***Freebie cause this forum rocks***

[BigJay]

Since this forum has shown me overwhelming support I'd like to offer up a free dropper to someone. All I want is you to respond to this post and tell me how you get your friends or family involved in your hobby of loving things that live in water.
I have not decided how I'll pick a winner but I'm sure I'll come up with something(maybe I can talk a few moderators into judging). Winner(s) can pick dropper size (9mm or 12mm up to 24" 's). I'll even cover the shipping (continental US only) anyone outside the US can still try but I have to ask you cover additional shipping charges.
If you've ordered a dropper from me but have not yet taking delivery (ie it hasn't been shipped or its in transit) as of 8/12/09 please feel free to enter. I will give a full refund of the purchase price of one dropper if your picked as a winner.
So lets hear it! The most precious part of my love of the ocean is sharing it with my 4 year old daughter. I wanna know what you do to spread knowledge , awarness or appreciation.
Thanks again everyone!

 

[reef dummy]

You da man Jay, I already have a dropper!

 

[BigAl07]

Awesome job BigJay!!

 

[deaclauderdale]

Ok BigJay I want a curved dropper if I win.

I bought the movie finding nemo on DVD and every time my wife said "Ohhhh that's pretty" or "Wow I didn't know that was i the ocean", I said "You know beautiful we could have a little piece of that here in our home". I know it's cheesy but it's resulted in two tanks. the first was the 100 gallon and now I currently have the 187gallon peninsula because of it.

 

[BLAKEJOHN]

I have wanted to get a dropper from you jay. I just kinda put it on the back burner for now. This thread just reminded me of it.

I can't really say how I have helped others get into the hobby. I try to get friends and family into it, they all love my tank and wish they could have one too, But I am honest and tell them that it does take time, effort and a little money they all tend to shy away. Mainly it is the cost involved in setup.

My wife is showing more interest in the tank and the natural habitat of the fish and coral and seems to be interested in the news of the ocean. My 4yr old just loves to see the fish and help daddy do his daily chores with the tank. When my son begins school I would like to donate a tank and help teach the little ones about these awesome fish and the ocean they come from. I would do this now but I feel a little awkward just walking into a school and asking "Would you mind if I.....".

Just like all of you here (I would assume) if somebody in the area, in our club or even at the LFS needs help or information I am there to lend what I can.

I guess thats my little story. I just wish, (as I am sure the rest of us can say the same) I had more time to donate to this hobby to help more people and critters.

 

[astiesi]

BigJay, great thread idea, and a very generous offer. Your pyrex work is impressive.

I started my first reef tank just a few months before my son was born. Since this we my first kid I knew money was about to get a whole lot tighter and figured it was then or never. What I didn't anticipate was from the time he was about 3 months old till about 9 months it was the easiest way to get him to stop crying. Just sit him in front of the little 14 gallon tank and he would watch the clown swim around and immediately smile. He is now just over a year old and one of his first signs (we are teaching him some sign language as kids tend to pick up on this before they are able to talk) was "fish". As soon as he sees the clown every morning he looks at us and signs fish, its pretty cool to see.

Because of this love of fish (or at least that's the reason I gave the wife) I am in the process of upgrading to a 65 gallon setup in the main living area. With the 14 gallon being in the bedroom he just doesn't get to sit and watch it as much as he'd like.

 

[BigJay]

awesome stories so far.. most impressed!

 

[BigJay]

bump... Even for you folks that have already bought a dropper , give it a shot.. it make a great back up or a gift for your favorite reefing buddy. I've been known to be silly and give away extra freebies so tell me something. Who knows maybe your post might inspire someone else.

 

[BigJay]

bump.. not gonna be around for the weekend.. hope to come back to more posts then this.

 

[DrHank]

Along with 7 other individuals from Pensacola to Ft. Walton Beach, FL. I formed the Florida Panhandle Reefkeepers Society, Inc. We had a lot of opposition (folks who didn't want a formal organization) but managed to prevail. Originally we were operating on line at Reef Central. I became our organization's first President and will be running unopposed for re-election in November. I should also point out that we established annual dues and Vendor/Sponsor levels. In our first year we developed our own website at panhandlereefers.com and have since moved all the traffic from RC to our site. We also went from 8 paid charter members to over 55 paid in slightly over a year. We currently have two vendors and 8 sponsors. Since it's beginning in 2008 to date we have 219 site members, 2308 topics, and over 17,000 posts. We currently hold 4 club meetings per year but will have six functions next year including a BBQ and a family Beach/Snorkling day. Our membership has grown and continues to grow. Our site membership ranges from Mobile, AL to Panama City, FL and north to Andalusia, AL.

