jestep

I'm interested to see what 6 months does. That's not a lot of time to start from barebones and get something established and healthy and actually get growth and stability. We'll see though.

I got a fluval spec-v for xmas. So since it's a gift, it doesn't count towards the budget...? Just kidding.

If we're entering this, do we start our build thread here or in the build thread section? Is there a standard format that we should all use?

We also did a cenote over on the mainland by playa, part of the Nohoch Nah Chich cave system. You couldn't see in the water because there was a lot of dust floating on it. Basically just a completely still pool in a cave. Jump in and you can easily see 500 feet down and into the cavern. That sent more than one person scrambling out of the water for a minute. Highly recommend it. Just swimming in them is a lot of fun. Indescribable feeling when you realize how big and deep of a pool you just jumped into that looked about the size of a small swimming pool.

Cozumel is amazing. You can snorkel in many places and it's nearly as good as diving. Drift diving, wall diving, wreck, cave, ... it has everything.

It's supposed to be dry when the contest starts. However, you can buy fully cured rock so the tank doesn't need to cycle so I would assume that pre-cycling your rock is completely fine.

The rules read right now: Any tank under 6 gallons is acceptable. Any disputes will be settled by Manufacturers rated volume or measurements for DIY tanks. And the sump must be less than 2.5 gallons.

It's 5 gallons which is defined as up to but not 6 gallons.

Looks really good. I like a coral budget cap, just to even the field. Is the concern mainly over moving corals from existing tanks? Do they make the Tunze mug in a 5 gallon version? +100 points to anyone who makes a reef tank in a tunze mug or any mug for that matter.

I would have a hard time believing they haven't seen this thread...

I'm either going to do a DIY, or semi DIY, LED lighting. Going for a 5 gallon rimless, and a small sump just to keep the DT clear. Juggling around an excel spreadsheet trying to get everything under budget with enough to spare to cover whatever I forget from the start.

6 months would be the minimum for 2 reasons. It first shows that you can actually get growth. It second shows that you can keep a tank in decent condition. I don't think using a controller is fair unless you're budgeting the entire thing in the cost. I have an Apex as well, but I think it would provide a significant competitive advantage being able to run pumps, lighting, ATO, etc. from it when everyone else has to scrap something together. An ATO or even a timer for that matter is a luxury and not a necessity IMO when you're on a budget.

Lost my large birdsnest and a nice digi frag while on vacation. They were growing together, but I wouldn't have expected such a fast and complete reaction. Has anyone had an entire colony RTN when a very small single piece was touching another coral? I've never seen one go this fast. Everything else in the tank is fine including all of the much more delicate coral.

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I would presume equipment budget.

I would think manufacturer specs would be acceptable in case people have already ordered tanks. I have noticed that some are definitely off a little.

I'm still planning, but I would like to start ordering and purchasing next week. It's funny, since I've started looking I've found a ton of 5.2 - 5.6 gallon tanks.

Ok, that makes more sense. I have a spreadsheet going and I could not figure out how to possibly get the whole cost under $150 even using an all glass tank.

Just clarifying a few things. We are still sticking with the $150 budget including the tank costing against it as well? On the rules page it says total volume can't be more than 50% more than the DT volume. I'm assuming this is in the event someone wants to run a very small sump. So say if someone has a 5 gallon tank, they can't have more than a 2.5 gallon sump, correct? Would this count for a HOB filter as well? I don't think anyone's going to be this picky, but would rather spell it out now. I'm pretty excited about this. I seriously think the budget is a leveler regardless of what tank everyone uses. The lighting is going to be the biggest hurdle IMO for anyone trying for higher light coral.

I think tank cost is not counted against the equipment budget, but everything else is, correct? I do think the AIO vs from scratch cost disparity needs to be resolved unless nobody else thinks it's an issue. My issue with it is that it would be nearly impossible to come anywhere near the same cost buying a light and filter separately. Keeping the lighting, sand and rock alone under $150 is probably going to be a bit of a trick.

This would probably work. Just off the top of my head, something like all coral must be on a frag plug or equivalent size, and nothing larger than a golf ball for sps and branching lps. After re-reading this and the other thread, I think most of my comments were already covered {INSERT WHIPPING DEAD HORSE PICTURE}. Could probably curb any major issues by having a few unbiased people that can rule on anything not covered.