caferacermike

I sure hope it's not this one, Stardust Blue Watermelon Chalice.... You could be infringing upon a patented coral.

There is a huge topic area for "group buys" in the "want to buy" area of the forum. All you need to do is pick a vendor, work out the shipping and collect the money. How about just thumbing through a current one and buy a few items with an open group order? Or at least figure out whom you'd like to do business with.

Please PM me address and contact info so I know where to go.

Actually that is all to common. In fact it's for reasons just like this that I can get them. They tend to ship all the time as "dwarf" so many vendors get stuck with them. How do you think we get so many mantis shrimps? Just like blue rings they hitch a ride in some rock and from time to time they emerge at the wholesalers.

LOL so you think it's worthless as well? We might be able to split it soon.

Check with Brian, Green Mako. His pink birdsnest colony is about 16"x16"x7" , he is looking to sell it. I'm not sure if it was ORA stock but most of his livestock was the best of the best for sure.

Oh ok I see. Well after a second look it might be Xenia.

AZ carpet anemones range anywhere from $25-400 in price if that is what you were referring to. The Dome regularly sells "pizza" or saddled carpets that are very nice on the eyes for $60. Plain green ones tend to sell for $50 or less. I once tried a blue carpet and only paid $80 for it. Sure they are listed for $200 or so but you just have to know where to look. Carpets are difficult and the few that I have tried seem to whither away after about 6-7 months. Usually retreating behind some rock work and then not getting enough light. If you purchase a carpet it should be STICKY. Very very sticky. If it's not sticky, don't buy it.

Whew you made me laugh... You say that you are wondering what you have to show for all your money..... I once had this hobby I called a 401k. See I put 20% of my income into this "other" money pit and I don't even get to touch it. Last I looked I was broke. At least with my tank it gives me something to do.

Looks like GSP to me.

Sorry "Pokey" and I are old friends.

Dena years ago the colony of euphyllia that you refer to was known as "ScubaSteve's hybrid". Steve hasn't been active in the hobby for several years now. He sold all of his remaining pieces to Prof. It used to be very common in San Antonio but it seems that a couple of years ago the folks that had frags/colonies lost them. In the Austin area I only knew of Brian and myself having any. Take good care of it and please pass frags around so that we don't lose this interesting specimen. It was thought to be a hybrid of torch and hammer. My pieces have begun to look only like torch corals at this point but the way the skeleton grows still implies hammer.

A lot of the corals at Brian's have been through hell the last 2 days with the amount of cutting going on. If your piece has not gone away completely as of yet try sealing the good edges with super glue and try adding Iodide, (Lugol's), to your water as it's antiseptic qualities can help stave off infection. Most of our frags are what I'd call "double cut" right now. Meaning that some lucky ******* beat us to the "tips". Being as they have been cut, say an hour before you got there, and are fresh on BOTH ends, I always like to seal the tops with super glue to prevent infections. You also used a 2 part epoxy to mount your frag, I feel it is a big no-no. First you have to mash the frag into it with your finger tips. The pressure you place upon the frag can easily destroy it's delicate outer tissue. Handling frags should be as little as possible. Using super glue gel allows you to quickly place the frag unto a plug or small rock and allow it to set without squeezing it to death. Another frequent problem with 2 part epoxy is that it tends to heat up rapidly once mixed. It can, and has been shown to, burn away the delicate tissue near where it is inserted. This allows infections and algae to set in on the frag. I hope your frag can recover, thankfully the prices were beyond reasonable and we all knew we were taking a bit of a risk as the original post did outline some of the problems being encountered, thus the reason for the tank tear-down. Talk to Brian, if he can he will probably try to help you. I bought 2 frags of Oregon Tort only to lose one last night myself. If possible I will either buy 2 frags or 1 large frag so that I can cut it. This way I can place 2 frags in my tank at differing locations hoping that one will make it if not both.

He has about 3 wheelbarrows full of rubble. Dry rock is cheaper than that Marco guy for sure. And no shipping.

Made a second trip today. You better get there quick before I go back and buy it all.

I'd like to come get it after my Bday party at 3:00. I could be up there maybe around 6:00pm. I live in RR so Gtown is close enough. Please PM me back if you'll hold it for me and contact info. Thanks, Mike.

Another good way to display your pieces is to bring them in the little ziplock tubs with the screw on lids. I forgot how handy they were, even when I wrote the above ideas, and yet last night I went out with 20 of them to Brian's house to transport frags home in. The nice thing is that you can open them and look directly at the frag instead of through a bag.

Heck yeah Mark. Thanks for volunteering to start a thread and outline it with a template such as above, for previewing frags, fish, inverts, and equipment. Update this thread once you started it. Where to put it, "General Discussions"?

