New England Frag Farmer's Market 3/7/20 - Storrs CT

[Fitch4]

It's back!​

The 13th annual Frag Farmer's Market will be held this coming March 7th at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs CT. Doors will open at 10am this year to give you an extra hour of coral madness! It has grown into the biggest single day swap in the country with close to 100 vendors - with a great mix of big names and some great local hobbyists. I have a few new names that were great additions to the list, and people who we never see in the northeast. You will not find a better selection of corals at any other show, and the set-up fee is so low for sellers, the prices for you end up better than at the other big shows. Plus admission is just $5. I'll post more info in the coming weeks as the details for this year's FFM comes together.

I do have space for more "dry goods" companies, if any of the local companies are interested in coming up for the day. The price for a table is too good to pass up! Shoot me a PM if you are interested!

See you all up at the FFM this year!
-Jon

 

[Fitch4]

So here is the preliminary list of coral vendors for the 2020 FFM. This is only the coral vendors. I'll post the list of dry goods places that will be there in a bit when I iron out a few more details. Once again, looks to be a HUGE show and well worth the ride up!

AC Corals
Alex's Advanced Aquatics
Antonio Silva
Aquadreams
Aquatic Creations
Back Woods Reefs
Blake’s Aquaden
Blue View Aquatics
Cheesy Corals
Coral Reef Connection
Covey's Coral Cove
Credable Coral Labs
Dirk’s Aquatics
Donovan Stout
Dr. Salomon Corals
E.O. Smith Coral Project
Exotic Fish and Corals
Fish Ninja
Frank180Reef
Frost Corals
FUPA
Golden Basket Corals
Greg Demos - Aquacultured Acropora
Greg Hiller
Greg's Corals
Hall High School Coral Project
Headie Corals
Jason Fox
Koral Craze
Kwong1998
Marine Science Magnet School
Mike Herbas
MosReef
Mod Corals
MoFo Corals
Motor City Corals
MR Reefs
Mystery Box
No Comp Clowns
NY Reef Aquatic
Ocean State Aquatics
Pablo
Pacific East Aquaculture
Paul Spinnato
Paulywalnuts
Pieces of the Ocean
Pop Corals
Reef Crazy Coral Propagation Center
Reef Creations
Reef Junkeez
Reef Trends
Reefshine Guys
Rich Beck Jr.
Rick Correira
Roaming Reefer
RozArt Corals
Sassawrasse
School of Fish
Sea Gardens
Sickn'Twisted Corals
Son and Sand
SteelerMike
Talon's Cove
Tank Breakers
T-A-R Corals
The Reef Shoppe
Tidal Wave Aquatics
TJM Corals
Triggreef
Ultimate Corals
Underwater Bliss
Usctom
Wet Pets
Zooanthids.com

 

[Fitch4]

Here is the preliminary list of "Dry Goods" companies that will be at the Frag Farmer's Market this year. I still have a few "might come outs" but these are all the confirmed companies. We have some super cool additions to the list this year!
FFM 2020 “Dry Goods” Companies

Agcore
Aquatic Creations
Boston Aqua Farms
Brightwell
Building An Obsession
Champion Lighting
Colchester Pet
Coralvue
Custom Aquariums
Dirks Aquatic Store
ESV
Fritz
Kimmie’s Cupcakes
Koral Kreations
Mike’s Phyto
MR Reefs
Mystery Box
Neptune Systems
No Comp Clowns
Ocean Nutrition
Octo Clowns
Red Sea
Reef News Network
Reef Nutrition
Reef Rax
Reef Shine Guys
Reef Trends
ReefBreeders
ReefWeeds
Rock Hard Reefs
Rod’s Food
Seachem

 

[Fitch4]

I have three events that are happening at the FFM that I wanted to reach out and offer to you guys and girls.
#1- The 2nd annual FFM Corn Hole Tournament
Sponsored by the E.O. Smith Coral Project, OSA, and The Reef Shine Guys, it will be a single elimination tournament with matches every 15 minutes starting at noon. I have 16 spots open for play. The brackets will be released and shared prior to the FFM so participants can plan ahead. The winner of the tournament will receive:
-a $50 FFM gift certificate, good at ANY FFM vendor - thanks to the EOS Coral Project
-a Maxout Aquatics Package - thanks to OSA
-a Reef Shine Guys swag pack - thanks to the Reef Shine Guys

#2- Paint and sip (without the sip) with Rachel Fogel of Reef Weeds
At 1pm, Rachel will be hosting a paint along session with her in one of the open classrooms. After you are done, and it dries, you can take your painting home. All materials are provided (paint, canvases, smocks, etc…) Just bring your art skills and clothes that might get a little paint on them. There are 12 spots open for this.

