Don't Break The Chain

I am not sure if this is where this would go, but I have been reading up on this and thought it was worth sharing. Sounds like an awsome idea.



The DBTC program was conceived and implemented by the Bay Area Reefers (BAR) club. It has been implemented by the Manhattan Reefs club as well. The concept is rather simple and goes back to the days in the hobby when giving frags away was the norm and selling was practically unheard of. In the DBTC program, a club member donates a particular coral fragment with the idea that the person(s) who get said fragment will grow it out giving to others, who will in turn make free fragments for others, etc. While trading corals is great, this is NOT a trading program, rather it is a system for giving or “paying forward” coral frags with no immediate returns. Over a long period of time, this will result in wider availability of these corals.

The program is designed with few rules other than no sales or trades are allowed. The person donating a frag specifies the terms of their “giving” and it is up to the good conscience of the recipient to carry out those wishes. Unfortunately, we can’t enforce honesty. The hope is that by the time a reefer has become a club member and been introduced to the spirit of community and sharing that a hobbyist club offers, they'll see the benefit of behaving in a community oriented way. The DBTC program simply assumes that the vast majority of participants will behave correctly and proceeds from there. It's a true "Pay it Forward" program both in terms of the actual coral being exchanged and the spirit of generosity and goodwill that goes with it. To this end we envision very little direct moderation of the program other than removing inappropriately placed posts or doing other thread cleanup. If members are abusing the system, they will be quickly found out by the participants and simply shut out of future transactions. All we ask at this time is that all DBTC transactions (offerings, completions and future paying forward) are posted in this forum so we can use the information in the future.

Below is the program description adopted from the BAR website:

What is DBTC?
DBTC, stands for Don't Break The Chain--the idea is that it works like a Pay It Foward (PIF) type program where someone donates a particular coral fragment with the idea that the person(s) who get said fragment will grow it out giving to others, who will in turn make free fragments for others, etc.

I still don't get it. Why do we have this?
The idea behind it is to help spread coral species throughout the region. This will hopefully lessen the impact of taking corals from the oceans, as well as help spread diversity throughout the area. The idea was a way to push a non-greedy way of helping get corals out there to people. If you can get a coral fragment from a local farmer, that means less of an impact on the oceans. A great many of the "abundant" corals are not in any way mari/aquacultured since it's still profitable to hack them out of the seas.

Ok fine, so how do I get some free corals?
While you will get "free corals" eventually, this is not what this program is about-- this is about sharing and being willing to share with others. While inevitably there will be a bit of a "greed" factor that seeps in-- especially with more desirable corals-- you have to understand the idea is that more will be offered in the future. The way it works is that each coral grows exponentially (ideally), so while it may take some time the coral will be offered again. This program is NOT about stocking your empty tank with new corals for free, what it is about is helping grow a renewable resource and making it available to others for free.

Time? How much time do I need to wait?
It depends entirely on the amount of corals that are initially offered, and the type of corals. Some corals, specifically soft ones, grow quite readily so can be fragmented and dispersed quite rapidly. Others, like the small polyped stony corals grow relatively slowly, some grow a few inches a year! So it might take longer. Patience is the key, again this isn't to stock your tank full of corals so there should be no rush on getting one.

I don't have any Limited Edition or otherwise rare corals, can I still participate?
It doesn't matter, this program is not about distributing rare corals--if that happens all the better --however what is needed is a sharing of all corals not just rare ones. You have those brown mushrooms, offer them up-- just don't be sad if no one wants any.

Ok, I have corals I'd like to donate, who do I give them too? What do I do?
Alright, now we're talking! First, post your fragment(s) in this forum, along with any rules/requirements you want to place for who gets them and how. Second, you choose who you want to give the coral(s) to - they are your corals after all.

Some advice
•Give a description of the coral in your post. If you don't know the exact species who cares, it's hard, it's a stick, call it an Acropora-- chances are you'll be correct and someone else will most likely help you identify it. Besides, most corals can't be accurately identified beyond the genus.

•Mention what lighting you have it under, how high in the tank it is, the flow conditions,fish load, or anything else that's out of the ordinary that you might think is relevant.

