Future FRAG and PROP Meeting Discussion

[Sisterlimonpot]

Here is one more suggestion based on my long time experience dealing with garden clubs. People would love to see other people "installations". The most successful garden clubs run monthly "vanity show off" trips to "garden of the month". It's different when you do hand waving during meeting "I built super-puper nona-LED-NOPOX-Denitrator-dosator. Here is the picture. My coral growth rate is 5 times higher" and showing it in action. There are many local reefers who'd love to show their tanks and share experience. This is something you can't online

I usually have to work during these meetings and auctions (need to make money to pay for the super expensive membership fees!! )
Even though the hobby/community is growing steadily, its tough to get everyone, new and old, to attend.

Here's a few ideas. Didn't get to read everyone's post, so some might be mentioned.

-continue to seek a more central location. traveling long distance for most this is an issue, especially in the summer heat.

-exposure on FB, RC, R-2R, etc. being more active would go a long way since there are a million other local reef group pages. There are quite a bit of newbie that are not aware of these meetings.

-offer incentives (free starter frags to newbies) lack of newbies in these meetings??

-coral swapping/selling in junction to meeting topic.

-raffles are always fun and good way to raise money for the club. I'm sure most lfs would be interested in donating or selling gift cards at a discounted price.

-having a member host at their house would be great. Years back in S Cal, a local member would host these meeting at his house. family, friends and kids would have a blast. Problem is finding a member to host would be a tough one.

-not sure if this is in the club's budget, but a BBQ would be fun. something similar to what Allen did years back, the "garage sale"

-encourage member get involved prior to meetings on a few topics. maybe issues someone is experiencing in their tank

-keep in mind that most newbies are imitated, most topics are way over their heads. sometimes we need to dumb it down a little.

-other topics; maybe multiple short topics
-encourage members to "brag" about their tanks, regardless of what level they are at
-any new installation, equipment, coral, fish list, etc
-creative ways to improve filtration/overall system
-sump layout and design
-new equipment, media, etc on the market
-lighting

This was the basic premise of what we did at MASVC. Each meeting was at a fellow reefers house (paid or non paid member, we didn't seclude people from meeting). Just as Bill pointed out it was a chance for the host to show off their tank and to answer any questions. Then you get the formalities out of the way, old business, new business etc...afterwards a short presentation by anyone with enough experience and knowledge to talk [smartly] about a particular subject, finally it turned to an informal environment to "talk hobby"

somewhere in the mix we would have a raffle ($1 tickets) for donated frags and product from our sponsors which paid for food and drink.

We tried really hard to keep it personable and gave new attendees the opportunity to introduce themselves and made them feel overly welcomed. we ensured that it stayed non profit, any money earned went right back into the club, kept it extremely simple.

I as well would be happy to host a meeting at my house.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I'm not sure I follow. What do you mean by a teleconference? Like Skype or Discord meeting?

It was a half baked idea. What I was trying to convey with my "right before bed" comment was to say that Phoenix and it's surrounding suburbs has a large footprint, and if we were to have satellite locations in various parts of the city (north, east, south, west and central), we could easily set up a closed circuit feed in which who ever hosts their region would have displayed on their television. Allow the board members to conduct said meeting and then turn it over to the individual regions to mingle with their local hobbyist.

Like I said it was a half baked idea and the logistics alone could prove tougher than it's really worth.

 

[mndfreeze]

I like the idea of people hosting meetings at their homes/businesses with tanks and talking about them. I love seeing other peoples setups and hearing about what worked and what didn't for them.

I also loved having the PROP meetings at pranksters back in the day. I know its not around anymore and its been moved. For larger turn outs that is probably ideal.

 

[Frick]

Here is one more suggestion based on my long time experience dealing with garden clubs. People would love to see other people "installations". The most successful garden clubs run monthly "vanity show off" trips to "garden of the month".

