Future FRAG and PROP Meeting Discussion

[Vanpire]

Are we having a PROP meeting this month. I am in town and would like to attend.

 

[mndfreeze]

I got the OK from Drew to post about FRAG and PROP in one of the big facebook groups. I know there has been some drama amongst the local reeefer community though i'm unsure how that even happens in this kind of hobby lol.

Anyway, I'm going to put a post together and see if I can't get some added attention to our little forum here, and the group in general.

This is the facebook group its going in:
https://www.facebook.com/ArizonaReefandFragGroup/

The other groups I'm apart of I don't know the admins very well so it might not get approved, but i'm going to try anyway.

 

[mndfreeze]

I posted it in another few groups I'm in, no idea if it will get removed from the others though lol. Hopefully I don't suddenly get embroiled in reefer drama now

Here is the post I made:

Did you know there is a local real-life group that meets once a month for discussion, demonstrations, and high end frag auctions? FRAG (AZ FRAG is The Arizona Fish, Reef Aquarium Group), and PROP (Propagators Reef Organization Project) were started back in 2004.

PROP farmers are people who have a high level of experience in the hobby and the tanks to match, who band together to buy high end, expensive colonies that would be out of reach or not very affordable for the common hobbyist, then grow them out and sell frags to make up the cost. Auctions are held every other month at a local restaurant. Non-PROP coral fiends also can have their items listed for sale at the auction. It's a great way to get rid of an over grown piece and help others at the same time.

Changes are being made to the groups and ideas are being tossed around. We are currently discussing if meetings should be joined together, if they should be hosted at a members house, etc. If you think you would enjoy meeting other locals, seeing local tanks, checking out or giving demonstrations about things in the hobby, or want to sell or big at one of the PROP auctions you should check out the local FRAG section on reefcentral. Link at the end of this post.

There have been many helpful demonstrations in the past, from coral propogation, to fragging techniques, plumbing setup, etc. If there is something you can do really well or would like to see in a workshop format then you definitely should check in on the forums and make a suggestion!

Here is the link to the specific forum section on reefcentral.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=228

 

[TangingOut]

I think what would also help is if the leadership in the group was a little more active in these forums. It's basically the only place where the group's activities are discussed and where members can communicate with one another other than IRL at meetings.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I got the OK from Drew to post about FRAG and PROP in one of the big facebook groups. I know there has been some drama amongst the local reeefer community though i'm unsure how that even happens in this kind of hobby lol.

Anyway, I'm going to put a post together and see if I can't get some added attention to our little forum here, and the group in general.

This is the facebook group its going in:
https://www.facebook.com/ArizonaReefandFragGroup/

The other groups I'm apart of I don't know the admins very well so it might not get approved, but i'm going to try anyway.

I don't have a facebook account but I clicked on the link, It seems that arizona reef and frag group is more interested in making money and promoting businesses. Which to me seems a bit removed from what the purpose of a reefing club/community is.

What happened to our innocence?? hehe

 

[dream54ing]

I don't have a facebook account but I clicked on the link, It seems that arizona reef and frag group is more interested in making money and promoting businesses. Which to me seems a bit removed from what the purpose of a reefing club/community is.

What happened to our innocence?? hehe

Yeah, most FB groups were created to push personal agenda and/or aimed on getting perks from lfs. I had to unjoin a few because the adverting became too overwhelming :/

Regardless, there are a large amount of newbies in those groups that should attend and open to join these meetings. FB pages are popular and very easy to access. I feel this club needs to adapt to it.

I've often hear, which I disagree and defend, is this group is "too good for us". Maybe we as a group need be a little receptive to others and not act like we are better than others

just my $.02

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Yeah, most FB groups were created to push personal agenda and/or aimed on getting perks from lfs. I had to unjoin a few because the adverting became too overwhelming :/

Regardless, there are a large amount of newbies in those groups that should attend and open to join these meetings. FB pages are popular and very easy to access. I feel this club needs to adapt to it.

I've often hear, which I disagree and defend, is this group is "too good for us". Maybe we as a group need be a little receptive to others and not act like we are better than others

just my $.02

excellent point.

 

[mndfreeze]

I don't really see why it matters what other FB groups are doing or why they are doing it. What matters is that they have thousands of members, people actively posting there, who don't know about FRAG. I'm not saying we should move into one of those groups, I just made a post so people know to come here and look.

IMO, we should have a group like that for FRAG, not just a page to follow but an active discussion group. People ask questions and are active in those groups, I see new people needing help all the time and I do what I can to answer, and yes people sell their used equipement there as well, just like they do here.

If FRAG/PROP doesn't adapt to where the people choose to be at, the membership will continue to fall. I have a hard time getting noobs on FB to even join forums in general to seek information and help, let alone a specific locals one like here.

