CCKS Starts 2013 With New Leadership

The newsletter for the Central California Koi Society
http://www.cencalkoi.com
P U B L I S H E D
M O N T H L Y
F E B R U A R Y
2 0 1 3
CCKS Starts 2013 With New Leadership
It seems we’ve survived the latest apocalypse and our moving steadily into the future. The CCKS
does it with new leadership. Rosimeri Tran is now in the Captain’s chair and we expect from her
the kind of expert leadership we knew under our last president, Greg Mariano. Lou Weaver
will assist her as Vice President, with Sandy Winn serving as Secretary and Seng Tran as Treasurer. Tony Palazzo and Dale Winn are the board members with one seat vacant.
Our new president hopes to engage us on a new level and is looking at a number of options to
bring us closer together as we learn new things about koi, koi husbandry, and the various ins-andouts of koi keeping.
This year we also will host the annual joint meeting with our sister club in Bakersfield. At this
point there are no concrete plans, but it is something to keep in mind for the near future. As the
relationship grows between our two clubs, we are finding new connections and sources of
knowledge. These meetings are definitely a highlight in our club and expectations are high for this
year’s meeting as well. Stay tuned for more details.
On a final note, I must issue an apology to anyone wondering where their December newsletter
went. Sadly, it never shipped. The pressures of the holidays were such that, by the time I realized
the newsletter needed to be done, it was already a week and a half late. As it worked out, we
decided to carry content to the February newsletter and resolve not to be late again.
What’s Inside
New Leadership
1
The Tail End
2
Board Meeting
3
Minutes
Meeting Map
3
Interesting Stuff
4
President’s Message
5
Board Members
5
KHA Corner
6
Message From Greg
6
(Continued on page 2)
The Tail End
By Amanda Bulls-Stephens
1130 N Fulton St. Fresno, CA 93728 559-237-8479
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January Board Meeting
Sandy Winn
January 24, 2013
Board meeting was held January 24, 2013. At Rosimeri and Seng Tran’s home. In attendance was :
Rosimeri Tran
Seng Tran
Lou Weaver
Tony Palazzo
Dale Winn
Sandy Winn
No one absent. First meeting of the new year. New Board. Rosimeri started meeting. Seng reported the treasurers report and
stated the our balance is
$4,669.66. Rosimeri discussed that we need to file paper work to become non profit corporation. Tony will be following up with
that. Lou Weaver will be chair person for the Koi show this year. As in the past Koi show will be last weekend of Sept.
We are in need of one other board member. Talked about getting new club members. During the February general meeting we
will talk more about the pond tour. If we want to have it or not. Club won speaker grant which means we will be able to have a
speaker at a general meeting. Discussed the club having a booth at the home and garden show. Decided it was not worth it to go.
Discussed meeting to be more information about ponds, filtration. Making meetings more social and fun, having field trips, socials,
pizza night so forth. Would like to see news letter out by first of month.
Tuesday Feb 12, 2013 will be the general meeting at Seng and Rosimeri Tran home at 7:00 pm
Next Board meeting will be Feb 19 at Dale and Sandy Winn’s home at 6:30
February General Meeting
Our February general meeting will be at the home of Rosimeri and Seng Tran, on Tuesday, February 12 at 7:00 p.m., You can
find them at 5832 E. Erin Ave. Fresno, CA 93727
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Ultra Balance Koi Foods
wants your koi hobbyists stories
I’m sure everyone of you has a unique story to tell regarding experiences you have had since you began this crazy
hobby, both good and bad. Star Milling / Ultra Balance Premium Koi Foods would like to publish your stories on their
website www.koifood.com. Check out their website. Under
the Library link you be able to get an idea. If you’re interested please send your stories to Connie at the following address: [email protected]. I’m sure we will all enjoy reading
them! A short story and a photo (pdf) is all we need. Please
feel free to email me if you have any questions :}
1630 HERNDON AVE, CLOVIS CA 93611
(559) 298-1496
Dealers of Mazuri Koi Food
POND MAINTENANCE
If you have ever used or are using a pond
maintenance or repair service, please share what you
know. We have members, prospective members, and
the public asking frequently for references, suggestions, or just any information about anyone in this
business. Pond maintenance companies allow us to
relax a bit with our ponding duties, but we have to find
one first. If you have anything to contribute, please
send us an e-mail at
[email protected]
or announce it at the next meeting.
Newsletter advertiser
Mike Przewoznik of
Sumner Avenue Water
ant!
t
r
o
Garden offers the folImp
lowing to CCKS members: “I would like to
support your club and I
appreciate the business I have
received from you and your club
members. I would like to initiate the following
program for your club members going forward: Free
shipping on orders $50 or more. Club members can
combine orders to reach the $75 if they wish as long
as I ship to one address. Items that require truck shipping or items that are extremely heavy will be looked
at on case by case situation.”
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Club Officers
President
President’s Corner
Rosimeri Tran
559 454-0804
[email protected]
Vice President
Lou Weaver
559-298-9665
[email protected]
Secretary
Sandy Winn
559 438-6648
[email protected]
Treasurer
Seng Tran
559-454-0804
[email protected]
Board Director
Tony Palazzo
559-435-7438
[email protected]
Board Director
Dale Winn
559 438-6648
[email protected]
Board Director
Vacant
Newsletter Editors
Amanda Bulls-Stephens
Sean Stephens
559-859-4816
[email protected]
Feature Writers
Rosimary Tran
President Rosimeri Tran
Well hello there! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday
season and hope the family is well and that your koi are holding up as well in this cold weather. Thanks to everyone for
encouraging me to run for President and I look forward to
bringing this club into the mainstream and making our
meetings more informative regarding koi health along with
pond care. I have many ideas coming into the New Year regarding how we can have fun at our monthly meetings along
with incorporating field trips throughout the year to various
koi shows and koi vendors if club members would be interested.
