*** MARINER OF THE MONTH: 2nd Edition! Sponsored by EShopps, Top Shelf Aquatics, Premium Aquatics, and SaltwaterAquarium.com! ***

Daniel@R2R

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Do you dream of creating a breathtaking reef tank that brings the magic of the ocean into your home? Are you driven to explore the endless possibilities of this incredible hobby and discover the wonders of the underwater world, right in your own space? The Mariner of the Month contest is your opportunity to shine! It’s a celebration of reef enthusiasts who embody the spirit of discovery, share their unique journeys, and inspire our vibrant community.

Each month, one outstanding hobbyist will be crowned Mariner of the Month through online voting on Reef2Reef, earning a fantastic prize package and a custom trophy to commemorate the honor. Monthly winners also become finalists for the ultimate title: Mariner of the Year 2025, with a grand prize worth over $12,000!

We’re looking for hobbyists who showcase creativity, commitment, and community spirit. This contest celebrates more than just your reef tank—it’s about you and the journey you’ve taken to make your reefing dreams a reality. Are you ready to Dream, Explore, and Discover? Let’s dive in!

REQUIREMENTS TO ENTER
  • Must be an R2R member (new members welcome!)
  • Have a tank thread on R2R
  • Be 18 years or older (minors may participate with parental consent) and living in the continental US
  • Monthly winners can only win once in the year but automatically qualify as a finalist for the Mariner of the Year selection!
HOW TO ENTER

To submit your entry, please include the following in a single post in this thread:

  • A photo of yourself and a photo of your reef tank. (These can be separate photos or combined, but separate photos may better showcase your tank.)
  • The name of your reef tank—or name it now if you haven’t already!
  • Your response to this month’s Mariner of the Month prompt: Describe Your Dream Aquarium! (Your answer should be at least 5 sentences long.)
  • A link to your build/tank thread on Reef2Reef. Don't have one? Our Members Aquarium Showcase is a great place to do that! CLICK HERE and get yours going!
Want to nominate another member? Here's how to do it:
  • Tag the individual you would like to nominate.
  • Share a nomination statement of at least 5 sentences, explaining why this person deserves to be considered. (Your statement will serve as an endorsement in the final voting thread.)
  • Nominees must accept the nomination and complete the entry requirements in this thread to be considered as a Mariner of the Month finalist.
Entries and nominations must be submitted by December 15, 2024.

PRIZES


Our Community Selected MARINER OF THE MONTH for January 2025 will receive:

Total Prize Value is $1,000!! Here's what the winner will get:
H2O-12-main-scaled.jpg





Gift_Card_1000x1000__11001.jpg

Mariner of the Year 2025: An ultimate prize package including a Mariner 130, a substantial gift card selection, and thousands of dollars in accessories!

RULES FOR ENTRY SUBMISSION AND WINNER SELECTION

Entries must be submitted by December 15, 2024. The top 20 entries will be selected by @ESHOPPS.INC staff. A new voting thread will be started by December 20, 2024 with 20 finalists for the community to select the MARINER OF THE MONTH. Winner of MARINER OF THE MONTH will be announced on January 2, 2024.

At the end of the contest, the winner's username will be tagged in the winning announcement. We will not email, PM, or contact the winner other than tagging their username. Be sure to check back to claim your prize.

Thanks so much to @ESHOPPS.INC for putting together this awesome event! Let the search for the Mariner begin!!
 
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tbrown

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I don't know that he'll accept the nomination but I want to nominate Frank @fishguy242 !

Frank is an amazing community member of Reef2Reef. He is always doing his part to help other members on Reef2Reef and in his community outside of this forum. He has freely given advice, knowledge, and even equipment and livestock to many in the community. I happened upon Frank's build thread. He immediately welcomed me into the group. Frank takes the time frequently to go and check to make sure that there aren't any posts in the unanswered threads page and either provide an answer, bump the thread to the top, or help call experts or someone that should be able to help answer their questions.

Frank is such a great asset to our community and I want to see him as our second Mariner of the Month!
 
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OP
Daniel@R2R

Daniel@R2R

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Hmm... hadn't considered that issue. I think we have to limit the endorsements to one posted in the voting thread with maybe a note that there were multiple endorsements for the individual.
 

JoJosReef

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I don't know that he'll accept the nomination but I want to nominate Frank @fishguy242 !

Frank is an amazing community member of Reef2Reef. He is always doing his part to help other members on Reef2Reef and in his community outside of this forum. He has freely given advice, knowledge, and even equipment and livestock to many in the community. I happened upon Frank's build thread. He immediately welcomed me into the group. Frank takes the time frequently to go and check to make sure that there aren't any posts in the unanswered threads page and either provide an answer, bump the thread to the top, or help call experts or someone that should be able to help answer their questions.