#3- Make your own Koral Kreation with Kris Kaz
Kris is going to host a paint a coral event. Kris is going to prep a number of coral skeletons and bring them along for participants to choose from. Then you will get a lesson on Kris’ magic process and be able to create your own Koral Kreation that you will get to take home at the end of the day (after it dries). Again, all materials are provided for the painting session, just bring your creativity! There are 12 spots open for this.

All events are open to people 12 and older (younger kids can do the painting but need to have an adult painting with them). The best part? All three are FREE! Just shoot me an email at [email protected] to let me know that you want a spot. The first people to email me get spots and I will make a wait list after that if spots open up.

 

[Fitch4]

The Paint a Coral session is full, still some space in the other two.

 

[Fitch4]

Less than a month to go! Here is the line up for the talks at this year's FFM. I put together a nice variety of topics to try to hit something that everyone would be interested in. As with previous years, these talks are free with your admission to the FFM (which is only $5). Come out, shop for a while, take a break and listen to a talk, then go back and shop some more!

 

[Fitch4]

Here is the map for the 2020 FFM. Inevitably there will be some changes that get made but this should be pretty close to what it looks like for the day. I will have paper copies of the map available at the door that day!

 

[Fitch4]

If you are still on the fence about coming out for the FFM, here is a link to a video that Craft Aquatic put together at last year's FFM. It will give you an idea about the FFM and what the school program has going on.

 

[Fitch4]

Only a few days to go before the biggest single day swap in the whole US! Anyone even close to CT should give the Frag Farmer's Market a shot. If you have never come out, you will not be disappointed. With 100+ vendors, mostly livestock, there are more corals at the FFM than at any other swap for sure. If you have come out in the past, you can vouch for that info!
Here are some of the FFM FAQ?

"I have to drive 4 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 4 to see all of the fish stores in one place. With almost 80 coral vendors again this year, this is the single largest grouping of corals you can find anywhere. No conference, no show, no swap focuses on just corals like the FFM. With a number of vendors similar to a RAP, or MACNA, but a $5 entrance fee (and SUPER low vendor fee). The room after room of corals at the FFM is overwhelming, even to me and I have been at them all!

"How do I get tickets?"
Admission is $5 per person,kids under 12 are free! All ticket sales are at the door for the FFM. There are no advanced sales.

"Will there be high end Zoas and SPS at the FFM?"
-Yes, there are a TON of high end Zoas and SPS at the FFM, sold by many of the vendors. The FB group for the event has been blowing up with ?Who is brining (Fill in crazy name here) to the show?? and a few different people coming who have it answering. I see things at the FFM that I didn?t even know existed?

"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... Our school project keeps mainly easy to keep stuff and would be happy to share!

"What are the typical prices at the FFM?"
-The prices at the FFM tend to be better than you will find elsewhere for three reasons:

• 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...
• 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 $1000's for the space, mine is still much cheaper. 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.
• 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+.
  
  "Do vendors accept credit cards?"
  -Some do, some don't. Most of the shops do but some of the hobbyists do not. I always suggest cash, it’s a sure thing.
  
  “How much money should I bring??”
  This 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 have $X you are planning to spend. You spend it in the first room of the FFM (there are 16 this year) You see five other things you want in the next room. You visit the ATM across the street and take out $Y for those pieces. Your cooler now weight Z lbs. You leave having spent $X + $Y, and wishing you had bought that one other frag that you had never seen before. How long will your wife make you sleep on the couch when she finds out how much money you spent? and can you see the tank from the couch?
  Seriously, I always suggest that people bring 2-3X what they think they will spend. The deals and variety are too good to pass up at the FFM.
  “Should I bring a cooler?”
  Yes, bring a cooler. The good news is that you don?t have to lug it around all day. The FFM has added a FREE cooler check station. The volunteers at the station will watch your cooler for you all day. If you need to drop something off, just stop by the table and throw it into your cooler! Don?t worry your stuff will be safe at the cooler station.
  
  "Is there a raffle?"
  Yes there is. It is one of the biggest you will see at a swap with anything from rock to supplements, fish, coral, controllers to pumps, to AIO tanks, LED lights (including a Gen 5 Radion!) and a TON more! This year we even have TWO, yes TWO Neptune Tridents in the raffle. Raffle tickets are for sale all day at the FFM and the raffle is pulled at 4pm.
• We also added a “High Rollers” raffle this year, where people who spend $50 in raffle tickets get an single entry, in addition to their $50 in tickets, into a special raffle for a dirty dozen coral pack of 12 SUPER high end corals.
  
  "Where does all the money from the FFM go?"-Unlike most shows, 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 $4000+ in scholarships over the last four years to students who are going to college to study marine science. So it all goes to a good cause!
• 
  Hope to see you all in a few days!
  Jon

 

[piranhapat]

Can not believe tomorrow the big day. Finally looks like nice weather. So who's going..