Some ideas I've had for frag swaps. 1. All bags shall be well marked. Use a Sharpie to label the bag with your name, description of the coral IE: Ultra Gonzo LE Soli "RARE", or Green Slimer, or if all you have is "red SPS, grows fast" that will work so long as it is labeled, and what you want for it. 2. Let's create a points system to assist with the trading. The swaps I've been to have always had awkward moments when people are unsure if their coral is good enough to trade with. I think it would be novel to attempt placing a point number on your corals value. Using a system of 1-5 to grade your frag based upon color, size of frag, availability or care would be great. Using green slimer as a base I'd label it with a "2" as it is not ultra rare but is a nice coral and easy to care for. I'd rate a 1" piece of green star polyps as a "1" but maybe a rock covered in GSP a "3". If I had a piece of true Efflo to trade I would grade it as a "5" for rarity and original cost to me. Then when we are all milling about we can offer trades of "equal" value. Of course the points are what we as an individual place upon the coral and the decision will still rest with the trader themselves as to whether they want what you have to offer. 3. If you are looking for a particular type of coral or wish to exclude a type of coral for consideration please label your bags accordingly. Some SPS reefers will balk at trading for mushrooms or softies because the fast growing nature of these corals can conflict with their final mission. So if you are mainly looking to trade for zoas put that on your bags, if you wish not to have any softies put "no soft corals" right there on your bag. 4. If you are willing to sell frags for cash put the asking price on the bag. If there is one thing I hate it's seeing people change their price for each person. It borders on discrimination in my book. If you are willing to give a discount for buying quantity, let it be known either on the bag or on the box you brought them in. 5. If you are bringing equipment to sell or trade please put a price, your name, and description of the product. Example of a clearly labeled bag. caferacermike (Mike P) Orange Ricordia with blue mouth 3 or $30 no sps FishBob (Bob F) Red Blasto Wellsi 4 heads 5 or $40 zoas, no leathers Nubeenano (Jennifer S) orange zoas 2 Labeling like this can help make a quick determination if something will work for you and if you have something to trade. If I wanted Bob's Blasto I might offer my Ric and $10, maybe Bob will be nice and say that my Ric is good enough for him. Maybe Bob is in a good mood and walks over to Jen's orange zoas and decides to make her day by offering his Blasto's for her Zoa. Maybe you have 3 good "2's" in your box so you put them together as an offer to Bob. Comments. suggestions, ideas? This is not a set in stone guide but just some ideas I've had to help take the awkwardness out of trading. All comments and suggestions will be considered valid and will try to be accommodated. Again this is your, our, everyone's reef club so if your idea can make it better or easier I'm all for it.

I'd like to thank acummins, Mark, for offering to host the May meeting at his home. Folks the meetings have been getting larger and larger each month, I'm hoping this one is a complete blowout. It's been great seeing so many new faces mixed in with the regulars at each meeting, if you have not been yet please consider a visit. The details: May 16th at 3:00pm address removed Mark has asked for a formal announcement that he would like to host a genuine frag/fish/equipment swap. This sounds to me like the big one everyone has been waiting to see get put together. There has been plenty of frag swapping going on at the previous meetings but this one is for real. Let's get a thread started about this and what wants, concerns, or suggestions you might have. I am in need of host volunteers for future meetings. If you've enjoyed yourself at a previous meeting please consider offering us a place to meet up at. PM me with your interest.

Just about anything that fits the description will work. Bamboo shish-ka-bob skewers work great and are just about free.

Brian thank you for everything and Christina thank you for putting up with all of us. As always please stay in touch. I realized late this morning that I left a few things behind. Please PM me a price for the acan echinata in the sand bed, the radiata urchin, and the little green one formally known as bbsoli. I'll see if I can make it back with cash in hand.

Buy the stuff at the dollar store, 3 tubes for a buck. It's the same quality.

I've got all you want. Plus I owe you money for the group order. Is there any chance you could meet me in Central Austin in a bit? Ill PM you my number.

Not to flog a dead horse or toot me horn here but just a bit of info as to where Prof's rock comes from. Most of the rock comes from the tanks we tear down. It seems that without failure Prof buys up 1-2 very large tanks a month and I get asked to help with the tear down. We come across a lot of rock. The best rock goes into the waiting vats for sale. Some of the rock has been in the hobby for a dozen years. The older rock is much nicer than the new stuff being offered for sale today. It is much lighter, meaning you get more rock surface per pound, and this also means it is much more porous. Being more porous offers more surface area for bacteria and micro-organisms to grow upon which is why we buy live rock to begin with. The rock in most shops these days is almost free of pores and is increasingly heavier in weight, meaning less rock for your money. The good rock was easy to come by in the beginning, but like most things has been relatively picked over by now. When you find really good rock at the LFS or online being sold as "Premium" for $10-14 a lb this is close to the quality of rock that Prof has for around $5 or less. The rock is kept in 2 very large tubs of circulated water and about once every 2 months we order 200lbs or so of rock from a vendor to place within the vats. This rock helps to reseed the older rock with micro-fauna and organisms that may have been picked off by predators. If the rock from the tank tear down comes in covered in algae, looks less then stellar or to plain it gets dried out and offered at a great price. When you buy from Dave you are buying a recycled product that has no expiration date. You are helping the natural reefs, if just for a tiny little bit, by not disturbing the reef and removing rock to put in your tank. So not only does it save you money, it is pre-cured, and will save you a ton of money that you can use to buy corals from his ever changing supply. This same principal can be applied to about 50% of his corals as they are recycled instead of removed. When you buy corals that were removed from an established tank you are doing yourself a favor, they are already acclimated to captive life. This will also leave another specimen alive on the reefs.