Frank is such a great asset to our community and I want to see him as our second Mariner of the Month!
I endorse this nomination! @fishguy242 you're my Mariner of the Month/Year/Galaxy!
 

ESHOPPS.INC

ESHOPPS REP
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What if multiple people nominate the same? Shall we have a group nomination? Working on my nomination for Frank.
If a multiple people nominate the same person, it is still considered as just a nomination. Once he/she accepts the nomination, then it will be up to you guys to vote for him/her. ;)
 

tbrown

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Now that Frank has been nominated, I have to enter myself because I'd love to one day be a Mariner of the Month.

FB_IMG_1620005569450.jpg

I'm in the green - I took third place out of 10 or 12 in our little archery competition

Here's my tank! ESHOPPS Mariner 70 Mixed Reef lit by 2 Noopsyche K7 V3
IMG_20241003_094857770.jpg


Describe My Dream Aquarium:

What is my dream aquarium? I'd have to say that my dream aquarium is a 300-500 gallon tank. I would love a peninsula style aquarium that's 8’ long by 3’ wide between 24” and 30” tall. Glass or acrylic doesn't really matter to me, although I love the more scratch resistance of glass aquariums and they just seem to sparkle more!

What's in the tank??? For aquascape I'd want several islands throughout the tank with catwalks, shelves, and ledges connecting some of them. I'd incorporate caves into the islands and swim throughs for zoomy fish and for cleaner shrimp to hang out.

For fish, like I said, zoomies! My tank would have to have Wrasses for sure! I'd have a Melanurus, a Leucoxanthus or Chrysus (or maybe both???), and at least 1 variety of Leopard Wrasse. I'd add a Red-Lined Christmas Wrasse, a McCoskers or Carpenter flasher Wrasse, and a Blue Sided Fairy Wrasse. There would be more added as I go as well! Also, a tank this size would be required to have a small school of Anthias - probably only 8 or 9, but maybe 12. Springeri Damsels and Dottybacks would also be a requirement for the amazing pop of deep blue. Blennies and Gobies would also be added for the goofy antics. I would probably go with several different colors of Clown Goby (although they'd likely get lost in a tank this size, but they are a must!), a Starry Blenny, and a Lawnmower Blenny. I'd add a couple of Hector's or Rainford Gobies as well. There would be a couple of tangs in there - my Tomini for starters and then an Orange Shoulder and a Chocolate Tang. Maybe a Yellow or Purple when the tank is ready for one. Also a small harem of Mocha clowns.

For corals? Everything! Well, ok. The back wall would get some GSP for the color and movement (don't hate!). There'd be an island on one side for Micromussa and Bowers on the other side. I'd have torches, hammers, and frogspawn islands, I'd have Gonis and Alveopora, and I'd incorporate encrusting Montis, Styloconiella, and Cyphastreas throughout! I'd add some Leptos, Pavonas, and Lithophyllons. I'd also have probably 2 islands for some zoanthids for color. I'd add Favias and Rhodactis mushrooms throughout the tank and probably a few small pockets of Rock Flower Anemones. And then, to fill in the tank I'd have some Montipora Digitatas, some Anacroporas, Stylophoras, and some Acroporas! And right in the middle somewhere there would be plating Montis - green, red, and purple.

So how would I keep all this running??? How about flow and lights??? Well, I love my Noopsyche lights so I'd add 6 or 8 Noopsyche K7 lights suspended from the ceiling on a rail system and that would light my tank. For flow I'd run 2 return pumps with 1 return plumbed under the sandbed to the far end of the tank and, at several locations throughout, there would be a RFG hidden in the rockwork helping to keep flow moving. I'd also incorporate a wave maker into the rockwork about 6’ into the tank to really help keep water moving and another one or two wave makers at the overflow end.

I'd want the tank to be automated as much as possible but I'd still want the ability to go in and tweak as I want.
 
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tbrown

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I'm not sure how many people I'm allowed to nominate but I do have a few more individuals to nominate!

I want to nominate @F i s h y !

For those of you that don't know him, Jason is an amazing guy. Similar to Frank, Jason has been there for countless individuals both here on Reef2Reef and offline outside of Reef2Reef. He has given of his time and knowledge to many struggling reefers and is always willing to answer questions that new reefers have. Jason is a huge asset to the reefing community and I'm proud to have him as a friend! His knowledge and his humor have helped many in our community stay positive and keep their tanks running and healthy.

Thanks @F i s h y for all you do for our reefing community!
 

tbrown

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I want to nominate @00W

Joel is such a great person. He is welcoming and always looking for younger or new reefers to help mentor. For those of you that have never been to his thread, The Smorgasbord, it is a great place to hang out, discuss reefs, and just live life! Joel has made his build thread/Showcase a true community to the point that many of us consider it like a second family. Like Frank, Joel is supportive and always trying to find the right answers for questions that arise.

