Category Archives: Announcements

2012-2013 BAS Sponsor Calendar – Available For Download

2012-2013 BAS Sponsor Calendar –

For a list of our upcoming event please visit “Our Events

You can now download/view/print your own copy of Sponsor Calendar.  See all area events happening each month at BAS and all sister societies around the tri-state area.

Many thanks to our board member Gene Kogan for creating this nifty calendar.

Enjoy, and let us know (by leaving a comment below)  if you’d like to see something included/changed.

2012

September 2012 | October 2012 | November 2012 | December 2012

2013

January 2013 | February 2013 | March 2013April 2013May 2013

June 2013July 2013 | August 2013

Reef Swap; Sunday, May 20th at Pace University.

If you are into saltwater fish and reefs this event is definitely for you. Entrance is $25 per person, children under 16 admitted FREE.

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Every single attendee at the swap this Sunday will be receiving the following:

  • Fluval Sea Salt – 10 gallons worth of salt
  • Fish Pellet Samples
  • Fluval ION Water Conditioners
  • Live Aquaria $20 Gift Certificate
  • Instant Ocean Marine Stablilizer
  • Gift Bag

…and of course, the swap includes:

  • Free catered lunch
  • Coffee, Cookies

Our guest speakers for this swap are
:

  • Joe Yaiullo – Nutrient control in a 20,000 gallon reef and why this matters to you.
  • Gary Parr – “How’d you shoot that?” has helped thousands of hobbyists across the country refine their photographic skills.
  • Lots of free corals will be given away at our frag demonstration station throughout the day including chalices, soft corals, SPS and more.

    If you have not already RSVP’d, do it now on the first post in the thread here:

    Don’t wait until the event is sold out!

    Earn 50%* on donated livestock in June 2012

    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 or during our board meeting on July 13th.

    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/

    The Coral Reef Aquarium: “From Inception to Completion” by Tony Vargas

    This great book is finaly available for order directly from Amazon. We highly recommend this book to all reefkeepers and those looking to start in saltwater hobby.

    Order your copy today!

    ORDER HERE >> The Coral Reef Aquarium: From Inception to Completion

    As an added bonus you can bring the book to our March 9,  2012 event and ask Tony to sign it for you. You can’t get that anywhere else :)

    President’s Message – December 2011

    Happy Holidays to all our members, family and friends. We have much to be thankful for this past year, such as our celebration of the Society’s 100th Birthday.  We have had a great array of guest speakers from seasoned veterans such as Pat Donston of Absolutely Fish and Richard Ross of the Steinhart Aquarium, to new speakers giving their first lecture at BAS such as Joe Caparatta of Manhattan Aquariums and Anthony Stissi of Staten Island Cichlids.com. The Brooklyn Aquarium Society has always been a great place for new and old aquarists. Now marching into our 101 year of existence, the high standards and love for the hobby that was present 100 years ago still exists today. May all of you have a safe, healthy, happy and holy holiday season.

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    2011 also brought sadness to our Society. – Frank Policastro, our longest continuous member, since 1964, has passed away. I am happy and proud that we were able to honor Frank at our 100th Birthday this past July. Frank was not just a member, but he was on the Board of Directors and an Officer for many years in the mid to late1970’s. Frank went on to become a founding member of the Jersey Shore Aquarium Society, as well as Treasurer for the North Jersey Aquarium Society and served on the Board of Directors for the NorthEast Council of Aquarium Societies (NEC). He was very active and extremely dedicated. He was true to himself, his family and to the aquarium hobby. Frank will be greatly missed by everyone. 

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    January 2012 brings us our friend Joe Yaiullo, curator and co-founder of Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center. To start the new year off properly, Joe’s topic for the evening will be “Eleven Years of Feeding Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center’s 20,000 Gallon Reef.” 

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    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.

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    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. A survey of our members has been conducted over the past several months on what you want to see and do as a member – the results will be in the January Bulletin.

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    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

    Earn 50%* on donated livestock in January, 2012

    We will be having a 50/50 split on donated livestock only (corals, fish and plants) 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.

    President’s Message – November 2011

    November is a wonderful month for many reasons.  First, we had our event on Veterans Day and the Society wants to wish every veteran a happy and safe day. Second, we have Thanksgiving, which is my favorite holiday. Think about it … the majority have the day off as a holiday; you don’t have to buy anything for it — not even a card — and if you’re lucky you can visit someone’s home and eat till you pass out, for free –a great American tradition! And last, we had Anthony Stissi as our guest speaker. Anthony’s topic for the evening was “Lake Tanganyikan Tropheus & Petrochromis Species”.  His talk included great information on how to choose and care for the various cichlid species and showed slides of many of the beautiful and robust fish he breeds. This was Anthony’s first public speaking engagement and he did great. Anthony is one of many new speakers that should go on to become famous lecturers not only throughout the United States, but throughout the world. I predict that Anthony will be a great lecturer and presenter in the near future, watch for him!

