TOTQ - SPS biased?

[Firestarter]

Firstly, I don't know if this is the correct forum to discuss this. But I'll post it here anyway.

Has anyone here observed that the TOTQ winners are always SPS / SPS dominant tanks?

Does one have to keep SPS to qualify to be TOTQ?

There are many reefers who have very nice LPS/soft coral tanks that deserve to be qualified for TOTQ.

I hope the judges can break this cycle and feature more LPS/NPS/FOWLR tanks. I really hope that TOTQ is not biased towards SPS tanks.

What do you guys think?

[Harlequinmania]

Firstly, I don't know if this is the correct forum to discuss this. But I'll post it here anyway.

Has anyone here observed that the TOTQ winners are always SPS / SPS dominant tanks?

Does one have to keep SPS to qualify to be TOTQ?

There are many reefers who have very nice LPS/soft coral tanks that deserve to be qualified for TOTQ.

I hope the judges can break this cycle and feature more LPS/NPS/FOWLR tanks. I really hope that TOTQ is not biased towards SPS tanks.

What do you guys think?

Hi bro,

Thanks for the suggestion, it will not be biased only toward a SPS dominated tank . In fact there had been a few mixed reef winner keeping successful SPS and LPS corals. The reason why most of the time a SPS tank get to win ( Not only in our forum as well as oversea forum if you observed ) is mainly due to the reason that up-keeping a successful SPS tank required more Challenges , knowledge and husbandry care. I think many those who keep SPS can be able to testify on that .

Of course, we will keep a look out for other LPS/NPS setup . But for a FOWLR tank, it is a little bit difficult to judge, maybe some of the members can contribute and share upon what we can judge on a FOWLR setup ?

If anyone had seen a nice tank, don't forget to vote for that member in this section here ; http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/forum/146-winner-nomination/ .

[Firestarter]

Hi Larry,

I fully agree that successful SPS tanks require knowledge and husbandry care, and I wholeheartedly congratulate the winners for their beautiful tanks.

Just want to see a change instead of always having SPS dominated tanks featured TOTQ all the time.

Cheers.

[sherman]

I think most of the time is mix tank.

[Solo77]

I disagree that fowlr is less challenging. there are corals gurus out failing in this. agrees the criteria and rating can be further improved.

[BFG]

How long should a tank run before it is considered to be TOTQ?

Few months, a year or 2?

Maintained by oneself or others?

Does the forum contact the tank owner or the tank owner contact the forum ?

Do the forum member nominate the tank?

How many tanks were rejected to be TOTQ?

[Mokyc]

How long should a tank run before it is considered to be TOTQ? Few months, a year or 2? Maintained by oneself or others? Does the forum contact the tank owner or the tank owner contact the forum ? Do the forum member nominate the tank? How many tanks were rejected to be TOTQ?

Are requirements as above pertaining to the participation available ? Any closing period or anytime can submit? How to submit? How is the judging process? Must be nominate by forum members only? So new member who do not have many supporting khakis will not have much chances? Is there a eliminating process if more than one submission? Sorry asking a lot because is good to let everybody know. Thanks and cheers!

[yellowtang]

Changes.. Changes... The Reefers want Changes.....

East to West.... North to South.... Arab Spring.... Reformasi ... Workers Party ...Hammer firmly pound down the ground...Earth shattered..Cracks of Change. unstoppable..

Reefers want a change of TOTQ..

They want to see and hear a winner talking about challenges of keeping various soft corals, the placement of zoas and how to feed them. They are sick of stn, rtn. They want acans , Prata, blastos, cloves, clams etc... and their successful keeping and farming..

They are tired of 5 footer, 6 footer winner. They want 2 footer beauty, at most 3 footer classic winner. Winner that keeps the animals that they can relate to.

The wind of change is blowing, Larry.

Put up your mast, and ride the current.

Go with the wind... The wind of change...

bigmike.

[I love angel]

Let have winners in each sections, FOWLR, sps tank, Lps tank, nano reef, nps tank.

This will increase the awareness from the public and promote interests. Hoping more lfs will emerge and lower the costs of equipment and fishes and coals like hong kong

[spkentchai]

Changes.. Changes... The Reefers want Changes.....

East to West.... North to South.... Arab Spring.... Reformasi ... Workers Party ...Hammer firmly pound down the ground...Earth shattered..Cracks of Change. unstoppable..

