2015 2015 Mon, 10 Aug 2026 02:28:11 +0000 Mon, 10 Aug 2026 02:28:11 +0000 Greater Iowa Reef Society https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/forums/2015.107/ Raffle Winners! Thu, 19 Nov 2015 17:35:34 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/raffle-winners.24666/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/raffle-winners.24666/ invalid@example.com (Bud) Bud :roflmao::headwally:)

Only had time today to get the pics uploaded into the album and labelled

Fall Fest 2015 Raffle Winners]]> 6 Fall fest turn out. Tue, 17 Nov 2015 21:38:33 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/fall-fest-turn-out.24644/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/fall-fest-turn-out.24644/ invalid@example.com (abower) abower So, for who didn't make the event, fill us in, post pics!]]> 12 Jeanette's frags for Fall Fest Tue, 17 Nov 2015 03:30:06 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/jeanettes-frags-for-fall-fest.24536/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/jeanettes-frags-for-fall-fest.24536/ invalid@example.com (beckerj3) beckerj3
Zoas - about 20 frags of zoas: Rastas, Sunny D's, radioactive dragon eyes, Green paly's, bam bams, yellow zoa, green eyes, blow pops, fire/ice zoa, purple death, armegeddon zoa. Most frags have 8-10 polyps and are priced $10-$15. Rastas are a bit more - but are about $2/polyp.

Leather: I'll have a nice colony piece of Colt leather plus 3-4 frags of green sinularia in various sizes

LPS: Really...

Jeanette's frags for Fall Fest]]> 19 The Official "What are you bringing to Fall Fest?" thread Mon, 09 Nov 2015 03:02:28 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/the-official-what-are-you-bringing-to-fall-fest-thread.24489/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/the-official-what-are-you-bringing-to-fall-fest-thread.24489/ invalid@example.com (glaspie69) glaspie69 9 Hobbyist Spaces & Premium Member Tables Sign-up! Mon, 09 Nov 2015 21:12:12 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/hobbyist-spaces-premium-member-tables-sign-up.24334/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/hobbyist-spaces-premium-member-tables-sign-up.24334/ invalid@example.com (Bud) Bud Help page and the thread in the Club Business forum.

What we're doing is bringing back the true Hobbyist space (which is half of a table), and introducing a Premium Member table (which...

Hobbyist Spaces & Premium Member Tables Sign-up!]]> 9 Volunteer Help Wanted! Mon, 16 Nov 2015 01:46:42 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/volunteer-help-wanted.24274/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/volunteer-help-wanted.24274/ invalid@example.com (Fence13) Fence13 4 weeks and as always, we can't do this without your help. I wanted to give everyone enough time of advance notice for helping out!

There are three areas we need help with, the more people the easier everything gets :)

Times available for helping out:
Friday (set-up): 6pm - 10pm (unless finish sooner)
Saturday Registration Desk: 9:30am to 4:30pm
Saturday (tear...

Volunteer Help Wanted!]]> 32 T-Shirt Pre-order! Sun, 08 Nov 2015 18:46:58 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/t-shirt-pre-order.24227/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/t-shirt-pre-order.24227/ invalid@example.com (Maureen) Maureen Here is this year's Fall Fest T-Shirt!

Front & Back




Back (design)




Shirts will be $15 each, Gilden brand, 100% cotton, black in color.

All sizes are available for pre-ordered shirts:

Men's S, M, L, XL, 2XL

Women's V-neck* S, M, L, XL, 2XL (* order up one or two sizes as they are more fitted)

Youth S, M, L, XL, 2XL

Order Deadline
We will take pre-orders up until Wednesday November 4th, and...

T-Shirt Pre-order!]]> 40 [Nov 14, 2015] GIRS Fall Fest 2015!! (Pleasant Hill, IA) Sat, 14 Nov 2015 15:18:45 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/nov-14-2015-girs-fall-fest-2015-pleasant-hill-ia.24223/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/nov-14-2015-girs-fall-fest-2015-pleasant-hill-ia.24223/ invalid@example.com (Bud) Bud Hey you! RSVP to the Event! ^^^​
It's Coming!!
Block off Saturday November 14th, 2015 on your calendar for
Greater Iowa Reef Society
Fall Fest 2015!!
***IMPORTANT NOTICE***
***VENUE CHANGED AS OF 10/12/15***

Same date, time and schedule for Fall Fest, but the location has changed!