FRAG/PROP can coexist with the other groups and whatever policies they want to push on their groups just fine. The local LFS's need the advertisements to stay in business and really we should be supporting that in general. We are lucky in the sense that here in the valley we have such a huge selection of stores (even if they seem to go out of business every few years) because most people across the U.S get one or two or have to drive for an hour to get to one, etc.

But again, I'm not saying FRAG/PROP needs to have anything to do with any of those groups, or adopt their policies, or link them, or anything, thats just where thousands of people are.

 

[29mixedreef]

Maybe add a couple members to the board that are familiar with social media. Someone who can actively post about upcoming auctions/events. Someone who can actively administer the groups page on facebook and help spread the word about FRAG and PROP.


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[TangingOut]

maybe add a couple members to the board that are familiar with social media. Someone who can actively post about upcoming auctions/events. Someone who can actively administer the groups page on facebook and help spread the word about frag and prop.


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+1

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I don't really see why it matters what other FB groups are doing or why they are doing it. What matters is that they have thousands of members, people actively posting there, who don't know about FRAG. I'm not saying we should move into one of those groups, I just made a post so people know to come here and look.

IMO, we should have a group like that for FRAG, not just a page to follow but an active discussion group. People ask questions and are active in those groups, I see new people needing help all the time and I do what I can to answer, and yes people sell their used equipement there as well, just like they do here.

If FRAG/PROP doesn't adapt to where the people choose to be at, the membership will continue to fall. I have a hard time getting noobs on FB to even join forums in general to seek information and help, let alone a specific locals one like here.

FRAG/PROP can coexist with the other groups and whatever policies they want to push on their groups just fine. The local LFS's need the advertisements to stay in business and really we should be supporting that in general. We are lucky in the sense that here in the valley we have such a huge selection of stores (even if they seem to go out of business every few years) because most people across the U.S get one or two or have to drive for an hour to get to one, etc.

But again, I'm not saying FRAG/PROP needs to have anything to do with any of those groups, or adopt their policies, or link them, or anything, thats just where thousands of people are.

I completely agree with what you're saying, we're looking at it from 2 different angles. You're position is, "the damage is done, here's some ideas to fix it?" and I'm being reflective, trying to understand how it got to this point in the first place.

Social media took the world by storm, and because of it's general platform, people know how to navigate that type of media and feel comfortable in that environment. However, I can't imagine that they would shy away from a forum like this if they really knew what they're missing. That's why I agree that there needs to be people steering them to a less intrusive environment.

Nothing wrong with selling your business and offering services, I just don't like the "sheep in wolves clothing" approach. From a business standpoint I understand why they do it and I see right through it, some people can't.

 

[Shaggy2061]

IMO, we should have a group like that for FRAG, not just a page to follow but an active discussion group. People ask questions and are active in those groups, I see new people needing help all the time and I do what I can to answer, and yes people sell their used equipement there as well, just like they do here.

If FRAG/PROP doesn't adapt to where the people choose to be at, the membership will continue to fall. I have a hard time getting noobs on FB to even join forums in general to seek information and help, let alone a specific locals one like here.

I Agree With mndfreeze Here.

I also think a new meeting Venue might be in order. For me personally the dank and humid dungeon that is the Bar that is the meeting place is a turn off for me. I was there a few years ago for a n auction and have not been back. Reason for that is it was dank smelly and way to dark to see what i was bidding on.
With that said I do understand that a large cheap venue is needed and what few options i can come up with are lacking in the parking department so they is not a much better option at all.

 

[Shaggy2061]

I I can't imagine that they would shy away from a forum like this if they really knew what they're missing. That's why I agree that there needs to be people steering them to a less intrusive environment.

I agree with this as well but Reef Central might not be the place to do that . Look at M.A.S.C ( http://www.marinecolorado.org/ )For example large turnouts and very active community that has got a good public showing via the forum. People in same forum can build a sense of community as well. Former member when I Was stuck IN CO for a bit that is why used them as example.

But still think an active Facebook group that is not a marketplace style might be good for this club.. But what do i know?