Reefers want a change of TOTQ..

They want to see and hear a winner talking about challenges of keeping various soft corals, the placement of zoas and how to feed them. They are sick of stn, rtn. They want acans , Prata, blastos, cloves, clams etc... and their successful keeping and farming..

They are tired of 5 footer, 6 footer winner. They want 2 footer beauty, at most 3 footer classic winner. Winner that keeps the animals that they can relate to.

The wind of change is blowing, Larry.

Put up your mast, and ride the current.

Go with the wind... The wind of change...

bigmike.

I think what the reefer wants is not to bias towards soft or lps tank.....nor they want to see the bias going towards SPS tank.....

What I think the current reefers want is to have clarity in the selection criteria in the TOTQ....example....

- Selection Panelist

- Specific selection criteria, age, colour, maintenance

- I think the most important factor is on the Education part....when I started my journey in reefing...i look up a lot on TOTM (RC) to know how they do certain things.

- The TOTQ winner should always be sharing their knowledge, experience and important frags(^^) with the mass reefer out here.

IMO, with the combination of some the elements above, no reefer would say that it is bias to anyone.....just my 2 cents

[clownfish_forever]

Changes.. Changes... The Reefers want Changes.....

East to West.... North to South.... Arab Spring.... Reformasi ... Workers Party ...Hammer firmly pound down the ground...Earth shattered..Cracks of Change. unstoppable..

Reefers want a change of TOTQ..

They want to see and hear a winner talking about challenges of keeping various soft corals, the placement of zoas and how to feed them. They are sick of stn, rtn. They want acans , Prata, blastos, cloves, clams etc... and their successful keeping and farming..

They are tired of 5 footer, 6 footer winner. They want 2 footer beauty, at most 3 footer classic winner. Winner that keeps the animals that they can relate to.

The wind of change is blowing, Larry.

Put up your mast, and ride the current.

Go with the wind... The wind of change...

bigmike.

Kinda agree that there has been too much emphasis on SPS although no doubt SPS dominated tanks require more stingent husbandry.

As said, it is always the huge SPS aquarium that gets the limelight...it may makes reefers who keep LFS and softies shy away from showcasing their aquarium...because lesser people appreciate a softie aquarium.

Having said, whether softie, LPS or SPS, it is the reefer own choice. I guess we should agree that keeping a piece of ocean is more than just winning TOTQ. So dont be discouraged because your aquarium is not being 'recognised' - it is as long as you love it yourself

[Firestarter]

As the threadstarter, I would like to clarify that in no way am I discouraged or want my tank to be 'recognised'. The purposed of this discussion is to point out that other types of LPS/NPS/FOWLR tanks have TOTQ material and TOTQ should not emphasis on SPS tanks all the time..

[Firestarter]

I fully support the TOTQ and am grateful to Larry and team for bringing the TOTQ (used to be TOTM) back. While it may not be intentional or even coincidental that the past few featured were SPS dominated / mixed reef tanks, I hope non SPS reefers would not be shy to showcase their tanks, share knowledge and husbandry skills so that we all learn as a community, and not have the 'I need to keep SPS to be worthy of TOTQ' mindset.

[Gouldian]

As the threadstarter, I would like to clarify that in no way am I discouraged or want my tank to be 'recognised'. The purposed of this discussion is to point out that other types of LPS/NPS/FOWLR tanks have TOTQ material and TOTQ should not emphasis on SPS tanks all the time..

Bro, you are not only the threadstarter but also the firestarter!!!

No la, I think your points are valid and I am sure Larry will look into it and revert soonest.

Happy reefing.

[braincoral]

As long one loves and care for his livestocks.

Appreciate of what u own...

Think thats the most important

[flamey]

very interesting topic. My take, to answer the threadstarter's qn, of course its biased.. Why? Because the (reefing) community perceives SPS dominated tanks to be holy grail of reefing. Rightly so or not, its really up to individual's perception aint it?

Like a few mentioned above, for non sps lovers, pls dont be discouraged by it.. Ultimately, we're all in this hobby bcoz we appreciate the marine world and want a slice of it in our living room.

Just to share, imo, an absolute gem of a tank.. im sure its been shared before..

http://fish-etc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/cp-farm-japanese-reef-tank.jpg

One man's meat is another man's poison..