Fall Fest 2015 will now be held at
The Assembly Hall
1250 NE 56th St
Pleasant Hill, IA 50327

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this change may have caused

Come early for our nationally recognized speakers!
Plus a special raffle* for speaker attendees!
*more details coming soon

Vendor Show Floor opens at 12:30!
There will be a fantastic selection of coral, livestock, and dry goods!

Huge Raffle starting at 3pm!
We'll cap off the day with a huge raffle and give away thousands of dollars in prizes.
There will also be a few prizes raffled off throughout the show!

Speaking from 10am - 11am:
Mark Callahan
"Mr Saltwater Tank TV"

TOPIC:
Strategy of Saltwater Fish Selection

Instead of thinking of fish selection as inches per gallon, I show people how proper fish stocking is really a strategy. Between fish behavior, color choices, feeding habits, schooling tendencies and taking risk with fish on the fringe, there’s numerous decision points that need to come together. I also go through my stocking strategy for my 450g tank as well as work 1:1 with audience members during the talk to develop their strategy

About Mark:

[​IMG]​
There is a central theme in Mark’s life: WATER. WATER. WATER.

Growing up in Tennessee meant trips to the local lakes and rivers on the family ski boat. Spring break was always spent in Hawaii cruising the reefs and forever ingraining memories of the beauty of the ocean on his mind.

Mark’s first tank was the typical goldfish bowl. 1 gallon of water, some multicolored gravel in the bottom, a plastic plant and 1 fish. Seeing his keen interest in fish, his parents quickly upgraded him to a 10 gallon freshwater aquarium. When he turned 9, his father announced it was time to upgrade to “the real thing” – a 75 gallon saltwater tank.

Jump ahead 25 years, and Mark maintains a 450 gallon aquarium and mrsaltwatertank.com, a website dedicated to taking the confusion out of setting up and maintaining a saltwater tank.

Mark also is the creator and star of Mr. Saltwater Tank TV a web-based TV show that not only entertains audiences, but educates them as well.

Since starting Mr. Saltwater Tank TV in 2010, Mark has created over 320 Mr. Saltwater Tank TV episodes resulting in over 10,000,000 views worldwide. The show has attracted 45,000+ YouTube subscribers and 36,000 + fans on Facebook.

In addition to Mr. Saltwater Tank TV, Mark has authored and co-authored 6 books on including The No-Nonsense Guide to Setting Up A Saltwater Tank Volume One and Volume Two, The Ultimate Guide to Saltwater Tank Cruise Control, The No-Nonsense Guide to Preventing and Curing Nuisance Algae Outbreaks, The No-Nonsense Guide to Marine Fish Diseases, Treatments and Quarantine, and Pre-Travel Planning and Preparation: A Pocket Guide for Saltwater Tank Owners His writing also includes 5 authored or co-authored articles for international magazines such as Tropical Fish Hobbyist and Marine Habitat Magazine.

Public appearances include speaking at major fish trade shows – The Marine Aquarium Conference Of North America (2012 and 2013), Marine Aquarium Expo (2011-2013) and the Seattle Marine Aquarium Expo and ReefStock.

Mark also takes Mr. Saltwater Tank TV on the road as he’s covered major saltwater aquarium trade shows including Marine Aquarium Expo (MAX), Seattle Marine Aquarium Expo (SEAMAX), Marine Aquarium Conference of North America (MACNA), and Reefstock

When he isn’t traveling or working, Mark maintains a 450 gallon mixed reef tank and spends time with his wife, 5 yr old son, 1 year daughter and his pug named Bart.

Speaking from 11:15am-12:15pm:
Todd Gardner

TOPIC:
Multiple Topics (Hybrid Presentation)

Todd will start out with his most popular current topic:

Drifters: a guide to the stray tropical fishes of New York. It's been updated most recently and it has a lot of cool video footage. It's about collecting tropical marine species far outside of the tropics (in a temperate climate). He addresses techniques for collecting and keeping them, provides a run-down of species found in New York waters, and discusses some potential environmental implications.

