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BobC63 
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 Topic: The 2010 REEF TOUR LIVE BLOG
Posted: April 23 2010 at 12:18am |
OK, folks, it's that time again 
With just about 1 MORE DAY LEFT until the 2010 Reef Tour begins  this thread will be THE PLACE for all the Reef Tour Homes to let the whole world know about their last minute preparations, special plans /and activities in getting ready for the Tour.
Then - on Tour Day itself - we go to "live blogging" on just how the day is unfolding at the various Tour stops scattered up and down the Wasatch Front!
What are the thread "rules" - heck, there are no rules... if it relates to the Tour, put it up here!
- Wanna find out who is having the most primo snacks and goodies? ASK HERE
- Which house(s) will be playing cool "reef" movies like "Finding Nemo" for the kiddies? ASK HERE
- Wanna know which Tour stop has the cool Eel tank and which ones have fragging systems? ASK HERE
- Need to tell everyone that you ran out of soda pop - and are just running down to the local 7 - 11 for 10 minutes - but you'll be back in 10 minutes - so we don't think your house is no longer open for the Tour..? TELL US HERE
And - OF COURSE - if you want to post up tank pictures, or sign pictures, or photos of your Tour Party grub... POST IT HERE 
This year, since we have alot of first-time Tour homes on board  , on Friday I'll post up some last-minute tips for first-timers; tips on making sure everything you can think of - and even a few things you might not think of - is ready for Tour Day!
Meanwhile, here are a few other Tour-related threads to check out while you are all waiting...
Tank Primer Previews from Brad, Nick, Steve and Jon:
Linda wants to hear from the Tour visitors on what their plans are:
And Shawn is interested in a possible carpool for the Tour:
Edited by BobC63 - April 23 2010 at 11:55pm
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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BobC63
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Posted: April 23 2010 at 12:36am |
Here's another -
Adam posts 'sacrilege' 
("Don't Touch Your tanks!"... I mean, really, can any of us live like this for 2 whole days ? ):
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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BobC63
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Posted: April 23 2010 at 8:07pm |
Ladies, and gentlemen, it is time for the:
WMAS TOP TEN LAST - MINUTE REEF TOUR PREPARATION TIPS
TONIGHT
1) If you have any last minute "work" to do on your aquariums... DO IT NOW, NOT TOMORROW...
Maybe you just need to scrape the algae of your front glass, or wipe down some salt creep running down your stand... whatever it is, try to get it done tonight to allow everything to "settle down" by tomorrow morning. You have probably seen how your corals retract whenever you stick your hands in the tank, especially if you move them or brush up against them. And of course, your fish will go into hiding. You don't want that to happen on Tour Day (not to mention the cloudiness that may come if you stir things up too much). Take care of everything before you turn in tonight.
2) ONE exception:
Tomorrow morning - before the lights come on - take a look at your light bulbs to see if they have any salt "splatter' on them. You do NOT want to try and clean them once they turn on; especially MH bulbs. They get way too hot to handle once they are on.
To clean a dirty bulb, simply take a couple of paper towels, spray a little Windex on the paper towels (do not "soak" the paper towels), then gently wipe the bulb. Most splatter should come off. Sometimes, if it has been "baked on" for awhile it won't come off; in that case just leave it be. After cleaning the bulb, take another clean dry paper towel and wipe the bulb again to remove any oils that may have come off your hands and gotten on the bulb.
If you have glass shields on your lights that need cleaning, you can remove the glass shield and wash it with soap and water and then reinstall. For especially tough stains you can try a little white vinegar. Make sure the shields are completely dry before reinstalling.
3) CHILD PROOFING AND CHILD 'ENTERTAINMENT'
This is important especially for those who do are not used to having small children in their home. A good portion of the people who come to your home for the Reef Tour will be families; some with toddlers and / or small children. And small children love to explore and wander off, especially if your fish room gets a little crowded when more than one group of visitors shows up at the same time, and all the adults are admiring your tanks and conversing with you and no one is really paying attention to the 4 - year old who just walked out of the fish room... Take a few minutes to examine your fish room - and the rooms in between the fish room and your front door - for delicate objects or glass / sharp items which may pose a hazard for small children, or heartache for you if they were to get knocked over and break. Remove anything you think questionable, or at least put it up higher out of a child's reach.
One thing I have found helpful is to plan a simple activity to keep small children occupied while the grownups talk about your fish tanks. Yes, the kiddies LOVE to look at your aquarium... for about 30 seconds . Then they tend to get a little bored. Your "activity" can be as simple as having a television on and tuned to Nickelodeon or the Cartoon Network for the kids to watch. Maybe you have a cool hobby-related movie like "Finding Nemo" that you could pop in your DVD player. Other things that work well are coloring books, board games, and picture books.
