[degall]

Hi Everybody;

Well, this year’s IMAC was a great success with almost 600 of you in attendance. We are well into planning for next year’s International Marine Aquarium Conference.

It will again be in Chicago at the Crowne Plaza Hotel but the dates have changed. IMAC will be on April 28, 29 and 30, 2006. We had thought that Memorial Day weekend might make it easier for you since you don’t have to get time off from work, but I guess we were wrong. So we switched the dates. If any of you who have already registered cannot make the new dates you can receive a refund.

Although the registration rate on the website www.theimac.org is currently $125, if you attended IMAC 2005 you can register for 2006 for just $95. The special $95 rate was to expire on September 1 but due to the date change, we are extending that to October 1. You received a special registration form in your 2005 IMAC Program Book but if you have misplaced it just email me at dennis2103@frontiernet.net and I’ll tell you how you can still get it.

Since the hotel has special room rates of just $99/night, IMAC is the lowest priced weekend conference you can attend.

I hope we will see you again next year.

Cheers,
Dennis

[Reefland]

We are very proud to say that Reefland.com will be attending the 2006 conference.

[kevinpo]

I will be attending too!

Regards,
Kevin

[Reefland]

IMAC 2006 dates have changed. The new dates for the conference are April 28th, 29th and 30th, 2006.

[degall]

Hi Everybody;

Just in case you have never been to an IMAC, here is how you can get an idea of what to expect. Just go to www.theimac.org and scroll down to the bottom of the home page. You can see major portions of the presentations given by some speakers in the past. These include:

Dr. Ron Shimek, “Myth Takes About Sand Beds”
Anthony Calfo, “Coral Farming”
Jeff Mitchell, “Diseases in Hippocampus”
Randy Reed, “Culturing Copopods and Rotifers”
Julian Sprung, “Goniopora Husbandry”
Richard Harker, “Coral Growth vs. Spectral Quality”
Eric Borneman, “Reef Aquarium Myths”
Dr. Ron Shimek, “A History of Sand Bed Organisms”

And the best part of this is that you can see them for FREE.

Enjoy!

Dennis

[degall]

Hi All;

Well, things are really moving ahead on IMAC for next year. We now have the Grand Prize for the big IMAC raffle; it is a 9 day trip for 2 to Fiji provided by Walt Smith International.

We also have a new Forum on the IMAC site www.theimac.org where you can get more info about the conference and ask questions.

We have a special offer going on now too. If you register by November 30, you can bring a friend for FREE. They don’t get the Banquet (but you can buy them a Banquet ticket). Along with a hotel rate of just $109/nite, this makes IMAC one of the least expensive weekend conferences you can attend.

Next year IMAC will be held in Chicago April 28, 29 and 30. And you can still see streaming videos for FREE on the website of some previous speakers’ presentations.

Cheers,
Dennis

[degall]

Hi There;

Well it is only a couple months to IMAC. The International Marine Aquarium Conference will be in Chicago April 28, 29 and 30. We have gotten in topics for nearly all of the speakers:

Jake Adams, “Water Flow Speed is Critical in Our Aquaria”
Adam Blundell, “Filtration Methods in a Natural Reef Aquarium”
Eric Borneman
Bob Fenner, “Organism Selection for the Saltwater Aquarist”
Anthony Calfo, “A Call to Farms. More Efficient Coral Propagation Techniques”
Tullio Dell Aquilla, “Advanced Lighting Technologies for Aquariums”
Todd Gardner, “Seahorse Nutrition in Aquaculture”
Dr. Sanjay Joshi, “Designing Reef Aquarium Systems – Thwarting Murphy’s Laws”
John Kelly, “Goniopora – A New Beginning”
Allen LaPointe, “Water Quality Monitoring and Data Interpretation”
Mike Paletta, “Setting Up a LARGE Aquarium”
Steven Pro, “Recent Experiments with ‘Reef Safe’ Treatments”
Dr. Adelaide Rhodes , “The Role of Copapods in Marine Reefreeping”
Dana Riddle, “Tide Pools of Kahalu’u Hawaii. What they tell us about Reef Aquaria”
Zack Schwartz, “K-12 Education and the Science Behind it”
Walt Smith (Banquet Speaker)
Julian Sprung “Invasive Species”

Eric, Anthony and Steven will also conduct Coral Propagation Workshops, sponsored by FRAGExchange.com.

