2025 Contest Discussion and Ideas

[ReyDeFarts]

BAR Members,

Next year, I won't be designated as the contest coordinator any longer. Moving forward it won't be a designated title. We will instead attempt to organize contests collectively.

Current grow out contests will be ending soon. Should we start planning and organizing another grow out contest for next year? If so, which coral(s) should we consider? Anyone interested in being a coordinator for that?

I am not certain about how I plan to proceed with the monthly photo contests next year. I took on that task with a focus on trying to encourage creativity and anonymity. I got the vibe that the themes were not as well received at times.
It would be nice to hear from the members how they feel about the monthly photo contests.

• Should BAR continue the POTM contests? BOD already has approved funds for next year btw.
• If we continue the potm contests, do you want themes, theme polls, or just simply best reef picture?
• Are there any other changes you'd like implemented?

It would be great to read all your opinions and ideas about contests and how we can build engagement, not only from the regulars on the forum, but help bring in fresh faces to join in on the fun.

What other contests should we consider? Please remember that this is your club! Your voice is what we need to hear, so we can make decisions to further improve BAR.

Also, is there anyone else interested in contests next year? If not, I will do my best to continue the coordinating and implementation with the BOD for you all.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[yosemiteclimber]

• Should BAR continue the POTM contests? BOD already has approved funds for next year btw. Absolutely!
• If we continue the potm contests, do you want themes, theme polls, or just simply best reef picture? I like the idea of themes, keeps it a bit. more challenging rather than a nice "lights out" pic.
• Are there any other changes you'd like implemented? Seems to work well as is, I'd love to see it continue next year!

 

[Srt4eric]

Speaking of the grow out contests do you have a spreadsheet going to see who's actually still officially in it?

 

[ReyDeFarts]

Speaking of the grow out contests do you have a spreadsheet going to see who's actually still officially in it?

Yes, but I have to go back a couple months to take some names off the list. There aren't many left though.

 

[derek_SR]

• Are there any other changes you'd like implemented? Seems to work well as is, I'd love to see it continue next year!

They aren't really working well though, that's kind of the point...

@ReyDeFarts I think the growout contests are a lot of fun - we could pick some faster growing/easier corals to make them more fun for more people. Even like a digi growout contest could be a hoot with a lot of participation.

I like the photo of the month but participation is low. We've discussed the theme idea a lot but in addition to the problems already mentioned, I've noticed that people don't necessarily vote with the theme anyway - they kinda just vote for the prettiest coral.

My suggestions would be:

1) Larger growout contests with more frequent updates (I would be happy to help manage this) to drive participation and engagemnt. Probably some easier/faster growing corals too. The favia contest is a real snooze and the acro contest is turning out to be just like 2-3 of us.
2) Limit the photo contests to bi-monthly to maybe drum up more participation and give people more time to get photos in. I say themeless given the issues but am not opposed to themes as long as they aren't overly specific.

Really appreciate all you did this year, though, Andy! And classy of you to seek feedback and try to iterate the process for next year.

 

[tribbitt]

Less frequent, bigger photo contest with bigger prize like Derek mentioned sounds cool. That way more turnout (incentive and prep time) for each contest

I agree with the grow out contests using faster growing corals. I wonder if a poll could be made to see which types of corals people want. Acros, digis, plating montis, leathers? Zoas? And then try to source a coral that's the closest to what people voted for. I think contest corals have historically been donations, however, so I'm not sure if we'd be able to get the exact coral people want

 

[Invictus]

@ReyDeFarts Agreed that the photo contests are fun, but we aren't getting the level of engagement or enthusiasm. For example, I think you had 9 people vote for the Fish POTM contest but only 6 entries?

It would be good to have the next grow out contest start in-line with this coming frag swap, or the following, that way everyone can try to collect their entry coral at the same time under the same conditions. Last time was a bit of a mess despite our best efforts. I think it just needs to be "This is the day we are passing them all out, please be there or have someone pick yours up if you want to participate."

 

[Fish Boss]

I like the idea of photo contests, I just dont have a nice dslr or mirrorless camera, and my phone is a bit old and doesnt take great cameras. Combined with the fact that my tank is still very young with little growth, I dont feel very inclined to participate, though I did for the october contest. I also like the idea of themes to encourage different types of pictures. I’m not really sure how to spur more interest.

