coral donations

reefer769 · 04-03-2004, 11:06 AM

hey everyone!

im fairly new to this hobby and i just started up my 30gal tank about 9 weeks ago, it is fully cycled, and i just struck a deal with someone for a hqi for 100$, as you can see im a little low on money right now, that is why ive been going from forum to forum trying to find good deals on supplies i so desperatly need now. ive never asked for donations on any forum before, so this is my first time, and i will probably be getting the hqi soon but again i dont have enough $$ for an corals, and that is the whole reason i am getting the fixture... my local fish store never sells frags, they only stock big colonies for 70$ a peice, so if anyone could help out a newb it would be greatly appreciated. once my tank is fully established and i have many diff corals i will be willing to give something in return sometime down the road. this forum has helped me out so much already, thank you for all of the generous reefers out there

you guys are awsome!

gumhead · 04-03-2004, 11:23 AM

Join a local club they will help you out. This is not an inexpensive hobby. In fact it is a very expensive hobby! If you try to cut corners you are asking for a disaster, and even more money waisted.

JM $0.02

icebear · 04-03-2004, 12:58 PM

www.frags.org might be a good place to try...

i'd love to be able to donate stuff to newbies- but i'm not much past a noob myself and all i have is mushrooms, zoas, and a teensy leather (which a lot of people turn their noses up at). another thing is that i don't know how to ship them properly and i'd hate to gift something to someone to have it die on them from bad shipping or something.

reefer769 · 04-03-2004, 01:21 PM

thats awsome man, i would just want 1 or 2 frags just to start out, and hopefully later on when they grow and i get more i will be able to give away frags to people that helped me out, and people in need

gumhead · 04-03-2004, 03:12 PM

Chicagoland Marine Aquarium Society (CMAS) is a big club, you should contact them and get involved. I know in Boston we help out (give free stuff) to all the newbies. Its your best bet on getting free stuff...

reefer769 · 04-03-2004, 07:49 PM

its 8$ for a student a year, and i dunno if i have the time for a club i really wish i did, but i dont even have a car to get around anyplace

Casey · 04-03-2004, 07:53 PM

reefer769 · 04-03-2004, 11:13 PM

haha yea im having a little problem with money now... and i cant seem to find anyone that has any USED return pumps/overflows they dont need for me to use for my sump, and i also am looking for a ro/di filter i so desperatly need right now, once i get the MH fixture i wont have any corals to go with it

really wish there was a site out there that offered donations

Reefer Addict · 04-03-2004, 11:14 PM

Please don't take my post as a rude one...

I don't understand how you can get involved in an expensive hobby like this one and expect to rely on others generosity to build your tank up...
You do realize that shipping live coral is in itself expensive... normally $35-50... so even if people are just 'giving' you frags of stuff they have around, it's costing them quite a bit for their generosity.

Your best bet is like gumhead mentioned... find out when the reef society meets, and attend a meeting... I'm sure there'll be plenty of people there that would love to help out a noob and take them under their wing... just don't be so blatant as to blurt out that you want people to give you frags...

Doesn't Chicago have any type of mass-transit system? And $8 for a year's membership is cheap compared to how much you could spend on corals that could otherwise be 'given' to you at meetings.

Once again, not trying to be rude, just pointing out the facts...

reefer769 · 04-03-2004, 11:18 PM

okay well it was just a question i hear of people recieving frags for free all the time i thought i would give it a try i guess if everyone is like you at this forum im out of luck, thanks for the reply though...

reefer769 · 04-03-2004, 11:20 PM

oh and also considering me being a NEWB i wouldnt know how much shipping a coral would be, so im sorry if i have wasted your time with this post

icebear · 04-03-2004, 11:24 PM

how much do you think it might cost to overnight a large bag of warm, salty water across at least 3 states?

Reefer Addict · 04-04-2004, 12:19 AM

Hey... don't take offense...

I'm normally (on all except the absolute worst days) a pretty friendly guy... just wanted to share a little perspective.

It's great that you're getting into reefs... I thoroughly enjoy mine... just don't 'expect' people to be generous... 'accept' it when it's offered (and oh it will be).

That's why I put two disclaimers in my post... was trying to not give you the wrong idea (and plus this is a friendly forum).

Toadfish · 04-04-2004, 03:32 AM

Quote:

its 8$ for a student a year, and i dunno if i have the time for a club i really wish i did, but i dont even have a car to get around anyplace

Pay the $8 and get your butt to the club meetings if you want some breaks. It would cost more that $8 to ship anything anyway. People in the reef club will help you.

wasabi · 04-04-2004, 03:45 AM

i'll offer the same advice, join the reef club and get involved you will have a tank full of corals in no time, not to mention the friends and knowledge. it cost me 95 dollars to ship 10 frags to minnesota last year 10.00 for the cooler. ii got burned baD ...and it cost me 60 dollars to ship 5 frags to ohio. 10.00 for the cooler... for 35.00 you could possibly ship 1 or 2 frags unless they were tiny.