President's Message

President’s Message – October 2013

Dear Aquarist,

Happy Halloween! I’m afraid we didn’t have any pumpkins at our Giant Auction, but we had plenty of fish, plants, corals, filters, lights and aquariums. There was plenty of haunting going around or maybe that was hawking our wonderful shirts, donated books and magazines and our donated items at our freshwater and marine items tables. We had a wonderful time and our members and guests came away with some spectacular items.

Our November event is on a marine topic. Renowned MASNA speaker John Coppolino is our guest lecturer and his topic will be either “Modern Fish Keeping In Reef Aquaria” or “SPS Success.” I think that either one will be a big hit. As always, doors open at 7:30 PM, and there is free parking and free refreshments.

Our photo contest is over. There were some technical problems with Yahoo Groups so our judges are still compiling the votes for the winners in each of the 17 categories. We will announce the winners at our November event and present them with their wonderful prizes at that event. The prices are at least $100.00 in value for each category. Our sponsor/donator/judges are – SeaChem, Hikari, and Central Aquatics (which owns Aqueon, Kent Marine and Coralife). The winners will be posted on our web site (www.BrooklynAquariumSociety.org).

I am happy to note that our Corresponding Secretary position has been filled by Dan Smith. Welcome aboard Dan. Mike Roman, our current Corresponding Secretary, will be posting the position’s data to Dan over the next few months. Mike, we will sorely miss you! You have been a tremendous asset to BAS and we want to wish you good luck and happy fish when you move to Wisconsin.

I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different subjects offered, please let me know. As examples, some members asked when we were having another bus trip to the Long Island Aquarium & Exposition Center; another asked if we would be willing to do a bus trip to the Baltimore Aquarium, take in a ballgame at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, do an overnight and then hit several huge aquarium stores on the way home. I said sure, why not, IF you can get enough people to fill a bus. So, those who are interested, get back to me with what you want to do!

The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle, by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455.

On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

Joe Graffagnino
President

Announcements

Earn 50%* on donated livestock at November 8, 2013 event.

We will once again be having a 50/50 split on donated livestock only (corals, fish and plants in good health) for members only.

Members must sign in at the donation desk that they want 50% of whatever their livestock items are auctioned for (no reserves).

The total of all donations must be greater than $5 and your return check will be available for pickup at the next regular meeting.

If you have any questions regarding this event please don’t hesitate to contact us or just post your questions below.

Not a member yet? No problem, become one today http://membership.basny.org/

President's Message

President’s Message – September 2013

Dear Aquarist,

September has arrived and with it is the start of a new year for BAS. So to kick off the year with a jump start, we had a very special guest speaker – me! I must admit my talk was mesmerizing. It was a fun topic called “Knowledge of Useless Stuff I Acquired.”  I shared my experiences, trials and tribulations that I have accumulated over 40 years of aquatic experience with you, our members and friends. When I ran out of fish and plant topics, I started on remedies to cure sore throats, flat and dull hair and even an easy way to separate two piece fishing rods. I left no stone unturned in my pursuit to share knowledge with anyone who would listen. I think the crowd enjoyed it, since I wasn’t hit with eggs or tomatoes.
 
Next month is our Giant Auction. As always, we will NOT have a speaker — just an auction with the best aquatic fish, plants, corals and equipment, along with great products at bargain basement prices. I guarantee that you will have a great time and will leave with many items of the highest quality with the lowest price you can ever find. Doors open at 7:30 PM.  As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.
 
We are having a photo contest which started at the conclusion of our June event. All contestants are to put their pictures on our Yahoo Group called the Brooklyn Aquarium Society. We are having 17 categories that you can enter. Each member may enter 3 pictures of 6 Megapixel or greater in each category. Winners will be selected by our sponsors and members of the Board that have not entered the contest. The contest is over on September 30, so hurry and get in photos of your aquatic treasures. The prices are great and are from SeaChem, Hikari, Aqueon, Kent Marine and others. The winners will be announced at our October event. Winners must be present to collect their prize. 
 
I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different subjects offered, please let me know. As examples, some members asked when we were having another bus trip to the Long Island Aquarium & Exposition Center; another asked if we would be willing to do a bus trip to the Baltimore Aquarium, take in a ballgame at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, do an overnight and then hit several huge aquarium stores on the way home. I said sure why not, IF you can get enough people to fill a bus. So, those who are interested get back to me with what you want to do!
 
