starting a reefers clud at work. Please read.

[BCReefer]

I would like to get your input on a Marine Club that I am starting a general reef club at my company. I am far from an expert but I thought starting a group like this would be fun and give me an opportunity for me to introduce people to the hobby and start pushing them in the right direction, which is what you fine ladies and gentlemen did for me.

Would it be possible for some people to send me pictures of their equipment and tanks etc so I can use them as over heads. My idea is as follows:

1. Introduction to marine keeping.
 Books to read
 Show pictures of general set ups
 Difference between FOWLR and a coral tank
 General costs – people should know this in the early stages
 Personal benefits of having tank, relaxing, learning, promoting environmental concerns.
2. Planning the tank
 Size
 Placement
 New vs. used
 What do you want in the tank i.e. corals and fish
 Equipment
 Sumps etc
 lighting
3. Starting a tank
 Cycling
 Aquascaping
4. Adding fish
 How to pick the fish
 How to climatise
 Hospital tanks
5. Adding corals
 How to picks corals
 How to add the coral to tank
6. Monthly maintenance
 How and why
 What to test

This wold not be done in 1 day and I would follow mostly what I have read in this forum and others plus the books that I would recommend.

As I stated that by far I am not even close to an expert but I know there are a few reefers in the company so I hope they can help out. Plus I will tell all about Canreef and other forums.

If everything goes well and I get a good turn out I would like to propose to my company that we set up a tank in the main foyer. Something in the 70 – 120 gallons and it would promote a environmental message which is what the company I work for (Ballard) is all about.

So any comments, help pictures etc please forward to my E Mail address or post it here. This is a continuous project and I think I will have fun with it.

Cheers,
Patrick

[BCReefer]

Hello everyone.

I honsetly thought I would get some response to this but so far natta?

Is there not anything that you guys/gals can send to me to use???

Anything?
Anyone?

Hello, hello, is this thing on?

Seriously thought, pictures and comments would be appreciated. What I am trying to do here is peek peoples interest and start them off on the right direction. Not like what happened to me and some of the others here.

Cheers,
Patrick

E Mail to my home is OK

patrickshannon@shaw.ca

[stephane]

Hi patrick you could take any photo I have in the link below this message an if you want anyting els like photo just ask me wathever you want. I like to help and talk about this hobby so its not a problem

I am not an expert either but I have 10 years of saltwater tank and six years of reefing in my background + Im am very active in reading everyting that came up on the net an other.
My english is not the best since im french but I alway try to do my best

Good luck in your project!

[Doug]

Patrick, feel free to use any on my webpage. Its being changed but still some may help. Click on under my signature.

Can you access them from these pages? I had a hundred in my files, but just deleted them all, as everything is changed. Many were from when my tanks were full of huge soft corals.

[ 14 June 2002, 15:22: Message edited by: Doug ]

[DJ88]

Patrick,

Grab anything you want too from my web site and what I have posted here. :D

[Troy F]

Stephane, you're french? :D

Patrick, I think the most important thing to do is encourage people to read and ask questions. There is so much information out there that is readily available and as long as people are given the opportunity to access it they will never be too far off the beaten track.

There are FAQ sections at reefs.org and reefcentral that would be good starting points. The M.A.S.L.A. has a good webpage for the beginner. Alot of the other things like equipment is so open to conjecture that experience is really the only tool. To get experience, posting questions to more experienced reefers like Stephane and Doug etc. is the best way to go IMO. If you can get them signed up to a bulletin board and reading I think you've won.

[stephane]

Originally posted by Troy F:
Stephane, you're french? :D <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Have you notice it before? :D

If you can get them signed up to a bulletin board and reading I think you've won <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Troy is right here the best you could do is get them to read IMO the requirement to be a good aquarist is read so get them here or any board before to start and they will easy find there way If you know how many houre I made in reading in a years you will be blow away it is the key IMO
there yougn guy here that have a lot of knowlege only after one year so there no secret magical trick on this you need to love it

Everybody who came at my place and see the tank just tell me this beautiful but to much work I can't even made goldfish to live I said this far from a work for me but a passion

I begin in this hobby praticaly only talking french and look now Im not perfect english but I tink I could tell what I want in my word all this is because of reefing(mostly). Our stupid Quebec governement praticaly defend yougn to learn english they are so afraid to loose french culture they made us loose other

[Troy F]

Have you notice it before?<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">(With a perfectly straight face)Nope, I 'adn't smile.gif . Your english is very good and about a hundred times better than my french.

[BCReefer]

Thanks,

I didn't want to use any pictures unless I had the authors permission.

The #1 thing I will push when starting a tank is reading, asking and learning.

Everything else is easy (easier) after that.

Thanks again.

Patrick