Well we are still unpacking from Macna and just found out some of the fund raising for the aquarium we donated to Smouse fell through. IF anyone is unfamiliar with what we and some fellow vendors did for the school well we donated a 93 gallon Marineland cube tank. We included a custom stand, huge custom sump and most of the equipment. The tank was set up with coral and all kinds of goodies. Many vendors at macna also donated stuff to the tank. However they had thought they were going to get a large cash donation from a foundation. Turns out they didn't qualify for it.
We decided even before the show to donate 10% of our macna sales to the Smouse School. So we have a $275 cash donation to send them this week. Now I know that doesn't sound like much and we agree. So we are going to step it up a bit. We have ten pieces here that we will be donating the proceeds to after shipping costs have been deducted to the Smouse School. We are hoping this will raise a few more dollars for this good cause.
Many of these structures were at Macna this year but some didn't make it that far. We are also asking the school to set up a paypal account so that they can take cash donations to help maintain the tank. Once that is done we will let you know where you can donate if you want to help out. The Smouse school is very small with only I think 250 students. But it is an all special needs school.
Again the only thing we will deduct is actual shipping and packaging costs. The rest of the money will go to the schools aquarium maintenance account.
And now for the pictures of the pieces available for donation. I must add that we will probably not be doing any custom work any time soon. So if you want a big piece from The Alternative Reef this is what we will have. I will not have the time to sculpt as we have some big projects in the works. It is even possible that these are the last Alternative Reef custom structures you will ever see available directly from us. As we continue to move the business forward the opportunity to do big structures like these is getting smaller and smaller. And despite what some may think there just isn't any real money in it.
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1. Measures 18" x 14" x 11 tall". It is $250 shipped. SOLD!
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2. This is a big piece that unfortunately broke while firing. I epoxied it back together as the damage was minimal. It will not come apart. It is 21"x 15" x 11" tall. It is $200 shipped. It really is a cool piece that would have retailed for about $400 had it not broke.
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3. 18" x !5" x 11" tall. $150 shipped. This is the only piece I brought back from Macna that got damaged. Funny thing is it survived the transport fine. It broke when I was walking with a tote of stuff and tripped falling on top of it. I swear I am the Chevy Chase of the Reef World. Two small pieces broke as a result of my fall. It is barely noticeable and was originally priced at $250. This is a really good price.
---------- Post added at 02:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:38 PM ----------
4. 15" x 15" x11" tall. $135 shipped. This piece has a crack in it and is a second. It is strong and will not come apart. I had this piece at Macna and no one could find the defect. But I know it is there so the price was reduced by a bunch. SOLD!
---------- Post added at 02:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:39 PM ----------
5. 21" x 17" x 7" tall. $250 shipped. This is one of my favorite pieces. I contemplated keeping this one for myself but settled on two other pieces from my collection.
This would be an awesome piece to grow out chalices or encrusting coral.
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6. 16"x 14" x 13" tall. $200 shipped. SOLD!
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7. 16" x 14" x 11" $135 shipped. This is a large piece made just for micro plugs. It is the first one we made like this and probably the last.
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8. 20" x 17" x 12" tall. $250 shipped. This is a branching piece. The idea behind these is minimal aquascaping. Place the coral in its place and let it grow out. In time the coral would over grow it and you wont even see the rock. Just the coral. I really like these but we never really made a lot of them due to the fact more people preferred the pillars. The small ones we make like this sell pretty good but we never really pushed the big ones. I brought one big one to Macna this year and it was the first big structure sold.
---------- Post added at 02:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:41 PM ----------
9. 20"x 16" x 12" tall. $170 shipped. This one has a minor defect in it but is structurally sound and pretty cool.
SOLD!
---------- Post added at 02:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:42 PM ----------
10. 19"x 16" x 9" tall. $200 shipped.
The Alternative Reef 
Smouse School tank fundraiser. 
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