When I lived in Minneapolis, I was a member of TCMAS. They held their meetings at members houses. I, for one, would be happy to host a meeting, and I'm sure there are others that would love for people to come see their tanks.

It's sounds like we need to do a parade a reefs. I wasn't sure that there would be people that people up for it to have it at their house but I guess so.

All good suggestions. I also liked what we were talking about on Saturday, and maybe having an auction each month. Even if smaller on the off months, it is a good time.

This was the basic premise of what we did at MASVC. Each meeting was at a fellow reefers house (paid or non paid member, we didn't seclude people from meeting). Just as Bill pointed out it was a chance for the host to show off their tank and to answer any questions. Then you get the formalities out of the way, old business, new business etc...afterwards a short presentation by anyone with enough experience and knowledge to talk [smartly] about a particular subject, finally it turned to an informal environment to "talk hobby"

somewhere in the mix we would have a raffle ($1 tickets) for donated frags and product from our sponsors which paid for food and drink.

We tried really hard to keep it personable and gave new attendees the opportunity to introduce themselves and made them feel overly welcomed. we ensured that it stayed non profit, any money earned went right back into the club, kept it extremely simple.

I as well would be happy to host a meeting at my house.

When I ran WMMAC our meetings were basically old/new biz at the beginning, then a short presentation, then a small auction. I've been wanting to try that since I've been doing this for FRAG and PROP, but it's been difficult.

I usually have to work during these meetings and auctions (need to make money to pay for the super expensive membership fees!! )
Even though the hobby/community is growing steadily, its tough to get everyone, new and old, to attend.

Here's a few ideas. Didn't get to read everyone's post, so some might be mentioned.

-continue to seek a more central location. traveling long distance for most this is an issue, especially in the summer heat.

-exposure on FB, RC, R-2R, etc. being more active would go a long way since there are a million other local reef group pages. There are quite a bit of newbie that are not aware of these meetings.

-offer incentives (free starter frags to newbies) lack of newbies in these meetings??

-coral swapping/selling in junction to meeting topic.

-raffles are always fun and good way to raise money for the club. I'm sure most lfs would be interested in donating or selling gift cards at a discounted price.

-having a member host at their house would be great. Years back in S Cal, a local member would host these meeting at his house. family, friends and kids would have a blast. Problem is finding a member to host would be a tough one.

-not sure if this is in the club's budget, but a BBQ would be fun. something similar to what Allen did years back, the "garage sale"

-encourage member get involved prior to meetings on a few topics. maybe issues someone is experiencing in their tank

-keep in mind that most newbies are imitated, most topics are way over their heads. sometimes we need to dumb it down a little.

-other topics; maybe multiple short topics
-encourage members to "brag" about their tanks, regardless of what level they are at
-any new installation, equipment, coral, fish list, etc
-creative ways to improve filtration/overall system
-sump layout and design
-new equipment, media, etc on the market
-lighting

We're always looking for something closer to everyone but just don't have the time. I for one do not have as much time as I did 6 yrs ago.

It was a half baked idea. What I was trying to convey with my "right before bed" comment was to say that Phoenix and it's surrounding suburbs has a large footprint, and if we were to have satellite locations in various parts of the city (north, east, south, west and central), we could easily set up a closed circuit feed in which who ever hosts their region would have displayed on their television. Allow the board members to conduct said meeting and then turn it over to the individual regions to mingle with their local hobbyist.

Like I said it was a half baked idea and the logistics alone could prove tougher than it's really worth.

Ah. Yeah that would be tough to organize.

I like the idea of people hosting meetings at their homes/businesses with tanks and talking about them. I love seeing other peoples setups and hearing about what worked and what didn't for them.

I also loved having the PROP meetings at pranksters back in the day. I know its not around anymore and its been moved. For larger turn outs that is probably ideal.

I think we can still have some big PROP turn outs at The Broken Yolk.

So what would you all feel about a monthly meeting that consisted of half a AZ FRAG presentation/meeting and half a PROP auction then maybe we follow it up with a get together at a members house?

