TOTM Diversity. Where is it?

[SDguy]

The point is no one appreciates their time consuming efforts being called "the same crap every month" with nothing constructive to add. As seapug pointed out, that's not the point of this thread, nor, do I think, will the mods allow it to go in that direction.

[dcombs44]

It seems there's a thread similar to this every couple of months, and every time, someone posts links to past winners with tanks that are not SPS dominated. The fact of the matter is, that SPS are typically the most difficult coral species to keep in the hobby, so that's what people advance to as they improve their skills in the hobby. The tanks that are successful long term are typically those owned by people that know their stuff. Those that know their stuff want to keep the hardest stuff to keep. They top out at SPS by default.

Here are some past non SPS TOTMs.

P.S. Kudos to the RC and RK staffs for providing us with stellar articles each month and being a wealth of info for us all.

There was a zoa dominated tank from a while back (I think) that I couldn't find. That was one of my all time favs.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...totm/index.php

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...totm/index.php

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...totm/index.php

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...totm/index.php

[dcombs44]

Ooh..here it is. Love this tank.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/totm/index.php

Granted, there's a new editor now, but beware, as this was posted as the the TOTM in the not too distant past.

I may also add, that I'm doubting that anyone here is paying anything to RK Mag for their product, and no one is making you read it

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ltte/index.php

(Guessing this was an April Fools Joke, but I'm also guessing the complaint was real)

[seapug]

agreed. It's a big effort and all of them are awesome. The owners and the RC staff are to be commended for the work that goes into them. That Zoa tank is awesome-- and from 4 years ago. If there's one family of corals that has new kinds being found all the time it's the Zoanthids. I would love to see a new zoa tank (that's not a bunch of frag plugs) featured.

[macreefster]

i have to say that all of the TOFTM are fully deserving and i've not found a one boring in the least. as a matter of fact they have inspired me to create a reef worth of them! while my tank is only a 70 i enjoy it immensely, but i yearn for the time when i can create a much larger reef tank. i think its merely a natural progression to the larger SPS tanks, but that doesn't take away from from other forms of biotypes and i believe some of them have been represented in past TOFTM's ( realize it took me quite a while to figure out what that stood for...lol). in closing i can only say that each and every TOFTM has inspired me greatly and i look forward to having my own such tank in the future.

[salineh2o]

These TOTM are Awesome..There's no doubt

I always enjoy sitting in awe of them....


Maybe we need the "BUDGET TANK OF THE MONTH"

[melev]

With the LPS craze that has been going for the past 14 months, you'd think someone would have built an amazing Acan reef by now.

And keep in mind the variety in tank sizes:

[macreefster]

i knew i could count on you to get all technical melev...lol. i'll put it simply. show me ONE tank of the month that isnt worthy. nuff said. maybe this is one case where size doesn't matter.... guess i can put away my tube sock now...lol.

[OnoIgotICH]

how bout I clarify it up alittle bit.

What im trying to say is, Most of the tanks is SPS dominated yes, crammed with corals. It looks nice and you have obviously put time and work into it, but its just not about cramming corals. Why no "out of the box" designs like some of the lagoon tanks or the "airplane crashed into my tank" scene. I find that alittle more interesting than looking at an SPS filled tank that I just saw the month before that. There was a guy who got nominated, I forgot where he was from but international guy. I think he had a 400 gallon system that was amazing. He had all type of corals yet his design was "out of the box"

Why no fish only tanks? There was a guy with a 300 gallon tank who had a Conspic, Clarion, Cleaner, Bandit, Black Tang, and other rare fish, all he contained was bleached white coral, kept his tank spotless of algae and only contained a Skimmer and a wet/dry who got beat out, by an SPS dominated tank.

[seapug]

Originally posted by OnoIgotICH

Why no fish only tanks?

well, this i can understand...the site is REEF Central, afterall....

[bklynmet]

Could you make certain months dedicated to non-sps dominated? Maybe twice a year where the guys putting the TOTM together purposely focus on a non-sps tank? The other 10 months, it works like it works now - leaving the possibility of more than 2 non-SPS tanks a year.
You might be reading this and think 'affirmitive action'. No, it's not affirmative action because I do believe the bar set for TOTM (in terms of aesthetics, husbandry, etc.) should still be high.

