New England Frag Farmer's Market 3/11/17

[fitch4]

It's that time again! I am in the process of getting together the FFM for this year. It will once again be the swap not to miss for the Northeast. Last year there were 60+ vendors with 10's of 1000's of corals at great prices, and over 1000 people came out for the day. It was a huge success and this year looks to be more of the same. I have most of last year's sellers already signed up for the 2017 FFM, which will be the 10th year of the event. I'll keep you posted as the seller list comes together. Admission is still only $5, and spouses and kids are free. I know it is a haul for you guys down in NJ but with all of the corals there, it would be worth the ride. Think of all the time you spend driving to different fish stores, and then imagine if they were all in the same place for a day!
As in past years, I am always looking for hobbyists who are interested in selling at the FFM. Sticking with the original idea of the FFM, where a hobbyist can sell their homegrown corals at a big show, with low investment of time and $, I will always try to find a space for the little guy. If anyone is interested, or knows someone who is, have them get in touch with me and I can get the details worked out. Even if you only have a small frag tank with a few frags, it is worth it!
I am also looking to have more dry goods companies come out to show off their stuff. Over the past few years, more and more have been coming out to talk to you guys, answer questions, show off their new toys. If you know of a company who would be interested in coming out, have a connection in a company and might be able to convince them to set-up for the day, or just have a company that you would like to see at the market, get in touch with me and I will try to make it happen.
I will post more info and details as we get closer and things come together!

-Jon​

 

[fitch4]

Here is the list of coral vendors for the FFM this year:


AC Corals (hobbyist) - CT
Alex's Advanced Aquatics - CT
Aquadreams - MA
AZNnutty's Saltwater Connections -OH
BareBottom Corals (hobbyist)- NJ
Blastomaster (hobbyist) - MA
Blue Glow - MI
Blue View Aquatics - MA
Connor's Corals (hobbyist) - CT
Coral Cruze (hobbyist) - NY
Dirk’s Real Reefers Store -
Easy Aquariums - ME
Elmafioso52988 (hobbyist) - MA
E.O. Smith Coral Project - CT
Exotic Fish and Corals -CT
Fins Aquarium - NY
Fraggin' Idiot - VA
Fraggin Wagon - SC
Frag Freaks -MA
Frank180Reef (hobbyist) -MA
FUPA (hobbyist) - CT
Gotham Aquatics _NY
Graham S. (hobbyist) - NJ
Greg’s Corals (hobbyist) - CT
Greg Demos (hobbyist) -
Greg Hiller - MA
Gsxr750 (hobbyist) - CT
Jason Foxx - MD
King Pin Coral - NY
Kwong1998 (hobbyist) - NY
Marine Reef Habitat - MA
Matt Spaulding (hobbyist) - CT
Micheal Reeve (hobbyist) - CT
MO~Idol (Steve) (hobbyist)- NY
NY Coral King - NY
Ocean State Aquatics - RI
Pablo (hobbyist) - NY
Paulywalnuts (hobbyist) - CT
Pacific East Aquaculture - MD
Pieces of the Ocean - NY
Polywise (hobbyist) - NY
Popcorals - NY
Puff Daddy Reefs (hobbyist) - MA
R+R Aquatics - NY
Reef Bum - CT
Reef Creations - NY
Rock Hard Reefs - NY
School of Fish - MA
Scoobnoob (hobbyist) - ME
Shoreline Pet - CT
Skimmy (hobbyist) - NY
Shayna 123 (hobbyist) - CT
Sniper2b (hobbyist) - CT
Speedy Corals -
SteelerMike (hobbyist) - RI
Supreme Reefs - VA
Talon’s Cove - NJ
Tank Breakers (hobbyist) - CT
TJM Corals -
TSM Corals - NJ
The Reef Shoppe - NY
Triggreef (hobbyist) - CT
Ultimate Corals - NJ
USCTom - NY
Wet Pets - CT
Zooanthids.com - UT

It is a great mix of hobbyists and shops and there is no where that you can go and find so many vendors all under one roof! I have also added a bunch of great "dry goods" companies this year. I will post a list of those when I get it all organized and finalized!

 

[fitch4]

How about we add a contest to the FFM this year? Thanks to Lou from Tropic Marin for sponsoring this!