 

[mndfreeze]

I like the idea of merging the two a bit. I already have a tough time getting the time to make it to these things as it seems others do to, and PROP auctions always seem to get a decent turn out so one might pull people into the other and vice versa. I'm sure a lot of people who come just for the auctions would be more apt to join FRAG and partake in the presentations and such if it all happens in the same convenient place and time. Especially if turn out is really low. More auctions too! My wallet will protest but it's not in charge here!

 

[tcamos]

I can't remember the last time I went out. It's not anything other than life getting in the way. When I think about what would get me out, reading above, the chance to see something new likely would. Something like someone's great tank, or a propagation set up, or even a tour behind the scenes at one of the local aquariums.

 

[TangingOut]

So what would you all feel about a monthly meeting that consisted of half a AZ FRAG presentation/meeting and half a PROP auction then maybe we follow it up with a get together at a members house?

I like the current format of alternating meetings and auctions, especially with meetings being held in member's homes. I just think there may not be too many willing to host and the ones that are won't feel pressured to host more than a couple times per year.

With that said, I'd be willing to host a meeting. I can make a mean street taco or philly cheese steak

 

[mndfreeze]

Can someone post the link to, or send me an invite to the facebook groups for FRAG and PROP please. Troy Moniz is muh name.

 

[dream54ing]

Can someone post the link to, or send me an invite to the facebook groups for FRAG and PROP please. Troy Moniz is muh name.

just sent you a link on FB

 

[mndfreeze]

So the FRAG facebook page is just a page, not an actual group? Probably why it doesn't get much traffic.

 

[GreenbriarManor]

I'm ultra new to reef aquariums and Scottsdale, but once I embark upon building my tank I'll attend.

I don't use FB, but frequenting this forum for the past few weeks I was well aware.

Again, being so new to the community I have no insight otherwise but am excited about the hobby.

J

 

[Moto_fish]

I think we can still have some big PROP turn outs at The Broken Yolk.

So what would you all feel about a monthly meeting that consisted of half a AZ FRAG presentation/meeting and half a PROP auction then maybe we follow it up with a get together at a members house?

I really like the idea of seeing others tanks, it's inspiring. And then if we only had a 3-5 person turnout, it wouldn't feel like as much of an unsuccessful event but still a hangout

 

[kjonulak]

I would enjoy hosting a meeting. I’m in the process of setting up a 260 and 130 gallon tank. It will be a few months before they are up and running. I’ve seen a lot of talent when it comes to DIY projects in this club. My specialty is building LED lighting. Been doing it for about 10 years now for both FW and SW tanks. I could talk all day long on the subject. When I lived back East I had a company where I would build LED lights for both FW planted tanks and SW reef tanks as well as for terrariums. I even had a customer who grew African Violets and I built him a number of LED lights for his setup.

 

[Vanpire]

I would like to know more about those home-built LEDs and how they compare to in terms of coral growth to the big name brands. Would be interested to hear about your experiences. Don’t need all the fancy controllers, just good basic lighting.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I've seen a lot of talent when it comes to DIY projects in this club.

I agree, there's a vast amount of talent here. What makes for a thriving reefing community is people helping people. If members look pass monetary value and offers help for the sure sake of it, we would all benefit.

 

[mndfreeze]

IMO, even new builds could be good topics for discussion / display. I'm only just now coming back into the hobby and I'm using a hacked together 18 year old 24G aquapod tank. It doesn't even have a proper overflow design on the back lolol.

Back in the day I started to design my full system. Had a 40G breeder custom made with starfire glass from aquatouch. Cost me quite the pretty penny. I only got about 6 months of use out of it before I suddenly had to move, and the tank cracked when moving, badly. Needless to say that was my 8 year exit from reefing. ;(

Point was however that in that small amount of time I ran into so many build and design questions that I never fully figured out or grasped via just forum posts. Like plumbing has always been a bit of a pain for me to get without seeing it. I never managed to get my durso drains to be quiet, at alllllll. So IMO even an in process build could be a good place for a meeting and presentation.

