tommy patton
New member
I cant wait, Im sure a lot of us from the Chattanooga Reef Club will be there in support of you guys again this year. I really enjoyed last year. Cant wait for the presell threads to start.
2009 Tennessee Reef Aquarium Expo and Frag Swap
- Thread starter DMBillies
- Start date
Angela Short
New member
I love the name change. It never failed that folks would ask if they could come even without frags to "Swap". I think this will be a good name change and sound more inviting to folks who are toying with the idea of a reef and just wanting info about SW.
I am not volenteering ( naturally
) but it would be a great thing to advertise is a begginer talk/workshop for demoing a new tank set up and explaining the basics of what it takes for a begginer to get there feet wet. We forget sometimes new people are totally lost on what a "cycle" even is much less bioload, proper set up, maintenence, testing... How to do a easy water change kinda stuff. Advertise a specific time for anyone wanting to just hear a basic SW set up speach and some one on one brain picking with the speach giver kinda thing in a seperate room. I see there is a reef slide thing in the lobby but a personal Q&A class for new folks would be awsome.
OK I am really brainstorming now!! How about someone have this workshop and it could be a free workshop but folks interested could buy a raffel ticket to actually win a demo tank that the instructer kinda builds for them. You know sand/rock placement and how its important to give room for growth of corals in our rockscape, different aquascape techinqes and styles.
I could supply the dried rock to demo the aquascapping and glueing it all together or zip tieing/rods and a peice of live rock in a bag of water to kick start the cycle when they get home and put the water in the tank. I am sure we can secure a donated tank from a LFS and maybe even the compleate set up. Some cheaper light fixture to start like a PC or VHO set up for the tank, a couple korilias and a heater would be a good basic starter tank. We would supply a list of sponcers for this tank and a new SW addict could go home and know where to go to buy upgrades if they want and sw supplies if we get donations for the equipment from different sponcers.
Something most people would have room for like a 20 tall, maybe a 29 gallon. Something this size you could set on an end table or dresser and not allot a ton of space to have a big tank till they were sure they could do it. Also A smaller tank this size could be aquascaped totally dry in the class and carried to a car trunk ready for water when they get home.
If a store doesn't want to foot the bill since I know they are generouse in other donations ussually, the raffel for the actual tank would probably pay for the demo material.
Also I think we need to somehow get the word out better with advertising. I can cut a link and put it on Craigslist once a week because lots of folks looking for getting a tank go there and will stumble across the link.
I would offer to teach this class but you know I would be late and that wouldn't look good if the teacher is late for class! If you all think this is a bad idea just shoot me down. Just brainstorming.
I am not volenteering ( naturally
) but it would be a great thing to advertise is a begginer talk/workshop for demoing a new tank set up and explaining the basics of what it takes for a begginer to get there feet wet. We forget sometimes new people are totally lost on what a "cycle" even is much less bioload, proper set up, maintenence, testing... How to do a easy water change kinda stuff. Advertise a specific time for anyone wanting to just hear a basic SW set up speach and some one on one brain picking with the speach giver kinda thing in a seperate room. I see there is a reef slide thing in the lobby but a personal Q&A class for new folks would be awsome.OK I am really brainstorming now!! How about someone have this workshop and it could be a free workshop but folks interested could buy a raffel ticket to actually win a demo tank that the instructer kinda builds for them. You know sand/rock placement and how its important to give room for growth of corals in our rockscape, different aquascape techinqes and styles.
I could supply the dried rock to demo the aquascapping and glueing it all together or zip tieing/rods and a peice of live rock in a bag of water to kick start the cycle when they get home and put the water in the tank. I am sure we can secure a donated tank from a LFS and maybe even the compleate set up. Some cheaper light fixture to start like a PC or VHO set up for the tank, a couple korilias and a heater would be a good basic starter tank. We would supply a list of sponcers for this tank and a new SW addict could go home and know where to go to buy upgrades if they want and sw supplies if we get donations for the equipment from different sponcers.
Something most people would have room for like a 20 tall, maybe a 29 gallon. Something this size you could set on an end table or dresser and not allot a ton of space to have a big tank till they were sure they could do it. Also A smaller tank this size could be aquascaped totally dry in the class and carried to a car trunk ready for water when they get home.
If a store doesn't want to foot the bill since I know they are generouse in other donations ussually, the raffel for the actual tank would probably pay for the demo material.
