Mel Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Our Palmerston North Club thats newly started up. We are wanting ideas from existing clubs in NZ. This thread is about what sort of things clubs get up to at there meetings .. so please post up your ideas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Guest speakers (depends on the area. MAF people, DOC, fish 'experts', lanscapers, tank builders etc) Have demonstrations on building tanks, landscape design, basic "how to" set up a tank, making light hoods or tank lids and stuff. Have everyone bring samples of tank and tap water plus any pH kits they have and see if all read the same and what range of pH tanks and taps have. Go on trips to lfs (if you have a selection to choose from), rock pool areas, fish hunts, driftwood collecting. Have BBQs and social outings Have a sales table, auction or swap meet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos & Siran Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 sounds awesome, does anyone know if there's a Whangarei based club? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 There isn't one at the moment. Ever thought of starting one? There used to be a club in Whangarei many years ago and I know there are a lot of fish keepers there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted July 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 That's some great ideas Caryl .. keep em' coming :bounce: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simian Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 A quizz is always a good way to get some laughs, we had one last month with some jolly obscure questions :roll: , we were in teams so that made it fun. a few choccy fish for prizes and your all good. Another thing that is popular is live food, get a big white/micro/grindal worm culture going and split it up distribute and show others how to grow their own In summer a table show is a possibility The biggest thing is to make sure you start and finish on time and keep the "club business" to a strict minimum. the venue is also important, at peoples houses is good when you are still small. Owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Visit another fish club. Participate in a Pet Expo (if there is going to be one locally) Have a tank and pond crawl where you all go and see everyone's set-ups Have a breeding competition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze-dragon Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 the venue is also important, at peoples houses is good when you are still small. Owen we are already too big for that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 i could talk about filters, products, chemicals and chemistry, hardware - what tanks are better than others and why.... plants!! i could talk about landscaping a tank all day, and teach people how to set up different plant zones and layers in their tanks and the substrates that you can get cheaply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 If you know members have quite a variety of plants you could have a plant swap evening and talk about the requirements of each one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMAZONIAN Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Hi All, there are some members who don't hold any council with using peoples homes, even though it is the best option for a club of 10 to 15 members. I suggest you have a Sales Table at your meetings, and see if the local pet shop would sponsor some of their suppliers sample packs. Good luck for the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loopy Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Having a project of some sort (eg pet expo) seems to have proven to be a brilliant way to get everyone involved and give you a sense of purpose and a sense of achievment too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Don't forget the pics of the pet expo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 and the article!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simian Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 Hi All, there are some members who don't hold any council with using peoples homes, even though it is the best option for a club of 10 to 15 members. Good luck for the future. Its interesting, we just changed to having it at mine and our VP's place and turnouts have doubled, from 6 attendee's to about 15 per night. The difficult thing is finding a venue which has anything to do with aquariums. Having my display tanks and breeding setup available stimulates a lot of conversation. I'm not sure what we will do once we get more people comming along, butthat will be a pleasureable experience, worrying about expanding numbers not shrinking. The zoo had lots of potential but the time restrictions made it unpopular. I did have plans to use a cafe' and set up a display aquarium but that fizzeled out when we switched to the zoo. Owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 Finding a ideal venue is not a hard thing it doesn't even have to be fish related as you will find that alot places will give you a good price if you become regular users of a meeting place. One of the issues that you will come across is finding a suitable time and day that suits most people as we all have busy lifestyles but also a venue that can accomodate a choosen meeting time. Some ideas for a club meeting Auctions always fun , Quizs , Guest speakers doesn,t have to be fish related to be interesting you will be surprise what knowledge you have within your own group. At the end of the day your objective is to get a comman group of hobbyist together to share their ideas and happennings with each other . Personally i think that has been something that kept me going for bout 20yrs in the hobby Hope this helps Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rox Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 Lots of good advice people. For any that don't know, we have a fantastic venue (completely unfish related) and although some of us travel it doesn't seem to be a problem, some from as far as Wgtn, a good excuse to visit the local stores too The original meeting time and date also didn't seem to be an issue we all easily agreed that it suited us all, Sunday afternoon, last Sunday of the month (how easy is that). Some ideas for a club meeting Auctions always fun , Quizs , Guest speakers doesn,t have to be fish related to be interesting you will be surprise what knowledge you have within your own group. At the end of the day your objective is to get a comman group of hobbyist together to share their ideas and happennings with each other . Personally i think that has been something that kept me going for bout 20yrs in the hobby Hope this helps Dave Yeah Dave, thats what we want too, to meet like minded to people and share and not scare new comers. Thanks for all the good advice and as Mel said keep it coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted August 1, 2009 Report Share Posted August 1, 2009 I can't imagine having a meeting in a random hall... Ick, It'd be so cold on winter nights. I love that Totally Tanked is always in someones home & we can actually see each others fish. Tank crawls are another club idea, we have one roughly twice a year -> meet at a fish shop & then drive around members houses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 I can't imagine having a meeting in a random hall... Ick, It'd be so cold on winter nights. I love that Totally Tanked is always in someones home & we can actually see each others fish. Tank crawls are another club idea, we have one roughly twice a year -> meet at a fish shop & then drive around members houses. Oh, our meeting place is nothing like a cold hall. It is a state of the art community centre with heating and kitchen etc. As someone mentioned already, our club/group is already far to big to host at someones house. We can currently sit around a huge table and all see each other when talking. The issue with tank crawls for us is also the fact of numbers, and also that our group has such a large range of where people live. I myself have to travel 50 mins to get there. Others travel over two hours and drive up from Wellington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandysme Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 Oh, our meeting place is nothing like a cold hall. It is a state of the art community centre with heating and kitchen etc. As someone mentioned already, our club/group is already far to big to host at someones house. We can currently sit around a huge table and all see each other when talking. Thanks for that Si..its great that we all love the venue, that make it part of the enjoyment... The issue with tank crawls for us is also the fact of numbers, and also that our group has such a large range of where people live. I myself have to travel 50 mins to get there. Others travel over two hours and drive up from Wellington. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 Yeah venue is definitely a good one not fishy related but big enough for all of us and nice and warm and welcoming Some very good suggestions for things to do I am sure it will all come together as we meet more often and figure it all out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Posted August 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2009 Thanks for all the great ideas suggested so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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