I REALLY like the idea of grow out contests, but it sucks that they generally last a year, so newer members cant participate. I feel like they generally have to be a year long though, because as we see with the favia contest, those corals grow very slow. Just want to toss out a couple of ideas here.

1. Shorter grow out contests. Maybe something along the lines of 1/2in x 1/2in gsp frag, who can grow out a 2in-3in plate first? Or most growth after 3 months? Something for noobies to get to participate in. I know a lot of people might not want to participate, because its gsp.

2. Another idea is to switch up the content a bit. Grow out contests are very straight forward, but what if we had a coolest encrusted object contest? Might be a bit flawed since there isnt a straight forward parameter to measure, and it would be subject to opinion. Could all have the same coral i.e. meteor shower cyphastrea, and choose your own object to encrust, or choose your own object and choose your own coral/corals to encrust.

3.uncommon coral grow out. Could choose an oldschool coral or one you dont really see these days. I had never heard of blue ridge coral before, but came across a thread on r2r about it a while ago. I also think fox corals are really cool, but I never really see them. Saw one at neptunes a while back, and almost snagged it. Not sure if they are just unpopular these days, or if there are ethical reasons why you dont see them anymore

 

[tankguy]

When I was doing tank of the month a few years back it didn't seem to go over as well either. I thought it would be nice to show off peoples tanks. I personally love seeing what others are doing. As for the conest thats kinda tuff. I thought your contest would have been received well

 

[ReyDeFarts]

I appreciate the feedback everyone. Keep it coming. The reality is that the lack of engagement is due to having a limited number of active users. Many members but mainly active on keeping an eye on events, PIF, and BST. There are a lot of folks that just don't like forums any longer. It's an old platform. Trying to recruit folks to join BAR is half the battle. Getting them to stay active on the forum is even harder. I can't even convince my wife to get more involved with the forum. It's clunky and difficult to navigate to her. I have recruited a few other folks here and I get similar responses from them.
So yes, engagement has been difficult.

"Favia" Grow out contests... I simply did not have enough knowledge about the species before we got started on it. A couple members clued us in, but it was too late at that point. It's not a favia, but likely a goniastrea and indeed a very slow growing species. Good lesson learned about understanding the species for the contest beforehand.

There are only a few left in each of the contests and I believe the length of the contests made folks get bored with it. So I agree that shorter time frame grow outs would be best. Issue is some folks don't want to repeat stuff we've done in the past. So I feel a little stuck with finding direction on how to proceed.

I just dont have a nice dslr or mirrorless camera, and my phone is a bit old and doesnt take great cameras. Combined with the fact that my tank is still very young with little growth, I dont feel very inclined to participate

I wish you wouldn't be discouraged by equipment. I'm certain that if you kept at it and practiced, you'd get plenty of amazing images. Phone cameras these days are quite good.

 

[Reefer Madness]

I'm all for the grow out contests regardless of what we are growing out. I haven't got to participate in one yet but I have enjoyed watching the threads and seeing the progress that other people have made.

 

[tribbitt]

3.uncommon coral grow out. Could choose an oldschool coral or one you dont really see these days. I had never heard of blue ridge coral before, but came across a thread on r2r about it a while ago. I also think fox corals are really cool, but I never really see them. Saw one at neptunes a while back, and almost snagged it. Not sure if they are just unpopular these days, or if there are ethical reasons why you dont see them anymore

I concur with the rare coral! If it's a popular coral a lot of people may have it already and make it less enticing to join.

About the corals mentioned, specifically - Blue ridge coral looks rather boring, but it can either grow slow or grow freakishly fast depending on the tank so maybe would be interesting for a contest. Fox coral tends to grow slowly, but I agree that it’s a very nice coral - I love mine. Clearwater gets them in regularly, I’d call and ask when the next import is and if they'll reserve you one

I like the idea of photo contests, I just dont have a nice dslr or mirrorless camera, and my phone is a bit old and doesnt take great cameras. Combined with the fact that my tank is still very young with little growth, I dont feel very inclined to participate, though I did for the october contest. I also like the idea of themes to encourage different types of pictures. I’m not really sure how to spur more interest.

Every picture I've ever posted on this site was taken with a phone camera, and the phone isn't the latest and greatest - it's the base model iphone 13. Like @ReyDeFarts said, phone cameras are really quite good nowadays. Can you do better with a professional camera? Of course. But max out your skill on what you have first

I recommend you get a cheapo $10 filter/lens though. I bought 2 because how cheap they are, and they improve photos tenfold. The one I got is this one https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806456165542.html

I'm pretty sure all the ones on amazon are just dropshipped and marked up so don't overpay. Aliexpress shipping is free and arrives under a week for me if it's "shipped with aliexpress" whatever that means.

