; offshore waters, on the other hand, are
mainly blue or green and contain few other
colors.”
Physical studies of the eyes and retinas of fish
show that the majority can obtain a clearly
focused image, detect motion, and have good
contrast-detection ability. A limited number of
experiments have shown that a minimum level of
light is necessary before a fish can recognize
colors.
From:
http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/science/ross_color_2.aspx
The Marine Aquarists Society of WA is a name that we, as a group of friends with like interests have applied to ourselves for the purpose of information exchange. No one person,
nor the group as a whole, can be held responsible for liabilities, injuries or other that may result either directly or indirectly as a result of our gatherings or the information exchange
therein. The same applies to the information contained in this newsletter.
3
Last Months Meeting Rundown...
A good turnout for the Special Raffle Night that
was held at Chris's work. Chris has a 3600mm x
760mm x 760mm mixed reef tank that was (he
thinks) original from Cicirello's in Fremantle.
Being a Special Raffle Meeting there was quite a
few happy members who were lucky enough to
pick up a book, voucher or donated product and
there weren’t many who went without. A good
night for all.
Unfortunately with the lights normally out at 5pm
every day the fish seemed reluctant to show
themselves but only to a lucky few but Chris
assured us that there were some in there.
Thanks Chris, Maria and (Chris’ brother) Peter for
hosting a great night.
Congratulations to Joe on winning the doorprize.
The tank is a basic reef setup with only LR and a
Skimmer for filtering, tap water for top up and
Lime water for additive Ca. It has 2 x 220ltr tubs
underneath for sumps housing a DIY Beckett
skimmer, Remote Deep Sand Bed. Heating and
cooling is via the 3hp reverse Air Con in the room.
Also to voucher & prize winners Lee, Sam, Matt,
Joe, Steve, Beth, Ron, Halszka, Gavin, Chris W,
Chris S, Herbs, Nick & Alex.
The Marine Aquarists Society of WA is a name that we, as a group of friends with like interests have applied to ourselves for the purpose of information exchange. No one person,
nor the group as a whole, can be held responsible for liabilities, injuries or other that may result either directly or indirectly as a result of our gatherings or the information exchange
therein. The same applies to the information contained in this newsletter.
4
Upcoming Meeting Information..…
This month’s meeting is at Shona’s place in
Forrestfield. The tank is a 4’ x 2’ x 1.5’, no sump,
and HOB skimmer.
Formalities to the meeting will be:
President address
Introduce new members
Door prize
Host’s Talk on Tank
Guest Speaker
Water Results
General Discussion
Raffle Drawn
Wind-up
The tank is fairly new so still quite empty! (feel
free to bring along additions ☺)
The address is 29 Connaught St, Forrestfield, and
the meeting starts at 7:30pm.
(map courtesy of whereis.com)
This meeting we are pleased to welcome Dr
Jessica Meeuwig as our Guest Speaker. Jessica
is a lecturer at UWA and will be giving a talk on
why choosing tank bred livestock (over wild
caught) is a good idea.
Hope to see you all there!
Fishy Links And News
From ‘Reefing the Australian Way’ Forum …
Sun coral appreciation thread!
Heres some pics of mine...after a month of regular
feeding its doing great...
Chiller, any alternatives?
Hi guys my tank is starting to warm up, I basically
have had the heater off now for about a week and
the temp is staying in the high27's.
RTAW Monthly Photo Competition
Go to the Photography Forum for full details on
how to enter, rules & prizes!
Storing and filtering NSW
I want to collect and store water when the quality
is good, but I also want to keep it in top condition
for over 2 months…
Who runs skimmerless? To skim or not to?
I have had my setup running for a year and a half
now and i have always skimmed. I have been
running skimmerless for about a month now…
Ron Shimek – Online courses
Dr Ron Shimek is running three 10 week courses
starting November.
1. Sand Beds – In Theory and In Practice
2. Invertebrate Zoology For Reef Aquarists
3. Invertebrate Embryology & Larval Biology for
Reef Aquarists
Around the World …
www.afishconvention.org
The Aquarium Federation Of Independent
Societies and Hobbyists (AFISH) Convention will
be held in Long Island, USA from 9-11 November
2007.