​

 

[fitch4]

Here is the updated list of sellers for the Frag Farmer's Market, including the companies that will be there. I will send out a list of companies who have donated to the raffle in a bit, it already has some crazy stuff in it and grows daily. Looks to be the biggest, best FFM yet!



Coral Vendors

AC Corals (hobbyist) - CT
Alex's Advanced Aquatics - CT
Aquadreams - MA
AZNnutty's Saltwater Connections -OH
BareBottom Corals - NJ
Blastomaster (hobbyist) - MA
Blue Glow - MI
Blue View Aquatics - MA
Connor's Corals (hobbyist) - CT
Coral Cruze (hobbyist) - NY
Dr. Salomon’s Corals (hobbyist) - RI
Easy Aquariums - ME
Elmafioso52988 (hobbyist) - MA
E.O. Smith Coral Project - CT
Exotic Fish and Corals -CT
Fins Aquarium - NY
Fraggin' Idiot - VA
Fraggin Wagon - SC
Frag Freaks -MA
Frank180Reef (hobbyist) -MA
FUPA (hobbyist) - CT
Gotham Aquatics - NY
Graham S. (hobbyist) - NJ
Greg’s Corals (hobbyist) - CT
Greg Demos (hobbyist) -
Greg Hiller (hobbyist)- MA
Gsxr750 (hobbyist) - CT
Jason Fox - MD
Jeremy St. Louis (hobbyist) - CT
King Pin Coral - NY
Kwong1998 (hobbyist) - NY
Marine Reef Habitat - MA
Matt Spaulding (hobbyist) - CT
Michael Reeve (hobbyist) - CT
MO~Idol (Steve) (hobbyist)- NY
NY Coral King - NY
Obscura Reefs - CA
Ocean State Aquatics - RI
Pablo (hobbyist) - NY
Paulywalnuts (hobbyist) - CT
Pacific East Aquaculture - MD
Pieces of the Ocean - NY
Polywise (hobbyist) - NY
Popcorals - NY
Puff Daddy Reefs (hobbyist) - MA
Reef Bum (hobbyist)- CT
Reef Creations - NY
Rock Hard Reefs - NY
School of Fish - MA
Scoobnoob (hobbyist) - ME
Shoreline Pet - CT
Skimmy (hobbyist) - NY
Shayna 123 (hobbyist) - CT
Sniper2b (hobbyist) - CT
Speedy Corals -
SteelerMike (hobbyist) - RI
Supreme Reefs - VA
Talon’s Cove - NJ
Tank Breakers - CT
TJM Corals -
TSM Corals - NJ
The Coral Reef - CT
The Reef Shoppe - NY
Triggreef (hobbyist) - CT
Ultimate Corals - NJ
USCTom (hobbyist) - NY
Wet Pets - CT
Zooanthids.com - UT

Companies (this list keeps growing!!!)

Boston Aqua Farms
Brightwell
CORAL Magazine
Dirks Real Reef Store
Enfield Scuba
Eshopps
ESV
Fritz
Neptune Systems
Reef Breeders
Reef Trends
Rock Hard Reefs
Rod’s Reef
Sea Chem
Rod’s Reef

 

[fitch4]

I have group rates for anyone who wants to stay the night before with the Best Western in Mansfield CT (5 min down the road) and the Nathan Hale Inn (just across the parking lot behind the school). Just let them know you are with the Frag Farmer's Market and you should get the discounted rate!

 

[fitch4]

Okay, so it turns out that the Nathan Hale Inn is not quite as accommodating as I thought. They are reneging on the deal that they quoted me on the phone. You are welcome to book with them but they are not going to honor the group rate that the woman quoted me- so you are on your own with them. The Best Western is still good and only a short ride down the street. Sorry for the confusion!

 

[Raffle King]

Cant wait going to be a great show.

 

[fitch4]

People have been asking for a floor plan for the FFM. It keeps changing as more and more companies ask to be a part of the FFM, but here is what it looks like right now. This is easily the best FFM lineup I have ever seen. Totally worth the ride down...

 

[fitch4]

I just put together $500 in Frag Farmer's gift certificates to give away during the day at the FFM. Part of the FFM has always been the gift certificates that I put together that are good at ANY vendor at the FFM. Most of them will be given away at random to people coming in!