Then he will touch on a few other topics, if there is time:

Seahorse Aquaculture: It's a quick seahorse overview, followed by reporting on some of the findings on juvenile seahorse nutrition from his Master's thesis and work at the Long Island Aquarium.

Advanced aquaculture: This talk is about rearing basslets and other difficult marine species he's tackled over the past 20 years.

About Todd:

[​IMG]​

Todd Gardner is a professor of biology and marine biology at Suffolk County Community College in Riverhead, NY. His life and his career have both been shaped by his passion for marine life and he has written numerous scientific and popular articles about his research and experiences collecting, keeping, and culturing marine organisms. Todd’s professional background includes work on a National Geographic documentary, commercial aquaculture at C-quest Hatchery in Puerto Rico, and an 11-year term at the Long Island Aquarium where he spent much of his time developing techniques for rearing marine fish larvae. To date he has raised more than 50 species. In 2013 Todd received the prestigious Aquarist of the Year Award from the Marine Aquarium Society of North America (MASNA). In his spare time, Todd dives, photographs marine life, runs marathons, and plays in a blues band.

This list will be updated as more vendors, hobbyists, and raffle prizes are added:

Coral Vendors
Insane Coral
Beef's Reef
T Ball Inc
AZN Nutty
Mind Blowing Corals
Reef Deep Aquatics
Frag Creations
Reefs Aquatics
The Coral Reef
Eye Candy Corals

Fish & Dry Goods Vendors
Dirks
Booyah's Reef
The Alternative Reef
Specialized Reef Creations
Printed Reefing Solutions
Aquarium Addictions

GIRS Premium Members
Jeremy Dirks (jeremy)
Dave Stevenson (bestimusmucho)
Donny Graves (Armydog)
Bill Schlarbaum (Fishbrain)
Jeanette Becker (beckerj3)

GIRS Hobbyists
Andrew Kolb (Andrew)
Casey Christner (CaseyChristnerkc22)

Raffle Items! FINAL LIST!
Provided by the Greater Iowa Reef Society:

Bulk Reef Supply Dual Reactor
1 Gallon BRS ROX 0.8 Carbon
1/2 Gallon High Capacity GFO

Maxspec Gyre XF130

the NEW EcoTech Vectra M1 Return Pump

...and the GRAND PRIZE:

Neptune Apex Aquarium Controller!!
Complete with
Standard Grade pH Probe
Temp Probe
Display Module
Energy Bar 8

Generous donations provided by these Premium Sponsors

Reef Nutrition / Reed Mariculture
[​IMG]
(3) sets of Reef Nutrition packs ($165+ ea!)
(3) sets of TDO Chroma Boost (sm, med, lg)

Air, Water & Ice
[​IMG]
Typhoon III Extreme 150
Plus (2) $25 Gift Cards

Rod's Food
[​IMG]
(5) Food Multi-Packs, each with
(1) Large Original Blend
(1) Large Pacific Plankton
(1) Large Seaweed
& (1) Small Fish Eggs

Prodibio
[​IMG]
(6) Biokit Reef Nano

Seachem
[​IMG]
Set of Aquavitro Reef products:
alpha, balance, calcification, eight.four, fuel, ions, vibrance
Reef Fusion 1 & 2
Reef Dip
Reef Glue
Reef Phytoplankton
Reef Zooplankton

Live Aquaria
[​IMG]
$250 Gift Certificate

Turbo's Aquatics
[​IMG]
Bud's Super Awesome-O Test Kit Package*
Milwaukee Digital Seawater Refractometer
Hanna Phosphate Checker (HI713)
Hanna Alkalinity Checker (HI755)
Salifert Calcium
Salifert Magnesium
Salifert Nitrate
*may be split into multiple raffle items

Premium Aquatics
[​IMG]
Goodie Bags for the first 300 attendees!!
Note: Paid attendees only, or GIRS Members
Stuffed with a Premium Aquatics Discount Card good for anything on the site!
Plus: Pens, Algae Scrapers, Magazines, and SURPRISE for one lucky GIRS Member!!!

