Hi, This is Sally Jo, 12/14/02 - Boise - The first day of the seminar was dedicated to how to set up a true bulletproof reef system. It is hard for me at times to remember how difficult it is to get many of the supplies we use in different parts of the World. Yet I am constantly amazed at how creative we can become to make other items work when not having something at ones fingertips. When sharing information about the true bulletproof reef system I explained this is not the place to be creative. This simple system is the Foundation of your reef. You do not start by building the roof of your house first. You start with the Foundation, and the more solid your foundation the more success is generated. The bulletproof reef system is a proven, effective, successful method that if followed can give you endless years of success. Also explaining that one can not nor should not try to make the system happen faster than possible. For one is caring for life that once we take into our care we have to have a true commitment towards them. These animals can not speak and we need to pay close attention to their needs if we do this we are guaranteed years of enjoyment. WE TAUGHT OUR CLASS TO PLAN A BULLET PROOF REEF. WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR OWN ROCK YOU CAN HAVE ANY REEF SCAPE YOU CAN IMAGINE. People also must understand that once we place them in our care they rely solely on us to provide the care. We also expressed that GARF's way is not the only way but it is certainly proven to work over and over again. The material needed to set up a Bullet proof reef tank is usually easy to find in all parts of the World. We let others know if they have problems getting their hands on products to let us know and we will do what we can to assist them with finding the necessary materials. We showed them step by step instructions on how to assemble a bulletproof reef tank. We also expressed what we have learned throughout the years as how to set up the tank at the very beginning to save yourself nightmares down the road. Having set up so many of these systems we have learned so much mostly from making mistakes. It is important to mark the electrical plugs identifying them as power heads, heaters, or lights. When one needs to be replaced it gets done at that time. This may save hours of work and get the task done right away. If you have a tangle of unmarked cords you may delay the job until you find the time to fix it. The easier you make your tank to work with the more time you will spend with it. The more success you have with your system the more you will enjoy it and you may inspire others to become involved. Planning how much time you have, and how much money you can spend is important before setting up the system. How big the tank is has a great deal to do with how much money you will need and how much time you will need. Deciding where you are going to locate the tank is very important. You will need electrical plugs, water, and a forgiving spouse if you make the spills that always seem to come with a reef tank. So doing ones homework is so very important and is a personal task one that I can not do for anyone. I often go into great detail about the Bulletproof reef system because often I get letters from people commenting that they are following the bulletproof reef system, yet they are not getting results. When I begin to ask them questions I realize that very little of what they are doing reflects the real bulletproof reef system. For information on this subject please read the articles posted on our site. I share in detail how we do this and if you get confused call our office staff at 208-344-6163 they will take the time to answer your questions. Leonel speaks fluent Spanish, and he can share his many years of experience. Because we knew we were going to teach the bulletproof reef system we told the students, first you make your rock so you have time to cure it. The curing process takes 6 weeks the longer ones rock cures the more stable the rock. While the rock is curing you can begin ordering your equipment and wait for it to come. You can go to your local pet store for your aquarium, or you can decide to make your own aquarium. Just watch for scratches; make certain the stand is strong enough. More than once I have heard of tanks that came crashing down. We then shared the recipe on how to make the Aragocrete rock. What you see reflected in this picture is the very first rock these people ever made. LeRoy said the students became very creative. LeRoy had them use plastic bags that were left as trash by the ocean. Plastic adds strength when it is mixed into aquacultured rock. They formed many different shapes and showed us with the beach as your backyard you needed fewer tools than we need in our man made beach in Boise. The first day of class was windy and cool so we had to