Moving to Gainesville, I wanna play too

[Ovuel]

Well actually I am moving to Bronson where my Mom lives, but I will be working and going to school in Gainesville. After 5 years of the Navy, and a few years doing this and that I decided I really wanted to be a vet more than anything else and have decided to let the Navy pay for 3 years of it. I'm currently working out a transfer from Petco in Boca Raton to Petco in Gainesville and if all goes smooth I would hopefully start work in Gainesville on the 9th of April.

Fortunately though I will be moving this coming Sunday (April 1), which means I would possibly be able to attend the April meeting. That is if I were allowed to. I don't know what any of the club fees or dues are and with the move that may be a sticking point for a few weeks and could possibly set me back into May. I look forward to hopefully getting to know some people.

-Rob

 

[adnup]

Welcome Rob,
G-ville is an hour and a half from my house. Some members live up in Inverness, which is closer to you.

We are a very informal club just some reefers that get together once a month. There are no fees or dues.

Paul

 

[Ovuel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9581171#post9581171 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by adnup
We are a very informal club just some reefers that get together once a month.
Paul

...spoken like a true North Floridian.

Hopefully I can at least pick up a few tips from the Inverness/Crystal River crowd as to where all of the good "local" sw stores are. Besides I'm definately not past driving 2 or so hours to pick up something I am looking for. Once you make the commitment to live in the "boonies" you realize that this is a necessary evil that comes with the territory. I guess it's a good thing I traded my truck for a car a little over a year ago.

 

[BankerJohn]

Welcome! Speaking of living in the boonies.... I live in Lecanto (the suburbs of Crystal River and Inverness) LOL

GatorOlsen is another local here. She know a lot of the stores in the Gainesville/Ocala area since she travels with her profession as a medical professional. You may want to send her a PM.

Regarding our club, the rules and membership requirements. Our club is VERY informal and there are no fees or required payments. We started the club as a group that wanted no formal structure or rules. We also DO NOT WANT DUES. As a group, we have become a close knit group. We share frags (no, we do not sell in the group). At the meetings, everyone brings a frag and takes a frag home.

The point with the frag trade within our group is two fold. By sharing frags within the group, should anything happen to a members tank, the frags can be readily replaced to get the crashed tank back up and running - Just ask StevenM.
The other reason we frag is to help the newer reefers with biodiversity. We all started out on a budget and know how hard it is to fund this hobby. The sharing is a way to thank all the folks that have helped us get started in this hobby.

THe challenge with our system in the club is that every once in a while, a rogue comes in, gladly takes free frags and gives nothing in return - only to see them selling frags at a later point. This is not good and is against the rules. I think this is about the only rule we have.

I hope to meet you at one of the club meetings one day.

Banker John

 

[Ovuel]

I know where Lecanto is. I went to Dunnellon High School my Jr & Sr years and we played Lecanto in both wrestling and baseball which I was a part of. Being on sports teams really allowed me to get to know more then just my "local" areas wher ever I lived.

I'm sorry to hear that you guys have had rogue problems in the past. To be honest I really am not looking to add anything to my tank at the moment and I am still green enough to the SW side that I am not really sure what the true definition of a frag is.

All I know is that I am really into the clownfish and hope to one day set up an operation which would allow me to successfully rear one or two of the spawnings. I have done this on the FW side with Cichlids and it is part of what has drawn me to SW. I will admit that I do plan on turning all of my tanks into reefs, however I don't know if I ever really plan to go any further than the softies. I want to provide my clowns with a host anemone where possible and that in itself will eliminate a lot of my choices for stocking.

I can also say that your current 55 gallon seems to have the exact same equipment I plan to use to set up my 55 gallon which is in storage in Archer. I definately plan to start a LR project once I get up there. To be totally honest my main reason for looking into a reef club is simply to meet some people with the same interest and learn as much as I can. I would obviously contribute what I can as well, however how much information can a newbie really provide.

The frag swap you guys have sounds like it works really well for your close knit environment, but that really is more of a North Florida type attitude. I've lived a lot of places in my short life and I have come to find out that there aren't many places where people actually care about other people. North Florida seems to be one of those places and I am thrilled to be coming back.

I also know that I'm not sure my tank is stable enough right now that I would risk adding anything other than what I already have. I want to get both of these things to the two month point, (with fish not since I started cycling), before I tryed adding anything else. I also know that as a beginner I am going to look to try something simple like a Xenia. I know I want to eventually work my way to a BTA, so I have heard that Xenias are relatively hardy and a pretty good starter.

This is getting wordy enough, so I will close with this. I do look forward to learning as much as I can from everybody and will try to do my best to contribute whatever I can to help the cause.

-Rob

 

[dmbedard]

Welcome...

 

[gatorolsen]

welcome

I lived in G'ville for 7 years before moving to Crystal River. Happy to help you out with lfs recommendations - just pm and I will reply with my personal experiences for G'ville and Ocala

anchor is very laid back and welcoming - no need to feel like a newbie with so many helpful members - great frag trades

also is gainesville reef - not as active as it used to be but many helpful reefers that have helped me out with equiptment problems and frag trades
http://www.gnvreef.org/phpBB2/index.php

re: clownfish - so many types and such a hardy fish
I have had my pair of pink skunk clowns since '00 - they love hosting in my xenia - and I just added a RBTA to my percula tank, my first attempt at an anemone but so far so good

You can find alot of really good information in the book 'clownfishes' by wilkerson - and from reefcentrals clownfish and anemone forum

good luck and welcome to anchor
Gatorolsen