DMBillies
Active member
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to start some discussion to highlight the importance of sellers/vendors/buyers being prepared for the upcoming event. Please feel free to post anything you might think of that I haven't hit on that could help people prepare.
Thanks,
Brian
Temperature
The first is that the temperature will be extremely low on Saturday morning. The high on Saturday is 44F but the low on Friday night is 28F and they are expecting wind chills as low as -10F. What this means is that temperatures will VERY quickly get out of range if you don't make adequate preparations. In my experience at swaps (especially this one being in the winter time), temperature seems to be the number one stressor that corals face.
Things you can do to prevent temperature problems:
----Bring coolers for frag bags and pack frags for transportation to the swap in coolers.
----Even better would be to float frag bags in water with heaters and a little bit of circulation using a power inverter (particularly for those with longer rides). Just keep the heater with water flowing over it and off of the bags so you don't overheat the frags closest to it.
----If nothing else, large amounts of water lose heat a lot slower than a smaller amount, so pack your frags in more water than you really need.
----Heat packs or even microwaved bags of water can help keep the temperature up.
----Don't forget that the extra water you bring should stay as warm as possible so your heaters don't have to do as much work when you get to the swap and you can unpack frags sooner.
----Bring a lot of heaters and/or big ones and monitor temperature closely throughout the swap.
----Warm up your car before loading it. Between packing the car and then finally getting it heated up, your frags could end up being in 40F air for 30 minutes or more with no good way to replace the lost heat until you get to the swap.
----If you don't have your own set-up, find a buddy that is willing to float your frags (ones you are buying or selling) during the swap to keep the temperature more stable.
----Be certain to carefully temperature acclimate any corals you take home.
Pests
The ugly side of swapping is that often times pests are spread about hobbyists tanks. Pests can include anything from aiptasia, invasive algaes, acro-eating flatworms, monti-eating nudis, etc.
It is my belief that most hobbyists and industry vendors who are selling would not do so if they knew they had a pest, but there probably are some unscrupulous folks that would take the money. Either way, the burden of ensuring that your own tank remains pest free is on you.
Quaranting is always a good idea if you have the option. I would also recommend getting a commercially available dip (or making your own) and using it as insurance that nothing bads makes it to your tank. It should be noted that often times dips will not kill the eggs of some of the bad coral predators, so a combo of repeated dips and quarantine would be best. Always check the dip water after you have done a dip for pests (if you find them, don't put it in your tank) and visually inspect every frag for bad algae, anemones, and other things that may grow out of control in your tank if not "treated" up front. Remember that many pests can do an incredible amount of damage and/or can be really difficult to treat.
Taking a chance by putting even a really expensive coral in your tank that you think might have a pest will almost certainly cost you more in money/time than trashing the coral or running it in quarantine for a few weeks until you are in the clear.
I'm not bringing this up to scare people away, but you should be prepared. Kind of like teen pregnancy, this problem will not go away if we just ignore it
The link below is to some common coral pests. Please ask questions in this thread if you want more information about identifying/treating pests.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=903839&highlight=AEFW+picture+thread
Electric
This new location has more outlets and more breakers than our previous location, but we do need everyone to make sure to bring power cords and power strips to make sure you can supply power to your set-up.
I just wanted to start some discussion to highlight the importance of sellers/vendors/buyers being prepared for the upcoming event. Please feel free to post anything you might think of that I haven't hit on that could help people prepare.
Thanks,
Brian
Temperature
The first is that the temperature will be extremely low on Saturday morning. The high on Saturday is 44F but the low on Friday night is 28F and they are expecting wind chills as low as -10F. What this means is that temperatures will VERY quickly get out of range if you don't make adequate preparations. In my experience at swaps (especially this one being in the winter time), temperature seems to be the number one stressor that corals face.
Things you can do to prevent temperature problems:
----Bring coolers for frag bags and pack frags for transportation to the swap in coolers.
----Even better would be to float frag bags in water with heaters and a little bit of circulation using a power inverter (particularly for those with longer rides). Just keep the heater with water flowing over it and off of the bags so you don't overheat the frags closest to it.
----If nothing else, large amounts of water lose heat a lot slower than a smaller amount, so pack your frags in more water than you really need.
----Heat packs or even microwaved bags of water can help keep the temperature up.
----Don't forget that the extra water you bring should stay as warm as possible so your heaters don't have to do as much work when you get to the swap and you can unpack frags sooner.
----Bring a lot of heaters and/or big ones and monitor temperature closely throughout the swap.
----Warm up your car before loading it. Between packing the car and then finally getting it heated up, your frags could end up being in 40F air for 30 minutes or more with no good way to replace the lost heat until you get to the swap.
----If you don't have your own set-up, find a buddy that is willing to float your frags (ones you are buying or selling) during the swap to keep the temperature more stable.
----Be certain to carefully temperature acclimate any corals you take home.
Pests
The ugly side of swapping is that often times pests are spread about hobbyists tanks. Pests can include anything from aiptasia, invasive algaes, acro-eating flatworms, monti-eating nudis, etc.
It is my belief that most hobbyists and industry vendors who are selling would not do so if they knew they had a pest, but there probably are some unscrupulous folks that would take the money. Either way, the burden of ensuring that your own tank remains pest free is on you.
Quaranting is always a good idea if you have the option. I would also recommend getting a commercially available dip (or making your own) and using it as insurance that nothing bads makes it to your tank. It should be noted that often times dips will not kill the eggs of some of the bad coral predators, so a combo of repeated dips and quarantine would be best. Always check the dip water after you have done a dip for pests (if you find them, don't put it in your tank) and visually inspect every frag for bad algae, anemones, and other things that may grow out of control in your tank if not "treated" up front. Remember that many pests can do an incredible amount of damage and/or can be really difficult to treat.
Taking a chance by putting even a really expensive coral in your tank that you think might have a pest will almost certainly cost you more in money/time than trashing the coral or running it in quarantine for a few weeks until you are in the clear.
I'm not bringing this up to scare people away, but you should be prepared. Kind of like teen pregnancy, this problem will not go away if we just ignore it
The link below is to some common coral pests. Please ask questions in this thread if you want more information about identifying/treating pests.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=903839&highlight=AEFW+picture+thread
Electric
This new location has more outlets and more breakers than our previous location, but we do need everyone to make sure to bring power cords and power strips to make sure you can supply power to your set-up.
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