Who would be interested in a nano/pico contest?

[perpetual98]

Dakar and I toyed with the idea of having a little contest for the heck of it here on CaptiveReefing.#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#We were thinking of using a Minibow 5 because they're rather inexpensive and they wouldn't cost an arm and a leg to get going.#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#Iguessbefore
we spend any more brain cells that we can't afford to losewewould need
to know if anyone would be interested in playing along.#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#Later!#ed_op #br#ed_cl#Eric

[shovelhead91701]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'm all for it perpetual! Love free stuff and I am the luckiest man in America most of the time!#ed_op#IMG src="/richedit/smileys/7.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[zoo-a-holic]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#what is the contest?#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[perpetual98]

In a nutshell, we all start off with the same tank and a set of rules, and after a period of time we judge to see who has the nicest tank. :)

[shovelhead91701]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#What is on the thought process for me to win?#ed_op#IMG src="/richedit/smileys/2.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[perpetual98]

I think that for you to win you should send me a boatload of money. Then you're a shoe-in. :)

[dakar]

Just for beating me to the punch on looking to see who would be intersted I added a poll to the post :razz:

If the reponse looks like the last 20 mins or so this may be a definate go!

[perpetual98]

Sorry for jumping the gun on you Dakar. I'm bored at work. :)
Good idea on the poll, I should have thought of that. *smacks self in forehead*

[shovelhead91701]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#That wouldn't be unusual for me...... I usually spend 40-50 times more to win something than what I could have just went out and bought it for! lol Ever watch an addict stand in front of one of those claw machines to win a .20 cent stuffed animal for hours? I am THAT GUY! #ed_op#IMG src="/richedit/smileys/4.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[dakar]

Well I think pennance will consist of helping to refine the rules for the build-off :) Though we have a great start on them from the info you provided earlier, since you're at work bored it'll give you something to think about. BTW I'm home sick with the flu... cough cough... waiting for late afternoon and it to cool off a bit to go sit in a tree.

[perpetual98]

Ahh, you've got one of those redneck doctors that prescribes sitting in the woods shooting at things, don't you. Hopefully that'll cure your 'flu'. :)

Did you want to go with the tank being the MB5 and the max sump being an AGA10 like we talked about?

[dakar]

Check your PM's

[zoo-a-holic]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#i think that is a great idea... i just need to collect a cheque or 2 before i can!!!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[perpetual98]

We're trying to figure out what tank to use. We're torn between a small mini-bow because it's acrylic or an AGA 10G tank because they're cheap. :)
Discuss!

[zoo-a-holic]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Mini bow#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[perpetual98]

Just so people know, the mini-bow 5 is around $40 and the All-Glas 10G is around $10.

We could also do something along the lines of:
You may use any tank up to 10G in size and have a sump no larger than an AGA10

Something like that.

[dakar]

Not to mention the MB generally come in a package deal with a POS filter, BUT you can yank the little powerhead off the filter and it becomes something useful :)

[Guido]

You know you should set a certain price limit. Each person can only spend so much on it. If anyone can spend more then another,it gives them an advantage to buy much better equipment and win. I wont be participating unless it can be done for 100 or less because I'm still working on getting my main tank up, but a price limit would be a good idea IMO.

[flame]

I think you should set a max budget. Just to help the folks who have limited budget.

[Guido]

Exactly. If there is a certain limit then no one will have an advantage over another.

[carpenterwrasse]

i agree with the budget thing but still would love to understand the whole concept. Is it how it sounds you just set up a small window to a reef? useing a small tank some sand,rock and see what you get.

[perpetual98]

Exactly. I'm all for a budget too because I want to spend the minimal amount of money possible, well, because I don't have any money. What I DO have is a lot of stuff laying around the garage and whatnot that I'd like to use.

I think what we might be leaning to is using any tank you like so long as the SYSTEM volume (tank/sump/fuge) is under 20 gallons. I'd prefer to limit the display size to under 10G, but some people here have 10-20G tanks that I'm sure they'd like to enter and we don't want to exclude any body.

DISCUSS!

[graphixx]

as far as equipment you should set a budget but as far as livestock I think you should not set a ceiling on that.

I would also suggest that have certain times that everybody who is participating in this has to post progress shots maybe at like 1 month, 2 month, 3 month and so on and then have a final winner at the end of the allotted time. I know I will be curious to see how everybody elses tanks are looking.

but now what does the winner get.................... I know you get bragging rights but you got to have some tangible reward. something like everyone who participated has to sacrifice a frag of something and send it to the winner or something fun like that.

[flame]

I think this could work. Maybe some of the sponsers and/or LFS will to drop in some prizes if they got some exposure.

