Dennis Gallagher On December 12, 2003, as part of PetHobbyist.com's Sixth Annual Chat Week, Dennis Gallagher was our guest on AquariumHobbyist.com Dennis received a B.S. in Physics from the University of Arizona, where he also did graduate work in Astronomy. He has been the Director of the planetariums in Ft. Worth, TX and Winnipeg, Canada, before starting his own TV production company, Galaxy Productions Ltd. He partly paid for college by breeding and selling killifish and angelfishes and he set up his first reef tank in 1990. Dennis invented a unique wavemaker which he sold under Marine Laboratories. He was Conference Coordinator for MACNA IX and was heavily involved in the planning of MACNA XII and XIII. He is the founder and Conference Chairman of the International Marine Aquarium Conference (IMAC). PHSplendens: Welcome to AquariumHobbyist's 6th Annual Chat Week! Tonight we are pleased to welcome Dennis Gallagher from The International Marine Aquarium Conference as our special guest at AquariumHobbyist! Tonight’s topic is "The International Marine Aquarium Conference (IMAC) and What You Could Get Out of It" PHSplendens: Tonight we are going to be using protocol, and at this time I would like to go over the use of protocol. To ask a question type a ? to make a comment please type a ! and wait to be acknowledged. Your name will then be added to the queue, and you will be called upon in turn to ask your questions. PHSplendens: Welcome Dennis! jeffb: howdy degall: Thank you Splendens and Jeff Aeris_nr: ? PHPhoenix: go ahead aeris jeffb: ? reefaholic_nr: ? newbiereefer_nr: ? Aeris_nr: So what exactly is IMAC, I'm new to keeping fish and really don't know degall: Well, IMAC is the International Marine Aquarium Conference that will be held in Chicago June 4,5 and 6. Jeff will you acjnowledge questions or should I? PHPhoenix: go ahead jeff degall: OK, I'll proceed. jeffb: PH Splendens will do it jeffb: then she will tell them when its there turn to ask degall: IMAC will have about 20 speakers and 50 exhibits by leading manufacturers. degall: OK I'll wait for Splendens. jeffb: Sorry Dennis thats Phoenix that does that degall: OK Phoenix then. PHSplendens: Dennis if you could though, please type GA when you're done answering so we don't cut you off jeffb: here is my question. Can people buy stuff there and take it home degall: Yes they sure can. Many of the exhibitors carry livestock that you won't find in your LFS. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead reef reefaholic_nr: can you tell me more about the frag swap? degall: The Frag Swap is a first for IMAC. degall: People can bring bags for the swap/sell on Sunday afternoon. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead newbiereefer newbiereefer_nr: Im a beginner. Would IMAC be over my head? reefaholic_nr: ? degall: A few presentations may be advanced but that shouldn't stop you. Many of them are aimed at newbies. And you can always buttonhole the speakers afterwards and ask for clarification. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead reef Aeris_nr: ? reefaholic_nr: Will there be any hands on workshops? degall: This year we couldn't work in any frag workshops, but MACNA has had some and we felt that so many local clubs were doing that, that we could pass on that this year. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead Aeris Aeris_nr: What topics will the speakers be discussing? degall: They haven't yet all given us their abstracts. Most of them wait so they can include the latest stuff. But we're now bugging them and they should have abstracts within a month or so. GA jeffb: ? LesF_nr: ? PHPhoenix: go ahead jeff jeffb: Are there more speakers to be added or is the list pretty much set? newbiereefer_nr: ? degall: We still have room for a couple more and we should have that finalized in a month or so. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead Les FishinAggie03: ? LesF_nr: When will a list of exhibitors be released? degall: We already have more tham a dozen listed on the website but we are expecting a lot more. The price for booths goes up in February so there will be a lot of new ones by then. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead Fishin FishinAggie03: How does IMAC compare to MACNA? degall: They are pretty much the same in principal. But since MACNA is put on by a different club every year, it is more unpredictable. GA FishinAggie03: ? PHPhoenix: go ahead newbie I'm sorry If I skipped you newbiereefer_nr: I have been reading a lot of saltwater books. Will any of the authors like sprung or borneman be there? reefaholic_nr: ? degall: Eric will be there, as well as Dr. Ron. We have invited Julian but haven't heard back from him yet. Actually the list is on the website. I can't remember them all but we have some new ones like Dr. Charlie Mazel. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead fishin FishinAggie03: Will there be many aquarists from public aquariums there?? Aeris_nr: ? channon_nr: ! degall: Yes we usually get a number of them as attendees and we have some from the Shedd Aquarium and the Brookfield Zoo aquarium as speakers. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead reefaholic reefaholic_nr: I understand that a tour of the Shedd is part of the conference. When I was there as a normal person, flash photography wasn't allowed. Will this prohibition be lifted for the IMAC tour? reefaholic_nr: my pictures all looked like caca degall: I think it will be permitted since it is a "behind the scenes" tour, but I'm not sure; I'll have to check on that. