Frag Tank for profit

_pabloperetti · Oct 5, 2017

I always had this idea in my mind, to make money doing something I love. After getting in the hobby and having my display tank up for a few months now I've had some growth (only zoas and palys) and was going to start trying to frag for profit. I wanted to know what are some challenges I will be facing if I try and do this. I have 2 tanks right now, a 75 gallon display tank and then the frag tank build (57 gallons) that should be running in a week or two.

so far I've gotten these things out of the way:
1. year round materials- I would be needing 6 T5 bulbs and 2 200 gallon salt mix boxes
2. someone who can supply me coral for a good price.
3. how to ship corals and the materials I need.
4. how to frag corals.

I'm sure I'm missing a lot of things or challenges that would affect me while doing this, if you have any tips or criticism then I would be glad if you shared it.

as for clientele or where I will start selling I was thinking of doing local sales (south Florida) and starting off with eBay, or maybe even reef2reef if given the chance.

I'm only testing waters right now. I don't plan to make a website anytime soon unless things go better than expected but for now I think just getting my name out there and coming up slowly was the better way to approach this.

Thanks for any help or criticism!

oceanfreak09 · Oct 5, 2017

I would say study about pests and bad algaes so you don’t spread any funk around. Knowledge is king in this hobby and having that is how you make a name in this business of selling Corals. Hope my insight helps you.

Ranjib · Oct 5, 2017

Some reference:

_pabloperetti · Oct 5, 2017

oceanfreak09 said:
I would say study about pests and bad algaes so you don’t spread any funk around. Knowledge is king in this hobby and having that is how you make a name in this business of selling Corals. Hope my insight helps you.

Yes of course, thank you for your input. For the most part my source of coral or supplier has a very clean tank and pest free but I always dip just in case.

_pabloperetti · Oct 5, 2017

Ranjib said:
Some reference:

I'll take a look at it now, thank you very much!

nautical_nathaniel · Oct 5, 2017

That's a pretty sweet looking setup so far, good luck with everything! I too am thinking about dabbling in fragging and selling locally to fellow hobbyists, so I'll be following along!

oceanfreak09 · Oct 5, 2017

_pabloperetti said:
Yes of course, thank you for your input. For the most part my source of coral or supplier has a very clean tank and pest free but I always dip just in case.

Yeah we can never be to careful!![emoji3]

Will Milberger · Oct 5, 2017

Check out garf.org. They have a lot of info and things to consider when doing cuttings for profit.

Kyl · Oct 5, 2017

oceanfreak09 said:
I would say study about pests and bad algaes so you don’t spread any funk around. Knowledge is king in this hobby and having that is how you make a name in this business of selling Corals. Hope my insight helps you.

If you spread garbage, like most of the local people around me seem to do, you will get a rep for it. AEFW, monti-nudibranchs, redbugs, etc.

Don't be one of those guys!

CastAway · Oct 5, 2017

Just to provide an alternative view, almost every bad experience I've had in the hobby has revolved around hobbyists who purpose to profit off the hobby.

No doubt most every coral vendor was a hobbyist for some time prior to becoming a business.

BoomCorals · Oct 5, 2017

Be prepared to spend way more than you think lol.

And don't forget to factor in all costs to the price of coral. If a frag costs you $10 and you only charge $20, you'll end up in the red because of all the other overhead you didn't factor in. The "true" cost of that frag is a lot more than $10.

And it's a LOT of hard work. Also you need more than one frag tank. You must QT and routine dip all new arrivals for several weeks. You can't do that with only one frag tank.

john.m.cole3 · Oct 29, 2017

I have a plan to do this with 3x 40b tanks. So far I've spent about 4k including about 1k in livestock, and I am no where near the point of accepting money for what I have. My goal is to aquaculture what I have and continue to collect nice pieces so that way I have a limited, home grown, stock of what others can;t find in stores. I would get yourself an income tax license and charge tax to your customers. Most guys I know that sell from home have a ton of corals that don't sell for much and sell often. But if it's what you love to do every day, get after it man!