whats the average profit for you guys per month

[RichConley]

Also, people keep mentioning chemicals.

I spent $20 on a 5 gallon bucket full of calcium hydroxide (Kalkwasser). I spent $5 on a 1 gallon bag of MgCl.

That much will last FOREVER on that tank. Theres no reason for silly expensive hobby additives.

 

[hamburglar]

Throw in bulb replacement cost, frag rocks if you are buying them, and packing supplies. You will need to buy your shipping bags in large quqntities (like 1000 packs from uline as an example) to get a good deal on them. Styrofoam boxes can be purchased reasonably in moderate quantities.

 

[SaveOurReefs]

LOL, I thought I warned you about this in your other thread?

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

yes u did and i thought about it, and i do want to waste my money on it and if i make one dallar a month im happy

 

[SaveOurReefs]

I would look at getting a real job first imo maybe at a lfs or something? But good luck, the more people farming, means the less being taken out of the ocean.

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

i do work at a lfs!

 

[Serioussnaps]

Get a job, u have a hobby.

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

read the above reply!

 

[ahenson]

I think the small amount you will make is not worth the hassle. It wasn't for me, zoanthids are by far the most popular if you are shipping. For me it took the fun out of a fun hobby. If you are in it for the money, long term I don't think you will enjoy your time.

 

[organism]

unless you make it large, oh so large scale, you can expect to not turn much of a profit at all. the best way to pull it off would be to have a revolving stock of frags so that there's always some ready at all times, but the only way to compensate for the even relatively slow growth of xenia is to have massive stock on hand at a time. I generally have anywhere for 300-500 frags readily growing out, and I'd say maybe 40-50 are ready at any given point in time, that's a lot of real estate just sitting there! I'd say that after factoring in lighting, water, and all of the above mentioned costs, I clear mmmmaybe enough to pay my bills and half of my rent from frags, and we're talking a tank the size of a honda civic here. Also, you've got to think about market, even though you work at a fish store, are they willing to take that many gsp frags? Are people willing to buy that many gsp and xenia (which doesn't ship well at all) frags online? If so, how will you go about it? growing them out is only half the issue, moving them can actually prove to be much more difficult, I'd say you've got a good plan going with minimal power usage though, do keep us posted if you decide to go on through with it

 

[zapata41]

i run a little frag system and it keeps me in the red all the time. pge alone just went from 140$ to 210$ since it is now summer time and the rates have gone up. with the amount of frags i have going, between 20-50 sps and 10 or so zoas i couldnt sell enough of them each month to cover the pge alone. dont factor in water changes or bulb replacement cuz that will just make the red number larger. i am thinking about trippling the frag tank size but need to find a way to do it with the same lighting i currently have, dont need to add another light purchase and higher pge bill to the red numbers.

the other major factor is trying to get rid of the frags. ppl arent always looking for what you have and the lfs will only take soo much. also selling to the lfs yields about 1/2 to 1/4 of what you get selling to pther ppl. shipping cost is the biggest factor, ppl dont wanna pay 75$ to ship from the west coast to the east coast, last box i shipped of 10 frags cost me almost a 100$ to ship, and i only charged the guy 70$ so i took a big loss there.

so in short, keep a frag tank for yourself, a place to put new corals in to watch them prior to adding them to a display and also a place to store accidental frags, not a place to turn a profit from.

organsim hit it pretty spot on with the size needed to turn a profit, and that size is pretty hard to put under your stand.

Tim

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

ok thx

 

[colby]

All I can say is rock on man.

Colby

 

[Krypticol]

AQUACULTURE IS THE ONLY FUTURE FOR THIS HOBBY...IT IS RESPECTABLE, AND IF WE CAN EVEN HELP OUR HOBBY SUPPORT ITSELF WHILE PROVIDING HEALTHY STABLE TANK RAISED SPECIMENS FOR A DECENT PRICE. THEN WE ARE ACCOMPLISHING SOMETHING GOOD AND WORTH DOING.

To be truly profitable, one must go very large, use naturaL SEAWATER most likely, and ship wholesale to retailers.
these nitches are there, and will become more neccessary as the hobby keeps grwoing like it does,

Start small, deliver to local LFS and reefers and grow as your $$$, skill, and demands allow!!!

job or a hobby??? The frag tanks are an exension of my hobby...
It won't be a job, unless I get a boss and a timeclock,

 

[Pazazz]

I agree it really is not for profit it for me it is the love of the ocean and its beautiful colorful creatures and I dont have to drive 15 hour to see it !!!! I have a very stressful job and this hobby allows me to really relax, I often just watch my tank and not the tv...

 

[MiddletonMark]

Once adding up:
salt, bulb replacement, chemicals, etc ... even with my cheap 60g tub setup [MH, 2 ph, heater] it was never going to make much money. [setup cost under $100, as most everything I already had].

Do it because you love it, because you have success with propagation.

Honestly, the vast majority of folks never make a dime [once setup costs, LR, etc factored in]. Realize that, and only spend what you can afford to lose, and only do it if that's how you really want to spend your time.

For your setup - I'd DIY all you can, very strongly consider power use, equipment cost, the like.

And while there is no timeclock ... my free time is worth a lot to me. That evening every few weeks when I change water, keep up on maintenance, etc ... on top of my display tank's required time ... that time is valuable to me [for doing other things in life].

 

[ladyfsu]

Take pictures and monitor EVERYTHING. Research why aquaculture is so good. Learn ways to cheaply grow things at home and show what works and doesn't work. Find a way that works making own live rock and growing corals. Enter it in the science fair. 99% of the stuff entered is crap! WIN A BIG SCHOLARSHIP! Go to a great college for free and keep working on the stuff. Make a lot of money from your education doing what you love!

 

[silversnake]

Ive spent over 4gs on my tank and I havent sold a frag yet.

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

geez 4000 bux i would spend like 1.3 max!

 

[smp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7650384#post7650384 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ladyfsu
Take pictures and monitor EVERYTHING. Research why aquaculture is so good. Learn ways to cheaply grow things at home and show what works and doesn't work. Find a way that works making own live rock and growing corals. Enter it in the science fair. 99% of the stuff entered is crap! WIN A BIG SCHOLARSHIP! Go to a great college for free and keep working on the stuff. Make a lot of money from your education doing what you love!

That's the best advice so far.
You can make 20 bucks a month now on a shoestring budget cutting corners everywhere or you can put all that effort into education and work as a marine biologist or something down the road.
I know it's hard to think that way when you're 13 (or however old you are) and I'm not telling you not to do it, in fact, I think you should do it, just don't expect to make any money. You're more than likely going to spend more than you bring in. That's not altogether bad though, as returns on investments aren't necessarily quantified in dollar value .. but education as the above poster said.
I'm starting a frag tank too, same dimensions and I just want to do it because I like to grow things. It'll give me something else to tinker with and frags to trade in the local community. I'm plumbing mine into a shared sump with my display however.
I also have some experimenting in mind