Notice to all entrants who still qualify to finish the contest:

The Nano Reef 2006 contest is now over. Please take time this week to post your final pictures, tank summary, and comments in your tank thread. The contest entry threads will be closed for posting on Monday April 9th.

After the threads are closed to posting, the winners will be chosen by the community, as per the contest rules. Two threads with polls will be created for both categories, at which point voting will be open through the end of April. More details on voting will be provided in the voting threads.

Try to keep your final summary organized and include at least monthly full tank shots showing how the tank has grown over 6 months. This will make it easier for all the members to review your nano reef entry!

The contest prizes will be a gift certificate to a Nano-Reef.com sponsor of the winner's choosing. 1st place: $100, 2nd place: $50, 3rd place: $25, for each category.

Thank you for your patience! Get those final posts done!

Wow, that is awesome. Thanks CM. Good luck to everyone. All the 2006 contest tanks look great!

Last day before the entry forums are closed!

So where do people vote?

The voting threads will be up soon.

weee!

i can't wait till the next contest, i would LOVE to submit my tank.

thats not how it works^ you have to start a whole new system. There are size limitations and the tank has to be empty when u start

I really enjoyed my contest project, and I appreciate the opportunity to participate; so I hope that I don’t upset anybody with this post. However, it is possible to enter a mature system.

I have cleaned my tanks by removing everything into buckets and replacing the sand bed before. So it’s easy to imagine stocking a contest tank from a mature setup. I’m sure that one could come up with a sharp looking tank in a day if they wanted to (by using choice pieces from another tank).

I’m not trying to put anybody down, as there are some gorgeous tanks in the current contest which deserve to win. However, sometimes it seems that the contests are more about expensive corals or custom built tanks than anything else. In some cases, the most expensive setup wins. I think this discourages some people from giving it a go.

There are exceptions of course. I really enjoyed Tiny’s sunlit pico. It demonstrated ingenuity, untested methods, and was still something that most of us could afford. I would like to see a future contest with a more level playing field.

I remember participating in a pinewood derby contest when I was young. Everybody that entered purchased an identical kit; however, the end results were unique. It would be interesting to have a contest based on a simple reef kit that was the same for everybody.

Perhaps price limits might make things more interesting; having contestants document all purchases including salt and test kits (plus not allowing use of existing corals or LR). It would even be interesting if everyone had to get rock from the same vendor as part of their overall budget.

That being said, I am really impressed with the custom tanks that have been entered. I would hate to put an end to the innovation and creativity that has already been demonstrated. They deserve a showcase like these contests.

What’s the point of this post? I’m not really sure. I guess I started by stating that a mature tank could be entered, and that doesn’t seem fair. A level playing field with budget limits might encourage more people to participate; and would be interesting to see how people utilize their resources. Still, maybe we need a custom-built tank category and/or an unrestricted category. *shrug*

well since we are letting it out, let me say something too. I totally agree to what seabass have said, one could easily stock the contest tank with a fully mature ones. But from all the tanks that I have started, I always use pieces from mature tanks, water, live rocks and sand. I rather use base rock and seed it then using some uncured live rocks. That is just something I learned over the years. That being said, I did use some water and rocks from my 3 years old tank, but only enough to seed the base rocks. As you can see in my pics, I have rocks that are totally white at first, but at the end of the contest, they are all covered. At first, I still have to go through my initial cycling of a new tank, i.e. all my equipments and rocks are covered in diatoms and all kinds of micro algae. After that, experience is what it counts.

Also I am not trying to sound like a smart ass. Seabass, just to respond to your comments about playing on the same level field. I mean, if someone wants to start with the same kit, that's the whole reason why there's the [stock] contest. In there, everybody basically start and ends with the same equipments. I know you still have concerns about ppl using pieces from a mature tank, but I think that's the only "right" way to start a tank, that's just me. Also using pieces from a mature tank doesn't guarantee that you will have a successful tank, if you do something wrong or something weird to your tank, you will end up crashing it anyways. I think research, learn from others, and own experiences are the main goal to success. Again, I don't want to sound like I am bashing other ppl, but we did start out with 20+ ppl in the [custom] category, ended up with only 6, think about why.