[dakar]

If anyone has any ideas for someone that would be willing donate
prize(s), if you are tight with a LFS (that will ship, seeing as we are
scattered around the country/world) an online retailer or what not in
exchange for some great advertising exposure have them contact
Reef_Angel. or myself (prefferably Angel) :) She and I will be working
some angles from this end as well.#ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#The
whole idea is that the 'build off' is not a weekend project, but one
that should carry through the winter and well into spring, maybe a 6
month timeline (or longer), afterall a quality reef no matter how small
takes time and lots of it, it should be well matured. #ed_op#br#ed_cl##ed_op#br#ed_cl#Documenting
the build is a must! Lotsa pictures and stuff are always great as they
can really inspire creativity (even the borrowed kind), but validate
your build.

[graphixx]

I'll tell you what..........I will donate a frag of eagle eyezoo's for the winner I will pay for shipping and everything. I think this will be a good time. But one condition we cannot kick this project for at least a month. 2 reasons............1 I have a huge deal that I am trying to close at work right now and have no extra time right now to invest 2 Duck hunting starts in a copule of days and I got to get some shooting in before I start this project.............. and of course I am sure everybody needs to round up some extra pennys for this little deal.

[Reef_Angel]

Hi Everyone! I posted my thoughts about Nano Build Off on the first thread that Dakar & Perpetual started, and wanted to bring up some of the things that come to mind regarding this neat event. Like most of my posts, my thoughts conveniently scrolled off the board without any read/responses to it. I will copy and paste them here since I feel my thoughts on this have some relevance to this idea. I like to think about the entire board and ALL of it's members, so if this event is going to be done, we don't want to leave anyone out by accident or oversight. Here's what I had written... with a few updates in it:

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2005 5:38 pm Post subject:

I really like this idea of a Nano Tank contest. So often it seems that Nano's aren't shown all that often on the site, and I think we'd all be surprised to see how many people have one, in addition to their bigger tank(s)I Putting so many rules and requirements on this contest will take away interest in the event for many people. We've all got so much money tied up in our other tanks, and like us there are many people who have multiple tanks in their homes they are maintaining, including nano's. I just got done helping my daughter get her 10G Nano set up in her bedroom. With the rules being as they are, she's already excluded from this because of the specific requirements. Shame on you DAKAR for excluding your own daughter from entering hers!!

I think it would be better if everyone that has a nano of any kind submit their tank in the contest. The Nano shouldn't be any bigger than 10 or maybe 20 gallons. Anything bigger takes the "nano" out of the tank! Our daughter and many people have Nano's that deserve to be shown off as well. I like the concept of the idea, don't get me wrong....but as always, I'm thinking of all the members on the site as I promised to do when we built Captive Reefing. I know Gabrielle wants to enter her tank in this Nano Tank Contest.
For those of you that are willing to start another tank to the specifications laid out at this point, this can still happen. Simply categorize the contest to include everyone, and have a category for those who wanted to start fresh with a new nano with all the specification you're suggesting. If there are members that want to do theirs according to the plans you've thought of, that's great! Just group all the nano types together for the contest judging of the coolest nano. It would be the best of both worlds for those who want to see how the same type of nano turns out, while not leaving out members with nano's that may feel left out.
We could have 3 winners in the contest as well. I can search out some 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winning ribbon.jpgs to post with the winning nano's. Graphixx offered some zoa's to the winner, including paying the shipping to send the winner their prize. With different categories, I know that I would be happy to join Graphixx by donating some zoas to the other winners. If you have additional thoughts or ideas, please post them so everyone is included.
These were the categories I wanted to suggest.

**Have an overall judging of all the nano's entered, and pick multiple winners depending on what category they fall into. Have the categories be something like:

1. Best of Overall Nano Types - Self explanatory really....voting for the best Nano overall, different shapes, sizes(10G or maybe even 20G max.), and the tanks that were built according to specs. The winner would get a prize, and a picture of their Nano posted on the board with the data on what went into creating it and what inspired the Reefer!

2. Best Nano w/ Specific Requirements - This would be for the Nano's that fit in the pending description you have for this nano/pico contest, plus what inspired the design, and the data about it's creation.

3. Best Nano w/ no special Requirements - This would be the best Nano Tank under 10G-20G Max in any style, plus what inspired the design, and the data about it's creation.

**The winning tanks from #1 & #2 will NOT be eligible to win if they've already won category #1.

This is just my thoughts on this contest. The contest is a great idea, but IMO it would be better if every member with a Nano, has the opportunity to participate. It would show some awesome and different ways to do a Nano. I wouldn't want to see anyone left out of a CR Event for some reason or another if they'd like to participate. ...Angel
...end post.

