2016 Expert Coral Grow Out Contest Interest Thread

[Zack]

This thread will be used by the board of directors to confirm interest in the 2016 Expert Coral Grow Out Contest. If you are interested, please let us know below and we will reserve your spot in the contest! We have not yet decided on the species of coral but we do know it will be an SPS!

Please note, the rules listed below will be a guideline for the final rules. Once we finalize the details, our ruleset will be posted in the sign-up thread for this contest.

Rules:

1: In order to participate in this contest, you must be a Junior Member, Charter Member, or a site Moderator. If you're currently a web member and have interest in becoming a Charter Member, please visit our membership tab here: http://www.maast.org/content.php?19-MaastMembership or speak with a board member who can tell you about the benefits that a charter membership can offer you. If you participate in this contest, you cannot participate in the beginners contest.

2: The deadline to sign-up for this contest will be: [Insert Date Here]. We will require paypal to our account, treasurer@maast.org within 7 days of the conclusion of the sign-up period. Please add your MAAST username into the 'notes' section of paypal as we will use this to track who has and who has not paid. Please also private message me that you have paid so that I can update this thread. If you fail to pay within 7 days you will be removed from the contest.

3: This competition will have 15 slots. On the final day of sign-ups, if there are any remaining spots, we will allow anyone who is interested to purchase an additional frag until all slots or filled. Each frag will cost [$xx.xx]. This price covers the cost of the frags, shipping [if applicable], rulers for each contestant, and pay for the prize for the winner.

4. The frags for this contest will be handed out on [Insert date]. If you are unable to pickup your frag at this time, you will have 48 hours to pick it up. If you do not pickup your frag within 48 hours, you will be removed from the contest and you will be given your frag. Contest fees will not be refunded if you do not pick-up your frag. As we all know, fragging is not an exact science. Some frags may be larger than others and the judges will take this into account during the judging period.

5. You will be required to start your own thread titled [Username] 2016 Expert CGOC Thread. In this thread, please post details about your tank setup, lighting schedule, equipment, dosing information, parameters, livestock, and photos of your setup. During your first post in this thread, please take detailed photos of the coral you received with the provided ruler and note it's color, size, and any other relevant details.

Following the initial post, photos will be due once a week on [TBD] night at 10PM. You are encouraged to take as many photos of the corals as you can. You have 48 hours after the due date to post your photo update and if you miss two consecutive updates you will be removed from the contest. In these updates, please share a clear photo of your coral AND the provided ruler. Also please note any observations you may have. As this is a contest, it is in your best interest to take the best photo you can. It is also important to note detailed observations. We hope to use this contest to compile detailed information about this coral species.

If at any time during the contest, if you have a change of equipment or a tank event such as a die off or algae bloom etc, please let us know! If your coral dies, please also post this in the thread along with your thoughts as to why the frag may have perished.

6. The contest will conclude on [Insert Date Here] and photos will be due on this date at 10PM. We will post several reminders on our site and FB about this date as it approaches. In the final update, please list your observations on the coral as well as clear photos of the coral and the ruler. This will be the final photos the judges will use to judge so again, taking a good photo will be in your best interest.

7: In order to participate in this contest, you must formally enter by typing "I have read the rules above and agree to them"

Slots:

1) HemiPowerReef
2) Alton
3) 12_egg_omlette
4) frogman
5) klwheat
6) reefnub
7) bluekoran91
8) jasonb
9) alexf762
10) bbqhillbilly
11) rickS
12) reactorracing
13) slim22
14)
15)

[HemiPowerReef]

Im in

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[alton]

Put me down

[12_Egg_Omelette]

I'm in

[klwheat]

I'm in!

[Frogman]

YES! Count me in. Expert SPS... But it has to be a coral of interest no red planet, green slimers or purple nana/valida or anything like that...

[Frogman]

I have read the rules and will follow them accordingly

[Zack]

We will definitely try our best to find a coral that everyone will be happy with!

[Reefnub]

I have read the rules above and agree to them

[BlueKoran91]

I have read the above rules and agree to them


🐠Manda🐟

[HemiPowerReef]

My suggestion is jf flame. 😜

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[Zack]

Ttt

[Zack]

All,

Due to the interest in the coral grow out contest in recent weeks, we will be holding an emergency board meeting to discuss this contest and some new marketing directions we will be taking. If you are a charter member who is interested in this contest, I encourage you to attend so that your voice can be heard.

The meeting will be held Sunday at 2PM at Mikes house and if you would like to attend this and/or the LED Showcase at his house afterwards, please let us know. We will be sending the itinerary with his address Friday night.

Zack

[Jasonb]

I have read and agree, depends on coral and price obviously

[Justin]

[QUOTE=HemiPowerReef;991666]My suggestion is jf flame. 


