Over thirty people attended our February meeting, which was hosted by Splashy Fish. Jen Williams, an established aquascaper, gave a talk about planted tank basics. During the talk, some of the members chimed in with their experiences, which made the discussion very lively. Jen talked about the importance of connecting with local clubs, which can provide a wealth of information. She pointed out that getting the right equipment the first time can save some trouble down the line. Then she went into detail about tanks, stands, lights, filters, and various other supplies. Afterwards she discussed various substrates, including the mineralized soil, to which a whole meeting will be devoted later this year. Then came the hardscape materials, such as rocks and wood. Jen talked about using sulfuric acid for testing rocks to make sure they don’t leach anything into the tank. Also, never boil rocks as they might blow up due to air pockets in them. After spending some time on general tank maintenance, she discussed the various types of plants and how to grow them. Finally, Jen pointed out that algae happens to everyone, and a good resource about how to combat this nuisance can be found on our site here.

The meeting ended with our monthly auction which included plants, shrimp, and some shrimp keeping accessories.

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Close to thirty people attended the first GWAPA meeting of 2024. Rick Dotson, a GWAPA founder and ex-president of the club, covered various topics. He talked about how heaters should be chosen based on how much warmer the tank should be compared to the room temperature and not on the generic watt per gallon recommendation. Then he talked about the importance of GFCI outlets and having a drop in the cable right before it goes into the outlet. Rick also explained the effects of CO2, pH, and carbonate hardness in the planted aquarium. He touched upon CO2 injection, including the importance of dual stage regulators and CO2 tubing. Then Rick discussed dosing, dosing equipment, lights, and the importance of measuring PAR. Finally, he went into the topic of automation devices.

After the engaging talk, a few items donated by Oase and Seachem were raffled off.

The meeting ended with a monthly auction which included not only plants, but fish, shrimp, and some relevant equipment, as well. GWAPA would also like to give a special thank you to Joshua Wiegert of Batfish Aquatics and Neptune Systems for the donation of an Apex Jr AquaController System to our auction. This generous donation was greatly appreciated and sparked a lively bidding war to end our auction.