Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 7:03 am

With spring peeking out from around the corner a nice Saturday drive up to Mt. Airy, MD was in order for our March meeting at Dave Williams’ home. Everyone in attendance was privy to a “first look” at the grand re-scape as well as the other equally beautiful tanks. With another great showing of members (over 30 in attendance, including some new faces) none were disappointed with a new meeting format, a rotating mini-workshop of DIY topics. And then there was the auction…with over 115 items!

For the DIY topics, Ghazanfar Ghori showed us all how to make a great, low-cost surface skimmer to clean up after an aggressive trimming session. A simple solution to a common problem for many aquarists. With just a powerhead, a square of filter pad and old water or soda bottle you can save yourself from skimming trimmings by hand.

Sean Murphy enlightened all in attendance with an auto top-off system just in time for the nano tanks arriving next month  for the annual competition. A very simple principle is behind this self-equalizing setup–using a 2-liter soda or juice bottle, two sections of airline tubing, and an optional shut-off valve, daily top-offs to fight evaporation can be a thing of the past.

Dave, our gracious host, showed us the ways of yeast/sugar CO2 injection. A great low-budget starter to the world of CO2 injection, the system can be built for less than a dollar. Again with a quick raid in the recycling bin, all you need are two sturdy plastic bottles, airline tubing, a small airstone, yeast, and sugar to be on your way within a few short hours.

Pictures

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