 

[reefer999]

What would you like us to change?
FRAG and PROP meetings are well structured, and I appreciate the board's efforts to organize monthly meetings for the group. I like the FRAG-oween and White Elephant meetings and realistically those are the only ones worth going for me, this doesn't mean the rest are bad, just that for me I enjoy those the most. I also liked the Desert Frag Fest, unfortunately that was cancelled, but would hope to see it in the future again. Everything here takes a lot of effort to pull off and want to thank everyone involved.
Do you want to see more speakers, more presentations, more raffles?
I would like to see more raffles instead of speakers and presentations. I believe that in the past the group has paid for flight and hotel for some speakers and if the funds weren't there the speaker stayed as a guest in a member's house. Instead of this I would like to see this money being spent on a raffle item that is lucrative such as a WWC Bounce, a rare stick, or a rainbow chalice for example. This I believe would attract people to come to the meetings for a chance to win this type of elusive coral for most. I would say for this mega prize to not be equipment since most people already have their setups and would probably not be able to use it and therefore turnaround and sell it off. I know this might not be sustainable, but it could be limited to once or twice when the funds are there. For this raffle item, I would like to see some type of control on the raffle tickets where, you could only buy lets say $20 worth or whatever instead of it being unlimited, therefore it truly has a chance of being a raffle and somewhat equal opportunity to all members.
Do you just go to the PROP auctions?
Recently I have, but I used to go to the FRAG meetings too. I took a break from going to the meetings for a while and when I came back, I instantly saw the decrease in activity. I'm not sure if the hobby is dying in the area, or if most of the old members just don't have space for new additions. I don't think the hobby is dying since there are several LFS still operating while there are a lot that have shut down. I think its the lack of corals at the auctions nowadays, I remember PROP would bring 50-100 frags per auction if not more, and I understand that its having problems with finding farmers. Most of the old farmers like Kirsten, Ryan and Zibba as well as others have left, but what happened to all the corals that were part of PROP? Did they get sold off since there weren't enough farmers to take them in and keep them growing? Did they die off? From PROP I would like to see them announce the recent purchases on a thread and maybe some pictures so people get excited as what is to come.
Do you want a closer location? If so where are you at?
I believe the Broken Yolk is currently a good spot, as they have been very welcoming and accommodating to the group. In addition they have given specials to the group whereas Pranksters never did.
Do the meeting announcement threads go up too late for you to schedule this?
The meeting announcements are fine, but maybe place them 2 weeks ahead of time so people who want to attend can clear their schedule for that day and then bump the thread when its one week out as a reminder for people. Also if the raffle prizes could be listed on the thread too that would be helpful, I know sometimes the prizes aren't confirmed until last minute so a last minute reminder could also be placed on the thread stating the prizes that will be at the meeting. There could also be a poll setup on which weekend works the best for most people and therefore the one with the most votes gets selected, increasing the chance of a higher outcome at the meeting.

Thanks again everybody

 

[Vanpire]

Broken Yolk is really far from me but it is worth the drive because of the welcome I received. Nothing like good service. I also liked Prankster. It was a little dark but overall I liked the space and I really mean space.

I do see much fewer PROP corals but then, it seems like other people bring their own corals for the auction. I would like to see more giving/trading/selling at the FRAG meetings. After all, that's why we are in the hobby, right?

Hopefully, I am travelling less after the summer and can make more meetings.

 

[TX-BJ]

I haven't been to a FRAG event in over a yr due to health & my grandson who always went with me lost interest. I don't like attending alone. I have to drive a long way (from Sun City area) just to sit alone & feel like a weird old lady! I really enjoy the auctions. If the demo's were about something that related to my reef set up I went & learned. I still am in need to learn more about tech related issues. Sounds like a lot has changed since I last attended a meeting.

 

[TangingOut]

I haven't been to a FRAG event in over a yr due to health & my grandson who always went with me lost interest. I don't like attending alone. I have to drive a long way (from Sun City area) just to sit alone & feel like a weird old lady! I really enjoy the auctions. If the demo's were about something that related to my reef set up I went & learned. I still am in need to learn more about tech related issues. Sounds like a lot has changed since I last attended a meeting.

You should just come and put yourself out there. I've only been in the hobby for 4 years, but I have a pretty good circle of reefing acquaintances and friends that continues to grow. I've meet a lot through buying, selling, and trading. I always try and say hi if I recognize anyone at meetings/auctions. It's always easy to strike up a conversation when we all share a passion for reef keeping.

 

[dream54ing]

I haven't been to a FRAG event in over a yr due to health & my grandson who always went with me lost interest. I don't like attending alone. I have to drive a long way (from Sun City area) just to sit alone & feel like a weird old lady! I really enjoy the auctions. If the demo's were about something that related to my reef set up I went & learned. I still am in need to learn more about tech related issues. Sounds like a lot has changed since I last attended a meeting.

I don't think your the only one, many newbie feels the same way. I'm calling out all seasoned reefers to interact more with everyone :beer:

 

[mitch30111]

Ya one time i was trying to buy something from zibba and he informed me that having a controller was reefing 101. I do not believe that, i am still without and i do not believe it is reefing 101. This did give me a sour note on the club. But Jason you have always been 100% thank you

 

[tcamos]

Having a controller is reefing 101? I've never had a controller. They cost too much. It's not that I don't want one. Some day I suppose. But for me they cost too much money and do too little for that money.