See you at the meeting, Tom. TFCEC Monthly Meeting. TFCEC Spring Auction. TFCEC Monthly Meeting. Tuesday February 16th

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1 TFCEC Monthly Meeting Tuesday February 16th The Chicken Coop, VFW Post 8113, 299 Leydecker Road, West Seneca NY. Meeting starts at 7:00 PM. Mini Auction, Raffles Bowl Show: Livebearers/Any other Variety TFCEC Spring Auction Sunday February 28th The Chicken Coop, VFW Post 8113, 299 Leydecker Road, West Seneca NY. Registration: 9:30am Auction starts promptly at 11:00 am 70/30 split 10 table system TFCEC Monthly Meeting Tuesday March 15th The Chicken Coop, VFW Post 8113, 299 Leydecker Road, West Seneca NY. Meeting starts at 7:00 PM. Mini Auction, Raffles Bowl Show: Killies/Any other Variety This month is our annual Spring auction. I would like to see every member attend the auction and sign up to help make it go smoothly. Even if you can give just an hour of your time. We need set-up, kitchen help, runners, greeters, chit writers, clean-up, or you can make something for the kitchen. If everyone chips in a little bit, it will make everyone's job easier. We also need help with content for the newsletter. If the newsletter is only a page or two, the club is to blame as a whole and not the editor. We need members to consistently sent information to the editor. As I stated last month, I had some target catfish to turn in but as it turned out they were not old enough per BAP rules. If all goes well you can look for them this month on the BAP table. See you at the meeting, Tom

2 Meetings The Tropical Fish Club of Erie County, Inc., meets the third Tuesday of the month at The Chicken Coop, VFW Post 8113, 299 Leydecker Road, West Seneca NY. Meetings start at 7:00PM. All are invited. Our Purpose The purpose of the Tropical Fish Club of Erie County is to bring hobbyists of tropical fish and aquatic plants together, those who are interested in breeding, raising, showing, or just plain looking at fish and aquatic plants. Also to aid members through lectures, films and slide presentations on different aspects of the tropical fish hobby. Exchange Policy The Tropical Fish Club of Erie County will send a copy of this newsletter to any club who sends us a copy of their publication. Reprint Policy Any article may be reprinted by another aquarium society, providing the source and author are given credit, and a copy of your publication is sent to us. Web Address -erie-county.com Officers Chairman Tom Heisler TfcecTom@gmail.com Vice Chairman Tom Rizzo triz316@verizon.net Secretary Kim Ball Kimantha333@gmail.com Treasurer Ed Osika Ex-Officio Randy Seufert Tfcprez2@aol.com Board of Directors Committee Chairperson Peter Reukauf petespoint@juno.com Jack Mullen JackMullen2001@yahoo.com Mike Culkowski mike@mikeswetpets.com Larry Gibbs Donna Czarnecki-Reukauf Chris Hardy Mark Baumgart princess.donna@live.com TfcecChris@gmail.com Bill Wroblewski wildbill41361@aol.com Breeders Award Program Tom Rizzo /Bill W Triz316@verizon.net Horticultural Award Program Chuck Mule & Bill Duzen Phantom621@hotmail.com Writers Award Program Jason Ball TfcecEditor@gmail.com Fed. Of American Aquar. Soc. Bill Duzen theduuz@aol.com Membership Chris Hardy TfcecChris@gmail.com Library Bill Wroblewski wildbill41361@aol.com Bowl Show Larry Gibbs Exchange Editor Chuck Mule Phantom621@hotmail.com Ways & Means Randy Seufert Tfcprez2@aol.com Aquarist of The Year Chuck Mule Phantom621@hotmail.com Newsletter Editor Jason Ball TfcecEditor@gmail.com Programs Jack Mullen JackMullen2001@yahoo.com Annual Auction Randy Seufert Tfcprez2@aol.com Awards Banquet Larry Gibbs Club Picnic Teri Seufert TKoala529@aol.com Fishy/Fishy Club Ed Osika Raffle/Prizes Bill Wroblewski wildbill41361@aol.com Christmas Party Larry Gibbs Web Moderator Josh Vito JoshVito@gmail.com Refreshments Mark and Mary Ann Baumgart Page 2