Additional raffle donations provided by these generous donors

From Bulk Reef Supply
2 Part Total Package with Dosers

From LRS Foods
(5) packs of LRS Reef Frenzy

From Frag Creations
$300 in Corals

From My Reef To Yours
$250 in Gift Certificates

From 4Paws Unleashed
$200 in Aquacraft Supplements

From The Coral Reef (Burlington LFS)
2 buckets of Instant Ocean Reef Crystals
2 buckets of Instant Ocean Sea Salt
1 box of Instant Ocean Reef Crystals

From the Shedd Aquarium
$144 Gift Certificate redeemable for (5) Shedd Pass tickets

From Ocean's Wonders
Ultimate DIY Coral Propagation Kit
N52v3 MAG Rack
Frag Hub 10.0

From Mind Blowing Corals
$100 Gift Certificate
$100 in Corals

From Specialized Reef Creations
(1) pair of C Quest Onyx Clownfish

From Booyah's Clowns
(1) pair of Black & White Clownfish

From AZN Nutty
$100 in Corals

From Dirk's
$100 in Merchandise

From CORAL Magazine
(2) Digital Subscriptions to CORAL Magazine
+ Goodie Bag Stuffers

RSVP in the thread below if you're coming!
It's not required, but it's great to know who's coming!!!

Like the Greater Iowa Reef Society Facebook Page!
Share this thread and/or the pinned Facebook post about GIRS Fall Fest 2015 on your timeline!
Help us get the word out!

HOTEL INFORMATION

There are probably 100 hotels in the Des Moines area that you can choose from, and generally, none of them are going to be more than a 30 minute drive (with the farthest being in the Jordan Creek Mall area of WDM)

These hotels are pretty nice, and just a few miles from the venue:

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Altoona
165 Adventureland Dr
Altoona IA 50009
(515) 967-1855
8 mi (10 min) away
From $135 /night

Prairie Meadows Hotel (connected to casino)
1 Prairie Meadows Dr
Altoona, IA 50009
(515) 957-3000
4.5 mi (9 min) away.
From $128/night

This one is downtown for anyone wanting to stay near the action on Friday/Saturday night:

Renaissance Des Moines Savery Hotel (Marriott)
401 Locust St
Des Moines, IA 50309
(515) 244-2151
7.3 mi (14 min) away
From $179/night

If you're bringing the kids and want to keep them entertained and/or wear them out, this hotel has an indoor waterpark, and the room comes with 4 waterpark passes:

Ramada Tropics Resort
5000 Merle Hay Rd
Des Moines, IA 50322
14.7 mi (16 min) away
(515) 278-0271 (about 20 min away)

And if you are just looking for a close room to crash in...

Sleep Inn & Suites, Pleasant Hill, IA
5850 Morning Star Ct
Pleasant Hill, IA 50327
(515)299-9922
1 mi away
$105.40/night***
***You must book directly with the hotel and tell them you are coming for an event and need the "local corporate rate"​
]]> 56 [Oct 25, 2015] DSM/Ames Region October Meeting (Des Moines, IA) Fri, 30 Oct 2015 16:53:00 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/oct-25-2015-dsm-ames-region-october-meeting-des-moines-ia.24348/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/oct-25-2015-dsm-ames-region-october-meeting-des-moines-ia.24348/ invalid@example.com (Fence13) Fence13 @Region: Des Moines & Ames

We will be having our October Meeting on the 25th at @tangers@tangers place in Ankeny!

944 NE 49th LN, ANKENY, IA @ 12PM

now at Bud's Office:

Brown Engineering
5525 Meredith Dr, Suite D
Des Moines, IA 50310

Same time!

The building is set back from the road, right across from Charles Gabus Ford, about 1 block East of Merle Hay Rd. Enter through the main entrance (you will see Brown Engineering...

[Oct 25, 2015] DSM/Ames Region October Meeting (Des Moines, IA)]]> 42 Fall Fest Tue, 08 Sep 2015 15:47:27 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/fall-fest.24175/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/fall-fest.24175/ invalid@example.com (FFrost) FFrost I missed the planning and can't help with setup since I work Friday night.
Are there any flyers made up? I could probably cruise around and try to get word out. We should be able to get the word out on facebook and craigslist. Have we tried in the past to get into the local papers in the events/happenings sections?
Even hanging out outside petsmart and petco with flyers would get word...

