Pico Contest Questions! - Read Rules Before Posting!

[Blind Tree Frog]

Didn't want them to think that I was exceeding the set wattages. But it seemed the spirit of the challenge was the limited lighting that would be appropriate for the tank and not going with excessive solutions like MH.

[jmorris]

done right, LEDs can be almostas bright as MH... so I'd say no-go... but then again, I'm one of those anal stock people you mentioned.

 

Hell, I'm still miffed the UKers get to enter with their non-2.5 tanks in either catagorry!

 

Jared

[Blind Tree Frog]

How big are theirs?

[tinyreef]

done right, LEDs can be almostas bright as MH... so I'd say no-go... but then again, I'm one of those anal stock people you mentioned.

 

Hell, I'm still miffed the UKers get to enter with their non-2.5 tanks in either catagorry!

i think the LED's are fine but i can see where they could be considered on a fuzzy line.

 

i thought the british reefers had to make their tank either according to dimension (for Stock or Custom) or use their standard/available (3.2g?) size? i thought it was a bit fuzzy too but the prohibitive costs of making everyone there customize a tank seemed restrictive.

 

on hindsight/second-thought, we probably should've just thrown them all into the Custom category though to keep the rules clear and organized.

[Blind Tree Frog]

See, that is the problem I have with the really anal stock people (not aimed at anyone in particular, just make up a person in your head cus this is going to be a bit more extreme then most all of them), but they seem to freak out at any change from the tank that they have and claim that it's still a test of reefer's skill, when it seems more to me that it's more a test of quality of water that they maintain and quality of stock that they can put in. I'd much rather see lots of variations in the stock category of people trying different things and make it a bit more of a challenge then watching things grow.

 

Granted, we are getting some of this innovation in stock. At least 2 are using air lifts for circulation, at least one is trying something other then the PC's already, one seahorse tank, and one using air chests (which should count towards the air lift ciruculation probably). But this is what, 4 tanks out of how many stock entrants? I want more variation dammit

 

 

BTW, tiny reef, what size air pump are you going to be using?

[tinyreef]

i'm using a tetra dw-18. i had it handy. i had upgraded from a dw-12 (also onhand, d'oh!).

 

the hagen's are just too frickin loud. i have a couple of those too.

 

the new whisper "silent" version airpump looks pretty interesting. it's got a sound/vibration muffler design that looks like a dome. i guess freshies get new stuff now and then too.

[Blind Tree Frog]

Out of curiosity, if part of this challenge is to see who has the best green thumb (as it were) wouldn't it make a bit more sense to not disclose when the end of the competition is?

 

What i mean is, after 3~4 months or so, sometime within the next period the judges say "OK, now you have 2 weeks of not adding anything. All tanks are locked" (or whatever the period is) and then start the judging. That way, people can't stock their tanks just before the end.

 

Maybe it isn't as big a deal as I'm thinking just now though.

[Reefgeek]

As far as I am aware, that is exactly what Gilman plans to do. At some undisclosed time during the constest, you will not be allowed to add livestock of any kind. BTW, what is air lift circulation? I'm pretty excited to see what the natural sunlight tank does.

[tinyreef]

BTW, what is air lift circulation?

it's use of air bubbles to displace or push water to create currents.

 

it's used partly for the chaotic nature of the movement (e.g. non-linear or non-laminar) and partly to avoid impeller damage to plankton.

 

i'm also using it to also break the surface tension since i can't use a surface skimmer.

 

Tropicorium (dick perrin) uses air lift method for some of his water movement needs. although, i'm not sure if it's because of some of the reasons i'm noting above or there are other reasons he may have.

[roach0matic]

Can i use an air pump and air line?

 

 

i sure hope so!

otherwise btf, we're in the Custom category.

 

I was told no air pumps by Gil, but maybe if one of you fellows with a 'real' need for one asks him, he may rethink that decision.

[tinyreef]

why can't you/we have an air pump?

 

bubbles! bubblesbubblesbubbles. bubbles.

[roach0matic]

Dunno. Have to get an answer from 'the man'. poor diver dan just sits there collecting cyano with no air pump

[Blind Tree Frog]

I was told no air pumps by Gil, but maybe if one of you fellows with a 'real' need for one asks him, he may rethink that decision.

