Reef Of The Month: Should we bring it back?

[revhtree]

So we've had some suggestions lately to bring back the Reef Of The Month where we choose an exceptional reef tank that we feature for everyone to view and learn the details about. But the question was raised if it was even something that the masses would be interested in. Believe it or not it takes quite a bit of work to choose a feature, compile the information, pick photos and edit into something that is enjoyable to view. So let's talk about it!

Here you can see some of the past features.

1. Would you be interested in seeing the Reef of the Month come back?

2 What suggestions might you have that could make this tank feature easier to put together?


Reef of the month Feb 2017 @junio melo

 

[SPR1968]

Definitely it should come back, well I think so anyway!

Its great to see how people create, and run those amazing tanks and I personally looked forward to it

This is the best reefing site, so why shouldn’t it spotlight some of the best reefs?

As far as making it easier to put articles together, design a basic template to work from and then personalise it as required.

 

[sp1187]

1. Would you be interested in seeing the Reef of the Month come back?

yep

2 What suggestions might you have that could make this tank feature easier to put together?

split the months in to tank sizes, monster, between monster and nano, pico/nano.

tanks must have a build thread, saves on admins/mods having to look for info for the post.
(@najer gets a pass on this rule just because)

tanks are picked by admins/mods.

 

[kenchilada]

Yes. There's tons of bad advice swirling around by people who pose as experts but won't actually post pictures of their tanks. It's important to feature people that really know what they are doing so they can be good examples for others to follow.

2 What suggestions might you have that could make this tank feature easier to put together?

Maybe a web app or a Google Form that collects all the information from candidates? I'd have them fill that out first, upload lots of high-res pictures, do a short interview... then you should have everything you need to put together an article. You could automate a lot of the repetitive formatting and image display by using WordPress with a custom post type. I do this stuff at work all day so feel free to hit me up.

 

[revhtree]

Yes. There's tons of bad advice swirling around by people who pose as experts but won't actually post pictures of their tanks. It's important to feature people that really know what they are doing so they can be good examples for others to follow.

2 What suggestions might you have that could make this tank feature easier to put together?

Maybe a web app or a Google Form that collects all the information from candidates? I'd have them fill that out first, upload lots of high-res pictures, do a short interview... then you should have everything you need to put together an article. You could automate a lot of the repetitive formatting and image display by using WordPress with a custom post type. I do this stuff at work all day so feel free to hit me up.

Ooooh you see this @[email protected]?

 

[Futuretotm]

yes, otherwise my username would be useless

 

[stanleo]

I think it would do wonders. I was on a site for freshwater that did one and it was really cool seeing all the entries and learning how other people achieve their results. It taught me enough to win the prize once.

 

[Rubberfrog]

I'm down with OPT (other peoples tanks). Looks like we've had some good suggestions for streamlining the process.

 

[Arricefe]

I voted "other", I like looking at those tanks but I hadn't even realized there wasn't a reef of the month anymore so I guess I'm meh on the subject.

 

[Mellotang]

Without a doubt!

it’s a highlight to The Community, something for hobbyists to Strive for n bragging rights

 

[REEFTIDE]

Yes, Yes and YES! Tank of the month is one of the things I always look forward to seeing.
There are a lot of different techniques and interesting strategies that people use to make their reef TOTM worthy.
Additionally, it rewards hobbyists that put tons of effort into their tank with some notoriety.

 

[design.maddie]

Absolutely. Enough said.

 

[maroun.c]

Yes. TOTM was always an inspiration and something I waited to see every month.

 

[dmy535]

Yes. There's tons of bad advice swirling around by people who pose as experts but won't actually post pictures of their tanks. It's important to feature people that really know what they are doing so they can be good examples for others to follow.

2 What suggestions might you have that could make this tank feature easier to put together?

Maybe a web app or a Google Form that collects all the information from candidates? I'd have them fill that out first, upload lots of high-res pictures, do a short interview... then you should have everything you need to put together an article. You could automate a lot of the repetitive formatting and image display by using WordPress with a custom post type. I do this stuff at work all day so feel free to hit me up.

Was just thinking the google doc idea. Beat me to it. So I’ll just say +1 to that suggestion. Send it out and have the person respond to the questions.

 

[reefcleaners]

Those poll results aren't even close. Must be hard to pick one from all the great aquariums. Maybe a showcase of the month, instead of a contest.

 

[Fishy65]

@revhtree before answering, maybe I could get some details on why it was discontinued? If we can understand some of those reasons then not only could we say yes to bringing it back, but as already has been done, maybe we can help with suggestions on how to improve.
Personally I love TOTM. It gave me something to aspire to and it is nice to see the tanks of those giving advice. I want a TOTM badge to add to my others someday

 

[MONTANTK]

Absolutely! I think it would be very cool to see the different approaches hobbyists are taking that have brought them success!

 

[Alex808]

ROTM with a class for Nano size and large tanks. I say this because OBVIOUSLY some behemoth reef in someone’s living room that’s grown out and healthy with exotic and rare pieces will get a lot of love but I’ve seen a lot of nano/pico tanks that are impressive for what they are. I personally have a 20 long and I feel like the smaller reefs like mine get looked over simply because small. If my reef is tiny but a total banger and people like it, it’ll always be second place when compared to large scale systems.

 

[Paul B]

I think we should have reef of the month that only use Undergravel filters.

 

[Treefer32]

I like the idea, I love celebrating the beauty of other people's tanks. It's hard to know what drives their success though. Do they have paid help to manage their tanks, do they maintain it themselves.

My thought that would be beneficial to everyone on the form is Reef tank problem of the month. I could have had stock photos for this for many issues!

Would provide live interaction for troubleshooting and the advice could be applied to many situations.

Reefing is not a pretty hobby and it takes many hours, methods, and blood, sweat, tears, and anguish to get a reef to successfully work together. Seeing the struggles of others would help many people with practical and actionable advice vs. spending money and praying.