If the staff needs more nominations, then the idea of enticing people to nominate with the possibility of winning a prize may be a good idea. Heck, $20 giftcard is a cool prize!

[melev]

Again, it isn't about enticing. All people have to do is find a worthy tank and nominate it. That's it.

[bklynmet]

Originally posted by melev
Again, it isn't about enticing. All people have to do is find a worthy tank and nominate it. That's it.

Yep! But people are lazy.. I admit I am.

[Ephraim]

I love the TOTM that have been featured since I started frequenting this site over a year ago, they have provided endless inspiration and are always a source of stunning backgrounds for my desktop. (if i had a nickle for everytime a co-worker asked me if thats from my tank an I replied "I wish!"). But I think what the tank of the month is missing is creativity. I think that seeing ideas and concepts not conventionally seen in aquaria would be great, such as a skimmer operated by a midget blowing bubbles through a crazy straw (not really but, you get what i mean right?). Personally I love the end that we always see in TOTM but the means is something i think needs to be looked into more.

[bklynmet]

Well, this thread inspired me to nominate a tank.

[melev]

Originally posted by bklynmet
Well, this thread inspired me to nominate a tank.

How many times are you going to nominate my tank? Give it a rest already.

[bklynmet]

Originally posted by melev
How many times are you going to nominate my tank? Give it a rest already.

You wish!

You see, there's a conflict of interest by you having the editor position and winning a TOTM while holding that position. I'm saving you the ordeal of having to answer the eventual naysayers. So, when you look at it, I was thinking of when when I didn't nominate your tank.

.
.
.

Don't worry Marc, your time will come!

-Joe

[melev]

Joe, the way I see it, there will come a day when every person here will be so lazy that they won't nominate any tanks out there. Mine will be a shoe-in that month.

[chingchai]

Just my humble opinion,

LPS or soft coral can certainly make up a nice tank.
But maintenance and care level is moderate for most hobbyist.
TOTM should be something more exceptional. Don't you think?

[seapug]

Chingchai, are you the one with that crazy huge tank in Thailand with the lights that look brighter than the sun?

If you are, that tank goes beyond Tank of the Month. They'd need a new category for it, Tank of the CENTURY.

[JustinReef]

Originally posted by chingchai
Just my humble opinion,

LPS or soft coral can certainly make up a nice tank.
But maintenance and care level is moderate for most hobbyist.
TOTM should be something more exceptional. Don't you think?

Why should it be about who does the most maintenance. Often times there is way more beauty in simplicity. Having more maintenance and needing more care does not in any way make a tank exceptional.


I agree with a heck of a lot of the posts here although one or two could have been worded a little nicer. I have yet to see a TOTM with "crap" in it I would say though that I too am very, very bored of the similar looking sps tanks month after month...I used to check them out and read the articles every month but I haven't even had the desire this month to read about another sps dominated tank that most likely is set up and maintained very similar to the last one.

I think it is unfortunate though that we take our inspiration from the oldest and most diverse habitats on earth, yet most of us try to emulate an sps tank we see on here and think that is the measure of success. I can tell you that from the experience, people just do not "care" as much about "different" or soft corals. I have done my best to create a diverse lagoon style aquarium (nothing at a TOTM level mind you) and had some good feedback. Now if I had put the same time and effort and equipment into an sps tank, I would have had all kinds of attention and interest. Just like if my huge foot and a half in diameter toadstool leather was a huge sps colony, people would have been amazed at its size. Is this wrong? No. Its just what people like right now and like any fad or craze in this world, people will follow and decide they like it too.

I would love to see more soft coral or biotope aquariums in general and even some as TOTM but its unlikely to happen anytime soon. Nominating them would help no doubt but without those shiny sps colonies, there really is not much chance.

