We proudly present the August 2011 Manhattan Reef Tank of the Month to ?.Mshur!
Congratulations Mike! How does it feel to be chosen as an MR ToTM?
I want to thank MR for giving me the honor to share my tank with all of you?even though lots you have seen by tank already. It feels great to receive this honor and it has given me encouragement to further my reefing hobby.
I?ve had the pleasure of seeing your tank a number of years ago?can you introduce yourself to the folks who haven?t met you yet and how long have you been around anyway?
My name is Michael Shur and I was born and raised in Belarus (formerly a part of Russia). I have been in this hobby for about 10 years now. During this time I have had both good and bad experiences?like we all have.
From here it looks like it has been a successful 10 years. What have you learned?
The main goal of my system is to keep SPS colorful and healthy. My experience showed me that stable water parameters are crucial to the success of reef keeping. Each system can have its own ?in range? water parameters. I?ve seen so many nice systems with different sets of ?in range? water parameters in which the corals all look very healthy and beautiful. Equipment is often underestimated but it helps a lot to keep the water clean and stable.
While part of the biological filtration is performed by the live rocks, a good efficient skimmer is a very important piece of equipment to keep water clean. I?m using a Bubble King Supermarine 250 internal skimmer and it has been doing its job nicely. However, since the corals are growing rapidly, the bio-load is steadily increasing over time. Besides an effective skimmer, I?m running Prodibio system with vinegar for different bacteria population and I use ROX carbon in the sump to absorb toxic elements.
So it isn?t just about keeping up with what you currently have, it is more about thinking ahead to what a growing system requires and having your plan in place. That is excellent food for thought for our young reefers out there!
Tell us the details about your current system?
My current tank and stand made by Elos with crystal 14mm glass. Since the tank is placed in our living room, I needed to organize all of the equipment under the stand and under the stairs. All systems are powered by a GHL-Profilux Controller with all gadgets. Yes, I do like reef gadgets!
? Display tank: 55" x 32" x 25" about 225 gallons
? Sump: 32" x 26" x 18"
? Skimmer: Bubble King 250 Internal skimmer with SCH
? System Filtration: Prodibio with vinegar
? Ca/KH/Mg Addition: Balling Lite Method with BRS salts
? Dosing Pump: Profilux dosing station
? Chiller: TECO
? Controller: Profilux by GHL
? Water movement: 2 x Vortech MP40w , 2x 6205 , closed loop with a 4-way Oceans Motions and a Red Dragon return pump
? Lighting: Sfiligoi with 2x400w Radiums, 4 xT5s ( 2 Fiji purple , 2ATI blue +), all T-5s dimmable by Profilux.
Very nice set up. What are your parameters like?
What are your husbandry methods?
I perform a 30-gallon water change every 2 weeks using HW Reefers salt, but as soon as I finish this salt I would like to try new ESV salt. Additionally, each week the sump filter bags are cleaned in the washing machine (of course, no soap is used). Every week I clean the skimmer collection cup and empty the waste cup.
I see you dose, can you tell what you use specifically?
Every other day I dose KZ Vitalizer and twice a week I dose Amino?s by Elos. The night before my water change I dose Reefbooster by Prodibio. I do believe in high import/export and that?s why I feed heavy and run the skimmer wet!
Thanks for bring that up...what do your feed your tank?
I like to feed the tank pretty heavily. I feed the fish pre-washed Piscine Energetics mysisshrimp and enriched brine shrimp twice a day; once in the morning before I leave for work and right after the halides go off at night. I feed the corals by broadcast feeding Oysterfeast and Arctipods by Reef Nutrition a couple of times a week.
You told me that the livestock is your favorite part of the hobby?so?
My problem is that I cannot figure out which I enjoy more - the fish or the corals. I got into this hobby because I enjoyed the diversity and coloration of the fish. The way each fish interacts with each other is just another reason why I enjoy our hobby. I currently have about 15 fish in my tank and I would like to keep more
The majority of my corals are SPS. Each SPS has its own characteristic and it is fun to watch its shape and color changes over time. I enjoy the coral placement process that's how I make more frags I try to locate a perfect spot for coral with good lighting and water flow but find it is challenging. As the SPS grow, I?ve started adding LPS corals into the shaded areas, as they?re not as light sensitive.
In trying to keep with a more natural look I am a firm believer in having a sand-bed although it is quite shallow ranging in depth ranging from 1 - 2 inches. I personally prefer the look of a sand-bed as opposed to bare bottom and although it is shallow it serves purposes other than just aesthetics. I have several wrasses that bury themselves in the sand at night, sand sifting gobies that feed on it's nutrients and very importantly it also creates another area for bio-diversity to form & grow.
Anyone you would like to thank?
Special thanks to my reef-buddies?Andrew (Montipora), Rich (Jackson), Kasei (pseudo), Poormansdream , Reefbum, and many others.
Last but not least, I would like to sincerely thank the MR team for setting up this great site to exchange knowledge and experience with other hobbyists. It has been a pleasure to meet so many great people on this site and become friends with them.
(we know it's a little blurry, but it was too cute not to include it!)
It?s been a sincere pleasure to have you as our August ToTM winner Mike..congrats once again!!
All Photo Credits ? Mike Shur
Congratulations Mike! How does it feel to be chosen as an MR ToTM?