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead Aeris Aeris_nr: Will they have hard to find or unusual equipment for sale there as well as livestock? FishinAggie03: ! jeffb: ? degall: I don't know about "hard to find". But some exhibitors will have products not generally found at your LFS. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead channon channon_nr: I was just going to say that Julian was there last year. degall: Yes, but he is veru hard to get a hold of. I was here last nite hoping to corner him but he couldn't show. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead Fishin jeffb: How did the 2003 IMAC go? jeffb: whoops jeffb: sorry FishinAggie03: In answer to the flash photo ??, as a public aquarist I can tell you reefaholic that the flash photography rule will probably not change. It is imposed for the health of the animals to keep stress down. PHPhoenix: go ahead jeff degall: The 2003 IMAC went very well for our first year. We had about 350 attendees and are expecting more next year. GA jeffb: How did the 2003 IMAC go? newbiereefer_nr: ? degall: Jeff, I thought I just answered that. Scroll up PHPhoenix: go ahead newbiereefer newbiereefer_nr: How much does it cost to go? Aeris_nr: ? degall: Right now it is $125, until the end of the month. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead Aeris Aeris_nr: Are there any other events planned other than speakers, exhibitors and a tour of the Aquarium? newbiereefer_nr: ? channon_nr: ? degall: There is a cocktail Reception on Friday night, a Banquet on Saturday night, a BIG raffle on Sunday and the Frag Swap Sunday afternoon. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead newbiereefer Aeris_nr: ? newbiereefer_nr: What is your web site address? I keep getting an Apple PC page degall: www.theimac.org . GA PHPhoenix: go ahead channon channon_nr: never mind, was going to ask if there would be a raffle, but Dennis was thorough in his answers. PHPhoenix: go ahead Aeris degall: ! Aeris_nr: What is sort of things will they be raffling off? degall: Probably the biggest features of IMAC are: degall: 1. Getting to hear the speakers you only read about or hear on the message boards, degall: 2. Meeting them socially (most of them are in the bar every nite, degall: 3. Getting to meet and socialize with other reefers you only see on the boards, degall: 4. Just getting together with a few hundred other reefers who are having the same problems you are, and degall: 5. Picking up goodies you don't normally don't come across and 6. Just having a blast! GA Aeris_nr: ? PHPhoenix: go ahead Aeris Aeris_nr: I was reading your bio and was wondering, exactly what is a wavemaker degall: As far as the question about the raffle, All Glass is donating another huge tank again. GA degall: A wavemaker is a gadget that provides water movement in a tank. It is usually done with a bunch of powerheads, on timers. GA Aeris_nr: ? PHPhoenix: go ahead aeris Aeris_nr: Does it work similar to a filter, or more like an air pump? degall: More like an air pump. Mine was a motorized paddle that swung back and forth. GA Aeris_nr: ? PHPhoenix: go ahead aeris Aeris_nr: What kinds of fish do you currently have? newbiereefer_nr: ? degall: Persomnally I have a yellow tang, a sailfin tang, a Potters angel, a cardinal, some green chromis, a mandarin fish, a Flame Angel and I can't remember the others right now. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead newbiereefer newbiereefer_nr: What should I bring with me to IMAC? reefaholic_nr: ? Lisa_nr: ? degall: Maybe a cooler if you plan to bring back some livestock. Otherwise just yourself, any books you want autographed, and your "thirst". GA PHPhoenix: go ahead reefaholic reefaholic_nr: Do you have any problems with your Angels muching on your corals? reefaholic_nr: munching degall: I have had that problem in the past. Usually Flame angels will ignore corals for a few years and then suddenly develop a taste for them. You never know. GA PHPhoenix: go ahead Lisa Lisa_nr: Are there a ny videos of the last conference available? degall: Yes we have them on the website www.theimac.org and we will have them again (but DVDs this time) for next year. GA Lisa_nr: thanks Aeris_nr: ? PHPhoenix: go ahead Aeris Aeris_nr: What is the price of the videos? degall: $10 each plus shipping. GA Aeris_nr: ? degall: I think we're running out ofd time aren't we Jeff? jeffb: We are PHPhoenix: go ahead aeris jeffb: I think Aeris's will be the last question Aeris_nr: Are all of the speakers from last year on them? PHSplendens: This will be the last question. degall: Yes and we also have the entire set available for a discounted price. If anyone has any other questions I can be reached at dennis2103@comcast.net GA PHSplendens: Dennis, on behalf of all of us at AquariumHobbyist thank you so much for being our guest tonight! Thank you to all who joined us tonight. PHSplendens: For information on all our Chat Week events, please visit: www.pethobbyist.com/ChatWeek2003.html jeffb: Thank you very much for being here tonight Dennis Aeris_nr: Thank you Dennis! PHPhoenix: Thank you Dennis for answering our questions degall: Splendens thanks for having me.
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