That would be a nice frag to have. The problem would be the cost of the buy in for everyone, but it will all depend on the group. I'm sure we'll pick an awesome frag for everyone to grow out in the advanced level contest

[Zack]

We had alot of great feedback from the members at our last board meeting and I'd like to share it here:

Pictures due weekly from Friday night to Sunday Night
Instead of 1,2,3 place we will have a winner take all system (unanimous vote by those in attendance)
Frag prices from $15-65 with rainbow milli seeming to be what most would like to do.
Contest will probably run from Late May/June to December with the winner being announced at the Holiday Social
Paul, Justin, Mike, and myself will be judging with a portion of the judging being photo quality as well as update thoroughness

[klwheat]

Sounds great to me. Looking forward to this.

[Justin]

Now we need to find the right coral. I think we discussed looking at either of the following:

Sunset Milli
Rainbow Milli

The reason for the Milli group is that they are typically fast growers for SPS corals and the color morphs are a little more ideal.

Are there any other suggestions for coral frag types? Remember, we need to choose something that will show some substantial growth. A JF Foxflame or other designer acro will take some time to get acclimated, encrust and then sprout up within the months we have to run this contest.

[HemiPowerReef]

I like the sunset

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[Justin]

I do to. Some of the mother colonies I've seen are really impressive. Not only will it be easier to see growth because it is a milli, but the color definition can be another rubric we can use to grade similar frags. A truly happy coral will have the following in my eyes:

Nice encrusted over base
Polyp Extension
Color
Defined color variation *could be a sub metric*

[alton]

Can someone post pictures? Sunset looks green, and rainbow looks orange and green. I want to make sure I am not looking at something different.

[Reefnub]

I like the rainbow! I have enough green crap in my tank lol

[Justin]

Sunset Millipora:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v122/flipside97ltd/SunsetMillepora.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh24/promontory2008/Colony%20Pictures/DSC_1508.jpg
Aqua SD Rainbow Millipora:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v122/flipside97ltd/AquaSDRainbowMilli.jpg

http://reefbuilders.com/files/2015/01/aquasd-rainbow-millepora-acropora.jpg

[BlueKoran91]

Rainbow


🐠Manda🐟

[klwheat]

Definitely prefer the rainbow milli...I have plenty of just "green" already.

[12_Egg_Omelette]

I have read the rules above and agree to them

[12_Egg_Omelette]

I would like something not green as well. My anemone just killed
My fox flame this week.

[klwheat]

oh man! I had a fox face destroy a beautiful brain in my tank once. He got re-homed quickly :(

[Jasonb]

I do like the rainbow

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[AlexF762]

I'm in read and agree to the rules. Rainbow Milli


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[BBQHILLBILLY]

"I have read the rules above and agree to them"

do you have to be expert? I just started and I dont have anything to test parameters. I think I was my worst enemy but doing large sw changes and had a alkalinity swing but I have it under control. My orange passion and Wd are showing growth. If you have room I would like to win.

I can test salinity, pH, alkalinity


I am open to the majority selection of coral. All of them are good choices .

[alton]

"I have read the rules above and agree to them"

do you have to be expert?


No, I am definitely not an expert! Expert just sounded better than any other choices, so why we have a Novice Class and Expert.

[Justin]

I would agree with Alton. It was tough to come up with a name for the particular class without deterring folks. The novice class has zoas, which are for the most part fairly easy to propagate. The SPS class is a bit for more veteran/ seasoned reefers.

[slm222]

I'm interested, but need to figure out how to get coral to corpus. I am with frogman. Definitely interested in SPS for a unique piece.

[Zack]

Alright guys, slight update, we're tentatively shooting for May 21st delivery and we are most likely going to go with the rainbow milli. The 15 spots is not firm but it is the minimum we need to get it started!

[HemiPowerReef]

Im a for sure and ready

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[AlexF762]

I'm still in I live in Victoria. Maybe we could figure something out to get one for me and the corpus guys and I could meet them somewhere so it's not so far for everyone


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[Justin]

I'm sure we can work something out. Jonathon Cumpian is always up for a meeting. We can work something out

[GSXREEFER90]

I'm in, I have read the rules and will follow them accordingly :)

[GSXREEFER90]

I vote Acropora Humilis or millepora! Are we going to know the orientation details i.e. wild cut, aquacultured, lighting source, etc?

[Zack]

Absolutely, I will ask Will these details if we purchase the frags from him!

[GSXREEFER90]

I know the details if they're from Will ;) Sounds good!

[Zack]

How does everyone feel about a May 21 delivery date?

