Reef tanks of ReefStock, Denver by Mr. Saltwater

[vimeo width=”680″ height=”400″]http://vimeo.com/24137339[/vimeo]

While many of America’s finest reef aquarists descended on Denver for the Reef Builders ReefStock event every March, we take the opportunity to brag about our vibrant local reef scene by visiting some of the area’s finest reef tanks, many of which are among the world’s best. Mark Callahan of Mr. Saltwater Tank TV had his camera on hand when we visited the local tanks and the following video is 10 minutes of some of the nicest large reef and fish-only tanks around.

First up is a 1,500 gallon reef tank designed, installed and maintained by Cris Cap of Aquatic Art Inc. This stunning and deep reef aquarium uses 1000 watt halides, heavy duty equipment by My Reef Creations and at the time of the filming this aquarium was right at the three year-old mark. You can see the line of growth of the coralline algae which indicates how much water is changed about once a month. The corals and fish in this reef tank are the apex of vibrance and many fast growing corals have already been removed and pruned due to rampant rapid growth.

The second aquarium in the video is a much better clip of Chris Campbell’s inspiring fish only marine aquarium, we introduced it in a video of our own a while back and the likes of which is becoming a rare breed in this age of reef-centric aquarium keeping. Campbell’s fish aquarium features many uber rare reef fish like wrought iron butterflyfish, Japanese blue line angelfish, conspicullatus angelfish, joculator angelfish, bandit angelfish and a whole suite of other sweet fishes. The crystal clear water, moderate live rock aquascaping, flattering lighting and a heavy duty filtration system all ensure that Chris’s fish tank is 500 gallons of pure fishy hotness, now he just needs a pair of personatus angelfish to cap it off.

And finally, the last reef aquarium featured in this video is the reef aquarium masterpiece of Stephen Hurlock, a near-1,200 gallon reef system growing at high elevation in the mountains around Evergreen, Colorado. We’ve featured this aquarium many times over the years and considering the amazing density and growth of corals in this system right along side a hefty fish population, this reef tank is definitely one to aspire to for all the big reef tank owners out there. This tank is just about two and half years old, but it replaced a 11-year-old, 600-gallon reef system that existed in its place previously. See our previous coverage of the Rocky Mountain Reef Tank for more details about this world-class reef system.

Huge thanks to Mark and his film-guy for putting together this great video of Denver’s best reef tanks.

Jake Adams

Jake Adams has been an avid marine aquarist since the mid 90s and has worked in the retail side of the marine aquarium trade for more than ten years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Science and has been the managing editor of ReefBuilders.com since 2008. Jake is interested in every facet of the marine aquarium hobby from the concepts to the technology, rare fish to exotic corals, and his interests are well documented through a very prolific career of speaking to reef clubs and marine aquarium events, and writing articles for aquarium publications across the globe. His primary interest is in corals which Jake pursues in the aquarium hobby as well as diving the coral reefs of the world.