# DFWAPC Club Meeting September 23rd at 1pm



## CrownMan (Sep 12, 2005)

Club Members,

Brad (bsboust on APC) will host a Wabi-Kusa Workshop at his home (actually his workshop in the back) at 1pm on Saturday, September 23rd. It is air conditioned.

The workshop will start after we discuss company business and have the plant swap. The workshop will take approximately 45 min to 1 hour.

Alex and I got together and tested all of equipment and built one Wabi-Kusa ball and bowl earlier tonight. I have attached a picture and we will bring to the meeting on September 23rd to show the progress in 4 weeks.

The Workshop and will be limited to 10 members that wish to participate due to the lead time to purchase some of the equipment. The club will cover some of the cost of the materials for each registrant. Please let me know if you are interested in participating in this workshop by responding to this email. The cost for the workshop Is $35 per member.

Currently 7 have signed and paid and we have enough equipment for 3 more. Here is the equipment list that will be provided to each participant:

1.	A glass 1 gallon Anchor Hawking Bowl with glass lid.
2.	Aquasoil, Clay, Ferts, ZipLoc bag, black sewing thread, distilled water, small water mister spray bottle and Tulle Netting to make the Wabi Kusa ball.
3.	Small stones (ie., lava rock) to make a stand to set the ball on.
4.	Submersible Micro Pump to keep water flowing.
5.	Aquascaping tools for each workshop participant (scissors and tweezers).
6.	Small Plant Cuttings that will grow emersed to attach to the ball (buces, petite Anubias, Bacopa, Rotala, Ludwigia, Monte Carlo, etc.).
7.	One 24 LED gooseneck light with USB wall charger and cable (5500K to 6000K color temp, 220 Lumens). Optional if you don't need a light

Your cost to sign up for the workshop will be $35 with the light, $25 if you already have a light source. It will need a light to grow the plants.

Brad and Alex attended the Wabi-Kusa workshop in Denver at the AGA Convention in April of this year and they will be instructing and assisting the class.

If you are not a current member, please add $10 to total cost and PayPal to me at [email protected] . You can PM me here on APC and ask if there is still an opening but we will limit the participation to the number of setups we can get in time for the meeting.

If you aren't participating and have not paid your club dues for 2017, the membership fee is now $10 for the rest of this year and can be paid at the meeting or to my Paypal account listed above. Only 2 more meetings left this year.

Some Wabi-Kusa examples can be found at the following :

https://mywabikusaproject.wordpress.com/

http://www.aquascapingworld.com/magazine/September-2008/Wabi-Kusa-Aquascaping.html

As you can see, there are numerous ways to incorporate various Wabi-Kusa styles.

As usual, please bring munchies or drinks and, of course, plants for the plant swap after the club business meeting. Plant swap only for club members!!

We could use some extra montecarlo, dwarf baby tears, different mosses, etc. to add more diversity to the plant choices so we're asking club members to donate a few if they are able.

Club members that do not participate in the workshop are welcome to watch and learn. Brad will have a big screen TV and we will hook up a video camera.

PM me (Crownman) or Brad (bsboust) for address. He is located in Dalworthington Gardens in the heart of Southwest Arlington.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

Good reads!


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I am really looking forward to this. I've tried several wabi-kusa with limited success, and want to learn how to do it correctly.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Happy to see the spark is still here!


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Great workshop, and thanks to Brad for hosting!


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## bsboust (Nov 26, 2014)

Thanks Michael,

Thanks to all who attended the workshop and those that came to observe. A big thanks to Alex Garcia for leading the workshop and Mike Herod for providing most of the plants and setting up the camera to show and record the meeting. Mike and Alex also worked with me to set up the shop for the meeting. I would be glad to offer the use of the shop in the future, maybe a tank building workshop?

Brad


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## LilDicken (Aug 27, 2016)

Thank you Brad, Alex and Mike, it was fun and educational!!


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## stmarshall (Jan 24, 2012)

Wonderful meeting, thanks to all who contributed. Probably one of the best meetings of the year.


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## mooncon (Oct 12, 2011)

I really wanted to make this but work got in the way


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## DaTrueDave (Dec 28, 2003)

Heh... Commenting quite late, but our Wabi-kusa is doing great.

I came here to ask where the pump was purchased. This one seems to be working great and I'd like to get a couple more for a project I've got in mind.


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## CrownMan (Sep 12, 2005)

Dave, the pumps were purchased on Amazon here is a link :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRK7S4N/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There is another that is more powerful and adjustable here :
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EWENMAU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mike
Narfle the Garthok


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## cindyavina (Jan 11, 2017)

I had a great time for my first meeting and my guy I still looking great. I plan on making 2 more for my daughters so that don't take mine.


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## DaTrueDave (Dec 28, 2003)

CrownMan said:


> Dave, the pumps were purchased on Amazon here is a link :
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRK7S4N/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
> 
> ...


Thank you!

I don't want a more powerful one. I'm making my pet's water dish circulate so they think it's "fresh." I might incorporate a sponge filter, too, but I'm thinking that it would be easier to simply change the water every day or so...


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## DaTrueDave (Dec 28, 2003)

I've got another question: What soil did we use for the workshop? Was it ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia? https://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Soil-Amazonia-Liter-Normal/dp/B00519832W


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## CrownMan (Sep 12, 2005)

Alex donated some used ADA Aquasoil for the workshop.


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## DaTrueDave (Dec 28, 2003)

CrownMan said:


> Alex donated some used ADA Aquasoil for the workshop.


Thanks. Do we know what flavor of Aquasoil it was, and how long it had been used? I'm not up to speed on a lot of the new commercial substrates and the firsthand experience with that soil is pretty valuable. I keep reading that the organic soils all eventually turn to mud, but I thought the Aquasoil held it's shape pretty decently. We had to really pack it like a mudball to get it to hold it's shape like that.


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## CrownMan (Sep 12, 2005)

Alex will have to chime in on the age of that soil he donated but I believe it was the original Aquasoil. I used that save version for a few years and it does break down after a couple of years and makes a mess when removing plants or replanting them. I have switched to Eco Complete in most of my tanks and gave away my old aquasoil to club members over 3 years ago.


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