When did he say that? I remember him stating that a treasure chest would be tacky, but he didn't seem to care about the air pump in that thread.

 

As far as I am aware, that is exactly what Gilman plans to do. At some undisclosed time during the constest, you will not be allowed to add livestock of any kind. BTW, what is air lift circulation?

My understanding was that they were still planning on 6 months. But that's just because that's what the rules thread says and it's already been shown to be out of date.

 

 

Air lift just uses air to lift the water from the bottom to the top. Pump air in, it makes bubbles, the bubbles float and pull water up with them. I mean, you have a tube that you are bubbling, the air displaces water, the only way the water can go is up right?

 

It's generally used in freshwater tanks (to get oxegyn into the water I believe) or small tanks where you don't need lots of flow

[Hokie03]

Gilman,

Here's my question...

I just set up a 2.5 gallon (first sw/reef tank) in the parameters of the stock competition, however, forgetting I wanted to add it in the contest I filled it with water about an hour ago. Can I put the DVD and socks in front of the tank with only water or does it need to be absolutely empty?

 

Thanks

[bogart]

Gilman,

Here's my question...

I just set up a 2.5 gallon (first sw/reef tank) in the parameters of the stock competition, however, forgetting I wanted to add it in the contest I filled it with water about an hour ago. Can I put the DVD and socks in front of the tank with only water or does it need to be absolutely empty?

 

Thanks

 

The whole point of the dvd and the socks were to make sure you didnt start the tank system before the start date, so you might be out of luck. Im sure Gil would say the samething, but Im not Gil.

[Hokie03]

I understand the point, but the question is posted because what would be the purpose in me running an absolutely bare tank? The picture would clearly show the tank without even substrate nearly 2 weeks after the start date?. Of course I could always dump the water in a bucket and take the pic but would that make a difference? It would just be a pain in the #@%

[roach0matic]

It would just be a pain in the #@%

Life is full of pains in the @ss. These you must accept, grasshopper.

[tinyreef]

hokie, just dump the water into a bucket/bin or plastic bag even. take the pic and dump it all back in. voila! you're in the contest.

[Hokie03]

Yeah I guess that's what I'll just have to do. Here goes...

[jmorris]

So, I don't know who saw my post in Casa's thread, but i am in a serious bind here. The cabinet I ordered from Target for my stand was back ordered, and won't arive untill the 10th at the earliest, 14th at the latest. Um... ooook. So I was suposed to pull this setup together at the last minute, but that looks more imposible than ever now with no stand!

 

Can I set my system up on a temporary stand (read: sawhorses and plywood) and move it to the real one when it gets here? I wont be changing it significantly, just moving it onto a decent lookign stand. I will just have to disconect some plumbing and move the tanks/sump from one area to another.

 

What do you think... is this with in the scope of the rules?

[tinyreef]

i don't see why you wouldn't be allowed to move a tank around. that's one of the benefits of nanos/picos.

 

it's not like the tank crashed, which would force someone out of the competition. or it gives you some kind of unfair advantage over other contestants.

 

i liken it to waiting for a custom canopy/base or waiting for a paint job to dry, more aesthetics than functional imo.

 

for ex., with hogshoods being out of commission for a month, because of wilma, there might be some others in the contest that find themselves in that same/similar predicament. jm$0.02

[jmorris]

Thanks Tiny... now if only Gil would chime in so I could rest assured, or panic with good reason.

 

Jared

[Blind Tree Frog]

the rules comment that the stand/hood doesn't matter at all, so I don't think that anyone would have a problem with that.

[jmorris]

I'm just worried about technicallities, since I will be disconecting plumbing and such, then re-conecting it... I'm afraid some might see it as a system restart... which it is not.

[cybaix]

I got a question.. I am pretty sure this will be OK but I wanted to check first.

 

I have my heater (25w finnex.. awsome heater.. only 4.5'') in my AC150 and I cannot stand the wire coming out of the front. Would it be OK for me to cut a small hole in the top of the AC150 for me to put the wire through?

 

EDIT* Oh and I am doing stock BTW.