[cool guy]

I always tink my tank is e TOTM!!!! Coz i love my tank!!! Lol :p

[bojyeo]

Yub............I think its sided more towards the SPS side.............I thought I am the only one who noticed it but apparently it isn't...........I am not on this forum long enough but it seems there is TOTM last time.........is it a lack of sponsors such that TOTM becomes TOTQ? It would be nice to have winners in a few categories every qtr but I guess we need sponsors for prizes...........

Selection process need to be transparent. Panel of judges profile could be made known and the criteria assessed. Is it possible for reefers who have been on this forum for at least 6 months to vote (or minimum no of posts) on the winner and this weightage is say 50% and the panel of judges get 50% as well?

Fowler tanks can be judged on scaping, lighting, combinations of fishes, diets of fishes and parameters of water (high nitrates!)......

My 2 cents worth.............but I guess it is very hard to please everyone in competitions like this............

Kudos to the management though.............

[Harlequinmania]

Changes.. Changes... The Reefers want Changes.....

East to West.... North to South.... Arab Spring.... Reformasi ... Workers Party ...Hammer firmly pound down the ground...Earth shattered..Cracks of Change. unstoppable..

Reefers want a change of TOTQ..

They want to see and hear a winner talking about challenges of keeping various soft corals, the placement of zoas and how to feed them. They are sick of stn, rtn. They want acans , Prata, blastos, cloves, clams etc... and their successful keeping and farming..

They are tired of 5 footer, 6 footer winner. They want 2 footer beauty, at most 3 footer classic winner. Winner that keeps the animals that they can relate to.

The wind of change is blowing, Larry.

Put up your mast, and ride the current.

Go with the wind... The wind of change...

bigmike.

Yes Uncle mike, the voices here had been heard. This is also our first time running this TOTQ , and there is definitely alot of rooms for improvement, but i am also glad that we are getting alot of good respond and feedback on it. The main idea of the TOTQ is to inspire reefers to be as well as giving recognition to the effort that the reefers had put into the hobby .

The reason why we did it quarterly is because there is alot of works to be done trying to look out for a good tank, getting sponsor for the prizes and appointing some one to visit the winner tank to take good photos ect ect.. So you guys can imagine the work involved . Hopefully one day when our time allow, and we have enough good tank locally to be able to featured each month to show to the world .

We have only 5 winner for TOTQ so far, but definitely looking into other great setup .

Keep your suggestion coming...

[MarcoVan]

To open a can of worms, why no nano tank featured? Can we have one?

Not many people understand the challenges of a nano tank but those who do can find an abundant resources of nano tanks qualified for TOTQ. Somemore some of these can easily pawn any of the featured tanks hands down.

It's always a money game ain't it? So its somewbat inclined to be biased.. aint it so?

[Evolutionz]

Would be great if a new category is opened for nano.. Probably can name it nano TOTQ. so there's 2 TOTQ..

[MarcoVan]

Would be great if a new category is opened for nano.. Probably can name it nano TOTQ. so there's 2 TOTQ..

No need. just a totq will do. too many very messy

[Firestarter]

MarcoVan, you are right.

Seems that TOTQ are always showcasing the bigger players 4-6ft tanks.

It would be nice to feature nanos as well. Good suggestion.

[yellowtang]

To open a can of worms, why no nano tank featured? Can we have one?

Not many people understand the challenges of a nano tank but those who do can find an abundant resources of nano tanks qualified for TOTQ. Somemore some of these can easily pawn any of the featured tanks hands down.

It's always a money game ain't it? So its somewbat inclined to be biased.. aint it so?

" To open a can of worms", that's too strong and unnecessary opening statement .

It's right to request change but wrong to hint that the previous selection is unethical .

Respect the past winners for they are truly deserved to be crowned,

Looking forward to a wider range of Reefing TOTQ winners.

YT

[BFG]

" To open a can of worms", that's too strong and unnecessary opening statement .

It's right to request change but wrong to hint that the previous selection is unethical .

Respect the past winners for they are truly deserved to be crowned,

Looking forward to a wider range of Reefing TOTQ winners.

YT

How is it unethical if the masses do not know the criteria of being a TOTQ? Who exactly are the judges of the TOTQ? How is the process made?

I guess something strike a nerve with those in this thread that this question surface. Can you guess what this is? Is it unethical to seek an answer by questioning? Can we local members ask question or do we want to wait until some foreigner mock us? Just asking only if you don't mind.