2011 Nano Contest - sponsored by Nano Customs

[jimsflies]

My concern with using a price paid for from another hobbyist is there is no way to really show proof of purchase. Further what if you are given corals from a friend...do we count those as $0. I can probably fill a nano tank with free corals from friends...but it wouldn't be fair to other's in the competition with less connections.

So that's where I was at when making the "rule"...or I guess it was more of a clarification to the rules after the contest started and the question was asked.

With that said, are the corals in question from swaps or from buying and selling threads? We may be able accept a link to a deal thread...or a link to fragswapper...or something showing what was paid.

For the corals you got at a swap, did you get a receipt from the hobbyist?

The general price list can also be tweaked if necessary. If you have a specific item or proposal for changes, send them to me via pm. From there, I will do some research and figure out whether a change is warranted.

Certainly the intent here is not to have anyone eliminated from the contest or get upset and quit. My goal is and has been to make the contest fair and equal for all involved. This is supposed to be fun...

[rosebud161616]

My concern with using a price paid for from another hobbyist is there is no way to really show proof of purchase. Further what if you are given corals from a friend...do we count those as $0. I can probably fill a nano tank with free corals from friends...but it wouldn't be fair to other's in the competition with less connections.

So that's where I was at when making the "rule"...or I guess it was more of a clarification to the rules after the contest started and the question was asked.

With that said, are the corals in question from swaps or from buying and selling threads? We may be able accept a link to a deal thread...or a link to fragswapper...or something showing what was paid.

For the corals you got at a swap, did you get a receipt from the hobbyist?

The general price list can also be tweaked if necessary. If you have a specific item or proposal for changes, send them to me via pm. From there, I will do some research and figure out whether a change is warranted.

Certainly the intent here is not to have anyone eliminated from the contest or get upset and quit. My goal is and has been to make the contest fair and equal for all involved. This is supposed to be fun...

In my case I did get a written receipt from all of the hobbyists and/or vendors that I purchased from. I thought that this was in line with the rule that was posted. If need be, I can take a screen shot of what I purchased from fragswapper. Posting links is about impossible with the way that fragswapper works, but as long as no hobbyists have removed the posts after the swaps (which some do) then it is available. If we had known before hand, then screenshots could have been taken leading up to the swap. Also, anyone can go to fragswapper, and as long as the listings are still posted, they can verify what was listed.

[jimsflies]

It seems reasonable to me. I think the key here is, if the price you have listed sounds completely out of line, then you'd need documentation to support it.

[Sir Patrick]

I have to side w/ rosebud and Toms interpretations of the rules. That is how I took them also.

Jolson- this contest isnt about spending right up to the spending limit- its about what you do with your tank and corals, not how many you can cram into a small tank. If it is about racing right up to the limit, I will think twice about entering next year, because I dont think I would drop more than $100 into mine. If that is going to effect my chances of winning, then why try?

As the rules are stated- I dont see a distinction from hobbiests/sponcers/vendors at swaps- and all that have done this have saved receipts/documentation of their purchases.

Thought we had all the loop holes covered this year.....

[jolson10450]

sorry if i offended you rosebud about the "following the rules" quote, yeah i can understand how we both thought that way so i used the wrong words there. for the sake of being so late in the contest i agree with what jim said, if you can provide proof of what you paid for the coral either screen shot or receipt i think that would be acceptable for this contest because you are right it is over with as far as adding/removing things. personally i think that is how it should be in the first place but like jim said if i get a bunch of frags from my buddy for free then i am at $0 on my limit and others will not be. this will flatten out the rules good for the next contest though.

and chris i know it is not a race to the limit my point is i would rather stock a tank to the max and get a full tank of coral rather than just a few pieces and seeing some bad rock (in my case because i used base rock for my aquascape because the tank is so small)

[jimsflies]

Just to clarify further...if you do your accounting and find you have over spent, you are still allowed to remove corals from you tank. The April 30 was the deadline for adding new corals. The reason for this deadline is that you need to prove you can keep the corals in your system alive and not be able to wait until the night before the contest ends and jam it full of corals that aren't appropriate for a nano...for example, jamming a nano full of NPS corals the day before the contest ends and being eligible to win, when it is unlikely those corals would survive.

If you find after you did your accounting that you are over, just note that on your stock list that it was removed due to being over budget. There will be no deductions for doing this. Now if stock dies between now and then, in your nano it will be taken into considered in judging.

[Synergy]

Just to clarify further...if you do your accounting and find you have over spent, you are still allowed to remove corals from you tank. The April 30 was the deadline for adding new corals. The reason for this deadline is that you need to prove you can keep the corals in your system alive and not be able to wait until the night before the contest ends and jam it full of corals that aren't appropriate for a nano...for example, jamming a nano full of NPS corals the day before the contest ends and being eligible to win, when it is unlikely those corals would survive.

If you find after you did your accounting that you are over, just note that on your stock list that it was removed due to being over budget. There will be no deductions for doing this. Now if stock dies between now and then, in your nano it will be taken into considered in judging.

What if we are under budget but want to remove some pieces because we don't have enough room, will that be allowed also? I assume it will be but just making sure.

[jimsflies]

Yes, no problem with that. Again, now we are into documentation mode. If something is taken from your tank, you should post why (over budget, no room, think it's ugly :eek , dead, dying, whatever...)

Information

Regarding the market price discussion....here is the key:

Our market list is meant as a guide. Put down the price you paid. As long as it is reasonable then no one should have a problem with it. But clearly if you scored a sweet deal, then it needs to be counted at closer to the market price. As an example, your buddy gives you 4 polyps of ppes. Those can't count as $0. They'd need to be listed closer to the market price (what most reefers would expect to pay for a similar frag). Similarly, if you buy a 100 polyp rock of eagle eyes for $100...I don't expect you to count those on a per polyp basis at $5 each. Of course when you buy things in different sizes you are going to pay different amounts...there is no way I can make a price list that accounts for everything.

[Synergy]

Yes, no problem with that. Again, now we are into documentation mode. If something is taken from your tank, you should post why (over budget, no room, think it's ugly :eek , dead, dying, whatever...)

Thanks for the confirmation! Makes sense, will make sure to document if I remove anything.

[jimsflies]

Additional clarification...

Information

"Free" Corals part of a Larger Purchase
Free corals that came as part of a package livestock purchase where all of the corals purchased are in your contest nano will count as $0...again the key is that all the corals had to go into your contest nano.

However if part of the package did not go into your contest tank, then a value will need to be assessed on those.

An example of this is Mr. Coral's sales where after every "X" corals, you can pick a free one.