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- Justin is the American
- designer whose
- signature vision
- elevates custom
- aquarium installations
- to a new aesthetic.
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Shelly Eversley
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C.C. Sabathia's City Aquarium Tank in "Architectural Digest"
  New York Yankee C.C. Sabathia's home in Apline, NJ has it all: a spa, a salon, a basketball court, and a spacious sneaker closet. But no home would be complete without a City Aquarium custom-designed saltwater installation, which is exactly what C.C. and his wife Amber decided to put into one of the family room's walls. The Yankees pitcher's exquisite home, including the aquarium, is featured in the November 2010 issue of "Architectural Digest." The 18,000-square-foot home was built by architect James Paragano and designed by Martin P. Mitchell. The aquarium that Justin Muir and his team designed for C.C., Amber, and their three children is 11 feet long, with a sleek curved front panel and an artificial sunken reef. Discussing his motivation for choosing his NJ home, C.C. said he wanted "somewhere [he] could come home to after tough games and find everything perfect, easy, warm, and welcoming." We here at City Aquarium hope our saltwater installation has helped him do just that. Signing off, Brian Sanders Publicist City Aquarium LLC Labels: Architectural Digest, C.C. Sabathia, James Paragano, justin muir, Martin P. Mitchell, New Jersey, NY Yankees, press, Residential, saltwater installation |
Shark Week in Japan -Our Client's Japanese TV Interview
 As a marine biologist, an aquarist, a hobbyist, I did not have a great feeling or attitude with regards to keeping a Black Tip Reef Shark in a smallish tank. We got her at 17", I found her in Los Angeles during one of my many visits to the fish importers gathered along the outskirts of LAX. I knew my client only wanted a shark or nothing. The tank was 130" Long x 48" Wide and 40" High. No small tank for sure, 1,000 gallons in a gorgeous penthouse apartment on 5th avenue with 360 degree views of Chelsea. It was a spontaneous acquisition, and along with a Conspiculatus angel, a Kidako moray, and a Bubblebee grouper we left for NYC. She arrived sure enough in a crate 36" x 36". The acclimation process was interesting, she was active, and accepted the tank pretty quickly as her new home. I must say that part of my willingness to give the shark a try was that the residence is very private, and the clients were never in residence and did not have loud dinner parties, annoying visitors, and the place was very quiet. She is left alone for the most part (she ate all of her tank mates including the giant hermits), our service team is there almost daily. She is fed only the best, smelt and large peeled and deveined wild gulf shrimp (Wholefoods of course). She is a joy and she fit the tank. She has been there for a year now and all good things must come to an end. With expert care she has grown now to 22". Now must transport her back to our facility and place her in one of our large cylinder tanks. I am not sure the client wants a new shark, he is thinking about larger marine fish. Chelsea will miss her. As a rule, these animals should not be kept in tanks under 4,000 gallons. Requiem Sharks should ideally be placed in aquariums that can hold them once they reach their full adult size. This technically means that the length of the tank should be 4 times the adult length of the shark and at least 1.5 - 2 times their adult length in width (25' x 10'). This does not mean that they can't be placed in smaller enclosures as young. You must have an exit strategy in place when the shark out grows their tank. We will try to film the transport of the Black Tip and place it on the blog. Jmu Labels: Residential |
Dallas Tank
 Crescent shaped tanks will be completed in Dallas in June 2008. The system is composed of three tanks forming a semi-circle around a large tub in the master bathroom. The center tank will feature a living reef. We will need to send a diver in the tank in order to epoxy the corals into place. Final pictures will be taken sometime in August of this year of the completed installation. J-Mu Labels: Residential |
Gigantic Acrylic Aquarium Sumps Going To Dallas
  These sumps are going to Dallas this week. These guys measure 60"x30"x30", I added twin baffles and four micron sock rings. Each sump will handle a 1,000 gallon marine tank in a residence in Texas. Great job on the sumps Mike! J-Mu Labels: Residential |
White Reef Insert
 The white reef insert is one of my signature designs. White inserts are both minimal and modern and are often requested by my clients in New York City, Miami, and Los Angeles . Often we do cream, tan, or dark brown tones on the tips and fringes of the corals. The base reef has been done in off white washes. When my clients aesthetic is modern, and their color pallet is earthy tones of browns and whites, I often create these inserts. I have done variations of this insert in dark brown, and black satin. The insert pictured here is nearly completed and is going to a residence on Central Park West, New York City. We developed this insert as a habitat for seahorses. We booted several SPS and LPS corals into the base reef which will be used as hitching posts for the Pot Bellied Seahorse (native to Australia, a cold water species). Many hobbyists ask if I am crazy placing these white inserts in my tanks, but they can be done successfully. The insert itself is clear coated several times, this prevents the algae from rooting and makes cleaning easy. Most of these inserts are made to be removed for annual cleaning. Also, Mexican Turbo Snails are our friends. We do use theses amazing little cleaners to clean our inserts, and this is why I do not want to close our borders with Mexico! J-Mu Labels: Residential |