Monthly Frag Auction

[gwrench]

Will here goes:
I would suggest first that another official position be opened up for the day of the meeting only, that being "Fragmaster". This person would work with 2 volunteers preferably members, whom could properly label the bags and log the information. The "Fragmaster" would be the official inspector of coral frags being received, dis-allowing any excessive quantities and orpossibly infected corals, algae related or otherwise.
I myself if accepted of the offer of meeting/outing photographer (check your PM Matt) could possibly take quick digital photos that could be displayed on a decent flat panel monitor or laptop if the club could afford to purchase one great of perhaps someone could volunteer or donate one for this sole purpose. There would also have to be a time stipulation or cut-off if you will so if you plan on bringing a frag arrive early. These are my thoughts so let's open this up a bit more.
Regards,
George

 

[Pterodactyl]

Good idea George. But I do recall at the last meeting, Matt mentioned there already was a Frag Director. Unfortunately he was unable to attend the last meeting. I think the board has already recognized the problems and trying to make necessary changes.
I really like the idea of the laptop and the pictures. You could do a slideshow (so to speak) of the corals available for auction. This would ensure that the frags don't get manhandled and broken before the auction even starts. Plus it gives members a chance to see what they are bidding on.

 

[gwrench]

That is exactly the intent, to allow people to view the pics during the time between sessions of the meeting. Time amangement is always a problem with larger groups of people and this is critical as everyone has to go home (to Titusville for example) and acclimate there goodies.

 

[nauti1us]

Hey George, good to hear from you and thanks for making the effort to find ways to improve the frag auction.

Jason Le was appointed the Frag Director a few weeks ago. Unfortunately he couldn't be at Saturday's meeting due to scheduling conflicts. I know he could use help and if so chooses he could form a tight little group that worked the frag auction as a team. You might PM or email him to see if he's interested. PM me if you need his address.

This frag auction has been going on for many years. Long before I joined the club and I'm sure it will be here long after I leave. And as time cycles by, there seem to be these swings where we have an increase in complaints regarding corals etc. and then they die down for a while.

One of the new issues is that there are far more people attending these meetings than ever before... and consequently we are seeing frags coming in from people that are new to the club and the auction. And there are way too many frags coming into the auction now making it very difficult for everyone. I think we're witnessing growing pains... not neccesarily a bad thing.

There will be an email coming out very soon, distributed to all ORCA members, detailing new rules that apply to anyone bringing corals to the frag auction. These rules will aide this club in making the auction go smoother and hopefully improve the overall quality.

Thanks for the help and I look forward to working through this together.

Matt

 

[chrisstie]

That's good to hear and yes I've been to just 3 meetings and the increase of people and new tanks is astonishing!

Maybe at one of the upcoming meetings we can have a presentation to go over good QT\dipping methods that are handy when getting new corals as well as what happens when all heck breaks out in a tank? Dealing with pests is never easy!

 

[nauti1us]

I'd be happy to show my QT setup. I just came home with two new additions. A large squamosa clam (7.5") and a Blue Maxima clam (2").

Both these beauties are now in the QT and will stay there for quite a while. So when folks come to the May meeting at my home, they can see a functioning QT. Hopefully with two healthy clams inside

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

george is right about having a small group of people that would do the frags. knowing jason will be the man when it comes to the auction it would be hard for him to do it alone. george is very good at time managment (used to be my boss i know) his ideas will be very good. one other idea is to sperate the frags into class such as sps, lps, softies etc and this might be alittle easier to do. have softies numbered 1 to 100 and lps numbered 101 to 200 and sps numbered 201 to 300 and this would allow the people not wanting softies to backout so the people wanting softies could get a better look and know what they are bidding on. jmo

 

[gwrench]

Anyone else have any other ideas on how to approach this issue, please feel free to speak up. No complaints though just positive feedback please.

 

[chrisstie]

I always thought it'd be nice to have like a flip book or something with a few basic pictures of softies, lps, and sps to give people a general idea of "okay your coral will be like this kind of" and follow with the color\type description

eg "green mushroom" could be 1 of any number of things - hairy, actinodiscus, ricordia, tongan etc etc

I'm not sure how you'd implement that but I think our auctioneers have done a pretty good job of trying to explain stuff when questions are asked - I know with so many frags its a real push to get the auction done before it gets too late at night so its sometimes really hard to get down and dirty witht he details.