I want to thank MR for giving me the honor to share my tank with all of you?even though lots you have seen by tank already. It feels great to receive this honor and it has given me encouragement to further my reefing hobby.
I?ve had the pleasure of seeing your tank a number of years ago?can you introduce yourself to the folks who haven?t met you yet and how long have you been around anyway?
My name is Michael Shur and I was born and raised in Belarus (formerly a part of Russia). I have been in this hobby for about 10 years now. During this time I have had both good and bad experiences?like we all have.
From here it looks like it has been a successful 10 years. What have you learned?
The main goal of my system is to keep SPS colorful and healthy. My experience showed me that stable water parameters are crucial to the success of reef keeping. Each system can have its own ?in range? water parameters. I?ve seen so many nice systems with different sets of ?in range? water parameters in which the corals all look very healthy and beautiful. Equipment is often underestimated but it helps a lot to keep the water clean and stable.
While part of the biological filtration is performed by the live rocks, a good efficient skimmer is a very important piece of equipment to keep water clean. I?m using a Bubble King Supermarine 250 internal skimmer and it has been doing its job nicely. However, since the corals are growing rapidly, the bio-load is steadily increasing over time. Besides an effective skimmer, I?m running Prodibio system with vinegar for different bacteria population and I use ROX carbon in the sump to absorb toxic elements.
So it isn?t just about keeping up with what you currently have, it is more about thinking ahead to what a growing system requires and having your plan in place. That is excellent food for thought for our young reefers out there!
Tell us the details about your current system?
My current tank and stand made by Elos with crystal 14mm glass. Since the tank is placed in our living room, I needed to organize all of the equipment under the stand and under the stairs. All systems are powered by a GHL-Profilux Controller with all gadgets. Yes, I do like reef gadgets!
? Display tank: 55" x 32" x 25" about 225 gallons
? Sump: 32" x 26" x 18"
? Skimmer: Bubble King 250 Internal skimmer with SCH
? System Filtration: Prodibio with vinegar
? Ca/KH/Mg Addition: Balling Lite Method with BRS salts
? Dosing Pump: Profilux dosing station
? Chiller: TECO
? Controller: Profilux by GHL
? Water movement: 2 x Vortech MP40w , 2x 6205 , closed loop with a 4-way Oceans Motions and a Red Dragon return pump
? Lighting: Sfiligoi with 2x400w Radiums, 4 xT5s ( 2 Fiji purple , 2ATI blue +), all T-5s dimmable by Profilux.
Very nice set up. What are your parameters like?
- Specific gravity: 35 ppm (refractometer)
- Calcium: 420 - 450 ppm (Elos)
- Alkalinity: 8 - 9 dKH (Hanna alk checker)
- Magnesium: 1300 - 1350 ppm (Elos)
- Temperature: 78 - 81? F
What are your husbandry methods?
I perform a 30-gallon water change every 2 weeks using HW Reefers salt, but as soon as I finish this salt I would like to try new ESV salt. Additionally, each week the sump filter bags are cleaned in the washing machine (of course, no soap is used). Every week I clean the skimmer collection cup and empty the waste cup.
I see you dose, can you tell what you use specifically?
Every other day I dose KZ Vitalizer and twice a week I dose Amino?s by Elos. The night before my water change I dose Reefbooster by Prodibio. I do believe in high import/export and that?s why I feed heavy and run the skimmer wet!
Thanks for bring that up...what do your feed your tank?
I like to feed the tank pretty heavily. I feed the fish pre-washed Piscine Energetics mysisshrimp and enriched brine shrimp twice a day; once in the morning before I leave for work and right after the halides go off at night. I feed the corals by broadcast feeding Oysterfeast and Arctipods by Reef Nutrition a couple of times a week.
You told me that the livestock is your favorite part of the hobby?so?
My problem is that I cannot figure out which I enjoy more - the fish or the corals. I got into this hobby because I enjoyed the diversity and coloration of the fish. The way each fish interacts with each other is just another reason why I enjoy our hobby. I currently have about 15 fish in my tank and I would like to keep more
The majority of my corals are SPS. Each SPS has its own characteristic and it is fun to watch its shape and color changes over time. I enjoy the coral placement process that's how I make more frags
I try to locate a perfect spot for coral with good lighting and water flow but find it is challenging. As the SPS grow, I?ve started adding LPS corals into the shaded areas, as they?re not as light sensitive.
In trying to keep with a more natural look I am a firm believer in having a sand-bed although it is quite shallow ranging in depth ranging from 1 - 2 inches. I personally prefer the look of a sand-bed as opposed to bare bottom and although it is shallow it serves purposes other than just aesthetics. I have several wrasses that bury themselves in the sand at night, sand sifting gobies that feed on it's nutrients and very importantly it also creates another area for bio-diversity to form & grow.
Anyone you would like to thank?
Special thanks to my reef-buddies?Andrew (Montipora), Rich (Jackson), Kasei (pseudo), Poormansdream , Reefbum, and many others.
Last but not least, I would like to sincerely thank the MR team for setting up this great site to exchange knowledge and experience with other hobbyists. It has been a pleasure to meet so many great people on this site and become friends with them.
(we know it's a little blurry, but it was too cute not to include it!)
It?s been a sincere pleasure to have you as our August ToTM winner Mike..congrats once again!!
All Photo Credits ? Mike Shur