The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle, by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!
 
For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455.
 
On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.
 
Joe Graffagnino
President
Announcements, BAS Events, Hobby Related News

1st Annual PHOTO CONTEST

FIRST ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST – Take your best shot!

FLYER: Front | Back

Deadline – September 30th, 2013

Freshwater Categories:

  • Best Aquascape
  • Best Nano Aquarium (2 ½ – 10 gallons)
  • Best Med-sized aquarium (15 – 40 gallons)
  • Best Large aquarium (50 + gallons)
  • Spectacular Freshwater Fish
  • Most Fabulous Plant
  • Most Amazing Freshwater Invert
  • Best Freshwater Photo (any category)
  • Spectacular Cichlid

Saltwater Categories

  • Best Aquascape
  • Best Nano Aquarium (2½ – 10 gallons)
  • Best Med-sized aquarium (15 – 40 gallons)
  • Best Large aquarium (50 + gallons)
  • Spectacular Saltwater Fish
  • Most Breathtaking Corals Reefs
  • Most Amazing Saltwater Invert
  • Best Saltwater Photo (any category)

 

SPONSORS (Thank YOU):

Aqueon 

Aqueon Products Inc. Sponsor Banner

Coralife

Kent Marine

Hikari

Seachem

 

PRIZES – From Sponsors Above – Thank you!

Freshwater Categories:

Best Aquascape

  • AquaVitro Plant (Premier, Envy, Proper, Carbonate, Mineralize, Synthesis, Activate) by SEACHEM

Best Nano Aquarium (2 ½ – 10 gallons)

  • Evolve 2, water care products, food, siphon, cleaning magnet by AQUEON

Best Med-sized aquarium (15 – 40 gallons)

  • Evolve 4, water care products, food, siphon by AQUEON

Best Large aquarium (50 + gallons)

  • $100 worth of HIKARI products.

Spectacular Freshwater Fish

  • $100 worth of HIKARI products.

Most Fabulous Plant

  • 500ml Bottles of Prime, Flourish, Flourish Excel, Flourish Iron, 600g Bottles of Acid Buffer, Alkaline Buffer, Equilibrium, Nutridiet Flakes (30g), 1L Matrix by SEACHEM

Most Amazing Freshwater Invert

  • Evolve 4, water care products, food, siphon by AQUEON

Best Freshwater Photo (any category)

  • $100 worth of HIKARI products

Spectacular Cichlid

  • $100 worth of HIKARI products

 

Saltwater Categories

Best Aquascape

  • AquaVitro Reef (Alpha, Balance, Calcification, Eight.Four Fuel, Ions, Vibrance) By SEACHEM

Best Nano Aquarium (2½ – 10 gallons)

Best Med-sized aquarium (15 – 40 gallons)

Best Large aquarium (50 + gallons)

  • $100 worth of HIKARI products

Spectacular Saltwater Fish

  • $100 worth of HIKARI products

Most Breathtaking Corals Reefs

  • SEACHEM 1L Bottles of Reef Fusion 1& 2; 1L Containers of Matrix Carbon, Phosguard & Matrix; Nutridiet Marine Flakes (30g)

Most Amazing Saltwater Invert

Best Saltwater Photo (any category)

  • $100 worth of HIKARI products

 

OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES

No purchase or payment necessary to enter or win

HOW TO ENTER

The 1st Brooklyn Aquarium Photo Contest will be announced June 14th, 2013 at the monthly Society’s meeting, all entries will be accepted until September 30th, 2013. The results of the Contest as well as the award ceremony will take place on October 11th at the Society’s monthly meeting. Digital photos must be submitted to BROOKLYN AQUARIUM SOCIETY YAHOO GROUP in JPEG format. Photos submitted must be 6 MP (mega pixel) or greater. As a condition of registration, you will be required to click where indicated to signify that you accept and agree to be bound by these Official Rules. With each submission, participants must include the following: 1) Name of Photographer, 2) Address of Photographer, 3) Phone Number, 4) Email, 5) Category of Freshwater or Saltwater photo is to be entered, 6) Scientific and Common Name of Subject in Photo.

> Brooklyn Aquarium Society @ Yahoo Groups < Submit your photos here.

