Capt. Obvious

if i section a small tank to have a section to hold ATO water will that count against? (I do not believe it should as it is not display nor is it filtration, IMHO...just curous

there are budgets for tank($150) and for equipment($150) and for livestock($150) with only the tank budget surplus carrying over...I think and yes for the sump question(but tanks must be under 5 gallons ; )) so say a 4.5 gallon display can have a 2 1/4 sump. to my understanding

so it appears all are in favor for that change?

so tank budget it $150 with excess carrying over into a slush fund (proof of cost required) and the reset is as stated in the earlier posts, yeah? I'd sure love to see some sponsor step in and offer cool prizes (even if it is just something small) and maybe we could have a judging panel of LFS celebrities...or someone ask Mark to judge us....

This is the very reason I will be going AIO, i can get a pump and light and not have it cost against my equipment budget...otherwise I would be making a sweet custom acrylic pico tank...but with how the rules are it is a deterrent to anything but an AIO. that is kinda why I thought if you don't get a AIO you could maybe take the remaining balance and move it toward equipment, but that didn't seem to go over too well. i think if you get an AIO it should be under $150. if you piece together one you should be able to carry the surplus to equipment. Or how about...no matter what your tank costs (AIO or build from scratch or just a glass/acrylic box) you subtract it from the $150 tank budget and the remainder becomes a "slush fund", which makes it a bit more fair. ex: Joe buys an AIO for $120 leaving him $30 to add to any of the other budgets as he sees fit ex #2: sally buys a 4 gallon fluval for $75 leaving her $75 to add to any other budget she seems necessary ex #3: Ignacio buys acrylic and builds his own for $25 (I am sure you get the point) this allows a leveling of the playing field from the start but still allows for freedom to "pick your own canvas" so to speak Discuss.

I am ok with this

^ +1 to this

I agree with this, however how do we get around "self fragging" (taking corals you already have to populate your pico at zero cost)?

While in ways I like this idea, I am also fond of keeping this true to many parts of the hobby (to which, I feel, finding deals is part of it). I would say it would make since to set some pricing standards...not sure what they would be though. I also would think placing a size restriction on what you can start with would be important,,,again, anyone can slap a golfball sized birdsnest into a pico and make it look amazing, it takes skill to grow out a frag that is 1" to be that golfball...which, to me, should be rewarded.

A moderator I presume

This is exciting, I think this will be a blast.

I am pretty sure it was aiming for less than 5 gallons, as for me...I could care less on what dimensions anyone uses, but that is just me. As far as existing equipment, I say current retail unless you can prove actual cost. (receipt/auction/cl ad/forum ad) As far as corals I am not sure what the solution is. Part of me thinks we should have a limit on frag size...and growth and husbandry should count a bit more than the ability to find a nice frag and plop it in a tiny tank and look good

fmv on corals is a tough thing to do IMHO...unless we have a source we can rely on for pricing that everyone can agree on. I just don't know how to keep that part "fair"

the real question is: can we act like the state legislature and take money set aside for one thing and spend it on something else (say you only spend $75 from your initial tank budget...can you move the excess over to the equipment budget?) - My vote is "no" but I'd like to see other's opinion on this. Also there should (in my opinion)maybe be a limit to size in starting frags ex: maximum number of polyps for zoas and palys/ maximum of 1" for SPS...or maybe not, i am kinda torn on this one...on the coral side people give away some pretty awesome frags...or can pull from their already established tanks and spend $0.

I agree to an extent...there should be a "cap" on the starting tank cost say $150 or less? Thoughts?

Thin out the heard, as it were

I am down for January and frag donation, I wonder if any sponsors would be interested in donating some swag (shirt or something...or more;) ) to sponsor the contest...or a year of premium membership to ARC if the powers that be agree

AggieMEDIC, all that sounds fair. we are generally a fair bunch, and figure the less people have to question during the contest the better. so I guess we could spend a month or so getting all the kinks worked out and the rules polished up and this would be fun for all involved. On a side note on FMV...if someone wins an auction for a 25 dollar item that is usually 50 dollars how much is taken from their budget (and is shipping count against budget as well)? The reason I ask is really more I guess toward the end goal, which I believe, is to be an all around competition. As we all know finding steals and deals is part of this hobby, so is DIY, and planning...arguably equal to the research and animal husbandry and execution. So finding a great deal (that ou can prove) should be rewarded rather than punished IMHO. I'd like to hear opinions on this

maybe we should just put a cap on what can be spent on the tank? so it allows for some options...just spitballin' it here

...when can the smack talking begin?

*you're

seems fair...I am sure receipts are required (or they should be)

well for $100 for livestock I can get the Lightning Dwarf Snowflake Orca I always wanted and put it in my pico

$100 for livestock is a bit much...seeing as it is a pico...just saying...and what about rules for using old items you have lying around...like say a powerhead or dry rock...the rules must be clearly lined out, but to me it sounds fun...but I kinda feel it should start in January...after the holiday madness...IMHO