Also I think we need to somehow get the word out better with advertising. I can cut a link and put it on Craigslist once a week because lots of folks looking for getting a tank go there and will stumble across the link.
I would offer to teach this class but you know I would be late and that wouldn't look good if the teacher is late for class! If you all think this is a bad idea just shoot me down. Just brainstorming.
DMBillies
Active member
Angela- The tank idea is a good one, but possibly too involved (I know it takes me hours just to aquascape a tank, let alone do all of the other stuff). We are hoping to have a nice big ticket item like a full set-up for the raffle. What might not be too involved is taking the powerpoint slides that we'll be streaming in the dining area and having a "beginner talk" with them... someone who can guide people through some things and field questions as they come up.
On the advertising front, I'll take your offer to post on craigslist
We should have a website live very shortly that give the basic info on the swap and has a sign-up for an e-mail list that I can use to update everyone (and give weekly reminders about the swap to anyone who signs up).
Once that is up, I'll be releasing our already finished poster for people to hopefully send around. I'll deliver those to the LFS's and hopefully we can get people to volunteer to hit up the "chain pet stores" and any other stores that might have bulletin boards for posters in their respective neighborhoods.
I've looked into google advertising and we've come up with some keywords and a payment schedule for the local area. We should be able to get a cost-per-click of $.10 that will still get us 25+ clicks per day (and you only pay when someone clicks your link, so we'll only pay for people that actually visit our website). They are also targeted keywords, so we'll likely only have advertisements appear for interested folks. We're not sure if this will translate well to people coming to the swap, but for $100 we can get almost 1000 clicks and if only 5 people show up from those and buy $20 worth of raffle tickets, the advertising has literally paid for itself. If our "hit rate" is closer to 10%, then that's 100 more people at the swap, which would be really amazing. In other words, this is probably worth at least giving a try.
If you have other ideas for advertising that are cost friendly or very likely to pay off, please e-mail me or PM me. I'm open to anything, particularly if you're willing to do the leg work.
On the advertising front, I'll take your offer to post on craigslist
We should have a website live very shortly that give the basic info on the swap and has a sign-up for an e-mail list that I can use to update everyone (and give weekly reminders about the swap to anyone who signs up).
Once that is up, I'll be releasing our already finished poster for people to hopefully send around. I'll deliver those to the LFS's and hopefully we can get people to volunteer to hit up the "chain pet stores" and any other stores that might have bulletin boards for posters in their respective neighborhoods.
I've looked into google advertising and we've come up with some keywords and a payment schedule for the local area. We should be able to get a cost-per-click of $.10 that will still get us 25+ clicks per day (and you only pay when someone clicks your link, so we'll only pay for people that actually visit our website). They are also targeted keywords, so we'll likely only have advertisements appear for interested folks. We're not sure if this will translate well to people coming to the swap, but for $100 we can get almost 1000 clicks and if only 5 people show up from those and buy $20 worth of raffle tickets, the advertising has literally paid for itself. If our "hit rate" is closer to 10%, then that's 100 more people at the swap, which would be really amazing. In other words, this is probably worth at least giving a try.
If you have other ideas for advertising that are cost friendly or very likely to pay off, please e-mail me or PM me. I'm open to anything, particularly if you're willing to do the leg work.
DMBillies
Active member
Hi everyone! Just wanted to let everyone know that the reef expo website is now online at www.mtrc.org/reefexpo. There are a couple of small changes we are still making, but it is mostly operational at this point. Thanks to Jack Behar for working that up for us.
There is an area on the site to sign-up for an e-mail list. This will just allow me to send updates and reminders about the swap for people who aren't on RC. I don't care if people from RC sign-up, but I won't be sending anything out in updates that doesn't make it into this thread.
There is an area on the site to sign-up for an e-mail list. This will just allow me to send updates and reminders about the swap for people who aren't on RC. I don't care if people from RC sign-up, but I won't be sending anything out in updates that doesn't make it into this thread.
DMBillies
Active member
I've been working for the past couple of hours trying to get the poster to attach but the file size is too big and I can't get it smaller without killing the quality. So, I've uploaded the poster for the swap to my picasa account and anyone should be able to go there and see it/download it/print it. The avatar icon is also there.
http://picasaweb.google.com/BBsReef/FragSwap#
http://picasaweb.google.com/BBsReef/FragSwap#
supertech99
New member
nice job on the poster. I have been working on my budget build slide show that we talked about before to give new reefers on a budget an idea of inital startup costs on the cheep. i figured i could do it as a slideshow or just print up the pictures as a booklet and leave it on a table somewhere what do you think?
