How can you make money from the reefing hobby?

[sam.veilleux30]

My coral growth is such that I have been selling frags to my LFS now for over a year from a 3 year old tank. One gives me 50% on their resale price in cash and the other 60% in store credit. I usually go with the 60% since I buy most of my new corals and frozen food from them. Over that year I have fragged out and sold 7 trumpet corals, 8 or 9 Kenya trees, 20 + Green Star polyps, 7 Frog Spawns and 5 Hammers. I'm looking at a major frag out on a huge Birds Nest in the next month. I have two Acans that are growing very well and may need fragging in about a year but I am not sure how to go about doing them. I'm limited in equipment to using a Dremel like tool with a 2 inch cutting wheel. Anyone have experience cutting Acans in this way?

I would not try my dremel on acan, get the gryphon saw.

 

[Brandon3152134]

There's nothing wrong with making money from this hobby to "reinvest" into it right? What if you're wanting to make a little side money to help feed the addiction? There are several ways of doing it and it's not just selling coral frags although that has to be the number one way to make side money! But what are they? That's what I want to talk about today!

1. Do you have a little reefing side hustle that helps you earn money to put back into your hobby? What is it?

2. What are some easy ways, easy corals etc. people can get into selling to make some extra money?

image via @leo

I have found a few local reefers and we trade a buy corals from eachother. No profit but much cheaper way to get new species. Also helps if a coral isnt doing well it can be moved to a new system.

 

[sam.veilleux30]

Been in this hobby 14 years, first time selling frags (mainly acros, some montis) or colonies will cover the cost of maintenance for a year and then some.

 

[coral408]

I really enjoy this rather expensive reefing hobby and don’t consider it as a side hustle.
I did sell my overgrow corals a few times to lfs with my wife accompanied, not because to make money but to show her that expenses have been covered this way!! She didn’t know how much lfs paid and I spent, lol...!

 

[dtruitt]

I've been picking up "high end" zoas lately, not because I think I'll see the same prices per polyp that I pay, but because the "high end" stuff is much easier to move than bread and butter morphs.

The time it takes to find a buyer for eagle eye zoas and garden variety blue caulastrea is a loss for me. LFS won't take a lot of the basic stuff because *everyone* is bringing it in all of the time, and no one wants to drive an hour to buy a single $10 frag. Every time I cut a purple monster or a rasta or a bam bam, it's just taking up space on the frag rack and time out of my day to sell it.

I'm hoping to take heavy "losses" per polyp on some of these high end pieces so I can actually make a little cash for consumables in volume.

 

[darrelh]

NO! I have had saltwater fish off and on for 10 years and just recently decided to try some easy corals, unfortunately I live in a small town 3 hours from the nearest store, therefore
I am not sure where to get a few frags from.

 

[Paul B]

For a couple of years I built these squeeze bulb things. I sold a couple of thousand of them to a major wholesaler. (I don't do that any more)



I have two aquarium related patents, one a seahorse feeder brine shrimp feeder sold well and I also don't do that any more. That patent ran out.

I wrote a book that sells pretty good but I donate 100% of the profits to MS research in my wife's name so I can't count that.

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

I don't have a side hustle at the moment, but I do want to sell frags someday. But my tank is small so I don't export much right now.

 

[Mick51]

I trade frags to my LFS for credit.

It must be nice to have a LFS only thing by me is petco and they don’t buy anything I have had so much zenia I had to toss it have other stuff too but I’m in central NY and there is nothing by me I drive into NJ have a friend that is a wholesale only so he doesn’t have use for frags.. at one time there was close to 6 LFS but hello petco, petsmart so it leaves me with no
Options

 

[Eagle.]

I agree zoanthids are the easiest to grow, appeal to the most people (price and ability) but I dont get how its easy to setup a easy way to frag them. Its very hard to get them out of a tank to frag without dismantling the rockworks. Sps are easy for this, bone clippers and snip snip in the tank without hurting anything.

I'm open for zoanthid fragging suggestions!

A lot of people use glass or any flat surface to grow zoas and very easy to frag.

 

[Creggers]

So I’ve been considering starting up a side hustle but I’m not sure if there’s enough of a market and it’s scaleable enough to make a profit.

I want to make 99% pest free rock that has the diverse bacteria from live rock in the ocean. I want to be able to sell it as “instant cycle” meaning that folks could slowly stock without having to worry about ammonia spikes. Also running the tank with lights to grow some coralline and possibly sell various aged rock at different prices.

Based on my research I’d need to sell the rock at around 11-12 a pound to even make a small profit, but it’d be a labor of love.

Would anyone be interested in this? I’ve already proven (on a small scale) that it works.

 

[kevensquint]

see post below, this one posted before I was done

 

[lennydablenny]

There's nothing wrong with making money from this hobby to "reinvest" into it right? What if you're wanting to make a little side money to help feed the addiction? There are several ways of doing it and it's not just selling coral frags although that has to be the number one way to make side money! But what are they? That's what I want to talk about today!

1. Do you have a little reefing side hustle that helps you earn money to put back into your hobby? What is it?

2. What are some easy ways, easy corals etc. people can get into selling to make some extra money?

image via @leo

 

[dtruitt]

So I’ve been considering starting up a side hustle but I’m not sure if there’s enough of a market and it’s scaleable enough to make a profit.

