What to take to the ACA

couple of items to take./ think about


Okay, this came up yesterday at the BBQ.

"If I buy fish what do I do with them for the couple days before I come home."?

There are two solutions.
1 is to sign up in advance for a rental tank. I usually do if its a fly in type of convention for me.

2. I have small storage boxes. A little bigger than a shoe box. They will fit in each other for transportation and in one of them I put a bunch of stuff.
air pump
gang valve
air line
dechlor
heaters
net
bags
rubber bands
1 multiplug extension cord.
I also have the lids.
Oh and a bag with some dirt magnet sponge filters
that I take out of my tanks before I leave.

All this stuff fits in one of my containers and the others stack under the full one.
Fits in a small area. Suitcase or vehicle.

When I get to my room I take the desk type area they always have and put a towel on it.
I put the containers on the desk, fill about 2/3 up so they are not too heavy and install the little heaters and the dirtmagnets. Dechlor of course too.

Now I have a few temp tanks in my room running with filters , JUST IN CASE there are fish that I just have to have and I want to buy right away so nobody gets them 1st.

The lids are for keeping the heat and the fish in the tubs.
You will be suprised how much noise and jumping they do at night.
Keeps Tracey awake at night. LOL she loves my hobby.

Thanks for the tips Pat I just need to get a few small sponge filters.

Pat ,sounds like you got it all covered.how about a cooler full of BEER?

The reason I use Dirt Magnets is because they are small, easy to set up and you can make them short.
I cut the uplift tube in half for this. They take up very little room in a bag and you only have to put the air hose in and you are ready.

start cycling them now

Matt

Excellent info, thanx Pat!

Pat Kelly said:

Keeps Tracey awake at night. LOL she loves my hobby.

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Not the hobby, you, or she WOULDN'T UP WITH IT PUT!!!:lol::lol:

George

Hello Everyone...

It is too late to get a rental tank, but we will fill out the racks and have a few extra that will be rented on site first come, first served. Another way to get a rental tank is to buy all the fish that are in a tank and ask the seller to include the rental tank...

MONEY... lots of it ! Even if you think you have enough, you don't :lol: You will find that fish you have been only dreaming of! Supplies are very cheap as well...

Buckets work wonders... and remember your friends as they will want to use your buckets as well :lol: Especially when they buy that 300 dollar fish and didn't bring cycled sponges :lol: Yes, my friend did this last year :lol: We love Tim though :lol:

the cooler full of beer? Franny has that down to an art ! Bring a rolling portable cooler so it duels as a chair

tjudy said:

Hello Everyone...

It is too late to get a rental tank, but we will fill out the racks and have a few extra that will be rented on site first come, first served. Another way to get a rental tank is to buy all the fish that are in a tank and ask the seller to include the rental tank...

Click to expand...

LOL
Thats funny right there,.

longstocking said:

the cooler full of beer? Franny has that down to an art ! Bring a rolling portable cooler so it duels as a chair

Click to expand...

Great idea everyone needs a beer and a seat LOL!

Okay,
So another idea. This one for the people that are flying....

I almost always take a large suitcase and put another suitcase inside of it. The next size down always works for that.
The reason is going out I take my cloths. But,
Coming back I always have the freebies that you get in your bag of from vendors. I always have some copies of magazines. Plus anything that you buy.
How are you getting it back on the airplane?
Need the second empty suitcase just for that type of stuff.

Another one that I have done.

I have combined them plus. lol

I have taken the extra suitcase and put it in the first one. Then taken a small styro and filled it with the cloths and put it the inside case. Added the containers on top of that and zipped her up.

That way I have not only the extra tank space with me but but a styro to put the fish in to bring home.
Yes I have put them in the styro in the suitcase and checked them. I brought some Pikes home from California in 07 for Francine. Now you run the chance of problems like lost luggage but it has worked for me.

You can also buy soft-sided coolers at the drug store. They make good places to put fish in your room. I have even used them as a carry-on with some of my junk in them. For the trip home you can transport fish in breather bags packed in your checked luggage. You can get the bags quick from Jemco. Michael and I have brought MANY fish home all the way from Peru using this method. I have kept fish in these bags for as long as a week with no ill effects.

There have been multiple tips about sponge filters here. If you put a cycled sponge filter in a sealed bag for two days, it will have gone anarobic (speled worng) and not really be much, if any, help biologically. I have found it better to just bring a clean dry one to suck up the crud and rinse it when I change water. I change water a bunch in the hotel room. The above is what I have been told by folks I trust and makes sense to me. Bringing cycled sponges is a pain.

Coolers yes. Beer? Milwaukee is supposed to be the land of beer and brats, right? I think we will have enough autos to make beer runs for cheap beer for those who fly.

Bring a cork screw if you like wine. Bring a church key if you like beer. You probably should bring a flashlight for several reasons.

George

Mike O'Shea was over for dinner last night. We were discussing available space in the car on the way there/way back.

He recommended wearing all your clothes there and back and just cranking up the AC.

I think I'm going to go in search of some of those shoebox-sized tupperwares this weekend, bring those along with an airpump and manifold.

There's folks there selling bags, right? I have some from Ken's, but have a feeling it's not enough. I'd rather just pick them up at the convention.

Kensfish will likely be at the convention. Or someone else selling bags.

I'm pretty sure they have the shoebox ones at the Dollar store.

Matt

I used to ship stuff home from ACA conventions (but I have not had to the past couple years). Most airports have a post office. The hotel will usually ship stuff for you too if you are flying out Sunday and cannot make it to a post office on Monday.

The gift bags will be very loaded up this year. There will be stuff from:

Marineland
Tetra
Aqueon
Kent Marine (maybe... same company as Aqueon)
TFH
AFM
Cichlid News
OmegaSea
Hikari
Xtreme
ZooMed
Dr. Tim's
and probably other my fried brain is forgetting off hand