Next Nano-Reef Contest - Criteria Poll

[banasophia]

1 minute ago, filefishfinatic said:

we should do contests 24/7 w/o prizes 

Yeah! We kinda do with TOTM and we were doing the photo contest (with prizes) for a while. 

[banasophia]

2 minutes ago, M. Tournesol said:

It could be a good option for nano-reefer of the world that want their price even if they need to pay 50 bucks for it.

Yeah, agreed! I’d chip in for that. 

[filefishfinatic]

i have a good idea, we do a 365 day challenge but ultra hardcore, you get a couple months where you can get stuff (announcement date till the 1st of the year) after that, no hands in the tank. no food, no water change, only dosing and ato allowed. must use 10 gallon with or without sump, exceptions can be made though. i know its 100% possible because ive done it with freshwater setting up my tank in 1 day throwing in pond mud (substituted by live rock in a actual reef tank) no filtration no heater literally no equipment except sun and i put a endler in and it i kept it for like 3 months until i tore it down because i wanted a 2nd reef. a fish dies in about 2 weeks w/o food so i kept it sustained with microfauna. this would be possible in salt if you used foods like pods and rotifers and denitrification to create a olgiotrophic tank where your dosing controls what nutrients enter the tank. i would do a 10 gallon with 20 lb sand and a plenum and a ac 70 fuge. id dose reef plus and reef complete and id keep a mix of softies and filter feeders and a couple snails as cuc, i would have some assorted crabs that would feed on polycheate worms like pitho and anenome crabs and porcelain crabs for filter feeding possibly. id keep a couple fish and id use gulf lr to make sure it would have a large amount of pods. id add fish at christmas. you could make 3 exceptions before you are disqualified (feeding, wc, adding something). 

[seabass]

21 minutes ago, banasophia said:

Sure, we could always do things like tshirts and nano-reef stickers, and members (like me) might even be willing to contribute to the cost of making/shipping them.

I can see it now:

[NoOneLikesADryTang]

7 minutes ago, filefishfinatic said:

i have a good idea, we do a 365 day challenge but ultra hardcore, you get a couple months where you can get stuff (announcement date till the 1st of the year) after that, no hands in the tank. no food, no water change, only dosing and ato allowed. must use 10 gallon with or without sump, exceptions can be made though. i know its 100% possible because ive done it with freshwater setting up my tank in 1 day throwing in pond mud (substituted by live rock in a actual reef tank) no filtration no heater literally no equipment except sun and i put a endler in and it i kept it for like 3 months until i tore it down because i wanted a 2nd reef. a fish dies in about 2 weeks w/o food so i kept it sustained with microfauna. this would be possible in salt if you used foods like pods and rotifers and denitrification to create a olgiotrophic tank where your dosing controls what nutrients enter the tank. i would do a 10 gallon with 20 lb sand and a plenum and a ac 70 fuge. id dose reef plus and reef complete and id keep a mix of softies and filter feeders and a couple snails as cuc, i would have some assorted crabs that would feed on polycheate worms like pitho and anenome crabs and porcelain crabs for filter feeding possibly. id keep a couple fish and id use gulf lr to make sure it would have a large amount of pods. id add fish at christmas. you could make 3 exceptions before you are disqualified (feeding, wc, adding something). 

 No one is going to participate in a contest where you can’t feed your livestock, or do a water change. That’s just asking for lots of death. 
 

Just because you’ve done it, doesn’t mean that any one else would want to do it. You even admitted you only kept it up for three months. The contests here usually run for about a year. 

7 minutes ago, seabass said:

I can see it now:

I don’t care for the mustard yellow, can I get it in another color? 

[seabass]

Figures.

[filefishfinatic]

no aquarium challenge: must use surface tension to construct a sphere of water to house your reef tank

[seabass]

Obviously there are some strong opinions on what we should use for a tank (and what it would take for certain people to join the contest).  So now I'm leaning more towards the forth option (Any aquarium rated between 5 and 20 gallons).  How about?

 

Nano-Reef Contest Almost Any Aquarium (NCAAA)

 

Using the REEF MADNESS elimination game (for a relatively minor prize).

Keep in mind that this is just an added game which invites other members to stay involved (and maybe help motivate contestants).  The game wouldn't affect the contest or prizes offered.  Contestants would only be eliminated from this game and NOT the competition.

 

We'll define "aquarium" as a vessel with at least one clear side.  While this would rule out 5-gallon buckets, it wouldn't rule out a carboy if someone really wished.

 

While harder to compare, it opens up a ton of possibilities (AIO tanks, standard tanks, tanks with sumps, DIY tanks and mods, as well as unconventional vessels and containers).  Some match-ups might be like the BYU Cougars vs Gonzaga, but that could be fun too.  Can you say bracket buster?

[seabass]

I think a couple of people might have hit on the key to making such a diverse contest a success, more prize categories.  I'm thinking something like:

• Best overall
• Best aquascape
• Best budget build
• Best use of self-imposed restrictions (like macroalgae, limited colors, limited species, no water, etc)
• Best theme
• Most innovative
• Best DIY
• Etc.