I want to make 99% pest free rock that has the diverse bacteria from live rock in the ocean. I want to be able to sell it as “instant cycle” meaning that folks could slowly stock without having to worry about ammonia spikes. Also running the tank with lights to grow some coralline and possibly sell various aged rock at different prices.

Based on my research I’d need to sell the rock at around 11-12 a pound to even make a small profit, but it’d be a labor of love.

Would anyone be interested in this? I’ve already proven (on a small scale) that it works.

I've thought about a similar idea, and I would be interested in theory.

What becomes a concern for me, is what counts as a "pest," how you're getting those bacterial colonies going, and how you're ensuring the rock is genuinely free of pests like hydroids and even vermetids, which can both be very difficult to find until it's too late. It seems to me like any dip or quarantine that would reasonably eradicate any and all pests, would eliminate your beneficial bacteria and good hitchhikers as well.

I'd like my "instant cycle" rock to come in with a few different species of coralline, some micro brittle stars, various sponges and feather dusters, bristle worms, collonista snails, spaghetti worms, chitons, copepods, isopods, etc. Others might consider one or more of those listed critters to be pests.

 

[kevensquint]

After 30 years in the hobby I started a small sideline designing , installing, stocking and maintaining reeftanks here in Montreal. First, from 3 years experience in this, I can say 2 things. 1. Only do a frag tank if you want to keep your life and make some extra cash. 2. If you want a bigger piece of the pie you need to be very serious, A quarenteen tank for your clients fish with copper, a bin to cook LR to start off your clients , a tank builder , your own display to replenish your frag tank a webpage and a trailer, van or pick up truck. Otherwise you'll keep hitting walls. Going half-way brings frustration of refusing jobs or not being able to truly satisfy your clients. So, frag tank, all in or leave it up to the LFS. That is my honest experience. If its permitted here and you want to see my basic page for clients to see what I do for your own small sideline business my page is Reefpro.ca You cannot buy anything on it, its mostly pics and my contact info, very, very basic and simple.

 

[lennydablenny]

I LOVE those chalices. Do you sell/trade your frags? I breed Blennies, Gobies, Clownfish, Nudibranchs and all the live food that's needed to raise the offspring. My corals all died because of a equipment malfunction during a very long hospital stay. I watched helplessly from a camera I have setup with my Neptune Apex systems. I had a ton invested in it and havent felt like spending the money until I have a cured and stable system for corals. My main display is now a sad sight with Majano aipatsia that Nudbrachs wont touch. The only cure Ive found is a majano wand and theyre constantly out of stock.
Im now trying to cure a new tank for pretty much anything I can grow. I bought a used shallow lagoon tank and a JBJ 49gal Cube. Both with AI Hydra 32 (latest gen). Still trying to work out the kinks. My son and daughter moved out within the last 5 years and had a couple of empty rooms, so I went a little crazy and made a dedicated fish room, besides my display tank. I need to trade some livestock for some frags. Ive got a few species phyto on hand usually (Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis & Isochrysis) as well as tigriopus, apocyclops copepods and rotifers I use to feed the blennies, clowns and gobies that I have periodic successes with. I dont really breed for profit, just for the experience. Ive been doing ever since I started looking into it out of boredom with just fragging corals. Although I did sell and trade a lot of the copepods and phytoplankton I had raised, I made a lot more of my nudibranchs as they're quite useful with an out of control aiptasia problem. They're quite the eaters and a crew can solve a big problem rather quickly. They are unique unto themselves with regards to their mating and spawning and quite interesting to study. The larvae will settle out on their own immediately or within a few days as some stay pelagic. Anyone that would like to trade for anything hobby related, let me know. I can ship livestock as well.

 

[lennydablenny]

I've thought about a similar idea, and I would be interested in theory.

What becomes a concern for me, is what counts as a "pest," how you're getting those bacterial colonies going, and how you're ensuring the rock is genuinely free of pests like hydroids and even vermetids, which can both be very difficult to find until it's too late. It seems to me like any dip or quarantine that would reasonably eradicate any and all pests, would eliminate your beneficial bacteria and good hitchhikers as well.

I'd like my "instant cycle" rock to come in with a few different species of coralline, some micro brittle stars, various sponges and feather dusters, bristle worms, collonista snails, spaghetti worms, chitons, copepods, isopods, etc. Others might consider one or more of those listed critters to be pests.

I cant stand bristle worms...

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I used to sell corals, zoas, hammers, digis.
That all paid for new corals for me and a new small tank for my bedroom and filling that. I don't seem to be able to get the growth I used to now. (High phosphates will do that) maybe again soon!

 

[lennydablenny]

I used to sell corals, zoas, hammers, digis.
That all paid for new corals for me and a new small tank for my bedroom and filling that. I don't seem to be able to get the growth I used to now. (High phosphates will do that) maybe again so

I believe that Ive got the same issue. Im having trouble growing even the simplist of corals and it seems like the rock eventually absorbs it somehow. Ive never been able to lower my phosphates after a certain point. I just need to do a little more research...

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I believe that Ive got the same issue. Im having trouble growing even the simplist of corals and it seems like the rock eventually absorbs it somehow. Ive never been able to lower my phosphates after a certain point. I just need to do a little more research...

Hope you find a solution, I'm using little amounts of phosguard as I dont want to go back to zero again, slow and steady.