#SmorgasbordFamily
 

tbrown

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I want to nominate @Fish Styx

Another great mentor in this Reef2Reef Community. He has taken several younger reefers under his wing and helped them to begin their reefing journey. He is funny and has a lot of information to share with those of us willing to ask and listen. Although we're all Heathens when we're on his thread, he treats us with respect and kindness and is always available to share a cup of coffee with and willing to share coral with others.

Thanks for being great @Fish Styx !


Also, if he accepts the nomination and wins we may need to see if the blue ATO can be swapped for an orange one. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:
 

tbrown

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Ok, that's my nominations for this month. There are so many more that I want to nominate but I want other people to participate and nominate as well.
 

00W

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I would like to nominate @tbrown for everything that he does for everyone.
Over 55,000 posts and Tim never fails to give advice on multiple threads other than his own.
I find Tim to be head and shoulders above anyone else in never failing to help all of us with whatever issues arise.
His generosity with his time puts him at the top of my list for mariner of the month.
He also has the best sense of humor of anyone I know.
Nuff said.
 

luis angel

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I endorse this nomination!!! I consider Frank @fishguy242 ,Joel @00W and Tim @tbrown as family and great pillars of this community, always willing to help everyone. When I started in this forum I always saw them in threads that others sometimes unintentionally overlooked, but not them. In the different threads of each one they always treat you with affection and try to do the impossible to help you with any problem, reef related or not. I say this from my own experience and I think some more here can attest to this. So my nomination and endorsement goes to these 3 greats of this community.
I don't know that he'll accept the nomination but I want to nominate Frank @fishguy242 !

Frank is an amazing community member of Reef2Reef. He is always doing his part to help other members on Reef2Reef and in his community outside of this forum. He has freely given advice, knowledge, and even equipment and livestock to many in the community. I happened upon Frank's build thread. He immediately welcomed me into the group. Frank takes the time frequently to go and check to make sure that there aren't any posts in the unanswered threads page and either provide an answer, bump the thread to the top, or help call experts or someone that should be able to help answer their questions.

Frank is such a great asset to our community and I want to see him as our second Mariner of the Month!

I want to nominate @00W

Joel is such a great person. He is welcoming and always looking for younger or new reefers to help mentor. For those of you that have never been to his thread, The Smorgasbord, it is a great place to hang out, discuss reefs, and just live life! Joel has made his build thread/Showcase a true community to the point that many of us consider it like a second family. Like Frank, Joel is supportive and always trying to find the right answers for questions that arise.

#SmorgasbordFamily

I would like to nominate @tbrown for everything that he does for everyone.
Over 55,000 posts and Tim never fails to give advice on multiple threads other than his own.
I find Tim to be head and shoulders above anyone else in never failing to help all of us with whatever issues arise.
His generosity with his time puts him at the top of my list for mariner of the month.
He also has the best sense of humor of anyone I know.
Nuff said.
 
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F i s h y

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I'm not sure how many people I'm allowed to nominate but I do have a few more individuals to nominate!

I want to nominate @F i s h y !

For those of you that don't know him, Jason is an amazing guy. Similar to Frank, Jason has been there for countless individuals both here on Reef2Reef and offline outside of Reef2Reef. He has given of his time and knowledge to many struggling reefers and is always willing to answer questions that new reefers have. Jason is a huge asset to the reefing community and I'm proud to have him as a friend! His knowledge and his humor have helped many in our community stay positive and keep their tanks running and healthy.

Thanks @F i s h y for all you do for our reefing community!
Thank you @tbrown I'll repay that with nominating you. There is a strong foundation of really great reefers on here. Many of which i have the pleasure of calling friends. Appreciate you and everything you do for everyone.
 

smitten with ocean life

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my heads spinning!! so many wonderful nominations!! i hope we can pick multiple again this time!! so many special people to choose from! @tbrown, @luis angel , @00W , @VintageReefer ,@Troylee . always ready with a helpful answer!! love you guys! (i know im missing more!)
 

Gumbies R Us

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I nominate @Slocke. He’s always been extremely helpful when it comes to information on wrasses and other fish. If you have a question about wrasses, he’s the man to ask. His knowledge that he brings to the hobby is impressive, and he does have a great tank. Not to mention he’s been very welcoming to people on his build thread, and various other threads he’s a part of. Thank you slocke for what you do for this community and what you do for everyone that is a part of it
 
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Slocke

I’m pedantic, ignore me
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I nominate @Slocke. He’s always been extremely helpful when it comes to information on wrasses and other fish. His knowledge that he brings to the hobby is impressive, and he does have a great tank.
Thanks!
I'll get an entry in soon…ish
 

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