Tank of the Month - May 2004

[Skipper]

This month we are featuring George Rowe's (Eugene Reefer) beautiful reef tank:



More details can be found here or by clicking on the picture above.

Congratulations, George!

[Flatlander]

What a beautiful tank. Very nice.

Interesting reading on the carbon and bleaching. Were the Radiums in use then?

[skylsdale]

George Rowe's (Eugene Reefer) is one of my all-time favorites. The low profile is SUPERB, and the monospecific stand of M. capricornis is fantastic. Not only that, but the light stocking level of fish in that tank is absolutely obscene compared to tanks even half its size! Good work.

[brad_dolick]

that is a very impressive tank, especially for someone who still considers themself a newbie. awesome job

[SylvioFN]

What a fantastic tank!

Some questions: do you add any trace elements to the tank? Do you add anything besides the calcium you mentioned? I say this because you mentioned you run a skimmer that theoretically will eliminate the some important trace elements in the water... I love naturalistic low-maintenence tanks.

congrats-

[Newker]

A fantastic looking tank, very inspiring to us guys that have just started on the path.

Congrats on being Mr (& Mrs) May 2004

[Achilles]

Your tank's really awesome and you have very very sweet corals!!

Congratulations on this Award! Well deserved!

[melev]

George, your tank is beautiful, and I really enjoyed all your excellent images. Your Chromis look quite fat and happy, from the first picture!

I know I may be creating a debate here, but I'd like to know more about your need for carbon. If the tank is predominantly SPS, then carbon shouldn't be as necessary as it might be with a mixed reef with softies.

I recently read an article that pretty much supported my opinion that carbon is only good for a short duration, such as 24 to 72 hours. Why do you keep it running for six weeks? From what I've learned, it stops functioning at one point, and instead becomes a nitrate source as water flows through it.

The entire article was excellent, and reading about your DSB ranging from 2" in front to 8" in the back sounds really nice. I like your idea of making caverns and valleys, and only wish I could see your tank in person!

[AcroSteve]

Yes, very nice.

I am very interested in your pvc frame for the rock.

I am planning one or two for my 180 and will be blumbing them into my closed loop to increase the flow under there.

Do you have any pics of them when you built them?

[MrSandman]

Ahhhh yes. Another well deserved award. His tank has been one of my all time favorites for quite some time.

[rbaker]

Congratulations! You've done a great job with your tank...

[Tampa Aquarium Service]

A truly beautiful tank and proof that you don't need to always be working on your system to have great results

Congrats!!!
John

[Eugene Reefer]

Thanks, everyone, for the kind comments. Here are some answers to the questions so far:

Flatlander: Yes, the radiums were in use when I bleached the corals. We'd been using that type of bulb for some time before, so I don't think that they had anything to do with the episode.

SylvioFN: We don't add any trace elements other than what the Calcium reactor supplies. We do feed heavily, however, and it's my belief that the food--the vibragro and spirulina, if not the brine shrimp--provides a fair amount of additives on its own.

Melev: Well, do have a mixed tank of sorts, including a very large sarcophyton elegans and six good-size sarcophyton sp. that keep dividing. We hope the carbon is a hedge against chemical warfare. The six week replacement period doesn't really have any basis other than convenience, cost, and my sense that it has lost all of its filtration ability by then. Typically, we have about 2 cups of carbon in a filter bag in the sump.

Acrosteve: Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the pvc frame. It's basically a rectangle with legs and cross pieces about every 3 inches. It has only one level and keeps most of the rocks on the left side of the tank about 4-5" above the sand bed.

[rjwilson37]

Very Nice!

I would love to see your website on different aspects along the way to your success, as well as some more shots of your tank and the different coral sections.

[SylvioFN]

thanks!

[capt. insano]

eugene reefer,

Is there any way that you could possibly post a closer view of the the entire tank. Of course your tank and corals are gorgeous (that is why you deservedly won the tank of the month!), but I would like to see a more detailed view of your tank and canopy. The too look incredibly nice! They are DIY correct?

[mikeo1210]

gorgeous tank.. curious what you feed the corals? daily? target?

[saltyseaman]

'bout time you made TOTM . Great stuff man

[playa]

Eugene your reef is one of the most beautiful indoor reefs on earth! Your aquascape has been my favorite since I first saw a picture of it. You have been a tremendous inspiration for me in this hobby!

Congratulations!!!

Totally Awesome!

Luis

[my2girls]

Very natural looking, you can't get better than natural looking!

[Reef Junkie]

Wow!
Love it!

[minfinger]

Very Nice tank.

Do you happen to have a picture of the sump?

[gwrulzmylife]

Super tank! I've always been happy with premium aquatic's LR too! I'm glad it got mentioned!

[therealacarolla]

Great tank! Shows that not everyone has to do it "by the book" with water changes and closed loops and such.

Super job, keep up the great work!

[Fish-o-holic]

WOW I love the vast amount of colors there are in your tank. Job super well done.