Photo Eligibility
To enter, you do not have to be a member of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society or a member of the BAS Forum, contest is open to all, no age restrictions. BAS judging individuals and their immediate family are not eligible. BAS non-members taking part in the Contest and winning a prize for any of the 17 categories will receive a free 1 year membership to BAS. Entries that fail to comply with the Official Contest Rules will be disqualified.

Image Modifications
Minor digital enhancement is permitted, but images that have been significantly modified or appear unnatural will be disqualified.

Number of Entries
An individual may submit a maximum of 3 photos per category, any category.

Photo Subject Restrictions
Photos must be appropriate for category entered. Photos unrelated to the contest or of questionable content will not be considered. BAS retains sole discretion as to what constitutes appropriate content. Photos must not contain people or other objects other than the subject for the category entered.

Deadline
Contest ends midnight September 30th, 2013. Any late entries will not be considered.

Judging
Entries will be judged on the basis of photographic quality, and effectiveness in conveying the beauty and/or unique character of the object in their respective categories. A panel of judges consisting of representatives of the Contest’s sponsors as well as members of the BAS Board will judge the entries and all contest decisions are final.

Winners
The judging panel will select 17 winning entries (one per category). Winners and all prizes will be announced and presented during the BAS October 11th 2013 meeting. Any winner not able to attend the October 11th 2013 meeting, the prize will be kept at BAS until the December 13, 2013 meeting. If the winner/s fails to collect the prize as mentioned earlier, the prize/s will be auctioned at the January 10, 2014 meeting.

Photographer/Copyrights
Entries must be submitted by the original photographer. Do not submit a photo taken by someone other than yourself. You must be the sole owner of the image submitted. By submitting your photo, you guarantee that you are the author and copyright holder of the photo. By submitting, the contestant waives all rights upon submission and therefore has no recourse whatsoever in the use of the photo.

Additional Terms and Conditions
BAS is not responsible for computer system, hardware, software, or program malfunctions or other errors, failures, or delayed computer transactions or network connections that are human or technical in nature. Furthermore, BAS is not responsible for: (i) lost, misdirected, misplaced, illegible, unintelligible, incomplete, or late entries or (ii) any act, failure to act, or delay regarding the transmitting or processing of entries. BAS reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel or suspend all or any portion of this contest without notice. BAS is entitled to interpret these rules as needed and its decisions are final. BAS reserves the right to disqualify any entrant that BAS has reason to believe is not the original work of entrant, or does not otherwise meet the contest rules.

President's Message

President’s Message – June 2013

Dear Aquarist,

June has come and gone. June marks the end of our fiscal year and we plan on having a much needed rest over July and August. June was also club officer and Board member elections and we basically have the same crew as last year with one exception. Mike Roman must leave his position of Corresponding Secretary at the end of the calendar year because he is moving to Wisconsin. We will miss him dearly. Mike was always very dedicated and hard working no matter what task was before him. People, we need a Corresponding Secretary! This position sends the official letters from BAS. If anyone is interested, please let me know.

Our guest speaker for June was Laura Birenbaum of the Long Island Aquarium & Exposition Center. Laura provided a very interesting talk on dry shipping corals and invertebrates. She demonstrated her experiments in a Power Point display, provided the results and showed how she had improved mortality results in various shipping methods. Laura and Joe Yaiullo brought in many coral ‘frags’ and donated them to BAS, for which we are very grateful!

We had a 50/50 on livestock – fish, corals and plants only! It was quite successful as members and attendees will see a nice reward for their effort in donations at the September event. 

We are having a photo contest which began at the conclusion of our June event. All contestants are to put their pictures on our Yahoo Group called the Brooklyn Aquarium Society. We have 17 categories for you to enter. Each member may enter 3 pictures of 6 Megapixels or greater in each category. Winners will be selected by our sponsors and members of the Board that have not entered the contest. The contest will run through the summer and the winners will be selected at our October event. Winners must be present to collect their prizes.

The September event will have me as the guest speaker. Hobbyists tell me all the time that I know all this crazy stuff for keeping aquarium maintenance easy and helping fish and fry, spawning different types of fish, etc., so why not put all this useless stuff (for non-aquarists) into a presentation. Ok, you want it, so I will try to put something together for you. No promises of anything mind blowing though. Doors open at 7:30 PM.  As always, there’s free parking and free refreshments.

