February 2015 GPASI Regular Meeting
Friday February 27th, 2014
Tim Gross: Keeping Live Plants in the Aquarium
I started keeping aquariums at the age of 12. One of my first aquariums was a 29 gallon African cichlid tank with an abundance of aquatic plants. Luckily, the cichlids left the plants alone. They seemed to thrive from all of the excess waste produced by the fish in my overcrowded African cichlid tank. I really loved the lush growth of the plants and often received compliments from family and friends about my attractive natural looking aquarium. Since then, I’ve been eager to grow as many species and varieties of aquatic plants as I can, and acquired a deep lifelong passion for natural planted aquariums.
In past years, I’ve acquired over a decade of experience working in and managing aquarium retail outlets, fish rooms and hatcheries. I was always willing to spread my knowledge of aquatic plants to owners of these shops, which helped some of them build a nice quality selection of live aquatic plants. Currently, Oddball Pets still has the largest selection of aquatic plants in Pittsburgh.
In 2004, a couple of friends and I considered organizing a club dedicated to the fast growing hobby of natural planted aquariums. We founded the Pittsburgh Area Planted Aquarium Society (PAPAS) in 2005. I have held all officer positions within PAPAS and am currently President of this prosperous club going into its tenth year. I have also been co-chair of the Aquatic Horticultural Award Program (AHAP) with the Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society Inc. (GPASI) since 2005. I have given numerous lectures on the many aspects of planted aquariums at PAPAS meetings and have written many articles for local aquarium related newsletters and websites on the subject of aquatic plants.
I have also contributed many photos to the Plantfinder identification guide on aquaticplantcentral.com and have had numerous photos published in the Aquatic Gardener Associations quarterly journal.
At present, I keep over 100 species/varieties of aquatic plants in my eight aquariums at home and have been able to get my hands on and propagate over 300 species of aquatic plants. I am interested in all aspects of planted aquariums and continue to grow as a hobbyist and contribute whenever I can.
Spring Auction 2015
Auction Rules
- Accounts must be paid in full before you leave the auction. PAYMENT OPTIONS - Cash, Check, Credit Card.
- Buyers may set up a TAB (with valid ID), or pay cash at the time of winning bid purchase.
- Bids will be in dollar increments.
- A FOUR Color dot system will be used to assure a fair mix of different items.
- $3 EXPRESS BIDS: After the end of the First Table, buyers/sellers may pay a $3 cash fee to have the item auction off immediately during the auction.
- DONATIONS: Please specify donations as “Donation” or “Marzina Fund.”
- Any items not claimed or left behind become property of GPASI.
- NO PRIVATE SALES. NO RESALE OF PURCHASED AUCTION ITEMS. PLEASE KNOW WHAT YOUR BIDDING ON BEFORE BIDDING AS ALL SALES ARE FINAL, Buyer Beware. GPASI does not guarantee any item and is not responsible for any loss..
Seller Rules
- Split is 70% to the seller and 30% to GPASI for bags $2 or more.
- Bags that sell for $1 the split is 0% seller, 100% GPASI.
- Bags are to be labeled with an alpha numeric numbering system (ex. ABC 01, ABC 02).
- The seller chooses the 3 letters and bags are numbered in ascending sequence. Please ASK the registration table if your 3 Letter seller code has been already taken.
- All sellers MUST register BEFORE taking your items to the “Check In” tables. Bags MUST be marked Clearly with the following: Bag Number, Your Name, Phone Number or Email Address, Scientific name of Fish, Common Name (if applicable), and actual number of fish in bag. BAGS WITHOUT THIS INFO WILL BE CHARGED $3 TO BE CORRECTLY LABELED OR WILL NOT BE AUCTIONED.
- Appropriate terminology: PAIR = 1 male, 1 female of same species, MATED PAIR = pair that has spawned, TRIO = 1 male, 2 females of same species, REVERSE TRIO = 2 males, 1 female of same species.
- Sellers MUST bring items to be auctioned off to the “Check In” tables. Do not place bags on any colored tables.
- GPASI reserves the right to refuse sale of obviously sick/deformed fish, fish that are to small / young or fish regulated by the state of PA.
- All Equipment should be labeled as to its conditions ( Example: New, Used, Works, Noisy, Leaks, Ect.).
- If an item does NOT sell, it will be set back and will NOT come up for sale again.
- All fish MUST be housed in suitable bags/buckets. NO Ziplocs or Baggies or buckets with no lids.
- Catfish, cichlids, and others with sharp spines MUST be DOUBLE BAGGED.
