Year-Long Tank Build & Grow Contest and Education

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
This is my first attempt at some parameters and guidelines... please provide good input a final set can be honed in upon.

Goal
To document, educate and show new and seasoned alike different techniques and methods of successful reefing. This is about 25% to show off what you can do and about 75% to show results over time.

Overview
Set up a fresh/new tank and grow it for one year. Document with a build thread. Spending cap at $1000 on the year - this is about $80 a month. Best tanks/owners to host meeting and/or give 30 minute talk about their method at ReefEd, or the like.

Commitment
  • New forum to be set up just for this contest
  • $100 buy in - paid out for three places in a 60, 30 and 10% fashion - this will keep folks interested
  • MASC BOD can figure out how to judge a pay out
  • Must set up a build thread and update it at least every two weeks with progress
  • Must keep track of spending
  • First post of each thread should have a current FTS and an inventory of the spending for a quick view
  • Must answer questions about your tank, methods and setup

Guidelines
  • Cap at 55 or 60g tank - a 60G 2x2x2 cube or a 55G would work. Whatever size is fine.
  • Have to use a reasonable price for items that you use, live and dry - used is fine, but be reasonable with the fair market value... I could find a used Red Dragon Skimmer and say that it is worth $50 or fill my tank with bounce mushrooms and say that they were gifted for $5 each, but remember that this is to help out new folks and they won't be able to do this.
  • No donations - this is not about who has the best friends, it is about somebody honestly doing something that is repeatable. If you get any DBTC or other free stuff, it better be like green palys, or the like.
  • Stands don't count towards your cap - some tanks can just sit on a countertop/floor and some people will be tempted to use cheap, junk to say on budget. Be safe and sound, so don't worry about cost here.
  • Incidental stuff like RO water, electricity, test kits and other stuff like spray paint and masking tape to paint the back of a tank should not be counted. You can use scissors that you already have or some super glue. There is no way to really measure this... just be reasonable and fair about the "free" stuff that you use.
  • Stuff like tank, pumps, lights, salt, sand, rock, livestock, etc. all counts. Even if you kill it, it still counts.
  • You cannot sell stuff out of your tank for more money - this is a hobby tank, not a business
  • Everybody understands that you are not a professional photographer, so just do your best with a camera phone - this will not be held against you
  • $1000 cap on the year. You can spend this however and whenever you want.
Judging
  • I am not a trophy-for-participating kind of guy, so this should be about 80-90% about results
  • Other 5-10% should be about willingness to help other folks learn if they ask
  • Last 5-10% should be about sustainability and being able to duplicate results
  • 0% should be in "cool, neat, modern or techy" - a 20 year old light, tank or pump that gets results is the same as a new high-tech pump, tank or light
  • You can be flat-out disqualified for not updating your thread or answering reasonable questions (no, you don't have to answer 1000 posts about other people's issues and tanks, but if somebody wants to know why you choose a thingy to go along with a gadget, then a few sentences should be given)
  • BOD can determine the final criterion
Logistics - TBD with a rough list of dates
  • Get list of participants somewhere around Feb 1, 2018
  • Gather equipment and start build threads during Feb
  • Start up tanks on March 1st
  • End on March 1 of 2019
  • There needs to be a Grand Poobah that can have the one ring to rule them all and keep everybody honest and make judgement over the many things that will come up that cannot be thought about ahead of time - the BOD can figure out whom this person is
  • If you get selected as a finalist, then you must take the time to put together a lucid talk about your approach and technique - take this seriously

Most Important
The goal of this is that if somebody sees your setup after one year, that they will have nearly everything that they need in your thread to get the same results. This is about the people that are watching, not proving how awesome you are, so be honest, helpful and think of a potential person whom might see your setup and get into the hobby. This can do a lot of good to show folks that you don't have to have a fortune to be good at this.

jda's Own Personal Thoughts
We did this once in Missouri and had about 45 entrants. We wanted to do this with the advent of the message board and all of the rhetoric, hyperbole, fanboydom and issues that arose. The internet has made everybody an expert whereas the publication process of getting a book or an article in a magazine required vetting and stuff. This process will vet people and offer structure around their opinions and advice. There are lost of posts and threads that proclaim that this or that is the bomb or can answer a particular question, but the amount of vetted, tried-and-true reefers are very rare. Time can also change those opinions and shed nuance onto any advice. While there are a few great reefers with build threads that they maintain (JBNY, Big Ed, etc.), the vast majority are gone and most build threads focus on equipment, neat/nice wiring and the build and tail off after the hobby starts to grind and get mundane. There are too few "live" threads. I would like this to be a resource where people can go and say "look at so-and-so's contest thread if you want a great zoa and paly tank."

Thoughts? Entrants?

edit - added missing section about judging the tanks
 
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SynDen

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#2
I like it, sounds fun and perfectly suited to the frugal reefer such as myself ;) Thanks for taking the time to write all that down.
We will certainly add it to the topic of discussion at the next BOD meeting.
 

BrianH

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#3
Great idea! I have sat for the last half hour after reading your post, staring into space thinking about what kind of tank I'd like to try. :eek:penmouth: I'm interested!
 

MuralReef

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#4
This sounds great and makes me want to throw together another tank just to participate.
 

SynDen

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#6
You could name this the divorce contest because thats what would happen if I joined
Just call it your coral QT tank and put it in the fish room downstairs ;)
 

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#7
We will certainly add it to the topic of discussion at the next BOD meeting.
Nearly nobody will end up having awesome equipment all over their tank. If you all want to shill for donations from vendors and/or manufacturers, you can raffle them to all participants in random, not just the winners. You could even use some of the entrance money for this, but you still need to award the winners to get their best effort.

Any local shops who participate will get foot traffic for people coming to see their tank - this is a good idea for your business
 

MuralReef

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#8
I do have one question. I have some tanks that I have purchased second hand or were give aways on the forums that I could use for this. I know the cost on some of these items, but how does that tie into the total cost? I also have a LED that I won in a drawing that I might like to use does that counts as $20 since that was how much I spent on the tickets?
 

BrianH

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#9
I do have one question. I have some tanks that I have purchased second hand or were give aways on the forums that I could use for this. I know the cost on some of these items, but how does that tie into the total cost? I also have a LED that I won in a drawing that I might like to use does that counts as $20 since that was how much I spent on the tickets?
I was wondering a similar thing. I have a basement full of used gear I am planning on pulling out for this build, should I price them as though I bought it second hand or the price originally paid?
 

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#10
Price them on what they would be worth today if you bought them. Used prices are fine. Donations or raffle winnings are not cool since the normal person whom you are looking to help would not be able to win a pair of Gen 4 Radions for $1.

I plan on using some of stockpiled live rock, but I am going to probably charge myself $6-8 a pound for it (or whatever Aqua Imports or whomever is charging on that day). I have a really old ASM G3 skimmer which I see go for $30-50 online, so $40 is reasonable. ...stuff like that. If somebody pulls out a Orphek V4 Atlantic and claims $50, then BS needs to be called.

This just need to be fair and honest, not perfect. If you want to charge yourself fifty cents a gallon for a normal used tank, that probably works, but if it is star fire, rimless bow front, then you might need to charge a bit more.
 

TheRealChrisBrown

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#12

SynDen

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#13
So we have a nice grand prize lined up for this. Hoping to get the southern club to join in as well, so we can make a bigger pool and add to the grand prize, but looks like this will be happening soon :D
 
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