4) The Bathroom
One thing people don't always think of is that, with a whole bunch of people stopping by all day long, invariably someone is going to ask to use your restroom facilities. Or ask that their child use them. Take the time - again, tonight - to decide which bathroom you want to designate for this purpose (assuming you have more than one). Try to use the one closest to your fish room, or between your fish room and your front door. This way you avoid having people trapesing all over your house looking for the toilet. If you have any valuables or delicate items in that bathroom, put them somewhere else. Put an extra roll of TP somewhere in plain sight, so guests don't have to ask for more. And, of course, make sure your facilities are somewhat clean and inviting.
5) The Fish Room itself
Pretty simple. Tidy up, tidy up, TIDY UP. This is where people will be congregating, so you don't want it to look cluttered or have stuff lying all around the room. If you have some extra chairs available, put a few in this room for people to sit down while they are visiting. If your fish tank is in your Living room or Den, make sure your couches aren't covered with clothes or kids toys, etc. Try to make things as inviting as possible.
TOMORROW - THE BIG DAY
6) TURN ON THOSE LIGHTS!!!
As soon as you get up, and before you do anything else - check /clean your lights (see #2 above) and then TURN ON YOUR AQUARIUM LIGHTING! Doesn't matter if you are so excited about the Reef Tour that you get up at 6 AM - turn the lights on! WHY? Because your livestock and corals will need at least an hour or 2 to get fully 'awake' and opened and all colored up; and you want your tank to look its best, right? So turn on your lights FIRST THING when you get up Saturday morning. It WILL NOT harm your fish or corals to have the lights on a few extra hours on Tour Day. And I guarantee, if you say to yourself, "It's still early, I have plenty of time to turn them on before people start arriving..." you will get so busy with other prep stuff - hanging signs and posters, putting out refreshments, tidying up around the house that YOU WILL FORGET until it is too late!
EVERY year, someone posts that they forgot to turn on their lights until the first visitors showed up and then they complain that their tank looked "crappy" for the next couple of hours...
Don't let that "somebody" be YOU. Lights on, first thing... don't forget!
7) Refreshments, anybody?
If you are planning to serve any refreshments (totally optional, of course, but many people still do) put everything out before your first guests arrive. Remember to put out some napkins, paper plates / cups (if needed) and it's probably to good idea to keep a roll of paper towels handy in case someone spills something. If you are one of those going "whole hog" and BBQing or serving other hot foods, make sure you have defrosted your hot dogs or burgers, etc. or warmed up your goodies in the oven. Don't wait until 10AM to start heating things up; hopefully, you will be busy enough entertaining and meeting your guests that you won't have a ton of free time to be baking up cookies or frosting cupcakes.
8) Pets - what to do?
Though it mainly applies to dogs, make sure you have decided where you want your other pets to be during the Reef Tour. Will your dog run out your front door and "head for the hills" if someone opens the door before you can restrain the dog? Is your dog...(gulp)..."scary" or agressive? Or, is your dog super-friendly and the kind that will jump up on everyone who comes into your home - and then KEEP ON jumping up and licking them, and sniffing them in "inappropriate" places...? Do you have a cat that looks all "cute and cuddly" but will scratch strangers like it's Freddy freakin' Kruger..?
If any of those apply, it is probably a good idea to put your dogs / cats outside for the Tour. Or at least lock them away in your bedroom or something.
Tomorrow, the weather is going to be quite nice (65 and sunny ) so my own 2 dogs - Skippy (the friendly but "head for the hills" type who will run down the block if the front door stays open too long) and Izzy (my super sweet and friendly Olde English Bulldog who happens to look like an oversized Pit Bull, and has made many small children scream in terror just by looking at them)... my dogs will be outdoors for the Tour. It's just easier that way.
9) Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs
If you are one of the folks who made signs with us at the last Club Meeting; or if you have made some signs of your own... 2 simple rules.
- Don't put them up too early, unless you are OK with "earlybirds". If you put a sign up, even if it lists the proper "official" Reef Tour times, someone will invariably come knocking 5 or 10 minutes after the sign has gone up. Might just be a neighbor who noticed the sign and wants to brings his kids in to check out your tank "before the crowd gets here"... In any event, if you have your morning planned so that you won't be ready for visitors until 10 AM, don't put your signs out until 9:45.
- One sign EVERYONE should make is very simple; a small sign, hung on your front door, that says:
"Reef Tour Visitors PLEASE RING THE DOORBELL" (or "KNOCK" if your doorbell doesn't work)
I know it may seem like common sense that you, as a stranger and guest to someone's home, would obviously ring the doorbell or knock on the door and then wait to be let in...
Let's just say that, at least IME, not everyone has common sense  . So, save yourself the aggravation and make that little door sign. You will be so glad you did.
10) Relax and ENJOY IT.
You've done all that you can do. Now sit back, take a deep breath... and relax. Don't worry when your first visitor is going to arrive, or how many people you will get. Don't fret about that little smudge of algae you couldn't get out of the corner of your tank, or that filter sock you should have changed yesterday. Don't freak out if that sweet, expensive new fish you bought 3 days ago wants to hide behind a rock - instead of parading back and forth in front of your rockwork, for everyone to admire. Or you can't find that "Find Nemo" DVD to pop in for the kiddies.