I do agree with budget limitation also, but it's kind of hard to enforce. It doesn't need "expensive" coral to make the tank to look good. I have read couple previous contest that the winner didn't really have "expensive" corals per se, but their aquascaping is awesome, I am really impressed. Granted, I do have some rare/expensive SPS in my contest tank, but I didn't pay the "market" price for them. Some of the pieces I didn't even pay for at all, it was given to me by some good friends. So how are we going to account for those? It's not always going to be fair.

Fair? That's actually what I want to talk about. I think the contest should be scored/vote/judge from a group of "special" ppl, not everyone who just signed up yesterday. And I also think these "judges" should comments on how and why they choose the top 3 tanks, not just "oh I like your tank, that why I choose you". Christopher gave out specific guildlines on how to vote for a tank, what you can do or cannot do. But I am sure a lot didn't read at all, and it was clearly shown in the voting thread.

All being said, all the contest tanks are top notched. I am impressed by the [stock] tanks, since they have so much limitations, and all of them turns out very nice. [custom] tanks are very impressive too, everybody's ideas are very unique. Too bad Seabass's tank didn't turn out what he sought out, it got so much potential, but everybody should learn from his experience. I like Rene's tank too, very eye pleasing, simple yet elegance. on8thscale's tank basically have the same idea as mine, but in different dimension, good job. Fishfreak's tank have very nice selections. I like the anemones, and how he scape everything, I think it will be very nice once everything grows out. calvin's tank not need I to say more, since everybody have voted on him, I am sure you have your own idea why.

anyways, I talk too much. once again, thank nano-reef for this contest, I enjoyed it a lot and hope you all did. Good luck.

It is, but has anyone done this? I don't recall seeing anyone having used obviously established large pieces from another tank in -any- of the contests. The most that has happened so far is that people have fragged things from their main tanks, or used rock that's been in the main tank for the contest. That's not so bad, and it's very smart for having a healthy tank. Is it really that different than buying an aquacultured coral for your tank which is already used to captivity, or getting frags from a local friend? If those options are open to you, go for it.

That, and the photo requirement pretty much means that if some clever person does throw together a contest tank in 24 hours, it's going to be obvious to everyone else on NR. And probably taken into account when it comes to voting. That sort of thing isn't really the "spirit" of the contest, and the voting public will probably take that into account. That said, this hasn't really happened yet, and the strict photo requirements for this year's contest helped ensure that.



Well, think about what we like here. Many of us are technophiles and will vote for the tank we wish we had. A tank with flashy equipment will do better, right? Maaaybe. Last year, Ann won the custom category, and she by no means had the most custom/expensive equipment. There were custom built tanks with fancy equipment there that didn't do nearly as well. That's all part of the game.

When it comes right down to it, these contests are about making a tank that other people like. That can be done on a budget and it can be done without ultra-high end corals. All other voting guidelines aside, I can't say that I would necessarily vote for the tank that had the best growth or held the most unusual animals if it was fugly. So having a winning tank is about creating something that appeals to others. The tank owner can love it and it can be a unique design, but if it doesn't appeal to other reef keepers, it won't do as well. So these contests aren't just about stocking and managing a captive system in a set amount of time, they're about guaging what other people will like. And that's not always easy! But guessing what people will like adds to the challenge. I think in the end, despite voting criteria, people will vote for the tank they like the best, whatever that means. People will vote how people will vote. That's totally fair and expected. That's what peer-judged competitions are all about .

As for putting everyone on a level playing field/budget, I think the stock competition already does that pretty well. Reefs are inherently expensive, and I don't know that making a standard equipment package will encourage people to join the contests; I know I would be put off by requirements that were too strict or if I was told to buy a pump I didn't like. Stock already starts everyone out with very similar equipment, thus limiting the cost. I personally don't see the need for a budget requirement or a super-custom category. We already have enough categories

Watching these contests evolve over the years has been fascinating. The unexpected happens. Who could have predicted the nano-cube breakage? Or wins by people who weren't well-known at the time on NR, or meltdowns of some of the most complicated systems?

This contest has been no exception. I'm fascinated to see what people will do, and I think this year actually had some of the most creative tanks yet.

That said, I don't know if the coral cutoff date did a whole lot of good since I'm not sure what proportion of the voters are taking coral growth heavily into account. I'm not sure which I'd vote for, a beautiful tank that showed a little growth, or an ugly tank that grew a lot. And how do you measure "tank growth", exactly? Which is better? Someone who showed growth by using stuff which naturally tends to grow fast, or someone who showed moderate growth on tricky corals? Then throw macro algae into the mix, and I have no idea how to even compare that to coral growth. Some things are hard to compare. I'm not sure I have an answer for that.