[algaeguy]

Hi everyone,

I've followed this thread with considerable interest, and I'm in agreement with many of the things I've read here! It's a topic that is near and dear to me. First off, let me state that every TOTM has been a wonderful example of a beautiful, well-thought-out system; a source of inspiration for everyone. They serve not only to inspire hobbyists, but to provide a record of the current state of the hobby. And notice that I said "current state of the hobby"? Perhaps the time is coming when our views of what is "conventional" will start changing. Perhaps we are ready for some different approaches to reef keeping. With so many new types of equipment, aquariums, and talented, adventurous hobbyists, the paradigm is shifting.

I think that justimpsmith is right on target...The current "trends" do not yet reflect this shift. However, the future looks bright!

Mark is correct- if you see a unique aquarium, please do nominate it! He and his colleagues do a wonderful job with the TOTM. RK Mag is a one of the premier venues to present new ideas to the reef hobby around the world. However, there are many gorgeous, atypical, and downright fascinating aquarium systems out there that, for whatever reason, don't seem to get the publicity they deserve.

Perhaps hobbyists are too modest, not confident in their skills, or otherwise not ready to share their systems with the world yet. I think that we might be a bit too obsessed with thinking that the "TOTM" moniker requires a huge investment, a gleaming large aquarium, high-end equipment, and "designer" stony corals. I hope that I'm not out of line when I assert that this is probably not the intention of the TOTM title. I'd like to believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that it's about sharing unique and inspiring systems, regardless of their methodology, with the hobby.

I've been fortunate to travel the country, speaking about this very topic- unique aquascaping and biotope aquariums (which I will be talking about at both IMAC and MACNA this year), and I am pleased to say that in every city and club that I've spoken at this past year, I've been approached by hobbyists who are trying, or contemplating trying- all kinds of unique systems: Seagrass biotopes, mangrove thickets, soft coral-dominated systems, monospecific systems, etc. There are a lot of creative hobbyists out there who will be launching some incredible systems in the near future. Some are already out there. I will continue to present some of these ideas and aquariums in my presentations, in the hope of inspiring others to try their hand at creating unique systems. I hope that we as hobbyists feel free to put our ideas out there for all to enjoy!

Let's continue to encourage each other to create the best systems that we possibly can, and to never forget to share our successes-and failures- and to learn from each other! Regardless of what approach we embrace, the bottom line is that it's all about the fun, and most important- the long-term health of our animals.

Scott

[JustinReef]

VERY well said algaeguy. I think your description of stony corals being "designer" is exactly what I was getting at.

Its no mystery what the voters for TOTM consider beautiful and successful. There is not the diversity I would like to see and if it were up to me, every month the TOTM would have to have a different "feel", look, inspiration, approach, theme, ect. Something to inspire new ideas or teach others about a specific biotope or simply show a different type of beauty this hobby has to offer. Keep it new and unique.

[mile sq. reefer]

algaeguy, thank you for sharing your insightful and thoughtful commentary. When I posted this thread, your presentation on Reef Biotopes/ Aquascaping came to mind. I enjoyed our meeting at the NJRC 2007 Fall Symposium and appreciate the exposure you created for me and my system by including it in your presentation. It means alot when such a notable speaker/ author takes notice of what you are doing and has the vision to see that it works in a non-typical way. I have to say, Thank You , for all the work you do to forward this hobby and the inspiration it creates fostering new approaches for the long term success reef systems.

[sjj80]

I too agree that the sps dominant TOTM has become routine. These systems are beautiful and worthy of the title they receive however I do think that it's true that sps tanks represent the ultimate achievement in this hobby. When I first decided to go SW I was only going to do a FOWLR. Then I saw the aquarium portrait article in coral magazine (anemonefish edition) and that tank was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, which inspired me to go reef. However, I have yet to see a tank setup like that one, the aquascaping was different from the usual sps tanks.

After doing some more research I found that it was more of a challenge to perfect and maintain a true mixed reef. That's what I'd like to see more of, along with nanos, softy dominated, and cleverly aquascaped tanks for TOTM. The sps tanks that have been featured are all beautiful and well kept, and I only wish I had a tank like those. But on the other hand, they are all starting to look the same and read the same. Rows and rows of sps against the wall of the tank and all the same/similar equipment.

I'm going to start voting as well cause I want to see more diversity!!!!