3 HAP Yearly Totals I would like to share some of the posi ve experiences Peter and I have had while traveling to other clubs auc ons and events. We have met some wonderful people along the way and are really enjoying the friendships that have formed. My focus this month is the Greater Akron Aquarium Society s (GAAS) Auc on. The auc on was held on Sunday November 1, 2015 at the Tallmadge Community Center in Tallmadge Ohio and began at 11:00 am. It took us about 3 1/2 hours to drive there from East Aurora NY. Like our auc- on, upon entry, buyers and sellers must sign in at the registra on table; buyers may pay by cash or sign up to run a tab, sellers register their ini als as a seller code. Unlike our auc on, sellers are required to put their name and phone number/ and seller code on every item as well as a descrip on. Then they are given color-coded s ckers to put on their items and they place them on one of the four color-coded tables. A four-color dot system is used to assure a fair mix of different seller s items. There is a 70/30 split on sale items (seller 70%, club 30%). There were several neighboring clubs in a endance; the YATFS (Youngstown Area Tropical Fish Society) spor ng their colorful red shirts; GPASI (Greater Pi sburg Aquarium Society Inc.), NEO (North East Ohio), OCA (Ohio Cichlid Associa on) and TFCEC (Tropical Fish Club of Erie County) represented by members Randy & Teri Seifert, Mike Culkowski, and Peter & Donna Reukauf. When the auc on began, the runners would pick up an item, write the chit and then hand it to the auc oneer. Once it sold, the runner wrote the price and buyer number on the chit and delivered it to the buyer, and then they turned in the chit at the registra on table. The auc oneers worked in shi s, changing every 1-2 hours, at this par cular auc on there were three, one of which was our own Randy Seifert. Bidders may choose to Express an item for $3.00. Near the registra on table, there was a vendor set up selling Pleco Caves and Rhapashy. There was a Chinese Auc on with food, filters, a nano tank and some cleaning supplies and a 50/50 raffle that Randy was more than happy to win. A good selec on of sale items were available to bid on; fish, plants and hard goods covered the tables. Randy & Teri picked up Rio paru plecos, Cory valenzoalensis and Xiphophorous con- nenens. Mike got some Julidochromis dickfeldi and Peter and I bought Danio kerri (blue line danios), Apistogramma macmastei, golden rabbit snails and red speckled platys. Everyone went home happy! The kitchen was selling hot dogs (boiled), Chilidogs, Sloppy Joes, chips, cookies, cupcakes and so drinks. Unfortunately, there are no Sahlen s hot dogs in Ohio, so they cover them with Chili sauce to make them taste be er. Then around 5:00 pm, they announced that the free pizza would arrive at 6:30 pm. They do this in an effort to keep people at the auc on un l the end, and it works! Buyers can check out at any me and may pay by cash, check or credit card; sellers must wait for their proceeds to be sent in the mail. The auc on ended about 7:30 pm. Page 3 Chuck Mule: submissions Christopher Hardy: submissions Dawn Domagala: 75 7 submissions Jason & Kimberly Ball: 80 6 submissions Randy & Teri Seufert: 50 3 submissions Josh Vito: 50 5 submissions Donna Reukauf: 45 4 submissions Bill Wroblewski: 45 4 submissions Ed Osika: 40 3 submissions Peter Reukauf: 10 1 submission HAP Submissions January 2016 Bill & Liz Duzen 15 Nymphaea pubescens (Rubra) Tyler Mackey 10 Bucephalandra sp. sokan grey Alexander A. Minko 45 Anubias barteri var. Nana Ceratophyllum demersum Lemna minor Microsorium pterus Vesicularia dubyana Chuck Mule 10 Utricularia sandersoni (Flowering) Randy & Teri Seufert 40 Anubias barteri var. Nana (Flowering) Aponogeton madagascariensis (Flowering)

4 HAP Life me Totals December 2015 Chuck Mule 1450 Randy and Teri Seufert 1045 Bill and Liz Duzen 870 Josh Vito 760 Paul R. Piduch 455 Mike Culkowski 375 Christopher Hardy 305 Bill Wroblewski 280 Casey Newton 175 Donna Reukauf 175 Tom Heisler 120 Jason & Kimberly Ball 110 Dawn Domagla 85 Peter Reukauf 85 Renae Johnson 70 Nicolaus Jensen 40 Fuzzy Lionfish Photo Credit Kimberly Ball Last month it was requested that I write up an ar cle about the Arduino controller that I gave a presenta on about at the last club mee ng. An Arduino controller is a programmable controller that allows you to make various electronic components instead of purchasing ready to use items. This can actually save a significant amount of money, while s ll providing a peace of mind. These controllers can be found from many different online retailers, but I decided to purchase mine from Amazon.com. One of the major purchases I was considering was a temperature controller, controllers that are reliable usually cost around $100. This was a bit pricey for my budget, especially when you take into account that I was going to need a few of them to run my fish room. I decided that this was a good project to start with the Arduino controller. I needed to purchase a waterproof temperature sensor. For this component I purchased them from Digi-Key.com. This is an electronics supplier online, and I found that they had pre y much the lowest price at the me. The temperature probe that I se led on was part number ND, which runs about $9.95 currently. These claim to be waterproof, but with me they can have issues. So at the sugges on of some forums online, the goal was to wrap the sensor in a fine layer of silicone and that would protect it from any water that would come in contract with it, but would s ll provide an accurate reading of the temperature, as silicone will not provide a very good amount of insula on at a thin layer. The next component I would need to purchase would be again from Amazon.com and would be a relay. A relay allows a small amount of DC current to switch a 110v AC current on allowing you to control such things a lights, or in this case a heater. The relay I purchased was a SRD-05VDC-SL-C 2 Channel Low Level DC 5V Power Relay Module Board. This would allow me to connect the heaters and have them program chip within the Arduino to monitor the heat probe and power on the heaters when required. This would allow me to have both heaters turned on and off at the same me so any inconsistencies between the internal heater controllers would no longer be a problem. With these components you can make a myriad of devices. One of the devices I have plans to make is a monitor that will take mul ple temperature probes. This device will be placed in mul ple tanks so that I can monitor mul ple temperatures at once. The readings when they go out of a specified range, will then send me a text alert to my cell phone. This way even if I am not right there I can keep an eye on the temperatures of all my tanks. You can also e the same monitor into the previous heat controller example and have it turn off the heaters if something failed in an on state (which is unlikely according to the manufacturer.) This will take a bit more programming as well as a more advanced Arduino configura on. There is a large online community that use these types of controller for different purposes, which allows you to get programming help as well as design assistance. One such site for example is Arduino s forum itself found at h p://forum.arduino.cc/ There is also a lot of project ideas and examples at Page 4