change the rock recipe just a little to force the rock to dry faster so that we could pull them the next day. You can find the recipe for making your own rock on our web site at LEARN TO MAKE YOUR OWN ZERO IMPACT LIVE ROCKS . God must of heard our cry for help because that night a warm rain came pouring down. When we arrived the next morning all the rock was partially uncovered and hard enough so that we could take it in. We then formed the first part of a new made Aragocrete reef in eastern Mexico It was like watching children playing in the sandbox. They were having a hard time waiting until morning several of them showed up before 9 am and visited the rock site before we arrived. With the materials that we had and the time that we had this was great Aragocrete. This was the first rock they ever made, and I gave them all a round of applause. It certainly looked better than the first rock we ever made. I could almost hear their brains clicking on how they were going to create their personal reefs. They now had the information, tools, and the material needed. We are certain that many of them will find their own way to make the dream of saving the reefs in Mexico and around the World a reality for all of us. This slide reflects how much rock can be made in one day and with one bag of cement. It is hard even for me to believe that we had never ever taken the time to figure out how much rock could be made with one bag of fresh cement. We than discussed the different methods for placing the man made rock in the ocean or curing it in fresh water. We spoke of the difference between wild rock and just simple plain man made rock. PART #3 of SALLY JO'S VERACRUZ, MEXICO DIARY - THE WONDERFUL MANATEES

FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS WE HAVE WORKED VERY HARD TO PURCHASE, TRADE, AND SAVE AS MANY TYPES OF CORALS AS WE CAN. IF YOU WANT TO PURCHASE SOME OF SALLY JO'S GREAT NEW CUTTINGS PLEASE CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-600-6163 We are having a special on all of the coral cuttings. WHEN YOU PURCHASE 5 AT THE REGULAR PRICE OF $100 WE WILL GIVE YOU TWO FREE CORALS!. We will continue to provide the most current data on reef farming for both education and profit. WE SHIP THE LARGE DRY ARAGOCRETETM SCULPTURES - CHOOSE A MASTER PIECE FROM EDDIE POSTMA FOR ONLY 5.00 PER POUND DRY WEIGHT. THEY ARE VERY STRONG AND LARGE FOR THE WEIGHT. For us to fill your order, please enter your name, E-mail and phone numbers and WE WILL CALL YOU SO YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM THE MANY CORALS WE GROW FOR OUR RESEARCH We will also get a shipping date. We will check your mailing address and payment information. Thank you!! Alternatively, you may also print out and either mail or fax your order to 208-344-6189 REEF JANITOR ORDER FORM GREAT GARF SPECIAL - WITH EACH ORDER YOU CAN PICK ONE AVAILABLE CORAL FOR FREE We will custom mix your Reef JanitorsTM from our great mix of algae eating snails and hermits. PLEASE SEND ME Red Leg Hermit Crabs for -- $2.98 each, plus shipping and handling algae eating snails for -- $2.98 each, plus shipping and handling Garf GrungeTM live sand activator for -- $5.00 per lb., plus shipping and handling 30 GALLON REEF Forty five reef janitors for only $1.00 each. -- $45.00, plus shipping and handling 50 GALLON REEF Eighty two reef janitors for only $1.00 each -- $82.00, plus shipping and handling 100 GALLON REEF One hundred fifty reef janitors for only $1.00 each. -- $150.00, plus shipping and handling For us to fill your order, please enter your name, E-mail and phone numbers and we will call you to take down the size of your aquarium so we can help you order the proper mixture of reef janitors and Garf Grunge. We will ask for your mailing address and payment information. Thank you!! Alternatively, you may also print out and either mail or fax your order to 208-344-6189

JOIN THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION You can support our research and learn more about reef aquariums and wetlands 1726 Merrill St. Boise Idaho 83705 U.S.A. SAVE A REEF - GROW YOUR OWN CALL TODAY AND YOU CAN MIX AND MATCH ANY AMOUNT OF SNAILS AND HERMITS FOR ONLY $1.00 EACH. LeRoy REEF PICTURES SPONSORED BY REEF JANITORStm We can take credit cards at 1-800-600-6163 ALGAE CONTROL CENTRAL REEF JANITORS ALGAE CONTROL CENTRAL Use this site to solve your reef aquarium algae problems, and help support our research!!! Many of the rare corals are offered to our members for 2 years before they are put on sale. We will soon have an E-mail list that will list the rarest color forms of sps corals and soft corals such as Xenia and Mushrooms. THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION HOME PAGE You can support our research and learn more about reef aquariums and wetlands 1726 Merrill St. Boise Idaho 83705 U.S.A. Email: leroy@garf.org