Lastly, it is common for the entire plan be presented to all of us (Dakar, Repto & me) before it's made a live event on the board. Speaking of Repto, I'm surprised he hasn't commented on any of this. His comments on any event are as important as Dakar's and mine! For those of you that don't know, Repto is the Moderator of CR, and a very big part of this board!! We've been called "The Troublesome Trio" since we started to build CR! :gathering: So when you have all the plans together, we'll evaluate it and then get the fun started with this Nano Build Off idea!

Have Fun Reefing!
.....Angel :angel5:
_________________
Color My World With Coral!
...Reef_Angel
Administrator

[perpetual98]

Hey! I didn't ignore your post. :) I think I touched on a couple things earlier, and I also didn't touch on a couple things. It's been a busy weekend so I haven't had much time to formulate much in this thread. :)

[Reef_Angel]

Perpetual.....I'm so sorry you thought that I was accusing you of something. I'm not, nor did I mean to come across as mad at anyone, unhappy with your ideas, or anything else. I just put my 2 cents worth into the idea like everyone else was. My greatest concern is that all of this boards members are included as much as possible with any event or contest we have! I don't want anyone left out, and so anyone has a nano that's worthy of bragging rights should definitely brag. If I had the $$$'s, I may do one of those "from scratch" myself. I was just trying to help with some of my own ideas! If I ever reiterate rules or policies in a thread, it's for our newest users so they know how we do these events. Hopefully it will make them feel welcome to jump in and share their ideas too! I certainly wouldn't want anyone dancing on their tanks' canopy butt naked, and then surprising us with pictures or something! If you really want a thread like that, we certainly will discuss it! hahaha .....Angel :angel5:

[mutts]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Just an idea but what if you have the catagories but only for differant sizes. Maybe 5 gal, 10 gal, 15 gal (is there are 15 gal?), and 20 gal. And have a winner in each size. As for the deadline start it say for example Jan 1 2006 to be ended in July 1 2006 or even Jan 1 2007. But thoses are just ideas.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#You see I'm secretly wanted to have an excues for another tank in my room. ;) Or put my little 5.5 gal tank to some use. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[flame]

There is only 6 showing on the poll that want to play are you sure we need this many catagories? Even if you double the entries your getting enough catagories to give each person a prize. I was hoping we could have a contest of new Nano with a set price range and size and find out who could build the best tank. Straight up and simple. I am just a newbie here so take it for what its worth and good luck with the plans and the contest.

[perpetual98]

I would think that we'd need more people to have a bunch of categories. I'm thinking that a stock and a custom category would suffice. The stock would be something like a tank, hang on filter, powerhead and some N.O. or PC lights. The custom category would be whatever the person wishes.

I'll be doing something custom, but I have no idea what I'm going to do. I have some ideas, but they're WAY out there and I don't know if they're feasible.

[graphixx]

anything is possible with time and money. just need some elbow grease and some imagination. I have been thinking about this too. I dont know if I want to do a 10 or a 20 gallon? might have to do one of each he he he :D

[flame]

Thats what I need I have a new 50gal I'm trying to bring to life. I am planning a 200gal and a house remodel. Now I would like to do the Nano as well. Hmm I guess I better put a heater in the dog house looks like a long winter. LOL

[ramoth41]

I already have a 6g could I use that? I had it set up a while back. But I guess it was in all the wrong place cuz it started growing cyno like mad :(
So what are the rules to this little game>>mmmmmm?
Cuz I do want to set that tank back up and this could be the ticket.. The biggest problem I had was heat... but I'm up to try again! !
sarah

[graphixx]

WHAT IS THAT GREEN MONSTER IN THE TANK??????? IS THAT AN ANENOME WELL IT LOOKS BIG IN THAT TANK. THAT IS A GOOD LOOKING LITTLE NANO GOOD JOB :D

[ramoth41]

Nope! Thats a neon green open brain!!! :-D One of my many "resuces" He lives in the 125
now because he got way to big for the 6! (ya think?)
Anyway here is another shot.. crappy pictures but you get the idea!
sarah

[dakar]

Bump

[Whoyah]

Sounds fun. Good excuse to buy a 10 gallon. Need one for a QT anyways.

[dakar]

Any more 'rules' suggestions before we try to compile all this and get things sorted out into some sort of formal contest ???

[flame]

I only have one suggestion. Lets get started I am starting my Nano project as soon as I get the rest of my Acrylic arrives. :-D

[flame]

Has this idea come to an end?

[dakar]

Not by a long shot.... trying to decide on an official start date to kick it off... there have been more than a few requesting Jan 1st, to allow holiday recovery, or to add a nano tank and stuff to add to their xmas list...