Custom LED stuff is also a good idea. I looked into it briefly way back then but the tech was not very supportive yet. This hobby is so prohibitively expensive for so many people that I think a lot of people could benefit from learning ways to DIY stuff for more affordable or superior results.

 

[kjonulak]

I would like to know more about those home-built LEDs and how they compare to in terms of coral growth to the big name brands. Would be interested to hear about your experiences. Don't need all the fancy controllers, just good basic lighting.

I've never done any side by side comparisons with brand name LED lights. Never had the space. I'm planning on starting a new thread showing what I am working on for my new build. I will get that started here in the next week. I do tend to overbuild to get better coverage at lower power settings.

Here are some tank shots of my 45 gallon prior to moving to my new place. Tank was about 3 years old at the time. I had a lot of corals packed into that tank.

 

[kjonulak]

IMO, even new builds could be good topics for discussion / display. I'm only just now coming back into the hobby and I'm using a hacked together 18 year old 24G aquapod tank. It doesn't even have a proper overflow design on the back lolol.

Back in the day I started to design my full system. Had a 40G breeder custom made with starfire glass from aquatouch. Cost me quite the pretty penny. I only got about 6 months of use out of it before I suddenly had to move, and the tank cracked when moving, badly. Needless to say that was my 8 year exit from reefing. ;(

Point was however that in that small amount of time I ran into so many build and design questions that I never fully figured out or grasped via just forum posts. Like plumbing has always been a bit of a pain for me to get without seeing it. I never managed to get my durso drains to be quiet, at alllllll. So IMO even an in process build could be a good place for a meeting and presentation.

Custom LED stuff is also a good idea. I looked into it briefly way back then but the tech was not very supportive yet. This hobby is so prohibitively expensive for so many people that I think a lot of people could benefit from learning ways to DIY stuff for more affordable or superior results.

Once my tanks are in place, I could host a meeting showing the initial setup and where I am planning on going with my tanks.

Early on it was less expensive to build my own LED lights and to build custom fixtures for others. As time as progressed, the brand name and non-brand named fixtures have come down in price vs my DIY builds. I like having the flexibility of building my own fixtures. I can mix UV's, blues, whites, reds and greens to what I want to have. The newer controllers give me the flexibility of controlling each of the colors as I see fit to get the color look I like and the power settings to grow any type of coral. Plus if I have an issue down the road, I can repair the lights myself. The components are easy to swap out. The only time I have had an issue with the LEDs is when I picked up some cheap ones directly from China. I've been very pleased with the results. (See my previous post with pictures)

I thought I would also toss in a couple of photos from my FW planted tanks from many years back.

 

[kjonulak]

I agree, there's a vast amount of talent here. What makes for a thriving reefing community is people helping people. If members look pass monetary value and offers help for the sure sake of it, we would all benefit.

Well said. I would be happy to share my knowledge.

 

[Vanpire]

Once my tanks are in place, I could host a meeting showing the initial setup and where I am planning on going with my tanks.

Early on it was less expensive to build my own LED lights and to build custom fixtures for others. As time as progressed, the brand name and non-brand named fixtures have come down in price vs my DIY builds. I like having the flexibility of building my own fixtures. I can mix UV's, blues, whites, reds and greens to what I want to have. The newer controllers give me the flexibility of controlling each of the colors as I see fit to get the color look I like and the power settings to grow any type of coral. Plus if I have an issue down the road, I can repair the lights myself. The components are easy to swap out. The only time I have had an issue with the LEDs is when I picked up some cheap ones directly from China. I've been very pleased with the results. (See my previous post with pictures)

I thought I would also toss in a couple of photos from my FW planted tanks from many years back.

Yes, please do post. Would like to learn from you.