I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different subjects offered, please let me know. As examples, some members asked when we were having another bus trip to the Long Island Aquarium & Exposition Center, another asked if we would be willing to do a bus trip to the Baltimore Aquarium, take in a ballgame at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, do an overnight and then hit several huge aquarium stores on the way home. I said sure why not, IF you can get enough people to fill a bus. So, those who are interested get back to me with what you want to do! The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone.

 It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle, by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

For more info please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455

On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, which are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

Joe Graffagnino
President

 

President's Message

President’s Message – May 2013

Dear Aquarist,

May, what a beautiful month! Not only does it bring flowers, but it brings our Giant Auction. What a great array of fine aquatic creatures donated by our members and friends! There were over 200 items at the auction and everyone left with great bargains. There were freshwater fish, marine fish, corals and plants, tanks, magazines and coupons from our sponsors. Our great auctioneers, Dennis Alestra and Bill Amely, took turns at the podium working up bag after bag and the many aquariums, to the attendees’ delight. Even former president Seth Kolker joined in to help out and give our regular auctioneers a breather. If you missed this event, you missed a spectacular evening.

June will be our final event of the season before we take a summer hiatus. To end our sessons on a very high note, we have Laura Birenbaum of the Long Island Aquarium & Exposition Center as our guest speaker. Her topic for the evening will be “Coral & Marine Inverts’ Tolerances for Dry Shipping.”  For all you marine guys, this is a not to be missed event, especially if you were thinking of mailing a frag to a friend.
June’s auction is our promised 50/50 on livestock – fish, corals and plants only! If interested, please tell Marty when you bring your items in.

June is also election night, the time for all members to vote for your elected officials. Anyone wanting to run for an Officer or Board position must have been a member for 6 months. Please let me know what job or function you wish to be nominated for. Doors open at 7:30 PM.  As always there is free parking and free refreshments.

We plan on having a photo contest starting in June. We have started a Yahoo Group called the Brooklyn Aquarium Society. We plan on having at least 16 categories for you to enter. Each member may enter 3 pictures of 6 Megapixel or greater in each category. Winners will be selected by our sponsors and members of the Board that have not entered the contest. This is still in the planning stages; however, the contest will run through the summer and the winners will be selected at our October event. Winners must be present to collect their prize. Stand by for more info which will be posted on our web site.

Don’t forget to enter our Forum contest. The winner of the most posts in our Forum wins $25. worth of BAS Bucks and second place wins $10. You must be in it to win it.
I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different subjects offered, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle; by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting (they are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month), please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

Joe Graffagnino
President

 

President's Message

President’s Message – April 2013

Dear Aquarist,

The month of April was a busy month for our speaker Mark Denaro. Last week, he gave a couple of wonderful presentations at the Northeast Council convention in Connecticut and last night he was with us in Brooklyn. He sure does move around. Mark is the President of the Bucks County Aquarium Society and the originator of Annubias Design, a tropical fish and plants Yahoo Group. He recently created a new Yahoo Group called American Labyrinth Fish Association. This is a very interesting group that specializes in the many varieties of Labyrinth fish species such as Bettas, Paradise Fish, Gouramis and other rarer types.

The crowd was standing room only and all were keenly interested in the variety, colors and environmental conditions these rare and often misunderstood species require. Mark is an expert in these beautiful and complex fish and answered the many questions from the audience in clear, concise and understandable terms. I can’t wait to have some of these beauties!  The event was fun, rewarding and educational.

Our next event in May will be our Giant Auction! This auction is SOoo big we can’t have a guest speaker. On May 10th, we will have nothing but fish, plants, corals and aquarium products. Our sister club from North Jersey Aquarium Society will host a table to sponsor their upcoming 60th Anniversary in October, which will be a 4 day extravaganza. I don’t want to give away any surprises, so I will let them tell you about it next month. Bill Arndt will have a table for “Your Fish Stuff” for aquarium supplies and tropical fish foods. As always, this will be an exciting event that is not to be missed. So come on down and join us on May 10. Doors open at 7:30 PM.  As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.

May is the opportunity for members, officers and Board members to announce their willingness to participate in the elections for June. As most of you are aware, June is election time for positions on the Board. It is hoped that many of you will volunteer to be more active in club business and help us run our great Society. Anyone interested in participating, please let me know at the May event.
I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different subjects offered, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU!  Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle, by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!
For more info please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455.