Issue is some folks don't want to repeat stuff we've done in the past

Maybe contests don't have to fit a specific category like "photo contest" and "grow out contest", where while the theme can be different, people already know it boils down to "prettiest picture" and "big coral" each time - Jankiest reef setup contest. Coolest growth form contest. Best DIY idea contest. "Showcase your non-reefing hobbies" contest. Most biodiverse photograph contest. And maybe do a Minecraft Mob Vote type poll each time, pick 2 themes and people can vote and comment on them so you don't end up choosing a theme that few people can participate in.

I agree about the active member thing though. We have a lot of members, but I feel like 80% of the time when I log on I see the same couple familiar names.

 

[MarcosDelgado0]

I appreciate the feedback everyone. Keep it coming. The reality is that the lack of engagement is due to having a limited number of active users. Many members but mainly active on keeping an eye on events, PIF, and BST. There are a lot of folks that just don't like forums any longer. It's an old platform. Trying to recruit folks to join BAR is half the battle. Getting them to stay active on the forum is even harder. I can't even convince my wife to get more involved with the forum. It's clunky and difficult to navigate to her. I have recruited a few other folks here and I get similar responses from them.
So yes, engagement has been difficult.

I agree about the active member thing though. We have a lot of members, but I feel like 80% of the time when I log on I see the same couple familiar names.

This is a very valid point. Most of the time, it’s the same group of people active in the forums. I know there’s a lot of members because I see it in the BST and the good turnouts we’ve had at the last couple swaps. I just wish I knew a way of getting people more involved in the forums. I think a big part of it is sometimes people are scared to post a question that might seem “dumb” or aren’t sure about their answer to something so they don’t chime in to a conversation. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice engaging with the people I see often on here, but it’d be nice to see some new faces in the forums as well That’s why I like the swaps and think those DBTC meetups you proposed are a good idea if we can get people to attend, I think people are more likely to engage with people in the forum that they have met in person

 

[MichaelB]

Maybe less frequent photo contests, pool the prizes for a few months in a row, bigger prize more incentive to join in.

Like once per quarter. With extended photo submission time frames.

$50 is cool for me personally but your not getting much at a shop with only $50 chances are you will probably end up spending the 50 and another unintended hundred or two on top of it lmao. But say 150/200 value would be hard not to submit a photo.

It would also make it more interesting and not as routine. A frag swap monthly sounds cool in theory but over time people would probably also loose interest.

 

[B the Nano Reefer]

I think a focus on increasing overall engagement on the forum is important. I feel like engagement peaks in the weeks leading up to frag swaps and then wanes until the next one. The engagement between swaps is often concentrated in the BST or PIF forums or among a smaller group of more active members.

I think monthly, or at least quarterly, non-BOD zoom meetings open to everyone with no particular agenda would be helpful to encourage discussion about what the club is doing right and where there is room for improvement. These can be short and without any real organization. Maybe in those meetings we introduce new members (who are in attendance) they speak about their tanks, why they joined the club and what they hope to get out of it, if they want.

I have also suggested to some BOD members the idea of a “frag swap committee” focused on more organized frag swaps with a more “professional” feel. @IOnceWasLegend has done a fantastic job with swaps, but having more hands on deck will contribute to a much more well oiled event. Why not a hybrid CFM / swap type event that draws in large crowds of non-members with a table for ppl to sign up for membership on the spot. I would suspect (or maybe not) that some of our sponsors would jump at the change to have small table at a swap that they know 100+ ppl will attend.

As for contests:

- Photo contests held less frequently than monthly and I think need to have much more general themes: fish, inverts, LPS, SPS, FTS, natural light shot before the lights come on kinda thing.
- Why not a late October reef themed pumpkin carving contest? Get kids involved for those that have em. Solicit votes on social media as well
- Secret Santa exchange or white elephant for the holidays $10-25 minimum (or whatever). Meet up early December for food, drinks, DBTC and a reefing related gift swap
- best eshopps deskmate; ask one of our sponsors or eshopps for a discount for multiple of these, participant pays for the tank. No upgrades allowed to stock tank; $100 budget for sand (or not), rock, nano fish (if any), inverts, coral, etc. best looking tank in 6 months wins

 

[glee]

I helped put together a couple of coral grow out contests many years ago and it was a lot of fun. It's a lot more fun when many or all (if possible) cross the finish line together but things happen along the way and we have to be wary that some or many wont be able to make it all the way. I think 6 months is a good amount of time to see progress and stay captivated. Consider starting one after summer to avoid peak travel season. Pick a coral that can easily meet a judging metric. Coordinate it with a bandsaw fragging demo. Puchase a coral from a BAR Sponsor. Create a poll on coral type, name, etc. If you would like me to run one, I can. I have a little more free time these days as you can tell by my water changes lol.