For the out of town folks, we will try our best to get them to you in a timely fashion but as this is a contest we would need them to be in your tanks very soon after delivery. If there's enough corpus area people maybe we can look into having will send two packages.

[Jasonb]

Sounds good to me on the 21st

[HemiPowerReef]

Sounds good, so are we going with the rainbow milli?

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[AlexF762]

I'm good with the 21st


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[Zack]

Yes, I think that's a frag that a majority would be happy with. If we can get up to 20 entries, Will is able to drop the price to $35.

Once we hit 15 people, we're looking at $40 for the frag, $15 for the contest prize, and $5 for the ruler so $60 entry fee. $55 if we can get 20 people.

This price is the discounted contest price so if anyone enters and fails to participate because they just wanted the frag, they will be charged the difference of the actual retail price of the frag ($60-$40=$20) to MAAST.

[HemiPowerReef]

Cool, are the frags gonna be randomly distributed or first come gets first pick?

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[Zack]

Each bag will be numbered and we will post a video here showing the random number distribution from an RNG (still working exactly how I'll do that but I have an idea). If we have two packages we will have to do an honor system for the out of town peeps.

[HemiPowerReef]

Alrighty then

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[Troy Valentine]

Please sign me up for the CGOC. I have read the rules and I look forward to receiving the frag. This should be interesting since I will be changing systems during the contest.

[Zack]

That transition is going to make for some really great updates Troy!

[Frogman]

Y'all know I'm in. And I like the number and random draw idea. Keeps it fair across the boards.

When will the money be due to MAAST? Can we pay early?


It's in everyone's best interest to take care of those who take care of you. Support a local Veteran!

[Zack]

We won't accept funds for this until Monday after the swap so you guys will have maximum funds for shopping ;).

I'll put the official entry thread with the final rule set as I need to confirm that Will can have the frags delivered on Saturday the 21st so payment will be due probably Monday the 16th.

[Jasonb]

We won't accept funds for this until Monday after the swap so you guys will have maximum funds for shopping ;).

I'll put the official entry thread with the final rule set that Monday as I need to confirm that Will can have the frags delivered on Saturday the 21st so payment will be due probably Monday the 16th.

Works for me

[klwheat]

21st works for me too!

[GSXREEFER90]

21st is great.

[slm222]

Is anyone from corpus doing this? Since I'm going there for the swap I don't think i will be making another trip just to grab the frag.


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[FarmerTy]

That's why I didn't jump on the contest. I'm just going to San Antonio for the swap and probably not going down there just to grab a frag for the contest.

Not that it needs to be catered for the out of town folks but if the next one was coordinated with a swap for pickup, that would be highly convenient.

[Zack]

Got this info from Will as a few have asked

"Hey Zack,

Sorry for the delay in replying to this.


Check out comments -


Origin of the original frag - Bali
How long have you had the colony - 5 months
Lighting schedule - T5s, about 2 feet away
Flow - Med to High
Water perimeters - Red Sea Coral pro salt
And any other informations such as color or care tips - Med to high light, med flow



Hope that helps, thanks!"

we also confirmed a May 16th order date with the order being shipped Friday the 20th for 21st delivery. I will post the official thread tonight.

[Zack]

Ty, regarding scheduling this for the swap. While we would like to, Justin and myself felt that it would've been inappropriate also have us trying to move corals at a frag swap with many people from out of the city coming. It would've been about $1000 less walking around the swap.

[FarmerTy]

Ty, regarding scheduling this for the swap. While we would like to, Justin and myself felt that it would've been inappropriate also have us trying to move corals at a frag swap with many people from out of the city coming. It would've been about $1000 less walking around the swap.
Completely understood! I would have killed the frag anyways on my frag tank vehicle of death anyways. ;)

[Zack]

Lol ;)

Next year we can definitely bring that up with the vendors and see how they feel about it!

[FarmerTy]

You know what, I didn't even think about it but I won't ever be able to join in on a frag growth contest. All of my frags go into QT for at least 30 days before even hitting the DT. Maybe my frag tank will kick some butt? :p

[Jasonb]

What's our final date to start this?

[Zack]

Jason, the contest starts as early as May 21. Check the official thread for all the info

[Jasonb]

Works for me thanks Zach

[klwheat]

You know what, I didn't even think about it but I won't ever be able to join in on a frag growth contest. All of my frags go into QT for at least 30 days before even hitting the DT. Maybe my frag tank will kick some butt? :p
The contest runs for several months. Why not go ahead and qt them and post specs for both qt and display tanks?

[FarmerTy]

The contest runs for several months. Why not go ahead and qt them and post specs for both qt and display tanks?
Not a bad idea at all. Honestly, the biggest hindrance for me is driving down to San Antonio to get the frag since I live in North Austin. :(