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    The auction that evening had aquarium supplies, food, lights, fish tanks, wood and metal stands, rocks and gravel, and of course, fish, corals and plants. For the marine enthusiasts there were PJ Cardinals, Clark Clown fish, Kenya Trees, mushroom corals and so much more.

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    December is our holiday party. Anyone who will attend should bring something to eat that we shall share with the other holiday well wishes.  Anyone not bringing in food such as an entrée, dessert or a non-alcoholic beverage will be charged $10 per person for admission. The holiday party is the evening we distribute awards for the hard work our members have done all year. Also we will have our Fish Bingo and the winners will be getting some great fishy items.

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    Sad news – the longest continuous member of our great Society has passed away. Frank Policastro had been a member since 1964 — that is 47 continuous years. I am happy and proud that we were able to honor Frank at our 100th Birthday celebration this past July. We honored the Society’s past three presidents (Seth Kolker, Al DiSpigna and John Todaro), our former Sgt. At Arms and the persons most responsible for organizing the Breeder Program and for winning the most awards during Fish Shows, Tom Miglio and Frank Policastro. Frank had always been a great historian and had maintained a library of documentation on the Brooklyn Aquarium Society since becoming a member. It was because of Frank that we were able to have as much rich information and his documentation enabled us to flesh out our history for the club journal. Frank will be sorely missed on so many levels, by so many people.

    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. A survey of our members has been conducted over the past several months as to what you want to see and do as a member – the results will be mentioned at the Holiday party and will be in the January Bulletin.

    .

    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 – October 2011

    Our October Giant Auction had 300 items in it. There were aquarium supplies, food, lights, fish tanks, stands, full covers and of course, fish, corals and lots of plants. There were many hard to find items such as African giraffe catfish at 1 ½”, baby electric catfish, and mudskippers. For the marine enthusiasts, there were red brittle starfish, chocolate chip starfish, feather dusters, hermit crabs, yellow tangs, Kenya Trees and so much more. Everyone had a great time and went home with fantastic bargains.

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    November will bring Anthony Stessi of Staten Island Cichlids.com. Anthony is an expert on African cichlids and has raised and bred them for many years. His topic for the evening will concentrate on the Petrochromis and Tropheus families. As always, we will have a multi species auction of fish, corals and plants. Come early and stay late because you always have a wonderful time at our monthly meetings. Our unique sales tables will be open for shirts, hats, books, magazines and aquarium equipment and supplies. We will also have a giant raffle for our members.

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    I hope to see everyone at our November 11th event. As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.

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    Please visit our new website where you can read the Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. So far, feedback has been very favorable.  We put a lot of effort and hard work into this new web site and we want your reaction as to how you like it. Please get back to me on this. 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

    Vendor Expo, Fish Show & Giant Auction hosted by NJAS, October 21-23

    Come spend the weekend with New Jersey’s largest Tropical Fish Club. The event includes a Vendor Expo on Friday and Saturday, as well as a fish show Saturday also, and a giant tropical fish, plant and dry good auction on Sunday. There will be multiple vendors Friday & Saturday, silent auctions, food and drinks available all three days.

    Visit www.njas.net for more info.

    Friday, Saturday & Sunday
    October 21 – 23, 2011
    Quality Inn 10 Polito Avenue, Lyndhurst, NJ  07071

    Like Blue Zoo Radio? You’ll love Blue Zoo TV!

    Following a successful award winning season of Blue Zoo TV presented by HIKARI, where an ADDY Award for 2010 was presented to the show for “offering a great promotional tool and entertainment value to the web”. Blue Zoo TV is back for the 2011 season.

    The first show, “Cleaning a Pond” visits master breeder and in-home fish room aquarist, Charley Grimes. “Cleaning a Pond” reflects over 4600 emails to Blue Zoo asking to illustrate the subject. The show covers the cleaning at a “high rate of speed”. to add some entertainment value to a sometimes mundane job.

    To view the new show on Blue Zoo TV presented by HIKARI, go to http://www.bluezootv.com/ and click “Cleaning the Pond”.

    New episodes will be released every week to ten days for the remainder of the season.

    Blue Zoo TV would also like to thank Hikari,  Kordon, Tunze and OnederSave for their continued support as well as our listeners, viewers and fans.

    Blue Zoo TV viewing is available on www.bluezootv.com, www.bluezooradio.com, ITunes, Youtube, Facebook, www.sportstalknetwork.com and Twitter

    Thank You!