The Marine Aquarists Society of WA is a name that we, as a group of friends with like interests have applied to ourselves for the purpose of information exchange. No one person,
nor the group as a whole, can be held responsible for liabilities, injuries or other that may result either directly or indirectly as a result of our gatherings or the information exchange
therein. The same applies to the information contained in this newsletter.
5
MASWA Amazing Race!
9:30am, SUNDAY 28th October 2007
Kings Park – Pine Picnic & BBQ area (on the right hand side just
up from the main entrance)
ENTRANTS: Meet at the above spot at 9:30am. You will need to
bring a hat, sunscreen, pants or shorts (no skirts!), camera or camera
phone, a pen and a road map of Perth (UBD).
Don’t forget that DAYLIGHT SAVINGS starts at 2am on the Sunday,
so remember to put your clock forward otherwise you will be late and arrive at 10:30!
If you haven’t entered yet, there is still time!
All you have to do is organise teams of four (family and friends welcome). There is a registration form to fill in
(see below) and a $10.00 fee per vehicle/team. If you would like to be in it but don't have a team I will be
happy to help place you within one. The day will be an adventure in itself - we will be starting and ending at
Kings Park.
If you've seen the show I’m sure you’ll get the idea. We will wind up with a social BBQ provided by MASWA,
with some great prizes at the end. So get busy organising your teams, you wont be disappointed!
Registration forms can be emailed to [email protected] or faxed to 9527 2799
The entry fee can be paid on the day. It will be a great day - hope to see you there. Maria White
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MASWA AMAZING RACE - Registration Form
Entry fee: $10 per team
Team Name
Plate #
Car Make
Licence number
DRIVER Name
Mobile Number
Signature
Team member # 2
Name
Mobile Number
Signature
Team member # 3
Name
Mobile Number
Signature
Team member # 4
Name
Signature
Mobile Number
(leave team members section blank if you would like us to organise a team for you)
The Marine Aquarists Society of WA is a name that we, as a group of friends with like interests have applied to ourselves for the purpose of information exchange. No one person,
nor the group as a whole, can be held responsible for liabilities, injuries or other that may result either directly or indirectly as a result of our gatherings or the information exchange
therein. The same applies to the information contained in this newsletter.
6
Feature Article
Turbo’s Trade Secrets
** Peter Sperling (aka Turbo) is the Marine Aquarium Society of
Queensland’s resident DIY guy – this article was reproduced with
permission. **
DIY Tunze / powerhead magnet holder
For those of you who like to save a few dollars and have a go at DIY projects this one is a very
easy one to do. We all know how frustrating it is at times when those rotten suction caps holding
your power heads to the glass wall of the tank start loosing there grip and sliding all over the place
and eventually failing to hold there suction altogether.
Well this DIY project will put an end to all your dilemmas. All you will
need is some strong magnet glass cleaners, some super glue and
some 80 grit or simular sand paper. I started by buying some cheap
large magnet glass cleaners from a seller on eBay for ten dollars
each which was really good value for money as they retail in LFS
shops for around the thirty dollar mark. The idea is to glue the Tunze
bracket or if you’re doing a power head the bracket that holds the
pump to the glass, this bracket
usually detaches from the pump fairly easily.
The first step is to prepare the surfaces to be glued by roughing them up with the 80 grit sand
paper as this gives the super glue a strong bond, once you’ve done that it’s just a matter of working
out the best position for the mounting bracket and gluing them together with the superglue. Leave it
to dry for 24 hours and away you go one very cheap but effective magnet holder. I find them to be
very effective and work well, they don’t move around once you’ve put them in place and if you want
move there position in the tank its just a matter of moving the outside magnet, no need to get your
hands wet.
LEFT: magnet glued to the mounting bracket; RIGHT: magnet & bracket fitted to the pump.