DMBillies
Active member
Thanks for doing this. Why don't you talk to Brandon (neveSSL) about it since he is putting together the "beginner slide show." It seems like this might be able to just fit in amongst that. Or, depending on how long that is, we can just include yours at the end of his and have them play in rotation. If nothing more, we could do the book idea for the swap and then use your presentation as a topic for a meeting... but if you're doing it I'd rather see it used at the swap where more people are likely to see it.
DMBillies
Active member
I also added a digital banner to my picasa account for the swap. Just in case anyone has a website or other online place you might want to post it.
http://picasaweb.google.com/BBsReef/FragSwap#
Thanks!
http://picasaweb.google.com/BBsReef/FragSwap#
Thanks!
crumbletop
New member
Here is the poster reduced in size a bit 
crumbletop
New member
Yep -- I've been swamped for sure. I'm coming up for air over Thanksgiving and then going back under. I don't think I've ever been this busy. A BIG thanks to you guys -- this swap is really shaping up to be AWESOME!
DMBillies
Active member
Just wanted to give shout outs to our earliest confirmed* sponsors/attendees. We literally just started contacting possible vendors/sponsors.
Roger Vitko from Tunze is attending and donating a Tunze 6085 Stream 2
SeaChem is donating 2 sets of their new AquaVitro line and a 50 gallon per day RO unit
Premium Aquatics pledged $150 in gift certificates or product
Randy Reed from Reef Nutrition will be attending (more on this later)
Also, I have talked with Chris at the Aquatic Critter and it looks like they are once again interested in attending.
More will follow, just figured I'd throw a little teaser out there... a very exciting response so far!!!
*all information subject to change without notice
Roger Vitko from Tunze is attending and donating a Tunze 6085 Stream 2
SeaChem is donating 2 sets of their new AquaVitro line and a 50 gallon per day RO unit
Premium Aquatics pledged $150 in gift certificates or product
Randy Reed from Reef Nutrition will be attending (more on this later)
Also, I have talked with Chris at the Aquatic Critter and it looks like they are once again interested in attending.
More will follow, just figured I'd throw a little teaser out there... a very exciting response so far!!!
*all information subject to change without notice
tommy patton
New member
Brandon, not sure about the newspaper, most of the people that I know of that would come up there will already know. It may get a few more people but I dont know if it would be cost effective. Do you know when people will start presell threads.
Tommy
DMBillies
Active member
I just wanted to post some Murfreesboro hotel information for anyone coming in from out of town and wanting a place to stay Friday or Saturday night. Brandon gets credit for putting the list together and writing the synopses, which I edited minimally because I thought a couple of them were at least mildly comical.
Nearby Hotels:
1. Embassy Suites Murfreesboro.
1200 Conference Center Blvd
Murfreesboro, TN, 37129
866-539-0036
It is on Medical Center Parkway and is a 3.5 star hotel. There’s not much directly around it, but just like all the others, everything is within 2 miles that you could dream of… 2 malls, wal-mart, etc. Average price per night is $98, so its one of the more expensive hotels.
2. Crestwood Suites Murfreesboro
1345 Old Fort Pkwy
Murfreesboro, TN, 37129
866-539-0036
It is on Old Fort Parkway and is a 2 star hotel. This one sits kind of by itself close to Stones River, but is within a mile of the mall and within 2 miles of pretty much everything else. Average price per night is $65, so it seems to hit the median on price and proximity.
3. Comfort Suites Murfreesboro
226 N Thompson Ln
Murfreesboro, TN, 37129
866-539-0036
It’s a bit further away from the swap, but is very close to the interstate and has a few restaurants that are possibly within walking distance. Actually, quite a few if you don’t mind walking more than 100 yards. Out of all the hotels in Murfreesboro, it has the highest recommendation rate on Hotels.com. It is on the expensive end at an average of $95 per night, though.
Hotels “on the budget end of thingsâ€Â:
1. Howard Johnson Murfreesboro.
2424 S Church St
Murfreesboro, TN, 37127
866-539-0036
It is on S. Church Street. It has an average price of $45 per night, but is not very close to the swap and is definitely not centrally located to anything with the main strip that all of the others are close to being about 4 or 5 miles away, which still isn’t horrible, but relative to the other hotels its kind of far away. I noticed some remarks on Hotels.com about it being old, though, and some rooms smelling, so sleeper beware I suppose. At the same time, out of the three cheapest this one ranks highest in recommendations.