5 The chips that come on the Arduino board, (that you are actually programming) are rewriteable mul ple mes, and have a very low cost per unit. You can find them for about $1 a piece. Once these chips are programmed they will not lose their programming due to power outage, and should last a significant me. The chips can then be placed in a project board, that allow you to reuse the Arduino programmer on different chips making this one me programmer cost cheap in the long run. There are some skills to get a project board to work over the original Arduino controller and tester, such as soldering. These skills take some me to perfect but once you do, you can make some really nice looking projects, much cheaper than you can purchase them for. A er my presenta on someone did men on that there are also some other (and in their experience more reliable) relays on the market. I would suggest that you do your own research and choose one that fits your exact needs, as everyone s needs are different. There are also other controllers on the market other than Arduino such as Raspberi Pi. Each community has their own opinion of which controller is be er, again whatever one makes you feel most comfortable is the one that you should go with. Bowl Show Yearly Totals 2015 Any Other Variety Bob Fessler 31 Bill Wroblewski 27 Peter Reukauf 20 Erik Jensen 19 Donna Reukauf 14 John Bukczeski 10 Jason & Kimberly Ball 7 Tom Nuwer 7 Mike Culkowski 6 Bonnie Gifford 3 Chris Gifford 2 First Place Dawn Domagala *People s Choice Second Place Bill Wroblewski First Place Fish City Cross S tch Randy & Teri Seufert *People s Choice Second Place Koi Angels Kimberly Ball Fish of the Month Peter Reukauf 46 Erik Jensen 43 Bill Wroblewski 27 Donna Reukauf 19 Jason & Kimberly Ball 17 Dawn Domagala 16 Bob Fessler 13 John Bukczeski 5 Jenny Walker 5 Bonnie Gifford 4 Chris Hardy 4 Tom Nuwer 4 Mike Culkowski 2 Chris Gifford 2 Josh Vito 1 First Place Ru Island Cichlid Bill Wroblewski Third Place Cross S tch Mark Baumoart Second Place Philippine Blue Veil Angel John Bukoyski Fourth Place Palm Leaf Bill Wroblewski Page 5