On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, which are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

Joe Graffagnino
President

 

President's Message

President’s Message – March 2013

Dear Aquarist,

Our monthly events seem to be on shaky ground. Our November meeting didn’t happen because of Hurricane (tropical storm) Sandy. Our February meeting never happened because of Blizzard Nemo. This event came close to being cancelled because of the snowstorm that hit our area. The weather man predicted that the snow would stop by noon; then by three, and then by four, before it finally slowly subsided. Our speaker, Kevin Kohen, Director of LiveAquaria.com from Doctors Foster & Smith, was stuck on a 4 hour delayed flight because of the storm. Whew! We finally got the event rolling and everyone enjoyed it.

 
Kevin’s program for the evening was “SuperStar Fishes For Reef Aquaria”! The topic certainly lived up to its title because the fish presented in the program were quite rare and extremely valuable. There were fish for the household aquarium that cost many thousands of dollars. Not just a few fish but many of them. These were truly “Super Stars,” dare I say “Divas” of the home aquarium – fish species that are truly for the rich and famous in the hobby world.
 
Our April event will bring Spring flowers in the form of Mark Denaro. Mark is the force behind the Yahoo group “Anubias Design.” This is a great group that is dedicated to discussions on tropical fish and plant species via the internet. I have been a member for many years.
 
Please visit our new website where you can read the Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Provided you have given us your email address, you will be getting notifications of club events via email.
 
I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different speakers or try different things, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone.
 
It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!
 
For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455,
 
On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, which are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.
 
Joe Graffagnino
President
Announcements

Earn 50%* on donated livestock in March 2013

We will once again be having a 50/50 split on donated livestock only (corals, fish and plants in good health) for members only. Members must sign in at the donation desk that they want 50% of whatever their livestock items are auctioned for (no reserves). The total of all donations must be greater than $5 and your return check will be available for pickup at the next regular meeting.

If you have any questions regarding this event please don’t hesitate to contact us or just post your questions below.

Not a member yet? No problem, become one today http://membership.basny.org/

President's Message

President’s Message – February 2013

February’s meeting never happened. Unfortunately, no one was able to hear and see Kathy Cardineau’s presentation on “Ponds – The Easy Way.” I personally was looking forward to enjoying her lecture because I want to have a large (for Brooklyn) pond in the back yard of my new house this spring. We had another BAS disappointment because of terrible weather, the first time ever that that two meetings in the same fiscal year were cancelled because of dramatic weather conditions. November was ruined because of Hurricane Sandy and February destroyed because of Blizzard Nemo. I certainly hope that this will be the end of event-closing weather conditions. This month is our 103rd year in existence – wow, just saying that is a major exciting moment.

March will be an exciting event, weather permitting; our guest speaker will be Kevin Kohen of Live Aquaria, Doctors Foster and Smith. Kevin’s topic for the evening is “Superstar Fishes for Reef Aquaria.” We will carry the 50/50 for livestock donations that should have taken place this past month into the upcoming event. By livestock I mean live fish, corals or plants. I do not mean fish food, filters, equipment, etc.

Please visit our new website where you can read the Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Provided you have given us your email address, you will be getting notifications of club events via email.

I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different speakers or try different things, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone.

It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you! For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455, or visit our modern website at WWW.BROOKLYNAQUARIUMSOCIETY.ORG.

On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, which are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

Joe Graffagnino
President
Announcements, BAS Events

February 8, 2013 Event CANCELLED!

Dear members,

It is with deep regret that we must cancel our February 8th “Ponds; the easy way” by Kathy Cardineau event due to severe storm warning for our area.

Please note that there will be NO meeting tonight. The next meeting is scheduled for March 8th, 2013 and will feature Kevin Kohen of LiveAquaria.com

The 50/50 split for livestock only will be at our March event.

For a complete list of upcoming events please kindly visit Our Events

Please download the latest copy of The Aquatica and our Bulletin for your reading pleasure.

P.S. Everyone who has received a bottle of STARTSMART COMPLETE for either fresh or marine aquariums please send your product evaluation to the our P.O. Box or email it to me at JoeGraffagnino [at] yahoo.com.