What’s great about this club is that everyone is welcomed into the club like a family member. That is how I felt when I first joined in 2008, the meetings were a great way to meet other club members and inquire about their pond and their system of maintaining their koi. Our
club is full of knowledgeable members who have learned from experience the dos and don’ts
of pond care. So if you haven’t attended a meeting in a while, please join us at our first
meeting of the year on Tuesday, February 12th at 7:00 p.m. at my home at 5832 E. Erin Ave,
Fresno 93727. Come join us as we open up our meeting with the plans for 2013, such as our
39th koi show, wow 39 years, not many clubs can say that.
We are always looking forward to our koi show and need lots of volunteers so keep your
ears open throughout the coming months as we will be discussing this in more details in the
upcoming meetings. We also have a joint meeting with our sister club, The Bakersfield Koi
and Watergarden Society coming up this summer, probably sometime in May or June, this is
another fun time to mingle with the Bakersfield club and enjoy good food, and of course we
always have great raffle items to be won. Our club won the AKCA speaker grant last year and
I am in the works with scheduling a speaker prior to the June deadline, so if you have any
suggestions, or if there is something in particular you would like discussed or demonstrated,
please let myself or any one of the board know.
So in closing, I hope everyone can make it to the meetings this year, come share some good
times, learn more about the koi you keep, and how to make their pond environment a happy
place for them and their owners. Remember, we are all in this together. No question is too
silly or complex. What I can guarantee you,
as your President, if I don’t know the answer,
I will find someone who does. Let’s pull our
resources together and share our ideas and
let’s make this club shine and prosper while
having fun at the same time, sounds like a
plan to me. Take care and I hope to see you
at a meeting soon.
Koi Health Advisors
Tom Callahan
Greg Mariano
Seng Tran
Rosimery Tran
Artwork
Amanda Bulls-Stephens
(The Tail End)
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KHA Corner: Digital Salt Meters
Rosimeri Tran, Certified KHA
There are many of us who have purchased digital salt meters to help us in measuring the salt content of our pond water. These
are great gadgets as opposed to the old chemical tests, but there are flaws with them, as in anything. They require calibration to
keep the readings accurate; they need to be rinsed after each use as the salt can damage the salt reading element. Also the batteries need to be replaced, at least once a year, depending on use. Otherwise these are handy tools to help us in reading the salt content of the pond. The more accurate the reading, the better it is for our little koi friends.
One thing that Seng and I have come across is that no two salt meters will read exactly the same. The older the salt meter, it
seems, the lower the reading than a newer one that has not been used as frequently. Does that mean we have to replace them?
That all depends on how old your salt meter is and how many times you have been using it. As with most electronics, the wear
and tear will make its use less effective. So if the reading you are getting is way off from another salt meter or chemical salt test,
then yes, you will need to purchase a new salt meter, so as to avoid any mistakes that could be detrimental to your koi. But if the
reading is somewhat close, your best bet is to keep the salt meter calibrated along with having a secondary salt tester such as the
chemical ones we have used in the past, just to get two different readings. Adding salt to the pond such as in the spring when
those pesky bugs are starting to come alive is not the time to find out that the salt meter is not reading accurately, this could be
detrimental to our koi friends., as too much salt, can not only kill the parasites and bugs but also our little koi friends.
The digital salt meter that we are using has an accuracy of +/- of .03%; I have yet to see two salt meters read exactly the same.
The salt meters have electronic probes which measure the salt content and if these probes are fouled up by buildup of salt or calcium by not rinsing properly, then this will dampen their effectiveness. All digital meters should be rinsed immediately after use
with either distilled water or tap water. Soaking for a few hours is sufficient to remove the salt content.
Calibrating the digital salt meters needs to be done with specific calibration fluid that should be for that specific salt meter. I use
the Koi Medic salt meter and use calibration solution #3005 which is a .05%/5ppt solution, the directions come with the tester, it is
fairly easy. This solution is widely available from various online koi/pond distributors. I would recommend calibration at least once
per year or twice per year if used excessively.
So in closing, we need the right tools to keep the water environment right for our koi friends, digital salt meters are a good investment, but also we need to know that their accuracy may not be exactly what the pond water is reading. Having a secondary
form of testing that water, i.e. chemical salt test kit, will help answer those questions.
Outgoing President’s Message
Greg Mariano
Season’s Greetings dear friends and fellow koi lovers. As you may know, I missed a couple of general
and board of director’s meetings. I don’t like missing meetings but it just couldn’t be helped. I thank Dale,
Rosimeri and the rest of the gang for carrying on without me.
The year is drawing to an end and so is my two year term as CCKS president. My term as club president
has been tiring but also very rewarding. I loved it and hated it but all in all, I’m glad I got to experience it.
Most of all, I loved the time I spent with you and all the friends I made both within the Fresno area and
throughout the USA and Canada. I’ll never forget the special relationships I’ve had with many of you in
the club and those in northern and southern California and Bakersfield. I think I made some good accomplishments but none of them could have happened without you and the help of the officers, board of directors and the newsletter editors. Those helping me the most will be leading the club next year. And to
you members of other clubs and especially to those running the AKCA, it wouldn’t have been as much fun without you. I hope we
will see each other throughout the years.
On a more somber note, before closing, dear friend and CCKS member Dick Hoe passed away while Gloria and I were out of
state. His memorial service was on December 6th. Please extend your condolences to his loving wife Gloria. Our thoughts and
prayers go with her and the family.
Okay, I’ll be signing off. Mele Kalikimaka and Happy New Year.
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