How realistic is this?

[Kodiak]

I have some crazy ideology ideas. I wont go into details. However I want to do something I love, then worry about the money.

blah blah blah...

I would love to start a coral farm. The guy that was taught me almost all i know and gives me sweet deals, very cheap corals ect.. He owns a coral farm and sets up tanks for a living. I would love to do something like this. I always had the idea before I meant him, but now i can see it for real.

What if I started a 125-220 tank. I set it up for a perfect reef, and I sold what I fraged ect.. What do you think the turn around on money could be.

I guess this is just to elaborate on ideas.

ALL input is requested. thanks!

 

[The Zigman]

i would suspect you would need more than one tank, and several frag tanks...
could be done though...

 

[Kodiak]

i would suspect you would need more than one tank, and several frag tanks...
could be done though...

Yes, but I dont plan to pay bills with it yet. I would want to make some extra money. Maybe pay back the money I spent on the tank, then use the rest to set up more, then rinse and continue.

I guess from a reefers point of view how quickly could i frag, and re-sell corals? say I bought zoas with 5 stalks. how long till the reached 50+

 

[fsn77]

I guess from a reefers point of view how quickly could i frag, and re-sell corals? say I bought zoas with 5 stalks. how long till the reached 50+

Too hard to say... That will depend on the particular variety of zoas and tank conditions.

It can certainly be done, but I fear that on that small of a scale the sale rate would likely not be fast enough to see any real money coming in once expenses / utility bills are factored in. It will also depend on the demand for the particular corals you are growing and fragging.

 

[Kodiak]

Off around a 200 gallon leaving out the aesthetics, just for growing corals. After 1 year would it be impossible to make 500/month off the tank?

 

[archer772]

I would say you will want 3-4 seperate tanks and have the tanks only 12-15 inches tall because then you could get away with cheaper lighting for them and also seperate from low light to high light. You will also have to be buying the newest and most colorfull corals that hit the market and also some of the most sought after corals are also some of the slowest growing corals. These are just my opinions.

 

[journey0820]

I agree that it also depends on the type of corals. If you are growing some harder to buy corals - you can ask higher prices. Fancy-name zoas and aussie acans are in the high end price right now. Getting ahead of the trends will help I imagine.

Also, if you can find some special way to ship - maybe some special rate for small companies - that would help immensely. I specifically look for "free shopping after spending ***" and then I order that amount!

 

[Kodiak]

I would say you will want 3-4 seperate tanks and have the tanks only 12-15 inches tall because then you could get away with cheaper lighting for them and also seperate from low light to high light. You will also have to be buying the newest and most colorfull corals that hit the market and also some of the most sought after corals are also some of the slowest growing corals. These are just my opinions.

That would be the biggest thing. The lights...

In total I want to start off with about 5-7k in equipment, livestock, ect...

with that amount I will be able to set up a good farm. If it fails, well.. I still love Reefs! Ill just have a hell of a lot of corals and tanks!

 

[Kodiak]

I agree that it also depends on the type of corals. If you are growing some harder to buy corals - you can ask higher prices. Fancy-name zoas and aussie acans are in the high end price right now. Getting ahead of the trends will help I imagine.

Also, if you can find some special way to ship - maybe some special rate for small companies - that would help immensely. I specifically look for "free shopping after spending ***" and then I order that amount!

thats a good point. I want to do mostly local, and make a website with shipping options.

any other advice welcome.


Do i need some sort of license to sell live stock??

 

[archer772]

That would be the biggest thing. The lights...

In total I want to start off with about 5-7k in equipment, livestock, ect...

with that amount I will be able to set up a good farm. If it fails, well.. I still love Reefs! Ill just have a hell of a lot of corals and tanks!

LOL yes you will have lots of corals and tanks if it doesnt work out. Like I said with shallow tanks you could save a lot on your lighting and also tune your lighting to the types of corals you want to propogate in each tank.