Stay warm and safe,

Joe
President

President's Message

President’s Message – January 2013

Happy New Year for 2013 from all of us at BAS! February marks our 102nd year of providing education, encouragement and enlightenment for the maintenance and prosperity of our aquatic creatures and plants. Our January guest speaker was Joe Yaiullo, curator of the Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center, located in Riverhead, Long Island.

Joe’s topic for the evening was the care and maintenance of the Aquarium’s 20,000 gallon marine tank. Joe and his crew have been extremely successful in propagating not only corals, but the marine fish are spawning as well. Joe discovered many interesting and unknown species’ behaviors which he was kind enough to share with the member audience. Joe donated several beautiful coral frags to our auction. As always, Joe was well received by our enthusiastic members.

February may bring cold weather, but it starts us thinking about Spring. When we think about Spring what naturally comes to mind – Ponds! Kathy Cardineau, President of the Nassau County Aquarium Society, will be our guest speaker and her topic will be “Ponds – The Easy Way.” Come on down for a warm, relaxing evening with fellow BAS members on February 8. Doors open at 7:30 PM and, as always, there is FREE Parking and FREE Refreshments.

This is YOUR club, so – please — if you want to see different speakers, different topics and have ideas to better YOUR experience, then please let me know about it. As an example, several members wanted to have a 50/50 split for fish, corals and plants, so we will have this at this meeting. Remember this is for livestock only, not equipment or food. We also have the Forum contest for the most posts in our BAS Forum. First prize is $25 in BAS Bucks and second place is $10 in BAS Bucks. So please participate because you can’t win it if you’re not in it!

Remember to use our Hot Line number for updates to BAS events: 718-837-4455.

Joe Graffagnino
President

President's Message

President’s Message – December 2012

Our November event was the first event that had to be cancelled due to the weather in many years. I think the last time we cancelled a meeting was 20 years ago when Seth Kolker was President. The reason we had to cancel back then was that a large snowstorm had deposited several feet of snow in Brooklyn. This year, Hurricane Sandy, also known as “Frankenstorm,” destroyed everyone’s peace of mind and happiness for quite a while. I believe that this was a rude awakening to what “Mother Nature” can do if we are not prepared or if we become complacent thinking that it won’t happen to us. I hope that all of us emerged from this horror safe and sound. Homes, cars and businesses can be rebuilt, but lives cannot. I hope that all of our aquatic creatures are also safe.

The storm hit our NY Aquarium hard. There were many new elements recently installed at the Aquarium to be used for current and future projects, that were destroyed. Offices and exhibits suffered damage. Thankfully, the fish and animals got through the storm and aftermath successfully, but the Aquarium will require a major clean up and won’t be open to the general public until the Spring.

There is good news in all of this darkness. NY Aquarium Director Jon Dohlin, via Kate Fitzgerald, has granted us the OK to have our Holiday party at our Education Hall. So on Friday, December 14, we will have much to be thankful for. Doors will open for our members, families and friends at 7:30 PM. As in previous Holiday parties, everyone is to bring something to eat and/or drink. Please contact Second Vice President Marie Licciardello at our BAS Hotline (number listed below) as to what you will be bringing to the festivities. Any one not bringing anything will be charged $10 per person, at the door.

As always, there will be free parking and BAS Fish Bingo and we will be presenting BAS awards for all hard working and dedicated members.

People still ask me why they haven’t received the Bulletin and Aquatica in the mail. The reason is that they are now on our web site — and in vibrant color! So please visit our new web site where you can read the Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. Provided you have given us your email address, we can email you our publications and other important notifications of club events.

The interactive forums and sponsor sections on our site are truly enjoyable. Speaking of our interactive Forum – we are having a contest every month as to who has the most posts on our Forum. Please post questions and help provide answers to other hobbyists. You can also post items for sale and ask for items you need. There will be a $25 BAS BUCKS first prize and a $10 BAS BUCKS second prize for the most posts! It is a great place to web connect with other members and a fun location to interact and share information. Several of our wonderful sponsors have “rooms” within our Forum, such as Air, Water & Ice, Zoo Med and Reefs2Go
I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different speakers or try different things, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society — so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455.

