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pwhitby
01/31/2006, 10:48 PM
Ok....

COMAS project number seven million and five.

Tank of the month.

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Im sure many of you have seen the beautiful tanks that are a key feature of the ReefKeeping online magazine. While those tank are beautiful they are not indicative of the majority of tanks that hobbiests can keep and maintain. So...with that in mind, I would like to initiate a tank of the month feature on our new website.
However, before i begin the planning on this I want to know what you, as hobbiests, would like to see.

Obviously we want pictures, the more the merrier. Im sure we want to know what the tank parametrs are and stuff like the equipment. What else would you like to know about a tank?

The idea is to get this going and do it on a "draw" basis. That is....you let me know you want your tank to be featured, solemnly swear that you will put the time and effort to doing a write up on your tank and that you will be open to questions in the forum. Once we have a pool to chose from, we will pick one at random and let you know. Then you get to do the writing.

For this to work I need the following:

Volunteers with cameras to take pictures.
People to assist in the general write ups.
Someone to choose at random, the next TOTM.

I would also like to feature the tank of any hosts of a monthly meeting. For example, a write up about Aprils tanks, since she is the host of the February meeting.

Anyway.....

Please post your thoughts. This is not a competition, I hope it will be informative and help new members of the club develop their tanks.

Paul.

luvabunny
02/01/2006, 08:55 AM
" For example, a write up about Aprils tanks, since she is the host of the February meeting. "


ALL OF THEM????


Actually, I have already been working on getting some signage up for each one of the tanks - with tank size, params, lighting, special features, and the LFS where I bought certain items.


I think this sounds like a wonderful idea, and the fact that it is not a competition makes it even better. There are some pretty awesome tanks out there that aren't full of alot of color, but are very technical and done right. Let me be the first to volunteer for whatever is needed. Altho it isn't amazingly expensive, I have a digital camera that takes nice pics, I type at over 100 wpm to help with write ups, and I can randomly draw with the best of them. Just let me know what is needed and I'm there.

Travis L. Stevens
02/01/2006, 09:47 AM
I, too, can be a list resort. The COMAS and OMAS Donor Programs have me pretty busy, but I'm a fast typer and have a digital camera, so I can help cover those north of OKC.

Travis L. Stevens
02/01/2006, 10:19 AM
Also, would it be better to have a prerequisite of having a working description and/or pictures of your tank before you enter. That way, if someone wins, we don't have to rush around attempting to match schedules and writing/photographing a tank in a limited amount of time.

pwhitby
02/01/2006, 10:56 AM
I will put together a basic layout and whoever choses to do a write up about their system can follow that. Once they do the write up it can be reviewed and any other information can be added.

For example, I may not go into detail about my equipment....if at review we think this would be nice to have more info on, then a request can be made to expand that.

Then pictures can be chosen and it can all be put together.

I would like for each write up to follow the same basic plan just for ease of reading and for layout when they are added to the website.

Paul.

pwhitby
02/01/2006, 10:57 AM
I will volunteer to do a write up. (SPS tank)

April has volunteered, (Sea Horse tank)

who else wants to join in on the fun.....

Paul.

Travis L. Stevens
02/01/2006, 11:00 AM
I'll do a write up on my tank. Now, I can't say that I will have it ready by the end of February

captbunzo
02/01/2006, 01:12 PM
I'll do a writeup on my tank... Oh wait, I just got it back up. Never mind! :)

Travis L. Stevens
02/01/2006, 01:34 PM
That's actually a good thing Pual. You can write about all the things that it has gone through.

pwhitby
02/01/2006, 01:38 PM
For those who havent seen the RK TOTM feature,

here is a link.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-01/totm/index.php

As you can see it has LOTS of pictures and useful information on the actual setup. This is the basic format I would like to follow.

P.

MyMonkey
02/02/2006, 07:52 AM
Great idea Paul. Props for you eh.

pwhitby
02/19/2006, 10:18 PM
So..........its been a few weeks.

Any Volunteers for write ups?

Paul.

sadsak
02/19/2006, 11:54 PM
If we me and Amanda thought we could do justice we would write an article. People put so much of their hearts into their tanks not to mention time and money, that we would want a great job done. Not saying that we would right a bad peice but I hope you know were we are coming from. Not to mention there are many aspects of reef keeping that after 2 1/2 years that we are just starting to get a grip on. That's where we are at........

luvabunny
02/21/2006, 12:13 PM
Paul,
I will have mine to you by the weekend.

pwhitby
02/21/2006, 12:21 PM
No rush April, we have already discussed yours, and I have mine written....but I would like for someone else out of the 80 members we have to get involved with this.