Fall Fest]]> 2 [Jul 18, 2015] Quad City Region Rockscaping (Bettendorf Iowa) Sat, 18 Jul 2015 00:08:37 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/jul-18-2015-quad-city-region-rockscaping-bettendorf-iowa.23859/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/jul-18-2015-quad-city-region-rockscaping-bettendorf-iowa.23859/ invalid@example.com (Ray/Jen_Reefin) Ray/Jen_Reefin 1 [Jun 20, 2015] DIY Rock Event (Monmouth, IL) Tue, 16 Jun 2015 01:35:31 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/jun-20-2015-diy-rock-event-monmouth-il.23709/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/jun-20-2015-diy-rock-event-monmouth-il.23709/ invalid@example.com (Chlora) Chlora The Burlington Region is doing a DIY homemade rock, hands on, make one take one home with you demonstration ,,, the meeting is on Saturday June 20th at 12:30 pm in Roger and Cindy Carters garage at 611 210th ave Monmouth Il , there will be refreshments ,,

You will need to bring a small tub or bin to put sand in for the rock mold,, Hope to see you all there!!

All other regions are invited to attend. Please post in the Burlington region under the June meeting thread: ...

[Jun 20, 2015] DIY Rock Event (Monmouth, IL)]]> [Jun 5, 2015] Cedar Rapids get together (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Fri, 05 Jun 2015 17:36:33 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/jun-5-2015-cedar-rapids-get-together-cedar-rapids-iowa.23618/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/jun-5-2015-cedar-rapids-get-together-cedar-rapids-iowa.23618/ invalid@example.com (blackx-runner) blackx-runner
[Jun 5, 2015] Cedar Rapids get together (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)]]> 4 [Jun 6, 2015] DSM/Ames Region BBQ (Ankeny, IA) Sun, 07 Jun 2015 20:48:27 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/jun-6-2015-dsm-ames-region-bbq-ankeny-ia.23602/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/jun-6-2015-dsm-ames-region-bbq-ankeny-ia.23602/ invalid@example.com (Bud) Bud
Please RSVP if you are coming (you can mark Yes, No, or Maybe, and you can change your status if something comes up!)

Also note any guests you are bringing along as well (in your RSVP)

If you are planning on bringing anything, please comment in the thread that is part of the Event!

Hope to see you there!]]> 25 [May 9, 2015] Burlington DIY Food & Potluck (New London, IA) Thu, 07 May 2015 20:34:51 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/may-9-2015-burlington-diy-food-potluck-new-london-ia.23514/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/may-9-2015-burlington-diy-food-potluck-new-london-ia.23514/ invalid@example.com (Bud) Bud this thread:

We are having our DIY Food Event & Potluck on May 9 starting at 11:00 with the potluck At Bill and Heather Schlarbaum's in New London.

See the thread for additional information, or post in the event thread

Thanks!
Bud Carlson]]> Thanks for another great fest Wed, 11 Mar 2015 17:53:07 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/thanks-for-another-great-fest.23215/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/thanks-for-another-great-fest.23215/ invalid@example.com (glaspie69) glaspie69 13 2015 spring fest Vendor item request Fri, 06 Mar 2015 10:59:12 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/2015-spring-fest-vendor-item-request.23207/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/2015-spring-fest-vendor-item-request.23207/ invalid@example.com (abower) abower Toss me a PM please.

Still working to get tisbe culture going.]]> Clown Fish dealer at Spring Fest??? Fri, 06 Mar 2015 15:11:36 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/clown-fish-dealer-at-spring-fest.23205/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/clown-fish-dealer-at-spring-fest.23205/ invalid@example.com (Gordo) Gordo
Clown Fish dealer at Spring Fest???]]> 10 SpringFest Frag Preview Thu, 05 Mar 2015 22:31:24 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/springfest-frag-preview.23201/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/springfest-frag-preview.23201/ invalid@example.com (Sponge) Sponge

Softies: pulsing xenia, Kenya tree, blue cloves .......


Shrooms & Rics: Superman Rhodactis, Skittles, Neon Greens.....


Zoas & Palys, Galor of course/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/hehe.gif: Pink Seduction, Nebulas,...

SpringFest Frag Preview]]> 2 coral pre sale only Thu, 05 Mar 2015 06:38:07 +0000 https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/coral-pre-sale-only.23195/ https://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/threads/coral-pre-sale-only.23195/ invalid@example.com (Eric & Amber) Eric & Amber