I'm an orator...

[Dearth]

I was having a hot chocolate at Timmie's with a couple of friends tonight and we started talking about aquariums and eventually the talk progressed to my tank and how I liked the hobby. Soon after 3 couples nearby started asking questions and I suddenly became an orator.

I talked about my experiences the highs and the lows the endless frustrations and boundless joy. I did not shy away from the costs nor did I encourage anyone to get into the SW hobby unless as I informed everyone that they had a lot of commitment and patience.

Some questions caught me off guard like "Why are SW aquarists so anal about their Tanks?" I took the time to explain that SW was an exclusive club at one time reefing was super expensive and the learning curve was steep and many SW enthusiasts at the time were very protective and a wrong move could kill an entire tank overnight with a very high price tag attached. This was a question that was easy to answer but tough to convey.

Another question I was asked "How come more people don't know about SW aquarium hobby?" This one I had no ready answer for but in hindsight outside of major centers many people don't realize that the hobby is readily accessible and don't know if there is even a SW community in the area because if the LFS doesn't carry SW related items nobody asks. I was fortunate to have a friend who was in the hobby and helped me start up.

in addition to the questions I talked about sustainability and many reefers are supportive of ORA raised fish, coral and inverts. I also talked a lot about research do your homework I love to surf the net so its easy for me to find info but for others its a painful process but a little research will save you a ton of grief compared to no research at all.

All in all it was almost 2 hours of me talking and answering questions. There were a good many questions I could not answer and some that were entertaining to answer. I don't have the experience of the long time reefers but I think I am just as passionate as they are but I also truly enjoy telling people about the hobby and have no problems answering the same question over and over.

It was a good evening

[The Guy]

It would be kinda cool to meet up every so often with other SW/Reefers and anyone interested in getting into the "bright side" of the hobby. Not a club, just a get together to help each other out with tips and of course Tim's coffee. Sounds like it was a fun couple of hours. Anyone out there interested? I would do a poll but I've got no idea how to set it up.

[Dearth]

Originally Posted by The Guy

It would be kinda cool to meet up every so often with other SW/Reefers and anyone interested in getting into the "bright side" of the hobby. Not a club, just a get together to help each other out with tips and of course Tim's coffee. Sounds like it was a fun couple of hours. Anyone out there interested? I would do a poll but I've got no idea how to set it up.

Hardest part about that is getting commitment on a regular basis from people it is a good idea in principle but putting it into action is a different story because say you will be at Timmie's on this day at xx time come join me you will find that people have good intent but have trouble with commitments like that you might get 1 or 2 or you might get 20 its a crap shoot

[whatcaneyedo]

Originally Posted by The Guy

It would be kinda cool to meet up every so often with other SW/Reefers and anyone interested in getting into the "bright side" of the hobby. Not a club, just a get together to help each other out with tips and of course Tim's coffee. Sounds like it was a fun couple of hours. Anyone out there interested? I would do a poll but I've got no idea how to set it up.

We do that every winter here in PG. We call it the Annual Reef Tank Tour and its been going on for the past 8 years. Its a get-together, hobby promoter, education tool, networking social extravaganza... To imitate just find a few people who feel comfortable having a couple of strangers come into their home, pick some dates, throw up some posters and plaster it all over the internet. If you build it they will come.

Something also worth mentioning is that somebody recently started a Facebook group called Prince George B.C. Salt Water Community. Currently it is at 35 members and growing.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by whatcaneyedo

Something also worth mentioning is that somebody recently started a Facebook group called Prince George B.C. Salt Water Community. Currently it is at 35 members and growing.

I've done that for Victoria, and we have 41 members so far. There is also a buy/sell themed Vancouver Island group, with over 250 members.