Travis L. Stevens
02/21/2006, 12:32 PM
COMAS Donor Program first, sorry :D Once I get my photography skills up to par, I should be able to get something done rather quick. Can I put it together in HTML? It might make it easier when transfering onto the website.

2ras
02/21/2006, 12:52 PM
Mine is less than a year old. what can someone say about it? :rolleyes:

Ray.

pwhitby
02/21/2006, 01:33 PM
As much as you would like. The bulbs, the lighting regime, feeding, equipment, manitenance, ideas, livestock, waterflow,

What more can be said about a tank thats 5 years old ?

poke75
02/21/2006, 05:31 PM
I can have you one by May. I am doing some major equipment items right now and it will be that long before all is finished and settled.

Steve

pwhitby
02/21/2006, 06:00 PM
That would be good Steve. The more we have on the site, the better it will be for everyone in the club.

Paul.

2ras
02/21/2006, 06:18 PM
In that case I can write something up about the tank.
Give me a week or so & I'll have a page or two.
What about photos?
Ray

pwhitby
02/21/2006, 06:26 PM
pictures are always good, the more the merrier.

Travis L. Stevens
02/22/2006, 08:13 AM
Should/Could we have just a list of members and their tank bios on the website? It would be a SERIOUS amount of work. But people would be able to see everyone's tanks anytime they like. Just a farfetched idea to throw out there that will probably not happen :)

captbunzo
02/22/2006, 09:31 AM
Hey - that sounds cool.

Travis L. Stevens
02/22/2006, 10:19 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6799981#post6799981 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by captbunzo
Hey - that sounds cool.

I can only phathom how hard and arduous that project would be though. I guess it wouldn't be too bad. Think of it this way. We could have a page with a member list. That member list can have a member bio and a tank bio linked off of their name. But in order for that to happen, the member must create their own bio/tank bio so it is not pawned off on one person to try to get almost 80 people's bios. It could be easy, and it could be difficult depending on how many people decide to participate. If only 10 people out of ~80 decide to take the time to prepare a tank/bio, then the web programmer will only have to copy and paste the information for 10 people. Plus if we do it this way, we can all turn them in at seperate times so we can stretch out the chore instead of putting a big deadline on it and having everyone rush around. If we did this, we could also have a Tank of the Month by just drawing out of a hat of the available tank bios and transfering the bio to a more accessible page with possibly extra detail. Just some thoughts, again.

captbunzo
02/22/2006, 12:09 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6800305#post6800305 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
I can only phathom how hard and arduous that project would be though.

Really depends how it was done. If I were doing it, I would create a word document, excel spreadsheet, or something, form that could be filled out by a person to create a tank bio. And I'd have an easy way to dump that to HTML to create a web page.

I'd leave the content of the tank bio pretty straightforard and simple with maybe a max of like 4-5 pics per bio and then a link to a "tank photo album", if desired by the tank owner. Of course, that photo album would have to be setup by the owner somewhere other then the COMAS site. (flickr, photobucket, etc)

But like Paul said, COMAS project seven million and five. Or maybe this is seven million and five plus one. :)

MyMonkey
02/22/2006, 12:22 PM
I like the ideas on the members tanks. I have no clue how to make it HTML but I am willing to assemble a word document or assist if possible.

Travis L. Stevens
02/22/2006, 12:38 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6801142#post6801142 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MyMonkey
I like the ideas on the members tanks. I have no clue how to make it HTML but I am willing to assemble a word document or assist if possible.

As awesome as that would be, we might want to hold off until we get an actual approval to do something like that :D Believe me, I'll jump on it ASAP, too :thumbsup:

captbunzo
02/22/2006, 01:09 PM
I agree. Also, we have other projects that are in progress right now for the website. Depending on the outcome of these, we might be ready to CONSIDER a project like this in about 3-6 months.

Travis L. Stevens
02/22/2006, 01:15 PM
pssst. *whispers* Hey Jeramy. Feel free to go ahead and write one up though :) I'm sure if they decide to go for this, you can be the first to get a bio on the website :lmao:

captbunzo
02/22/2006, 01:32 PM
:)

Setting up My 55G Tank (http://www.flickr.com/photos/captbunzo/sets/72057594068607079/)

Will add some more later today...

luvabunny
02/26/2006, 10:15 PM
Hi Paul,
E-mailed you my write up this evening. The pics are coming, but I can't find where hubby filed them, so I'll have to get some help from him.

Did we ever decide where these tank of the month things are going to be?