We have several of our members involved in Mari-culture and they are breeding seahorses, cardinalfish, and clowns. Several have talked about breeding BSJF. A good number of us reproduce and frag corals for dissemination among our members. Our plans for the future are to emulate ORCA and bring a one day conference to the Destin/Ft. Walton are hopefully in 2011.

I'm very proud of our club and happy to serve as the organizations president. I think that good things are in store for us in the future. Anyway, that's my story, thanks for the chance to share it with you.

 

[BigJay]

Dr. Hank please PM me your address.. I'll send you a dropper set out. Deaclauderdale send me your address too and I'll send you a freebie out just for being the first person to tell me something. These two freebies are not the freebie in the title!!
I'm having a great week and the forum members support were what kicked it off. Still waiting to hear more stories!! Who knows I may decide to give you a freebie just for chiming in to tell me your having a good day too.

 

[yungreefer2410]

i pretty much only help out newbies and people whos threads i frequent. i guess you can search my name to get an idea of it, i don't have a lot of pointless posts either

 

[Miltonic]

well since I have a chance now and I would like a dropper here's my reply;

It all got started 7 months back when I managed to convince my mom who was very opposed to the idea of owning a reef tank especially since Im 18 and tought I would not be responsible enough. Fast forward to now and boy was she wrong, just take a look at my chronicle and see what I've manged to accomplish, I also paid for everything in my reef with my own hard work and put a lot of dedication into this hobby. I learn something new everyday and now my family especially my mom really enjoys seeing a piece of the ocean here at home, They always ask "what is this?" "how is this doing?"ect and I really enjoy answering all their questions with the help you've guys have given me.

 

[WatchinFish]

ok here is my contribution.

i have given a couple speeches in my class of 30 people. the first speech was showing pictures of beautifull saltwater aquariums, and teaching people how to get started. i told them where to buy the stuff needed, and how to take care of a tank. i also told them how to use this forum for help. my second speech was about general coral reefs and how they are deminishing, and what they have to do to keep it clean. i also have given a nother class(seperate from this class) of about 25 students a speech on how to keep aquariums.
other than that, i try and get my family and friends invold by takeing all of them to the fish store and letting them choose beautifull things and if it worked with my tank i would buy it. this makes them wanna ask about, "hey how is this coral doing, or can i come over and see that fish". one more thing i tend to do a couple times a year is take my lil cousins or girfriend, and parents to the long beach aquarium, and i am like a personal tour guid who teaches them about the ocean and its many inhabitants.
i am just a nut about the ocean, and every time i have an opertunity, i spred my knowledge

dude this is why i love this forum. everyone is so nice here. where else would you find somone nice enough to be willing to give things away because they are having a good day.

 

[WatchinFish]

hey big jay. any updates?

 

[molsen187]

everyday since i started the cycle on my tank my two year old neice and sister come down and look at the tank. i've explained to them the whole process of cycling and starting the tank. my neice now crawls up to me when i get up in the am and signs(she also does sign language. i noticed another post where they were teaching their son to do it)that she wants to go look at the tank. it is one of the best parts of my day.

 

[BigJay]

I'm not going to be around this weekend up until Monday. And hoping to get this contest wrapped up soon thereafter. Depending on how many more people enter will determine the end date.. Most likely 1 to 2 weeks from now. Thanks for taking the time everyone to share your stories!

 

[WatchinFish]

hey big jay. what ever happend with this?

 

[steveoinlvnv]

Here is my little story on how I helped my dad and his girl friend get in to the reefing madness. It all started back in 2003 when I got my first saltwater tank. It was a little 29 gal. tank. It was a nice but simple set up with lots of different soft corals and a few fish. When my dad would come over he would just sit in front of my tank and watch it for hours. One day back in 2005 I signed up and joined the US. Navy. Since I new I would be gone a long time I gave him my tank. My dad and his girl friend just fell in love with it. Then one day I over herd him talking about wanting to get a few other fish but the tank was to small for the fish so for his birthday 5 months after I gave them the tank I got them a new 72 gal. tank. To this day they still have it up and running. Its there own little piece of the ocean. As far as me I am now out and have a new tank up and running.

 

[BigJay]

hey big jay. what ever happend with this?

was down with the flu for a few days but I'm back in action now. Gonna close this down Monday at Midnight eastern time. And all the free glass stuff I've chosen to give out will ship that Wednesday morning.