 

[fitch4]

This year's FFM will also feature a few speakers.

 

[fitch4]

Great News!!! David from Reef Trends and I have been working on getting together a "Safety Stop," something I have been trying to get together for the last few years, and are going to make it happen for FFM X! In the interest of not spreading pests among out tanks, I wanted to have small doses of dip for people to be able to bring home, and use for the beautiful frags that they get at the FFM. Mark from ME Corals is going to be hooking the attendees of the FFM up by donating a pile of single dose containers of his "Wash Off" dip! They will be available for people, FREE, at the Reef Trends table in the first hallway. Stop by and grab one on your way in/out of the FFM. Thanks to Mark and ME for helping me make this a part of the FFM!

 

[fitch4]

Exactly one week to go! Anyone in the NE area should give the Frag Farmer's Market a shot. If you have never come out, you will not be disappointed. If you have come out in the past, you are already coming out, so I will see you there!
Here are some more questions that I have gotten on forums, PM's, emails, etc...

"I have to drive 3 hours to get to the Frag Farmers, is it really worth it?"
-I always look at a big show this way; I drive an hour to go to some of the shops I like best. What if I could drive 3 to see all of the fish stores in one place. With almost 70 coral vendors this year, this is the single largest grouping of corals you can find anywhere. No conference, no show, no swap focuses on just corals and has this many vendors. The room after room of corals at the FFM is overwhelming, even to me and I have been at them all!

"Will there be high end SPS at the FFM?"
-Yes, there are a TON of high end SPS at the FFM, sold by many of the vendors.

"Can I find easy to keep corals? I have a new tank and am just looking to fill some space."
-Yes, that is there too. Lots of the hobbyists farm easy stuff, GSP, mushrooms, leathers, xenia, etc...

"What are the typical prices at the FFM?"
-The prices here are better than you will find anywhere for three reasons. One, the shops always stock up to sell at shows and give better pricing than you would see in their store, or online. They often do package deals, 5 for $50, etc... Secondly, the buy-in for shops is so low, they don't feel the pressure to make back their set-up fee. Typical shows this size charge $100's just for the space, mine is still well under $100, and only $30 for hobbyists. People always ask why don't I charge more, and the answer is I'm not in this for the money. I just want to be able to run my coral project with the kids at the school. Lastly, with so many vendors, you can find the same coral at multiple stations. That competition causes better prices. Frags range anywhere from free (yes that happens!) all the way up to $1000 (most expensive I saw last year, and YES, it did sell).

"Do vendors accept credit cards?"
-Some do, some don't. Most of the bigger places do but many of the hobbyists do not. I always suggest cash, its the sure thing. How much is a tricky question. Let me give you a word problem to describe it (sorry it's a teacher thing):

When you leave home, you will say I am going to spend $X. When you get here you will spend that. Then you will see two more things that you need, then two more after that... You will visit the ATM across the street and take out more $. You will come having spent $X + $Y, and wishing you had bought that one piece for $Z that you had never seen before. How much trouble are you in with your wife?

"Where does all the money from the FFM go?"
-ALL of the proceeds go to support the E.O. Smith High School Coral Project. I teach my students about corals, aquaculture and conservation by having them help me run the schools coral farm. The FFM has become so successful that I have been able to start helping other schools get going with similar projects in their classrooms. I have also used the proceeds from the FFM to give out $2000 in scholarships over the last two years.

See you all in a week!
Jon

 

[fitch4]

Weather report for Storrs, CT for the next couple days. Little bit of snow tomorrow, just a few inches in the morning- no worries. Saturday looks to be cold and fraggy... See you all there!

 

[fitch4]

Last night was set-up for the vendors and I have to say, there are going to be more corals, more dry goods, and more AWESOME stuff in the raffle at this FFM than there has ever been before. This will be the biggest and best FFM that there has ever been. If you are on the fence about coming out this year- definitely come out. There is nowhere that you will see this many corals all in one place. There are a bunch of new people selling this year and we did successfully make it all the way across the country, with our first vendor from CA!

 

[Raffle King]

Stop by room 101 and check out TSM Corals and Fish cause we have a ton and get in to win a free Purple Tang.