On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

Joe Graffagnino
President

President's Message

President’s Message – November 2012

I am filling in on the President’s message for our President, Joe Graffagnino. My name is Steven Matassa and I am your First Vice President. We had a great giant auction in October, with over 200 bags of fish, plants, and coral. We had a large selection of dry goods at our sales tables and we also had two sponsors, Bill Arnet from Your Fish Stuff with fish food, filters, and heaters, and Paul from Fish Junk with a large selection of Python products. Paul also donated a 55 gallon tank, so thanks, Paul. We had raffle bags, baskets and prizes. We also want to thank Petland for donating a 55 gallon tank and stand to our club. We also introduced our cool new bags with the BAS logo on it which are available for sale at $10 each. They are thermo lined to keep your livestock temperature steady.

There were also free bottles of startup given away by TLC Products that will help start up your tank’s cycle quickly and keep it stable. Anyone that did not get a free bottle, don’t worry — we will have more next month. The only thing we ask for in return is a review of your experience with this product to bounce back to TLC for their reference.

We are always looking for more help, so if you are interested, let us know at the next meeting. We never turn down help.

When you’re cleaning out your closets and find old fish products you don’t have any use for, keep us in mind. We accept all donations of livestock or dry goods. In fact, next month, we are doing a 50/50 with all live goods. Whatever we get for the sale of your live goods, you receive 50% of that the following month. Please visit our new website where you can read the BAS Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Provided you have given us your email address, you will be getting notifications of club events via email. We’re also having a Forum Contest which is open to anyone who registers on our forum. The member that has the most posts will receive $25.00 in BAS Bucks and the second most posts will receive $10.00 in BAS Bucks. For anyone who doesn’t know, BAS bucks can be used at any of our auctions or tables to pay for items at our events.

It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle; by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us help you!

On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, which are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month at 7:30 pm, please notify Joe at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718)837-4455.

Steven Matassa
First Vice President

Announcements

November 9, 2012 Event CANCELLED.

All,

It is with sadness and regret that I must cancel the Brooklyn Aquarium Society meeting for this Friday November 9. Due to Hurricane Sandy the NY Aquarium will be closed until the Spring.

The Education Hall is being used for volunteers working to repair the aquarium. Any person seeking to volunteer to work as a laborer to help the wildlife survive at the NY Aquarium please go to the Facebook page or the web site of the Wildlife Conservation Society and leave information that you want to volunteer at the NY Aquarium. Someone will contact you.

We hope to see you at the Holiday Party on Dec. 14. I am not sure where it will be but I will let you know.
Joe Graffagnino
President

President's Message

President’s Message – September 2012

Dear Aquarist,

Welcome to the start of our new season. Our guest speaker was most probably the best fish breeder in the United States, if not the world. Mike Hellweg came in from St. Louis, Missouri to discuss his fish breeding contest with Ted Judy. Mike bred 169 species of fish in one year. The contest was sponsored by Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine. The first question on everyone’s mind was “Would you do it again?” Mike’s answer was “Definitely not!” It was a grueling 12 months of non-stop water changes, feeding fish and changing fish into various tanks. The discussion and presentation was educational and very enlightening, especially to people who enjoy breeding fish. Mike was very generous with his ideas and success stories and even spoke on some not so successful spawns. The Q & A went on for a long time. It was interesting to note that several members procured a couple of Mike’s books via our website link to Amazon.com. Mike was happy to autograph each book during the meeting.

October brings our Fall Giant auction featuring marine fish and corals, freshwater plants, fish and invertebrates. As always, we will have many bags of your favorite species. Great bargains will be available, so make sure you come to the greatest auction in New York on October 12. Our unique sales tables will be open for shirts, hats, books, magazines and other aquarium equipment and supplies. Doors open at 7:30 and the giant auction will start at 8:30 PM sharp!

As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.

People still ask me why haven’t they received the Bulletin and Aquatica in the mail. The reason is that they are now on our web site in vibrant color! So please visit our new website where you can read the Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Provided you have given us your email address, you will be getting notifications of club events via email.

Speaking of our interactive Forum – we are having a contest every month for the most posts on our Forum. Please post aquarium-related questions and help provide answers to other hobbyists. You can also post items for sale and ask for items you need. There will be a $25 BAS BUCKS first prize and a $10 BAS BUCKS second prize for the most posts! It is a great place to web connect with other members and a fun location to interact and share information. Several of our wonderful sponsors have “rooms” within our Forum, such as Air, Water & Ice, Zoo Med and Reefs2Go.

I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different speakers or try different things, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455

On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, which are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

President
Joe Graffagnino