The Marine Aquarists Society of WA is a name that we, as a group of friends with like interests have applied to ourselves for the purpose of information exchange. No one person,
nor the group as a whole, can be held responsible for liabilities, injuries or other that may result either directly or indirectly as a result of our gatherings or the information exchange
therein. The same applies to the information contained in this newsletter.
7
MASWA Sponsors....
MASWA now has TEN commercial sponsors! MASWA sponsors receive an advertisement (for monthly
specials, etc) and a banner in the newsletter each month. Depending upon what has been agreed with the
sponsor they may offer MASWA such things as member discounts, donations of goods, gift vouchers or
special offers.
Advertisements in The Living Reef do not necessarily reflect MASWA endorsement of any product, service
or advice offered by the advertised business. If you are interested in becoming a MASWA Sponsor, please
contact Maria White (Social Coordinator) on 0416 206 647 or email: [email protected]
Aquatic Rocks has kindly donated a door prize for the MASWA
meetings
Aquatic Rocks products available from:
Midland Pet Aquarium Center - 205 Great Eastern Hwy Midland
Aquaria Australia Warehouse - www.aquaria.com.au
Fremantle Ocean Farm generously donate one free water
change to all new members who join MASWA, and 2 free water
changes vouchers for the raffles
Perth Aquarium & Display Centre - www.perthaquarium.com.au
1234 Albany Hwy, Cannington
Pisces: Unit 3/11 Augusta St, Willeton
Oceanarium has generously donated corals for Frag Fests,
Demonstrations and Raffles
A P.O. Box 283, Quinn’s Rocks, Western Australia, 6030.
W www.oceanarium.com.au
Ph 0427 941 126
E [email protected]
E [email protected] Fax (08) 9305 9891
Suppliers of marine aquarium specimens and accessories
throughout Australia. Our mission statement is to supply you with
quality specimens you can confidently order over the Internet
knowing they will arrive in a healthy condition.
Rocky Reef Marine has generously donated gift vouchers
and products for the MASWA raffles. Come and see Martin and
Marc and show your MASWA member card for a 10% discount.
Suppliers of quality net caught fish from Vanuatu and the
Islands. Large selection of corals and inverts.
Veba’s generously donates prizes for the MASWA raffles
A Cnr Carrington & Forsyth St, O'Connor WA 6163
W www.vebas.com.au Ph (08) 9314 7630
Aqua FarmZ has generously donated raffle prizes. Aqua FarmZ
supplies high end quality equipment such as BubbleKing and
ZeoVit.
E [email protected]
Open 7 Days 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM (Thurs 8:00 AM - 8:30 PM)
Sponsors continued below…
The Marine Aquarists Society of WA is a name that we, as a group of friends with like interests have applied to ourselves for the purpose of information exchange. No one person,
nor the group as a whole, can be held responsible for liabilities, injuries or other that may result either directly or indirectly as a result of our gatherings or the information exchange
therein. The same applies to the information contained in this newsletter.
8
Perth Aquarium and Display Centre generously
donate gift vouchers for the MASWA raffles
W www.perthaquarium.com.au
Tucunare Aquatic Services generously
donate gift vouchers for the MASWA raffles,
and give MASWA members a 10% discount
on dry goods.
W www.tucunareaquatics.com, E [email protected], Ph / Fax 08 9594 1787, Mob 0402 496 146
Manta Marine generously donate gift vouchers for the MASWA raffles.
A 2 Carson Rd, Malaga WA 6090
Ph (08) 9249 4668
Aquarium Artists Australia generously donate gift
vouchers for the MASWA raffles.
A 2/ 712 Ranford Rd, Southern River WA 6110
E [email protected] Ph (08) 9490 9900
Eye Candy....
Reefkeeping’s Tank of the Month - October 2007….
Check out
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-10/totm/
for the full write up and more pics.
The Marine Aquarists Society of WA is a name that we, as a group of friends with like interests have applied to ourselves for the purpose of information exchange. No one person,
nor the group as a whole, can be held responsible for liabilities, injuries or other that may result either directly or indirectly as a result of our gatherings or the information exchange
therein. The same applies to the information contained in this newsletter.
9