Has there been a regional tank tour recently? I put together an SF tank tour and that was well attended and a lot of fun too. It would be great to see what's down on the Peninsula, SJ, North Bay, or East Bay. Couple it with a potluck or pizza from BAR in between and a LFS sponsor visit. Get a photographer to join by offering a frag for photos lol.

 

[MichaelB]

I helped put together a couple of coral grow out contests many years ago and it was a lot of fun. It's a lot more fun when many or all (if possible) cross the finish line together but things happen along the way and we have to be wary that some or many wont be able to make it all the way. I think 6 months is a good amount of time to see progress and stay captivated. Consider starting one after summer to avoid peak travel season. Pick a coral that can easily meet a judging metric. Coordinate it with a bandsaw fragging demo. Puchase a coral from a BAR Sponsor. Create a poll on coral type, name, etc. If you would like me to run one, I can. I have a little more free time these days as you can tell by my water changes lol.

Has there been a regional tank tour recently? I put together an SF tank tour and that was well attended and a lot of fun too. It would be great to see what's down on the Peninsula, SJ, North Bay, or East Bay. Couple it with a potluck or pizza from BAR in between and a LFS sponsor visit. Get a photographer to join by offering a frag for photos lol.

@ReyDeFarts is the photographer if you didn't know. He makes the rest of us (me any ways )feel like an elementry school kid showing off a finger paintings jk.

Tank tour would be cool.

 

[tankguy]

So Ive been a member for many years. Some high points where i engaged a lot and some low when not so much. I work many long hours and not a lot of free time. Working nights ain't all that fun. With the club you'll have your core members and some who just check in once in awhile. Ive been on both ends. Also in this hobby many people come in thinking its all gonna be great and after some mis haps they punch out. I've also been there lots of times. The club seems to be in a good place I think

 

[richiev]

I love the effort put into trying different things. Sometimes the success isn't having 500 submissions, but having people interested in what's going on. I also think it's interesting to have the varied types of topics

If you have access to the data, I think looking at views versus submissions would be more informative.

The main thing I see a pro and con on is the photos getting indirectly posted via messages. Not a big deal, but one more step of friction for me, and also means I need to try and hold back photos because they're supposed to be secret. I do appreciate not biasing on who submitted it though. Might be worth checking if there were more submissions when people just posted directly.

Thanks for all the thinking and effort on this! Most people don't respond when they are happy, they respond with they're not, so don't feel disheartened.

 

[ReyDeFarts]

I think monthly, or at least quarterly, non-BOD zoom meetings open to everyone with no particular agenda would be helpful to encourage discussion about what the club is doing right and where there is room for improvement. These can be short and without any real organization. Maybe in those meetings we introduce new members (who are in attendance) they speak about their tanks, why they joined the club and what they hope to get out of it, if they want.

I really like this idea. It would be cool to do live virtual tank tours. Gives us all a chance to hang out, geek out, and get to know one another more often. Thanks for mentioning it. Lots of other great ideas too.

The main thing I see a pro and con on is the photos getting indirectly posted via messages. Not a big deal, but one more step of friction for me

Yeah, I figured it could be a PIA for folks. But I couldn't think of another way to keep the entries anonymous. We'll probably be changing it up next year is my guess. Thanks for the input.

Thanks for all the thinking and effort on this! Most people don't respond when they are happy, they respond with they're not, so don't feel disheartened.

I appreciate it. Not disheartened at all. I'm just a newbie to the club and I want to make sure I stay focused or direct my path toward what everyone wants. I know not everyone will be happy, but just trying to keep frustrations to a minimum. Easier said than done with some folks.

If you would like me to run one, I can. I have a little more free time these days

It would be great to start the planning and strategy for next year. Lots of ideas to consider and having extra hands to help is always good. Thanks!