6 Board Mee ng Notes Tom discussed budget and how to get more out of our club. TFCEC.com is now purchased for the club's use. Need to get more volunteers for the upcoming auc on. August will have no mee ng. Picnic is July 31st. For newsle er we need auc on/show dates three months out. Need to have a 2 month limit for ads. Jack Mullen will start wri ng blurbs for the Newsle er for upcoming speakers. A Sat. in August will be chosen for a Shop hop. Discussed moving sea ng so that speakers can be heard be er. WAP needs to be revamped. People who donated to club should be thanked for their ac ons, possibly list A through Z on Newsle er page. Banquet is third Tuesday in April. Mee ng ended at 9:23 Insula ng an Aquarium by Jim Krywalski While I am aware that many of the members of this club have Fish Rooms, where the majority of the aquariums owned are arranged in an ever decreasing space, where a tropical temperature is maintained, elimina ng the requirements for individual tank heaters, some of us aren t that lucky. tank. For those of us with only a few tanks, hea ng the tanks requires individual heaters for each Let s assume you wish to maintain a tank temperature of 75 degrees F., and your ambient room temperature is 70 degrees F. This means that each tank is a room heater, with a 5 degree differen al between the tank water and the room air temperatures. While that might not seem like much, it means that the li le neon light inside the heater is going to be on almost constantly all winter. While not many people think about it, this electricity cost will add up over me, and, the bimetal thermostat will be constantly cycling on and off as those glass tubes try to maintain the temperature of the tank at 75 degrees. So, you ask yourself, How do I eliminate this addi onal cost to my electric bill. (If you haven t asked yourself that ques on, do it now, and try to keep up!) The answer is simple. Move to a tropical climate where you don t need to heat the individual tanks. (And, you thought this was going to be hard!) For those who s budget doesn t include a move to the Amazon Rain Forest, there is a simple, inexpensive and easy way to reduce the heat loss from an aquarium. Note, I said reduce, not eliminate the heat loss. What we re going to do is insulate the tank. Not completely, since, chances are you want to occasionally look into the tank. We re going to insulate the back and two sides of the tank with foam insula on board. For this ar cle, I m using an acrylic hex tank, picked up for almost nothing at a thri shop, which, when completed, will by used as a fry rearing tank. The first step is deciding what you want to use for the insula ng covering for the foam board. I m going to use aluminum foil. Why? You may ask. (Keeping up so far?), Well, I have it on hand, it will reflect light into the tank, and, it adds a small measure of insula on quali es. Feel free to use whatever strikes your fancy. The next step is deciding on what type of insula on board you re going to use. I ll be using ¼ poster board available from almost any store selling school supplies, but, you can also use closed cell foam board sold at home improvement stores from ½ to 2 in thickness. Color doesn t ma er, since it seems every manufacturer has it s own color. (Note: This is much easier if the tank is empty, and you can lay it on it s front while you install the panels, but, you can perform the installa on on a full tank, it just takes longer.) Although this can be done with only one person, for a large tank, you may want to enlist the assistance of someone who can follow instruc ons. In MY case, I ve enlisted the assistance of Squirt, who inspected my work at every step, acted as a quality control inspector, safety inspector, and general contractor. Okay, we now had the materials we re going to use collected, and, we re ready to get to work. Step 1: Gather materials: As you can see, there isn t much you re going to need. 1) Insula on board 2) Steel or aluminum straight edge 3) Tape measure 4) Fine p marker 5) SHARP cu ng tool 6) Clear packaging tape 7) Tank you re going to insulate Page 6

7 Supervisor res ng up before a long work session. Step 2: Measure the tank to determine the size of the panels you re going to be cu ng. The adage measure twice, cut once applies here. No ce the inspector verifying a safe work environment. Step 3: Layout the panels to be cut on the foam board. Since there is no waste produced by a razor knife, you don t need to leave extra space for a saw blade kerf. (The part of the material which is sawdust when cu ng a board.) Here, we see Squirt verifying that I ve measured twice. Step 4: Cover panels with the material you ve selected. In this case, I only applied the foil to one side of the panels, but feel free to cover both if the panels will be seen when completed. NOTE: When using the house insula on, remove the plas c vapor barrier from the foam. It will yellow over me, and makes taping easier, especially if you have to reposi on the tape. Squirt is concerned about the wrinkles in the foil, but, he gave the go ahead when I explained that this was the look I was going for. Here we see the panels installed on the tank. The dome on the bo om should make the fry easier to see, provides a small measure of heat, and, if used at night, makes a pre y cool night light. This is an LED, so the heat generated is insignificant. The base of this tank includes an air pump with fi ngs both on the bo om, and, inside the tank. Water added, LED ligh ng opera ve, bubbles making their perilous journey to the surface, and sponge filter on order! I did not insulate the base in this case, as the base houses the air pump. On a free standing base, adding foam insula on under the tank also eliminates the heat loss from the tank bo om. This idea has not been patented. You may insulate as many tanks as you wish without paying any compensa on to the author. (But, if you decide that you WOULD like to compensate him, large unmarked bills OR chocolate angles would be appreciated!) Blue Spo ed Jawfish (above) Photo Credits Kimberly Ball Crab in Gemmifera Coral (below) Page 7

8 Mee ng opened at 7:36 New Officers Mike, Jack, Bill, Chris and Mark were welcomed to the club. T-Shirt Prices were announced: S - XL $15 XXL $17 XXXL $20 Polo shirts are slightly more expensive. Board mee ng to be held soon. Ed Osika read off the Treasurer's Report Speakers need to talk to Jack Mullen. Jeremy Basch for May. No New members this month to announce. Will need help in kitchen for auc on. Doors open at 8, Auc on begins at 11 Green Star Polyps Photo Credit Kimberly Ball 8 BAP turned in. Library list is online, Bill Wroblewski for book availability. Bowl show results were read and ribbons awarded. Mee ng ended