2. Ramada Limited Murfreesboro
1855 S Church St
Murfreesboro, TN, 37130
866-539-0036
$50 per night. It is also on S. Church Street, although a little closer than Howard Johnson. It is also not very close to much and is a bit further away from the swap.
3. Americas Best Value Inn
1954 S Church St
Murfreesboro, TN, 37130
866-539-0036
Yet again on S. Church Street and yet again around $50 per night. So it is, again, kind of far from everything and is ranked a bit low on Hotels.com, but it may be priced right for someone.
Nearby Hotels:
1. Embassy Suites Murfreesboro.
1200 Conference Center Blvd
Murfreesboro, TN, 37129
866-539-0036
It is on Medical Center Parkway and is a 3.5 star hotel. There’s not much directly around it, but just like all the others, everything is within 2 miles that you could dream of… 2 malls, wal-mart, etc. Average price per night is $98, so its one of the more expensive hotels.
2. Crestwood Suites Murfreesboro
1345 Old Fort Pkwy
Murfreesboro, TN, 37129
866-539-0036
It is on Old Fort Parkway and is a 2 star hotel. This one sits kind of by itself close to Stones River, but is within a mile of the mall and within 2 miles of pretty much everything else. Average price per night is $65, so it seems to hit the median on price and proximity.
3. Comfort Suites Murfreesboro
226 N Thompson Ln
Murfreesboro, TN, 37129
866-539-0036
It’s a bit further away from the swap, but is very close to the interstate and has a few restaurants that are possibly within walking distance. Actually, quite a few if you don’t mind walking more than 100 yards. Out of all the hotels in Murfreesboro, it has the highest recommendation rate on Hotels.com. It is on the expensive end at an average of $95 per night, though.
Hotels “on the budget end of thingsâ€Â:
1. Howard Johnson Murfreesboro.
2424 S Church St
Murfreesboro, TN, 37127
866-539-0036
It is on S. Church Street. It has an average price of $45 per night, but is not very close to the swap and is definitely not centrally located to anything with the main strip that all of the others are close to being about 4 or 5 miles away, which still isn’t horrible, but relative to the other hotels its kind of far away. I noticed some remarks on Hotels.com about it being old, though, and some rooms smelling, so sleeper beware I suppose. At the same time, out of the three cheapest this one ranks highest in recommendations.
2. Ramada Limited Murfreesboro
1855 S Church St
Murfreesboro, TN, 37130
866-539-0036
$50 per night. It is also on S. Church Street, although a little closer than Howard Johnson. It is also not very close to much and is a bit further away from the swap.
3. Americas Best Value Inn
1954 S Church St
Murfreesboro, TN, 37130
866-539-0036
Yet again on S. Church Street and yet again around $50 per night. So it is, again, kind of far from everything and is ranked a bit low on Hotels.com, but it may be priced right for someone.
DMBillies
Active member
Just wanted to update on a couple of new donations.
Oceans Wonders is sponsoring once again this year and donating one of their new N52 Mag Frag Racks... thanks to them for helping us out across the years.
Julian Sprung from Two Little Fishies is going to be sending us a care package, so thanks to the guys/gals there as well.
Reef Science is donating a couple of $20 gift certificates. Thank you Chad for the donation.
I've also been talking with Jon at Boston Aqua Farms and he is planning on donating something as well.
We're trying to go back to not charging an entry fee for the swap without backing off on what we can do there (e.g., getting a great speaker). That really requires that we have a successful raffle to cover our costs and a successful raffle relies on having a lot of great stuff to raffle off. It really looks like our sponsors are going to come through for us yet again this year. So... please go out and buy their stuff if you see something you like
Oceans Wonders is sponsoring once again this year and donating one of their new N52 Mag Frag Racks... thanks to them for helping us out across the years.
Julian Sprung from Two Little Fishies is going to be sending us a care package, so thanks to the guys/gals there as well.
Reef Science is donating a couple of $20 gift certificates. Thank you Chad for the donation.
I've also been talking with Jon at Boston Aqua Farms and he is planning on donating something as well.
We're trying to go back to not charging an entry fee for the swap without backing off on what we can do there (e.g., getting a great speaker). That really requires that we have a successful raffle to cover our costs and a successful raffle relies on having a lot of great stuff to raffle off. It really looks like our sponsors are going to come through for us yet again this year. So... please go out and buy their stuff if you see something you like