Don't sweat the small stuff. Everyone who comes to see your tank will love what they see. And the non-hobbyists that come will be absolutely amazed at the creatures in your tank. You did your best. You did a great job.
Now, just relax and enjoy a great day
(And don't forget to leave your computer or laptop on and logged onto THIS THREAD so you can periodically update the rest of us with details on just how great your day has been!)
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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BobC63
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Posted: April 23 2010 at 10:01pm |
I still have SO MUCH left to do 
I'll be one of those "getting up at 6 AM"
And I won't get home from work tonight until after midnight 
But I WILL BE READY
Ready to show off my new 40g breeder sump that I just put in yesterday:
Edited by BobC63 - April 23 2010 at 10:01pm
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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BobC63
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Posted: April 23 2010 at 11:54pm |
I hope all the 'quiet' on the Board tonight is because everyone is already asleep so that they can get an early start on the Reef Tour tomorrow... 
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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jdinchak
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Posted: April 23 2010 at 11:54pm |
Thanks for the tips, the yard sign will not go out any earlier then I
planned on putting it out.
We have a ton of pictures of our Garden Eel tank online but not much of
our other tank, in fairness to the other tank I have included some
better looking pictures. We are excited to see everyone!!! Our 55g Reef Aquarium
 Our newest addition.    Our signs   Our attempt at baking (Garden Eel cookies)  
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Nick801
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 1:09am |
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Lol Man those cookies are awesome =) I really would like to see that tank sometime but I'm on the tour as well ... your in sandy right?
Edited by Nick801 - April 24 2010 at 1:15am
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Nick801
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 1:24am |
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Well I had a surprise in my tank tonight when I got home I looked into my tank as one of my cleaner shrimp where near the front of my glass kicking off hundreds of live babies =)
its the first time I've ever seen them do it...
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BobC63
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 7:24am |
Good morning, Reef Tour bloggers!
Rise and shine - it's gonna be a great day! 
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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tileman
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 8:07am |
Good morning, Its going to be a beautiful day for reefing!
Just going to go down and clean off the lights and fire them up. Everyone have a great day. |
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335G Reef
TOTM.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium
ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012
http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month
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jdinchak
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 8:22am |
 Nick801 wrote:
Lol Man those cookies are awesome =) I really would like to see that tank sometime but I'm on the tour as well ... your in sandy right?
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You are pretty close to us. In fact my wife and I are planning on taking turns to go see your place sometime today. We can try to save you a cookie :D
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CapnMorgan
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 8:26am |
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Woke up, turned on the lights, and everything looks great. I'm still waiting on most of my wrasses to wake up, but other than that all the fish are out, swimming, and ready for the big day.
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Steve My Old 180G Mixed ReefCurrently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8
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ljbs
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 8:48am |
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The sun is up and so am I. The tank looks great and lights are on. Treats are ready too.
Signs will go up soon. Everyone have a great day.
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Linda Spencer
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From My little corner of the sea
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downhill_biker
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 8:51am |
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Last night was a bit crazy, had tons of friends over to celebrate one of them getting an internship to Mayo Clinic next year. So, we had tons of people here, I was cleaning glass, had to clean the entire basement yesterday, my fiance was sewing a pleated curtain "wrap" for my stand so that it isn't just unfinished 2x4's. Everything looks good this morning. I just have to do a final cleaning of the glass and squeegee the outside and we are good to go. Cookies are baking right now.
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Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum.
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CapnMorgan
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 9:33am |
Cookies are in the oven, donuts are out, signs are up, and the bratwurst hits the grill at 11:15! The only wrasse I'm waiting on now is my giant Christmas Wrasse, hopefully he decides to rise and shine soon! 
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Steve My Old 180G Mixed ReefCurrently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8
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Sitaga
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 9:46am |
Lights are on! Running to the store for some danishes. I'm under-prepared, but I'll still have fun along the way!!
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Tons of livestock including fish, coral, and inverts currently in stock. We also have Reeflo pumps, SeaChem additives, Brine Shrimp Direct foods, and ATI lighting in stock.
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Marine-Aquatics
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 10:05am |
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Dang, I might have to go around just for the food. cookies,brats,danishes.....
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Kahuna
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 10:30am |
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Are you going to be at the store today?
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Cell 801 860-7333
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Sitaga
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 10:44am |
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Goodies are out, signs are posted. Now we wait. :)
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Tons of livestock including fish, coral, and inverts currently in stock. We also have Reeflo pumps, SeaChem additives, Brine Shrimp Direct foods, and ATI lighting in stock.
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DanhNgo
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Posted: April 24 2010 at 10:51am |
Drinks are out. Fishes are up. Corals are happy. We are ready!!
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200 Gal Reef
25 Gal Nano Reef
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