    Frank Reece
    Host
    Twitter: @bluezooradio

    President’s Message – June 2011

    Dear Aquarist,

    Happy Summer! At our last meeting before our summer break, we had our election of officers. Most of the people in their current positions stayed the same, with a couple of exceptions. Adam Engerow had to leave his post as Corresponding Secretary for personal reasons due to college demands and Lita Goldberg went from Board member to the Sgt. At Arms position. We wish Adam great success with his academic endeavors and Lita much praise in accepting her new position.

    Our June event had Carol Ross of our sister club – Bucks County – in from Pennsylvania to provide a presentation on “Collecting Fish In Peru.” Carol’s presentation brought out the vast beauty in the untouched areas of South America , but also highlighted the lack of modern conveniences and that life is, at times, just bare necessities. It was an in-depth look at how people and businesses exist in that part of the world.

    The next time we shall meet will be at our birthday party at the NY Aquarium on July 8 starting at 7:00 PM. Please remember that this party is by invitation only. When your reservation invitation card has been received you and your party’s names will be listed at the entrance to the party. If you need to change a name for an attendee, you must contact me immediately so I can change the name on the list. If the attendee’s name is not on the list at the entrance to the Aquarium, they will not be allowed to enter!

    If you cannot make the party, then we will get together again at our September 9th event featuring Joe Caparette.  His topic for the evening will be “Unique Corals You Can Keep.”  As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.

    Please visit our new website where you can read the Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. So far the results have been very favorable and we put a lot of effort and hard work into this new web site and we want your feedback as to how you like it. Please get back to me on this. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Also 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

    Write to City Hall today to urge them to protect Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium funding.

    Dear Member/Visitor:

    On May 5, 2011, City Hall released a proposed budget slashing funding for the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium by more than 50 percent. If passed, this could force layoffs, program cuts and hurt local merchants and small businesses in New York.

    Each year, while four million guests and students at Wildlife Conservation Society parks learn about the wonders of wildlife, they pump more than $316 million into the City’s economy, creating jobs for New Yorkers, supporting small businesses and generating tax dollars for our city.

    Lawmakers face an incredible number of competing demands during budget season. That’s why we need to let them know that New Yorkers care deeply about our zoo and aquarium and that we’re paying close attention to their next move.

    Cultural organizations like these are essential to the economic lifeblood of New York City. We know that cities and states across the country are trimming budgets and reining in spending, but cutting funding for organizations that create jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars is simply not the answer.

    Tell City Hall to save funding for cultural organizations like the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium today!

    Thank you for standing with us.

    Sincerely,

    Janet Torres
    Director of Government Affairs and Community Affairs
    Wildlife Conservation Society

    President’s Message – May 2011

    Dear Aquarist,

    May brought in more than just flowers; it brought in hordes of aquaria aficionados! What a great turnout for our Giant Auction, and rightfully so! We had almost 250 items up on the block – from aquariums, lighting, filters, CO2 tanks, protein skimmers, R/O units and the livestock! There were bags of rare and hard to find items such as Centopoma ansorgi, multiple types of synodontis catfish (some even I didn’t know about), dual snout elephant fish, mudskippers, dragon fish, mouth brooding severums, scores of African and American [North, South & Central] cichlids, marine fish, hard and soft corals and countless bags of various plants. This was undoubtedly the greatest auction of aquatic products that I have seen in the past 10 -15 years. If you missed it, well, shame on you!

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    Our final event of the season will bring Carol Ross in from Pennsylvania. Carol’s topic for the evening will be “Collecting Fish In Peru.” Our great cory catfish expert Ian Fuller must have seen Carol’s presentation, because he is going on a collecting trip to Peru this summer – that speaks volumes. Doors open at 7:30 PM on June 10, so be there!

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    June is also elections for Officers and Board members. Without these selfless and dedicated people, you would not have a Brooklyn Aquarium Society. There will be several empty slots this year as some of our long time members will be moving. – please get actively involved in YOUR club. We need your help if we are to survive for another hundred years.  As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.

    .

    Please visit our new website where you can read the Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. So far, the results have been very favorable. We put a lot of effort and hard work into this new web site and we want your feedback as to how you like it. Please get back to me on this. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Also, you will be getting notifications of club events via email.

    .

     Our Birthday Party is set for Friday, July 8, starting at 7:00 PM at the NY Aquarium. We will have Bar B Q style food, a sea lion show, pretzel, popcorn and ice cream carts, dancing under the stars, a complete new and vastly remodeled aquarium to ourselves and don’t forget the fireworks – after all we do have something to celebrate. Due to security reasons, this party is by INVITE ONLY! If you do not submit the invitation, then you will not be on the list and  if you’re not on the list YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN!

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    By now, your invitation should have been mailed back to us; there will be no tickets to this event – your names will be checked at the NY Aquarium entrance door, if you responded and mailed the RSVP ticket with your check or money order.

    .

    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