Come to think of it, if we want to make suggestions for next year's contest and possible rule revamps, perhaps that should be a topic of it's own.

Great feedback! It's clear after doing three of these "build-off" contests that there are some inherent flaws. I'll get all my thoughts on it written down soon, but I think this may be the last of this type of contest. I'm thinking that a "Tank Of The Month" feature will likely be started back up instead.

I think a nano-reef TOTM would be a GREAT replacement for these contests!

Good post Double D, I appreciate your comments. I was just kind of brainstorming as the topic of using a mature setup came up. Although we agree that seeding a new tank with mature LR and sand is a recipe for success.

Even using the same equipment in the stock category doesn’t really guarantee a level playing field. One of my points was that stocking a tank with $1,000 of livestock isn’t the same as stocking a tank with $100. A price restriction would level it out some; although I don’t know if a restriction in enforceable, feasible, or even advisable.

Although it’s fun for the rest of the members (and gets them involved and excited about future contests) I kind of like your idea of selecting judges. I also like your idea of scoring different aspects of the competition (like aquascaping, execution of the theme, growth, and so forth). Comments from the judges would be interesting, but some might take exception to the criticisms.

I definitely agree that all the tanks were excellent. I could come up with tons of positive feedback on all of them. Some of my favorites didn’t fare as well as I thought they would (maybe because you can only vote for one entry).

These contests are mostly for fun, so I’m not too concerned about the voting. My entry was an experiment that I wanted to do for awhile, so I’m glad that we had this contest. I enjoyed it a lot and learned even more from the experience.

Rene, I really liked your tank, along with DarkDevil’s and the rest of the entries. I hope that nobody is taking my comments the wrong way. I’m not saying that anybody entered a mature system or even violated the spirit of the contest (I was just saying that it's possible). Although it would be interesting to have a contest that was based on using uncured LR (which I have yet to try).

Our members don’t seem like the type to try and cheat one of these contests, so I don’t know that we need too many checks in place. In addition to a check, the photo requirement allowed everyone to see how things were coming along (which was quite interesting).

My expensive coral comment might have been misinterpreted. However, I do find it interesting to see how different people utilize similar resources. Although I realize that this isn’t the purpose of this particular contest. I also agree that limiting people to specific pumps or filters would not appeal to everybody.

I’m with you on the cutoff date. I think that it’s possible to evaluate growth of corals that were introduced early in the contest, so it’s not necessary to have a cutoff. Obviously growth is just one criterion, and like you stated, some corals naturally grow faster than others (although it’s hard to incorporate this into a vote for your favorite contest).

While I agree that there are some inherent flaws, I hope that this is not the last of this type of contest. I feel that these build-off contests create a medium for testing new methods and inspire ingenuity. I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t have attempted a seagrass lagoon without this contest.

While it’s nice to recognize the accomplishments of our members with a TOTM, it is just not the same. I feel that TOTM can sometimes encourage overstocking for the sake of the award (more so than one of these build-off contests). However, the two don’t need to be mutually exclusive.

I’m sure that putting together one of these contests along with the prizes is more work than most realize, but we do appreciate the effort and opportunity to participate. I hope that we have a similar opportunity in the future; I’m sure that others feel the same. Thanks again!

I was just looking at these contest threads again, and I’m impressed with the interest that people have shown (with tons of views and lots of replies). I’m especially impressed with how willing everyone was to help out (even competing contestants). This just goes to show the quality of our members and how popular these contests really are.

I think that there are a lot of possibilities for future contests, including:
• Uncured LR
• $250 budget limit
• FOWLR
• Macro algae
• Geographic specific specimens

It was suggested that select judges could evaluate and score specific categories of future contests. However, I wouldn’t want to exclude the members from participating in judging the contests, so the top three people’s choice favorites could receive points in that particular category. This would involve everybody but still allow judges to score other areas.

Just throwing out some ideas; I’ll be quiet now.

i think starting new tanks is part of the fun in the contest, if you already have a tank, its not the same, but starting a new one with everyone else you guys are all at the same pace and can do things differently