- $3 REBAGGING FEE - for fish improperly bagged - Play it safe and double bag everything!
- Sellers are limited (per household) 5 BAGS OF ANY SPECIES OR COLOR/FIN TYPE OR ITEM TYPE. This will be enforced! Extra bags/items will NOT
- be sold.
- Sellers may not remove items placed in the auction after they have been checked in.
- Seller’s proceed check will be mailed to the address given to GPASI at registration table.
This year The Aquatic Horticultural Award Program will be giving away Awards and Cash Prizes for those with the highest points turned in throughout the year 2015. The Awards and Cash will be handed out at the next Holiday Party in January of 2016. Any GPASI member in good standing can compete!
First Place:Crystal Trophy and $100.00 CASH!!!
Second Place:Framed Certificate and $50.00 CASH!!
Third Place:Framed Certificate and $25.00 CASH!
How do I compete? Propagate plants and turn them in as “AHAP Submissions” at the monthly meetings, or Spring and Fall auctions. You must follow the AHAP rules which can be found on the GPASI website www.gpasi.org.
How do I know point values for each plant? The point values for each plant can be found within the AHAP rules on GPASI’s website www.gpasi.org.
Where can I find the AHAP Rules, Classes, and Point Values? Go to www.gpasi.org and click on the “BAP/AHAP” tab on the top of the page. Scroll down to “AHAP Classes & Rules” and click on it. Click on “Preview” or “Download”. Within this document you will find all AHAP Rules, Classes, and Point Values for all plants.
Any questions please feel free to ask - Tim Gross, Shaun Howard, or Bill Wells at the meetings or via email
Their email addresses are:
Tim Gross: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Shaun Howard: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Bill Wells: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This year The Aquatic Horticultural Award Program will be giving away Awards and Cash Prizes for those with the highest points turned in throughout the year 2015. The Awards and Cash will be handed out at the next Holiday Party in January of 2016. Any GPASI member in good standing can compete!
March 2015 GPASI Regular Meeting
Friday March 27th, 2014
To Be Announced
April 2015 GPASI Regular Meeting
Friday April 24th, 2014
Liz Marchio: Forest Fishes of the Peruvian Amazon
Liz will be presenting her talk entitled “Forest Fishes of the Peruvian Amazon” which will feature her recent international fieldwork in the Madre de Dios region of Peru and includes the biodiversity of fish, other animals, gold mining/conservation issues and more. . If you’re interested in international fieldwork and taking a peek into the more scientific realm of ichthyology, this talk is not to be missed!
Liz has been keeping fish all through childhood but never seriously until 2000. She has worked in every fish-specific aquarium store in Columbus, Ohio where she became intimately involved in the Columbus Area Fish Enthusiasts (CAFÉ). During that time she bred and maintained many fish taxa but most notably livebearers, small cichlids, rainbowfish, and shrimp. While living in Columbus she maintained 200+ gallons of aquaria and earned many HAP and BAP awards.
In 2010 she completed her degree in Zoology at Ohio State University then obtained her Master’s of Science in 2012 at Southeastern Louisiana University studying Ichthyology. She is now working on her Ph.D. at Texas A&M University. Currently she keeps wild-caught livebearing fishes from the highlands of Mexico.
Liz’s current studies are how the public and biological sciences interact. Once her talk is over, feel free to come and tell her your fish-related stories!
Her website is www.lizmarchio.com and e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
May 2015 GPASI Regular Meeting
Friday May 22th, 2014
Matt Bielski: Building a LED Strip Light Workshop
Past President of the Michiana Aquarium Society and long time hobbyist, Matt Bielski, is going to give us a hands on workshop for building your very own LED strip light at the meeting! Made from white vinyl gutter with 3 rows of LED lights, these will fit many of the full hoods on the market today. We are limiting it to one strip light per person so Matt will have time to do some pre-assembly to make sure we all have time to make them all. We do need to know what size strip light you will want to build and a pre payment will be needed ASAP with the cut off date being at the end of the January monthly meeting. Even if you aren’t going to build one at the workshop meeting, you’ll still be able to learn how to build one yourself at home.
Here are cost pricing for building your lights including all wiring and power supply: 20"-$9 ~ 24"-$10 ~ 30"-$13 ~ 36"-$15 ~ 48"-$19
Contact Eric at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him at (412) 491-0311 if you are going to want to build a strip light or have any questions.
In addition, Matt is accepting orders for custom built lights; you can contact him directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more details.
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