March 15, 2008

March 2008 Meeting

The 11th meeting of the NJAGC was held on Saturday, March 15th, 2008.

Ingo S. and his family hosted it at their home in Montclair, NJ.

Another successful meeting under NJAGC’s belt. I’m not sure if it was that time of the year, beautiful weather outside or simply Ingo’s tanks but we broke previous attendance record (17) set in January 2007. Welcoming 5 new faces and seeing 14 seasoned members shows, that this club is gaining reputation in Tri-State area. NJAGC is attracting
people without official newspaper / local pet shop advertisements.
Imagine if we went that route !

 Mike F. kicked off the meeting with some business announcements
which covered Forum User Sweeps, Group Order policy, appointment of Group Order Chairman, Discretionary Fund policy, and last but not least, Club Article Project.

Walter went over the finances and handed off the meeting to Ingo.

Mike F. discussing business while members are listening
and signing in

After few logistical announcements, everyone followed Ingo to his “underground aqua dungeon.” Those that had a pleasure to see Ingo’s tanks for the first time, were looking all around in order to absorb all the beauty.

Those that have seen them before, were enjoying drastic “Ingo Makeover” changes.

First in line was 125G which I personally think looks a lot better from what I remember visually and looking at the pictures from December 2006 and April 2007. Ingo discussed his fertilization technique, light schedule, fish stock, feeding schedule and history behind the tank. Next to beautiful and healthy plant growth, the highlight of the tank was a pair of Apistogramma viejita. Ingo have noticed breeding behavior but
confirmed lack of offspring due to “lousy” parenting. I found it very interesting because cichlid genus is known for excellent parenting behavior. On the personal note I was successful in the past with
breeding Apistogramma panduro in planted community setting so hopefully it is just a matter of time before we visit Ingo’s place and be able to enjoy the “little ones.”

125G in its full glory

Ingo discussing fertilization, lighting, substrate, fauna, flora etc…

People do pay attention during NJAGC meetings !!!

Ingo’s secret to success. Tropic micros in “family size” bottle.

Next in line was 29G which I found to be Ingo’s best wood-aquascape yet. Excellent use of manzanita branches shows that that his aquascaping skills are improving each time we visit his house.

29G with very interesting manzanita-branch aquascape

20G long, which is labeled as quarantine tank, is no longer used as such. Ingo is raising some interesting platy mixes there. I have noticed an addicting pattern in all of us. We set those extra tanks with intentions
such us: quarantine, grow out, temporary setup, play area, test area but eventually we end up converting those setups into permanent aquascapes. And guess what, the saga continues. We start all over again with the same intention and few years down the road we are changing
water in 3, 4, 5, 6 … tanks. Right Mike 🙂

20G – the so called “Quarantine Tank”

Last but not least was Ingo’s current pride and joy – 40G breeder. Ingo was faced with two challenges with this one. Iwagumi aquascape and Hemianthus callitrichoides growth. Although members commented and gave some constructive criticism, I think Ingo pulled it off really well. Tek-light fixture, clear intake/outake pipes, ADA CO2 diffusers
showed me that Ingo’s left-over 2007 budget went toward this little setup.

40G iwagumi with Hemianthus callitrichoides

40G iwagumi with Hemianthus callitrichoides

40G iwagumi with Hemianthus callitrichoides

40G iwagumi with Hemianthus callitrichoides – The Valley

Members gathered around each tank and discussed different topics in details.

Discussion around 40G

Discussion around 40G

Discussion around 40G

Ingo discussing specs of 40G

Discussion around 125G

When it was all said and done, everyone went upstairs to continue with the rest of the meeting – food / mini auction / plant swap.

Auction in full swing

Auction in full swing

AquaJournals as giveaways for new members

Mike’s personal notebook which Glenn tried to hijack!

People that Jay doesn’t like 🙂 – SMOKERS !!!

This is what happens when you try to “take” someone’s plant.

Glenn took Mike’s bag and Mike was ready to put a “stop” to the whole meeting. Finally Glenn gave up the bag but had a pleasure of seeing big skull and RIP slogan on the bag. Priceless !

Mike is discussing SUMO regulators with other members

“After months of meticulous research, Ingo chose S. canabalaris as the first inhabitant for the 40g breeder”

Caption by Elissa B – Winner of the March Caption Contest