2018 ffm 3/3/18

[fitch4]

[sde1500]

Awesome, I've missed the last few local swaps, hope to make it to this one for sure.

[fitch4]

Here is the preliminary list of coral sellers for the 2018 FFM:
AC Corals
Alex's Advanced Aquatics
Aquadreams
AZNnutty's Saltwater Connections
Blake’s Aquaden
Blastomaster
Blue View Aquatics
Captain Cook's Corals
Cherry Corals
Coral Reef Connection
Credable Coral Labs
Dirk’s Aquatics
Dr. Salomon Corals
Elmafioso52988
E.O. Smith Coral Project
European Aquatics
Exotic Fish and Corals
Fins Aquarium
Frag Freaks
Frank180Reef
FUPA
Gotham Aquatics
Greg Polec
Greg Demos - Aquacultured Acropora
Greg Hiller
Green Mountain Corals
gsxr750
Headie Corals
Jason Foxx
King Pin Coral
Kwong1998
Kyle Lanoue
Manny Cabral
Marine Science Magnet School
MO~Idol
NY Coral King
Ocean State Aquatics
Pablo
Paulywalnuts
Pacific East Aquaculture
Pieces of the Ocean
Reef Creations
Rick W.
Rock Hard Reefs
RTMA Corals
School of Fish
Sheltered Reef
Shoreline Pet
Sick Twist'd Corals
Son and Sand
Speedy Corals
SteelerMike
Supreme Reefs
Talon's Cove
Tank Breakers
TJM Corals
TSM Corals
The Coral Reef
The Reef Shoppe
Triggreef
Ultimate Corals
Underwater Bliss
Usctom
Wet Pets
Zooanthids.com

[fitch4]

Here is the updated list of vendors for the FFM this year. All I can say is WOW that is a lot of corals under one roof! If you have never been, it is definitely worth the trip!

Coral Vendors - my apologies to anyone whose home state I incorrectly labeled!
AC Corals -CT
Alex's Advanced Aquatics - CT
Aresangel -MA
Aquadreams -MA
Aquaspaces - NY
AZNnutty's Saltwater Connections - OH
Blake's Aquaden -CT
Blastomaster -CT
Blue View Aquatics - MA
Cherry Corals -MI
Colchester Pet - CT
Coral Emporium - VA
Coral Reef Connection - PA
Credable Coral Labs -CT
DBReef - MA
Dr. Salomon Corals - RI
Elmafioso52988 - MA
E.O. Smith Coral Project - CT
European Aquatics - CT
Exotic Fish and Corals - CT
Fins Aquarium - NY
Frag Freaks - MA
Frank180Reef - MA
FUPA - CT
Gotham Aquatics - NY
Greg Polec - ???
Greg Demos - Aquacultured Acropora - ???
Greg Hiller - MA
Headie Corals - CT
Jason Foxx - MD
King Pin Coral - NY
Kwong1998 - NY
Kyle Lanoue - ???
Manny Cabral - ???
Marine Science Magnet School - CT
Matt Spaulding - VT
Micheal Reeve (Underwater Bliss) - CT
NY Coral King - NY
Ocean State Aquatics - RI
Pablo - NY
Paulywalnuts - CT
Pacific East Aquaculture - MD
Pieces of the Ocean - NY
Pop Corals - NY
Reef Creations - NY
Rick Correira - MA
Rick W. - ???
RTMA Corals - CT
School of Fish - MA
Sheltered Reef - NY
Shoreline Pet - CT
Sick and Twisted Corals - CT
Son and Sand - ME
Speedy Corals - CT
SteelerMike - RI
Supreme Reefs - VA
Tank Breakers - CT
TJM Corals - NJ
TSM Corals - NJ
The Coral Reef - CT
The Reef Shoppe - NY
Triggreef - CT
Ultimate Corals - NJ
Usctom -NY
Wet Pets - CT
Zooanthids.com - UT


Non- Coral Vendors
AquaFx
Aquatic Creations
Boston Aqua Farms
Brightwell
Champion Lighting
Dirks Aquatics
ESV
Fritz
Hanna Instruments
Mike’s Phyto
Neptune Systems
Polyp Labs
Red Sea
Reef Breeders
Reef News Network
Reef Nutrition
Reef Rax
Reef Trends
Reef Weeds
Rock Hard Reefs
Rod’s Food
Tropic Marin
Tunze

Clubs
CTARS
BRS
ARKSC

[fitch4]

Here are the speakers for the FFM this year!

[fitch4]

Here is the floor plan for the FFM this year:

[sniper2be]

This show can't be missed.. almost every coral and every price range... I may just camp out and wait for the doors to open...

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

[mjp456]

Bump

[fitch4]

One week to go!

[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 close to 70 coral vendors, there are more corals at the FFM than at any other swap or show. 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!

“How do I get tickets?”
-Admission is $5 and spouses and kids under 12 are free! All 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.

"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 (or $1000’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+.

"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, its the 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 plan to spend $X. You will spend that much and then see three other things you want. You will visit the ATM across the street and take out more $Y, which you also spend. You leave having spent $X + $Y, and wishing you had bought that one frag for $Z that you had never seen before. How much trouble are you in with your wife?

“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!

"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 to coral, controllers to pumps, AIO tanks to 100 gallon reef ready set-ups, and a TON more! Raffle tickets are for sale all day at the FFM.

"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 $3000 in scholarships over the last three years.

See you all in a few days!
-Jon

[JMetaxas]

Looking forward to it.

Dumb question, but when you buy at the show do the coral vendors pack the corals like they would if you bought in a store? (i.e in bags, with air)

[fitch4]

They will pack them up for you similar to the fish store would. Each place tends to have its own packing strategy but they will all have containers or bags of some sort.

[sde1500]

What time is the raffle?

[fitch4]

Main raffle at 4pm

[albano]

What's the weather prediction for your area?

[fitch4]

Supposed to rain during the day then switch to snow overnight- maybe a couple inches? then be out by morning. Then 40's during the day so it melts. We should be good to go!

[davered00ss]

I just saw 6-12" snow, is it still on?

[fitch4]

Yes we are. The local report for our area in CT is looking even better than it had. More rain than anything else and ending earlier than they had initially thought. We are good to go!

[fitch4]

Well, I'm back up again after a long night of set-up. Despite the weather, more than 1/2 the vendors came to set-up last night and the other half, minus one or two, will be here this morning. We got no weather, other than rain yesterday and the school is all set to host the 11th annual FFM today! I got a chance to look over some of the set-ups last night and there is some AMAZING stuff at the FFM as usual. The FFM is definitely on for today so clear out your driveway and make the ride out to E.O. Smith in Storrs and be a part of it!

[JMetaxas]

Kudos for putting on a great show !! I was leaving around 2PM and overheard an organizer say they had 800 people come. I don't know how that compares to other years, but it sure was busy when I arrived around 11:30AM.

I ended up with 3 Jason Fox Sps corals, a quarter sized Hippo Tang (which was eating within 20 minutes of being in my tank) and a used ATI T5 fixture.

[fitch4]

Final count for attendance was 1312!!!

[Marc11]

Great show as always. I hope you raised a lot of $ for the kids! BTW the kids you had working were awesome.

[GobyWanKenobie]

Awesome show. I especially loved the new addition of a spot to check in my cooler. Usually, I have to make a couple of trips to my car to unload my purchases. This was so much easier, and it kept them nice and warm.

You should be very proud of this event and of your students. As usual, they were very polite and helpful. Thank you to everyone involved.

[fitch4]

The kids do an amazing job, it wouldn't work without them!