March Meeting
Join us on March 23rd for GWAPA’s 3rd meeting of the year. Our talk will be “Starting Your Shrimp Keeping Journey” by Jacob Waters. We will also have a small intro talk by our host John Meyer
Join us on March 23rd for GWAPA’s 3rd meeting of the year. Our talk will be “Starting Your Shrimp Keeping Journey” by Jacob Waters. We will also have a small intro talk by our host John Meyer
Over thirty people attended our February meeting, which was hosted by Splashy Fish. Jen Williams, an established aquascaper, gave a talk about planted tank basics. During the talk, some of the members chimed in with their experiences, which made the discussion very lively. Jen talked about the importance of connecting with local clubs, which can provide a wealth of information. She pointed out that getting the right equipment the first time can save some trouble down the line. Then she went into detail about tanks, stands, lights, filters, and various other supplies. Afterwards she discussed various substrates, including the mineralized soil, to which a whole meeting will be devoted later this year. Then came the hardscape materials, such as rocks and wood. Jen talked about using sulfuric acid for testing rocks to make sure they don’t leach anything into the tank. Also, never boil rocks as they might blow up due to air pockets in them. After spending some time on general tank maintenance, she discussed the various types of plants and how to grow them. Finally, Jen pointed out that algae happens to everyone, and a good resource about how to combat this nuisance can be found on our site here.
The meeting ended with our monthly auction which included plants, shrimp, and some shrimp keeping accessories.
See Francine Bethea's winning aquascape in GWAPA's 2011 Dutch-style Aquascaping Contest. Judging was by popular vote.
Lorena Rodriguez's 2.5G Aquarium Winner of GWAPA's 2007 2.5G Aquascaping Contest (Beginner Category)
Jeff Ucciardo 29 Gallon Filter: Filstar XP1 Substrate: Eco-Complete Dosing: Daily dosing of KNO3, PO4, K, 2ml Flourish, 1 ml Flourish Iron Lighting: 65 watts PC 9 hours, with an additional dual Coralife T-5s for 7 hours in the middle total 101 watts CO2 diffusion: Glass diffusor CO2: Azoo regulator, 5lb. tank Fauna: Harlquin radboras, neons, ottos, cherry and bee shrimp, nerite snails
Robert T Ricketts 55 Gallon Low-Maintenance Tank Substrate: Plenum based with mixed Estes' Nutmeg and Flourite Filtration: Two internal Eheims for mechanical filtration, plus a prefiltered external Eheim 2213 for bio. Lighting: 1-Two-tube strip light, 1 single-strip light. 12 hours/day. Plants: Val, Crinum, Anubias nana and a couple of other small nana cultivars, A. nana petite, Marimo balls, and Java Moss Fauna: school of glass cats, a school of Debaui cats, Otos, one male cherry Barb, Amano and Red Cherry shrimp, ramshorn and common pond snails.