 

[Me No Nemo]

I think a thread on the ORCA forum for each auction would be a great idea. That way folks could post pics of the actual corals that will be up for auction. A coding system, say the person's initials and a short description as the title would work great! (ie. MSpurplecap)

With the large crowds now showing and the number of frags being auctioned, I think it would take a lot off the volunteer executive board of ORCA who already devote so much of their time and energy to making this a great club. Take into consideration the overwhelming, I'm sure, preparations going into the SRC conference and they'll surely have their hands full the next few months. Posting pics is very easy using Photobucket or one of the other free programs, and this way you can peruse the photos on your own time, jot down which you are interested in and know which you wish to bid on when you get there. Perhaps, too, there should be a cutoff date, of say, two days before so that cataloging the corals would be easier. Anyone who doesn't wish to post pics can just name what they are bringing and those bidding will have to decide if they want to chance buying sight unseen. Just a thought....

 

[Swirlygig]

I know I am new to this whole thing and this may be a stupid question, but as someone new to the hobby I had a difficult time with some of the corals you guys were naming. Mainly what corals require better than PC lighting? I didn't know what half of them looked like let alone if they needed any special care...I guess that just requires more research on my part...

 

[gwrench]

I agree with Marcye on the ORCA forum and after talking to Matt in greater detail today there is going to be a better plan and a few stricter rules regarding frag quantities, labeling etc.
Listing photos of the intended frags to be sold on the orca site will prevent and also allow people to see what they are planningon bidding on.
There will some more discussion and possible a select group of people that will be handling the frag intake and proper labeling etc...
As far as anyone new to the hobby it is your responsability to know what you are buying as well as if you have the proper equipment to support it. It is also your responsability to have some form of quarantine tank and or the ability to inspect and treat any thing you may buy. More to come....

 

[Me No Nemo]

Well, as we are all here to help educate newbies into the hobby, I think it would be a great idea if we could also set up a second thread where they could ask questions about specific corals, the light they need etc. Many books, sites, etc. are not always accurate and therefore it's sometimes hard for the new hobbyists to get good, useful info. As I hate to see any living creature die unnecessarily, I think providing resources to help make sound decisions is warranted. I know many of us here would be more than happy to address concerns and questions as that is one of the main goals set forth by ORCA. I'd love to see this forum evolve into a more user-friendly place for those who are starting in the hobby and there are certainly enough very knowledgable people here to do just that! Again, just my thoughts.

 

[hexedagain]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9862957#post9862957 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Me No Nemo
Well, as we are all here to help educate newbies into the hobby, I think it would be a great idea if we could also set up a second thread where they could ask questions about specific corals, the light they need etc. Many books, sites, etc. are not always accurate and therefore it's sometimes hard for the new hobbyists to get good, useful info. As I hate to see any living creature die unnecessarily, I think providing resources to help make sound decisions is warranted. I know many of us here would be more than happy to address concerns and questions as that is one of the main goals set forth by ORCA. I'd love to see this forum evolve into a more user-friendly place for those who are starting in the hobby and there are certainly enough very knowledgable people here to do just that! Again, just my thoughts.

I agree 100%. If we can't help to educate new people to the hobby, why are we here?

 

[chrisstie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9862459#post9862459 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Swirlygig
I know I am new to this whole thing and this may be a stupid question, but as someone new to the hobby I had a difficult time with some of the corals you guys were naming. Mainly what corals require better than PC lighting? I didn't know what half of them looked like let alone if they needed any special care...I guess that just requires more research on my part...

This is like what I was referring having a little flip book or a guide or something to be like ok this is a leather. It's a soft coral, can do PC+ lights etc etc.. Just getting a little more info out there form the start.

maybe I can start a new thread and get things going ahead of time and everyone can pitch in with their favorite corals ;p

 

[gwrench]

I agree that a seperate thread would be a gret idea, however RC has a newbie thread where much can be learned. If on a local club level I think more people should start using the ORCA site so that they can actually meet or get to know one another better. Just my opinion.

 

[sytanek]

On some of the bags, not sure who's frags, they listed the requirements for the coral, ie light and flow and aggresiveness. I thought this was a great idea. Just wanted to make a note of that.