We would like to thank everyone who attended the February meeting, it was a huge success with 40 people in attendance and 22 taking part in the DIY Coral Cutting. It was an opportunity to learn how to cut coral and also take some frags home. A special thanks goes to SeaUMarine for providing the corals, and Fred, Steve, Jeff, Bryan, John and Russ for assisting in the cutting.
Below are pictures from this year’s event. Hope to see you at next month’s meeting!
MAST is excited to announce that Ret Talbot will be speaking for MAST on April 21, 2012. Save the date! More details to come including venue and post-event banquet.
Here’s a brief on his talk:
Reef to Reef Tank: Sustainability and the Marine Aquarium Trade – This talk lifts the veil and gives the aquarist a glimpse into what goes into bringing a sustainably-collected fish, coral or other invertebrate from the ocean to the home aquarium.
Based on Talbot’s travels across the Pacific reporting on marine aquarium fisheries for CORAL Magazine, this talk looks at the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the marine aquarium trade on developing island nations and gives aquarists interested in using their purchasing power to support sustainability some hands-on tools they can start using right away. The talk is also a primer on the state of the marine aquarium trade within the context of legislation and litigation intent on closing marine aquarium fisheries and even the hobby in the United States. While this talk addresses some important issues head-on, it is not short on beautiful images and compelling stories about the animals marine aquarists love and how they reach aquaria around the world from some very remote corners of the globe. Some of Ret’s photography featured in the presentation will be available for sale after the talk, as will Karen Talbot’s reef-related scientific illustrations and fine art.
More the speaker:
Ret Talbot is an award-winning freelance writer and photographer who frequently reports on the marine aquarium industry. Most often addressing topics at the intersection of the hobby, science and conservation, Talbot is a strong advocate for a robust and sustainable marine aquarium trade where aquarists serve a critical role on the front line of reef conservation. As a marketing consultant and editor, he has worked with many leading marine aquarium companies to promote that vision. When he isn’t writing about saltwater aquaria (or tending to one of his five tanks), Ret is often fly fishing in either salt- or freshwater and writing about conservation issues related to angling and healthy fisheries.
Trained as a writer, Ret holds degrees in writing from both Wheaton College (Massachusetts) and the University of St. Andrews (Scotland). He has travelled the world as a mountaineering and fishing guide, as well as a writer seeking out stories in some of the most remote and inaccessible regions on the face of the Earth. His aquarium-related books include The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Saltwater Aquariums (September 2009) andCoral (forthcoming). His aquarium articles can be found in print publications such as Coral Magazine, where he is a senior editor. Ret and his wife Karen, an artist known for her scientific illustrations of fishes, split their time between Laguna Beach, California and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Nominations are being sought for all positions of the MAST Executive Board for a one-year term, June 2012 to June 2013.
PRESIDENT, VICE-PRESIDENT, TREASURER, 4 DIRECTOR POSITIONS
Nominations for candidates to stand for election must be proposed and seconded in writing by MAST members in good standing as defined in the MAST Constitution and must be accompanied by the written consent of the nominee(s) to any current MAST Executive Board Member. Emails are acceptable.
For a member to be eligible to run for the Executive Board, they must be a member in good-standing as of 15 March 2012.
Elections will take place at the Annual General Meeting, Wednesday, 12 June 2012, at the Hillcrest Library, 5801 Leslie Street, Toronto at 7:30pm SHARP.
Nominations will be accepted up to 1 May 2012. Please send nominations to info@mastcanada.org.
Chingchai’s Method for Curing New Live Rock
You need the following equipment:
- suitable size container (plastic garbage cans work well)
- protein skimmer (it will get a major workout)
- powerheads
- good quality salt mix
- a small scrub brush
- ammonia, nitrite, nitrate test kits
The basic method is as follows:
- scrub off any sponges and soft corals that have turned black
- water should have pH at 8.2-8.4 and S.G. at 1.023-1.025
- no lights for 7-10 days to avoid an algae bloom (high nutrients)
- keep water heated (74-80F°)
- do not do any water changes until Ammonia and Nitrites tests both read zero. Then do a 50-75% water change, vacuuming up as much loose sediment as possible.
- provide plenty of water movement within the container (powerheads)
- provide plenty of oxygenation in the water (done by skimmer which will need frequent cleaning)
The curing process will take 2-4 weeks depending on the amount of die-off on your rock and the effectiveness of your protein skimmer.
A simple but very effective treatment for eliminating unwanted critters in your Live Rock is to dip each piece in a bucket of very saline water (SG 1.030) for a few moments. Mantis shrimp will quickly
evacuate the rock. Bristle worms will also crawl out and can be pulled from their holes with a pair of tweezers.
January’s meeting was an intro to diving by divemaster Brian Burgener of Colt Creek Diving. Brian was kind enough to share some of the pictures from his collection. Enjoy these ocean shots!
MAST gratefully acknowledges Aquatic Kingdom again this year supporting our members. Daniel, the owner is offering a special discount on livestock for MAST members. Starting in December, during the week of each meeting, Aquatic Kingdom will give 20% off all livestock to anyone with a valid MAST membership card. Discounts will be honoured starting on the Monday the same week of the MAST meeting and continues to the following Sunday. For December, the discount period runs from the 12th until the 18th
The Marine Aquarium Conference of North America is one of the premier conferences for marine aquarium enthusiasts. Each year thousands of fans of captive reefs congregate on the host city to hear talks, check out the new trends in reef keeping and meet up with old friends.
While recent MACNAs have largely been held in the United States, it might be a surprise to some MAST members to learn that MAST held the very first MACNA back in 1989.
Here’s a list of previous host cities:
| * XXIII Des Moines, IA (2011) * XXII Orlando, FL (2010) * XXI Atlantic City, NJ (2009) * XX Atlanta, GA (2008) * XIX Pittsburgh, PA (2007) * XVIII Houston, TX (2006) * XVII Washington DC (2005) * XVI Boston, MA (2004) * XV Louisville, KY (2003) * XIV Ft Worth, TX (2002) * XIII Baltimore, MD (2001) |
* XII Ft Lauderdale, FL (2000) * XI Louisville, KY (1999) * X Los Angeles, CA (1998) * IX Chicago, IL (1997) * VIII Kansas City, MO (1996) * VII Louisville, KY (1995) * VI Cleveland, OH (1994) * V Toronto, Canada (1993) * IV Miami, FL (1992) * III New Jersey (1991) * II Aurora, OH (1990) * I Toronto, Canada (1989) |
This year MACNA will be hosted in Dallas/Fort Worth. There’s an early bird sale price of $109.99 US so sign up soon and save. There’s also plenty of travel information for Dallas along with deals on hotels. I’ve already purchased my tickets, so I hope to see you there!