 

[albano]

Any reviews of the swap? Did people show up despite the virus panic?

 

[Spartanwarrior]

Any reviews of the swap? Did people show up despite the virus panic?

The organizer said attendance was slightly down. As a firsthand observer of the last 4 years, esp considering last year, it SEEMED WAY down. The hallways were easy to walk through, entering a classroom there were maybe on avg 5-10 customers each room at one time besides the big names. It seemed to be the same layout so I can't pinpoint this observation being bc of a smarter layout....it just seemed to have been really busy in the first 2 hours and then a big drop off 1-4pm
All in all less variety in corals too. I'm sure the moratorium was a huge factor for that as stuff finally trickles back to the market.
I left with half of my $800 budget and didnt even consider taking out the CC. Thats my best barometer if nothing else.

 

[albano]

Thanks for the review... l figured that would be the case... couldn’t chance it with my 4 grandkids in the house!

 

[Fitch4]

We had 1365 people, compared to 1479 last year based on the attendance bracelets- not an estimate, thats my actual count from the day. I agree that it felt less crowded all around. I spent a fair amount of time walking around and was able to get in an out of rooms no trouble. The crowds seemed to move in waves, with one room being super busy and then almost empty, the busy again... We had an extra hallway open, which made it easier to move around, and also had an extra hour for the show it self, which spread the crowds out as well. That number may also reflect the fact that we had a bunch of vendors who were sharing tables (not really what I was hoping for) and the extra people had to buy bracelets too (maybe 50 or people believe it or not).
The coral selection seemed similar to previous years. I will say that it felt very acro and zoa heavy this year, but if you looked, you could still find some pretty cool stuff around. We had a few vendors not come out for a few reasons but we had also added a few dry goods places so I would say if anything better in terms of that.

 

[Spartanwarrior]

We had 1365 people, compared to 1479 last year based on the attendance bracelets- not an estimate, thats my actual count from the day. I agree that it felt less crowded all around. I spent a fair amount of time walking around and was able to get in an out of rooms no trouble. The crowds seemed to move in waves, with one room being super busy and then almost empty, the busy again... We had an extra hallway open, which made it easier to move around, and also had an extra hour for the show it self, which spread the crowds out as well. That number may also reflect the fact that we had a bunch of vendors who were sharing tables (not really what I was hoping for) and the extra people had to buy bracelets too (maybe 50 or people believe it or not).
The coral selection seemed similar to previous years. I will say that it felt very acro and zoa heavy this year, but if you looked, you could still find some pretty cool stuff around. We had a few vendors not come out for a few reasons but we had also added a few dry goods places so I would say if anything better in terms of that.

Still a wonderful event and wouldnt miss for the world in 2021

 

[Fitch4]

Glad you enjoyed it. It definitely felt less crowded this year I agree. I love to have the HUGE numbers but it was nice to be able to walk around. I was a little surprised when I did the count and it was still over 1300.

 

[Josh]

Great event! We had a lot of fun.

 

[piranhapat]

This was my first year there. So I can't compare it to others years. First the drive was outrageous. Not the two hour drive. It was the reckless Connecticut drivers. I was cut off 3 times. Anyway once I arrived alive. I enter to see a nice amount of vendors. There was a few tables that had great prices.There was some over priced corals. The lay out was a little tight in halls and classroom. But crowd lessen around 1:00. The children did some beautiful ocean art work. Only negative was most vendors had the same type of corals. And some calling a frag a small colony. There was high end SPS which was over priced. I wished there was more hobbyists selling. I think I only bought from them. Glad to support an event that went to a good course.

 

[Fitch4]

Agreed. One of the double sided swords with the FFM has always been the inclusion of hobbyists. The original idea of the FFM was to create a show where a hobbyist could set-up next to big names and sell their own homegrown corals. I had been to the big shows and realized that I could not afford to sell my own stuff at those shows, so I made one where someone like me could! At the start, it was work to fill the spaces with vendors in general. Now that it has become such a big show, I have the opposite problem- too many people want in. So, you would think "Great, you have more room for hobbyists!" but that doesn't work out. The shops are used to the show circuit and sign up WAY before the hobbyist reaches out, so they tend to fill the openings quicker. There is also this grey area between hobbyist and shop. If a guy is buying things wholesale and chopping them up, is he really a hobbyist? I don't think so, and that isn't really what I want to promote in the hobby. That said, there are lots of guys/gals out there who have legitimate farms that they run from their houses, which is awesome and exactly what I want to promote with the FFM. Getting more of that, and less of the other is always the tough part about the FFM. We have played with a few different models for how to make that work, but it is tough to implement.