We have plenty of time to flesh out the categories and maybe even source (or make) the prizes.  Maybe even have a few ZONKs:

• Most algae or pests
• Cheapest build
• Worst luck

Just throwing spaghetti against the wall to see if anything sticks.

[seabass]

I'm a little puzzled by why so many respondents favor not adding a game to the competition.  We don't have to vote people out, we can vote people to move on.  IDK, is it about feeling bad that nobody might vote for you?  I mean, that's what happens to me during every contest.

 

 

Somebody, please help me understand.

[Nova Scotian]

Maybe have a question: do you want an elimination competition or not? And then, specify how the elimination would happen in a separate question. 22 voted for elimination competition vs. 13 who said none. 

[NoOneLikesADryTang]

1 hour ago, seabass said:

Nano-Reef Contest Almost Any Aquarium (NCAAA)

This is fantastic. 😂😂😂

 

If we do proceed with the head to head, maybe it should happen in the last month or two, so people don’t feel like they’re losing early on. Even though, I know that’s not the case with what you’ve suggested. 
 

Really, I just think everyone is afraid of being on the same side of the bracket as me, and my persuasive and entertaining journaling skillz. 

[seabass]

16 minutes ago, NoOneLikesADryTang said:

If we do proceed with the head to head, maybe it should happen in the last month or two, so people don’t feel like they’re losing early on.

The way I see it is that there might be three months to get things going.  Then each additional month we'd have a round.  Should take about 9 months total.

 

27 minutes ago, Nova Scotian said:

Maybe have a question: do you want an elimination competition or not?

Maybe it's just the wording.  It's just a game for one prize category.  Nobody is being eliminated.

[StealthPrix]

I also do not like the 5 gallon bucket idea either. For me its about aesthetics. I have one spot for the contest tank, and a random bucket would not fly with the wife. 

[FISHnChix]

57 minutes ago, seabass said:

I'm a little puzzled by why so many respondents favor not adding a game to the competition.  We don't have to vote people out, we can vote people to move on.  IDK, is it about feeling bad that nobody might vote for you?  I mean, that's what happens to me during every contest.

 

 

Somebody, please help me understand.

I like the idea🍻😎 

[East1]

18 hours ago, M. Tournesol said:

We could do a "how small a reef can be" without inviting @East1 (deciding the winner would have been too easy 🙃).

hahah! 

That's fair though, at least let me be on the panel of judges so I can feel included 

[filefishfinatic]

15 hours ago, seabass said:

I think a couple of people might have hit on the key to making such a diverse contest a success, more prize categories.  I'm thinking something like:

• Best overall
• Best aquascape
• Best budget build
• Best use of self-imposed restrictions (like macroalgae, limited colors, limited species, no water, etc)
• Best theme
• Most innovative
• Best DIY
• Etc.

We have plenty of time to flesh out the categories and maybe even source (or make) the prizes.  Maybe even have a few ZONKs:

• Most algae or pests
• Cheapest build
• Worst luck

Just throwing spaghetti against the wall to see if anything sticks.

good idea i will try to get best overall and most algae or pests at the same time 

[WormLicker]

I've had a carboy kicking around in my backyard for years. That might be fun just, for fun's sake 

[seabass]

25 minutes ago, WormLicker said:

I've had a carboy kicking around in my backyard for years. That might be fun just, for fun's sake 

Is it at least 5 gallons?  I haven't discussed it with CM yet, but it seems like it might end up being the 5 to 20 gallon aquarium option.  However, there's still a bunch of time left for things to change.

[M. Tournesol]

Could we not simply go for less than 21 gallons challenge? why 5 to 20?

[seabass]

18 minutes ago, M. Tournesol said:

Could we not simply go for less than 21 gallons challenge? why 5 to 20?

 

  But I totally get what you are saying.  And the reverse would also be true, why not make it 25 gallons to include IM 25 gallon Fusion tanks?

 

TBH I chose 5 to 20 to include a standard 5.5 gallon tank, and a standard 20L tank.  Also, because the sub 5 gallon tanks are typically considered to be picos versus nanos.  And 20 gallons seemed to be a reasonable cut off for a smaller nano (helping to keep the cost down).  Finally, it will be hard enough to compare the diverse group of tanks as it's currently defined.

 

I'm not necessarily opposed to opening it up even further.  I had considered 5 to 40 gallons (what many would consider to be a true nano tank).  I had also considered no minimum size, as you suggested.  IDK, I ended up just picking something which seemed reasonable at the time.

 

[seabass]

But you know, at this point I'd be willing to consider any container 40 gallons or less (including buckets).  A no holds barred nano brawl.

[M. Tournesol]

I understand, someone will always be unhappy 😆.

You should juste make broad categories (but not to broad) and let the populace vote.

 

For example:

• 5 to 20 nano tank
• Pico tank
• Less than 40 but with macro
• Less than 40 but with a unique species of coral
• ....

[The Rainy Day Aquarium]

5 minutes ago, seabass said:

A no holds barred nano brawl.

NR fight night 👊💥💢

 

[ef4life]

I think different sized classes would be cool. But at some point you have to have an upper size limit, and for the benefit of the animals, possibly minimum size.