MACNA?
 

I'm interested in possibly attending macna, and wondering if anyone has attended? I have a couple of questions for those that have

What was your experience like?
Would you go again?
Worth the trip?
Many deals to be had?

Thanks,

Ryan

Fire Away. I was there last year and am going this year again.

Awesome time, good stuff to be had and lots of interesting speakers. I bought a quarter of the equipment for my new build down there on the last day for a good discount.

I am also planning to attend this year.

That's great Greg. Myka is also going. This will be a good showing as last year I think I was the only Canreefer there.

Yeah, I will be there. Just booked my flight today...price dropped to $445 (from YXE). It was up around $700 not too long ago. :)

My first year, so I can't help you out with your questions Ryan.

I'd like to go but the flight direct from Calgary is $700 to much for a quick weekend :cry: hope y'all have fun.

Well, there's always the option to live with a couple stops along the way and save $100. You should see what I went through to go last year to Des Moines...3 up and downs...:surprise:

Been there for a few years, so should be fun.

Pretty good depending on the venue and the year, like the year of the hosting club for Pittsburgh, Orlando are awesome because you can do other stuff, and depending on the attendees - the more, the better stuff.

MACNA is typically where all the north america reefing manufacturers release their new products, so it's interesting to see that. Its main goal is on hardcore aquarist with a huge education component (comparing to MAX & Reefaoloopza as I was told), so people tend to have more in-depth knowledge as suppose to just a fairground.

You also get alot of face time with alot of reef experts including the famous names & reefing company owners like Lu from the skimmers or other manufacturers.

I'm going almost every year, so not the best person to answer this. But it's usually fun.

Yes, if you have not been there before, it opens up a whole different perspective on your hobby.

there are raffles et al, but comparing to many other shows, typically there are too many people competing for prizes, so not a good return on investment. You can individually negotiate with certain manufactuer on the last day, many of them might not want to carry bulky stuff back home, so you might be able to score a deal that way.

If you have not been to one of these conference, MACNA is the one that I highly recommended especially if you have to make & pay for travel arrangements. The california shows tend to be a 1 day thing, so not worth the whole travelling fees.

It is $600 on Travelocity. Still, I am surprised the pricing is higher than YXE. Flights are usually more from YXE because it is a small airport.

"Is it worth it?". I certainly think so. They try to appeal to everyone, so some of the presentations are really basic, while others (like Sanjay's) are really in depth. As for deals...I found that the raffle was a lot of fun and many vendors don't want to pack things back up. Bought my skimmer and ATO there last time and I worked a deal.

So it's next weekend, who's going? :)

Me!!