UR Newsletter October 2008

October 2008 Newsletter

Welcome to UltimateReef’s monthly newsletter

Yes, it’s that time again! The month is drawing to an end and that means only one thing - time for a catch up on this month’s goings on. This month has featured one of the very best TOTMs yet - a stunning set up which is definitely worth a read, even if you just look at the pictures!

1 Tank of the Month

This month’s TOTM was awarded to Martin Lakin (Acropora) for his truly stunning setup. This is one of the greats, a tank that must be seen, one that changes and evolves over the years into something more and more beautiful. Get comfy and have a read, the pictures and attention to detail speak for themselves.

Click to view the October TOTM article.

Congratulations Martin, a very worthy TOTM.

2 Subject of the Month

October’s photography SOTM was won by Ridgeway, with this very cute image of a clownfish and anemone.

Click to view all the entries of the SOTM

Congratulations to Ridgeway, who won a Fishman’s frag pack worth £50!

3 Recent Events

Those that managed to get to the STM open day will know what a great day it was (if they can remember it at all), and some will just have worrying flashbacks of SCOOB in positions they’d rather forget, along with Andy dishing out the ironic ‘free hugs’. If you didn’t manage to make it this year then remember to get your tickets early next time around!

4 Meet the Team - Philfish (NMHT)

Hi, my name is Phil Martin. Better known to UR members as Philfish. I’ve been keeping marine fish since I was 15 years old. I’m now 52, so 37 years in all! Back in those days, it was all under-gravel filters and hang on thermostats. The chances of keeping invertebrates, and especially corals alive in the home aquarium in those days was virtually nil. How far we have come!

Originally I’m from a little town called Abergele in North Wales, I’ve spent the last ten years in Lowestoft, Suffolk, with my partner of 17 years, also called Phil (so that gets confusing at times!). I also share my home with 3 Bulldogs and a Scottish Terrier.

I run the annual Reefkeepers Weekender at Pontins in Pakefield, where I also work. This year was our most successful yet, with over 200 attendees in all, and our guest speakers were Anthony Calfo and Ron Hessing. Two great guys, who also happen to be supremely knowledgeable on our hobby, and they helped make the whole weekend really interesting.

I’ve been a member of UR for 4 years now, and am very honoured to be a member of the New Member Help Team. My own tank is 96" x 24" x 27", and gives me a chance to keep some of my favourite fish, Tangs and Angels! I am often tempted to have more corals, but just couldn’t get rid of my favourite fish species! I’m lucky to have my tank against an outside wall, with my garage on the other side. So, all my pipework goes out into a 6 foot sump in the garage, where all my RO, water changes, skimmer etc. are kept. Bliss!

If I were to be able to pass on one piece of advice to all newbies it would be one word. QUARANTINE. I never used to, and paid a high price when I lost many irreplaceable fish to whitespot. A Quarantine tank is a must in this hobby, and if one person is saved for the heartache of losing their precious livestock by reading this, I’ll be a happy man!

HERE is a recent video of my tank, you can see how much I love my tangs and angels! Enjoy!

Finally, thanks to everyone here at UR for giving me so much support over the years. A better bunch of folks I’ve yet to meet!

5 UR and Team changes

To clarify the rules that we all agree to abide by to maintain UR as a pleasant experience for all, a new section has been added to the User Agreement which states the main rules in plain and simple English. Please make time to read the revised User Agreement by clicking HERE.
It is your responsibility to remain up to date with the User Agreement and by continuing to post on UR you are accepting the terms of this agreement.

This month has seen a new feature added to the site which will be most helpful when used in the Members’ Tank Specs forum. The thread filter will remove all posts other than the thread starters’, enabling you to read just the information you want! To use this feature, click the ‘Thread tools’ menu and select ‘show only starter’s posts’.
See this announcement for a few more details: ‘A New Feature’

With UltimateReef continuing to expand at an alarming pace, we knew that somewhere down the line another few members were going to have to be added to the NMHT and through SCOOB’s complete determinism, he once again succeeded in convincing them to sign up! We’re very proud to announce two new team members joining the NMHT.
Firstly, everybody’s favourite super hero, Pavlo. He may not be the highest poster in the world but what this man doesn’t know about the technicalities of reefing, or building and design, isn’t worth knowing. We are very much looking forward to seeing him take an active role in NMHT Extra, for consultation and design advice in particular.
Secondly but by no means least, we welcome Jimdon_IOM to the team. Jim is the first ‘regular member’ in a long time to get frequent praise given to ‘us’ as feedback for day to day posting. He has helped many, many members over the last couple of years and we’d like to harness and officiate that enthusiasm by bringing him ‘on-board’. We are sure that you will join us in congratulating both of them and will welcome them with open arms!

And in addition we'd just like to inform you that in the interests of keeping all our articles accurate and informative, Zimreef has ‘taken on’ AlanM as a fellow Technical Editor. Alan’s attention to detail is bordering on OCD so we may as well put that to good use. Alan already dedicates upwards of 12 hours per day to the New Member Help Team. So that leaves at least another 12 hours that can be put to Editing. On a serious note, thankyou Alan for accepting even more work, it truly is appreciated and is directly instrumental to the continued success of UltimateReef.
As a side note - anyone who could help UR by writing an article, please contact Zimreef!

And last but not least we’d also like to welcome our newest sponsor - Amwell Aquatics, who are based in Epping (Essex) and in Soham (Cambridge). Welcome to UltimateReef!
To access their site, click here www.amwellaquatics.co.uk

The UltimateReef Team