Registration is just $149 and along with special hotel rates of $109/nite, IMAC is the least expensive weekend conference you can attend. But, to make it even a better deal, for a limited time we are offering a special 2 for 1 rate. That’s right you can get 2 full registrations, including the Speakers, Banquet, Trade Show and the Big Raffle for $149. This is NOT mentioned on the IMAC website www.theimac.org but if you click on the Registration picture there is a space marked “Additional Names” right under the “Add to Cart” button where you can enter the name and email address of your guest.

You will both get full registrations, including Banquet. This offer is for new registrations only and cannot be combined with any other discounts. Then you can split the cost with your guest, so it will only cost you $74.50 each. NOTE: If you have clicked on the “Add to Cart” button before, the page that shows up may indicate 2 or 3 registrations. This is because your browser remembers that you have been there before and it will add another one. Just check the “remove” button, “update cart” and start over.

We are also having a raffle to give away a free registration to IMAC. Just visit the IMAC site www.theimac.org and click on Forum in the upper right. Then scroll down to the “Free IMAC Registration” forum and make a post. You will have to register first so we will have your email address and can notify you if you win.

Because of the way we are staggering speakers, although we are using 2 speaker rooms, you can actually see ALL the speakers; you do not have to make choices of who you want to see.

There are just a few spots still open for the “behind-the-scenes” tour of the Shedd Aquarium. Their new Wild Reef exhibit is now complete.

We are just getting in products donated by major companies for the Big Raffle but we already have the Grand Prize. It is a 9 day trip for 2 to Fiji donated by Walt Smith International. Other prizes include a fully-equipped 76 gallon tank from Oceanic Systems and a double MH light from Coralife. And, so far we have 5 livestock dealers exhibiting!

And don’t forget to stop by the Reefland Booth and say Hello.

So hurry over to www.theimac.org and sign up. We’ll see you in April.

Cheers,

Dennis Gallagher, Chairman
International Marine Aquarium Conference

[BubbaWPB]

OK, for those of us who will have our fist visit to IMAC 2006, I take it there will be some frags, livestock and other critters available. If so, any tips for us newbies on what equipment to bring along to get them back home?

[Reefland]

Depends on your travel methods and length of time to travel. I think for 12-16 hours of driving, nothing special is required except maybe a cooler to hold your baggies in.

[BubbaWPB]

What about a direct non-stop flight? A couple of six-pack coolers that will fit under the seat? ....FOR THE LIVESTOCK!:slap:

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by BubbaWPB

What about a direct non-stop flight? A couple of six-pack coolers that will fit under the seat? ....FOR THE LIVESTOCK!:slap:

Bubba,

Most vendors that sell livestock are willing to hold your frags/colonies untill you are ready to leave, and having a direct flight will help tremendously.
A simple cooler that can hold few small baggies with water will do for the travel. Just make sure it;s small enough to take on the plane with you.
You'll be amazed at the amount of frags and eqipment offered at the conferences and most of the time you can find some relaly nice deals.

[jasutton]

they use 100% O2 right? How long will that last? I have a whopping 15 min drive to my apt....

sorry i am in an obnoxious mood tonight...but seriously how long does the o2 last??

jamie

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by jasutton

they use 100% O2 right? How long will that last? I have a whopping 15 min drive to my apt....

sorry i am in an obnoxious mood tonight...but seriously how long does the o2 last??

jamie

Jamie,

From my experience, most not inject any oxygen into the baggies. All you have to do is not fill the bag with too much water and you should have enough oxygen trapped in there to last a few hours. The less water is in the bag the more oxygen you will have in the bag.

[jasutton]

wouldnt it be better if 100% of the air above the water was o2 instead of only the standard 21% (depending on altitude).
Back in MI when i bought fish from a breeder by the airport (tropicora?? cant remember) i had a 2 hours drive and they would always put o2 in the bag...was it placebo effect? Treating the buyer...

i am seriously curious...gonna try to do some research on this...
Any info is greatly appreciated

jamie

[CSeaSee]

Haha... I, too, have a REALLY short drive to my apt. (about 30 minutes on I-55). I'm really looking forward to the conference! I didn't know that there would be live critters there to bring back... now I'm really pumped! BTW, this will be my first time as well...

[jasutton]

can we buy tickets there? I wont know if can go until i A.) win the free drawing here or B.)the night before,,,

jamie

[degall]

Hi jasutton;

Yes you can buy tickets at the door but I am sure the Banquet will be sold out by then.

Cheers,
Dennis