•A picture is worth a thousand words! Get a camera, take a picture, don't worry if it's not the best, just give an idea of the overall color/shape of the coral.

•Clearly state your terms for this DBTC transaction, and what you would like to see happen with the coral.

What kind of rules should I set?
The rules are simply a guideline, so the final call goes to whomever is offering the frag since this is a voluntary program. However some standard rules that you could set are the following:
1) Recipient must be an 3reef forum member (you may open this up to what ever clubs you like, however this keeps it within the forum, at least initially).
2) Must be good with XXX (where this is the type of coral, this means you don't just finish cycling your tank and want to fill it up with corals).
3) You agree to give frags to 3 more people before selling/trading it (this is to keep the exponential growth thing going, also it helps safe guard against one person having an issue, tank crash, fell behind a rock, etc).
4) You agree to pick up the coral at location X (e.g my house, or the next swap). This is basically to keep people from expecting you to deliver it.
5) you agree to post pictures of progress ( it's nice to know how it's doing in other tanks under other conditions sometimes).
6) If I lose the mother colony, you agree to give me a frag back.

A great example of what a DBTC Offering post might look like is this:

3reef forum DBTC Acropora Nana
You will receive a one inch frag of Acropora Nana that has started to branch at the tip. This is an excellent starter SPS as it is somewhat easy to keep alive, but difficult in my experience to get to color up properly. This particular specimen was given to me by homegrowncorals as a small colony almost two years ago. He actually gave me two small colonies, I gave this one to reef keeper doe, who returned it to me when my tank crashed.

It came back to my tank somewhat browned out, and has started to color up. I have also noticed that some of the polyps have started to turn green. So potentially a purple acro with green polyps, which is not all that unusual for a. nana. Picture is below.

Rules
1. You must offer a frag of something (does not have to be SPS) to the 3reef DBTC before you pick it up.
2. You must pick it up from me or wait until the next swap, I am generally only available after 8 on weekdays and live in State College.
3. If I lose the mother colony, you must offer me a frag.
4. I have final say on who gets the coral, some things I will generally consider (but don’t have to) in making my decision are the following: your experience and ability to keep the coral alive, and the length of time and the level of your involvement with 3reef forum.
5. I can change the rules of this offering.
6. And finally you must offer all future frags of this coral as 3reef forum DBTC and require all to whom you give it, to do the same.

 

I think this is a good way to PIF and encourage others to hopefully to do the same.
On another forum that I belong to, we do this with Young Numismatist and also hold contest for all members. It's not just a give-a-away, it's a way to help them learn (and hopefully get into) what to look for in coins and the history behind them.

 

bump

 

I have a frag or two of Pumping Xenia I would be willing to part with. But I live in Iowa.

 

Interested and thinking on it. I am going to have to review the rules a couple more times. I do give corals away without any expectations, and I know a lot of other do as well.

 

Are you a member of NCPARS? We have one there that was active a few years ago and just recently has been gaining steam again. You should check that out as we actually have a VERRRY diverse selection in our club.

I am not saying that 3reef would be a bad place to have a pay it forward program but the distances between people make the shipping very expensive!

 

I can make some frags off of my Trumpet coral mother colony. I have had this colony for 6 months and it has been growing very fast! There are many splits going on right now. I should be able to frag a few smaller pieces (2-3 Heads). This coral is a LPS and is also known as candy cane coral. They are peaceful and somewhat easy to take care of. I currently have mine set up in the middle of my 90 gallon under 4 t-5 bulbs. If someone in the Fort Smith, Arkansas area would like a piece please let me know and I would be more than happy to share!

 

great idea, i'm already in the process of one. i just dont understand rule 3 of "what kind of rules should i set"

 

Our local club has done this as well and has for some time now.

 

I love this idea and am willing to particioate as soon as some of my zoas start growing really well ;D

the wholw I set the rules thing is to make sure that you arnt giving a coral to someone that is going to kill it in 2 minutes, right tank, light, exp with reefing ext or thats what I got from it.

I have some lunar eclipse zoas that in a month or two will be ready for this and I hope there will be more people to jump on this idea ;D ;D ;D