Shark tank sizes

[kangadrew]

Hi guys,

Would a 360 gallon, 8x3x2, aquarium be enough to successfully keep a brown banded bamboo shark? If possible I would like to add in a coral cat shark however I believe that the two sharks would get pretty cramped in that big tank. If I don't do the bamboo I'll do an epaulette but they're pretty expensive.
Tankmates would be a snowflake eel as well as some smaller schooling guys, either chromis (doubt they would last long) or some naturally-found fish here in NC like smaller minnows (after heavily quarantining them). Once the shark is bigger, I would likely add in a blue line grouper of a decent size - don't want to risk a smaller shark with one though. Thanks!

 

[alprazo]

No. They get 3+ foot. A coral cat would be a better choice. My eppies are all close to 3 ft. It doesn't take long.

 

[MonsterFishBook]

I love this tank:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT6AiqTPU2E
But it's going to be overstocked pretty soon. Sure 2 or 3 sharks might be doable but I saw at least 4 sharks in there (2 bamboos, coral cat, and horn) along with 2 or 3 rays plus a lion and panther grouper, so there's no way that's going to last too long.

 

[alprazo]

I like the 300 stock tank idea much better for a banded

 

[kangadrew]

I like the 300 idea much better.

Sweet, I was thinking a brown banded bamboo, yellow stingray, and 2 coral catsharks. MAYBE the blue line grouper since they're smaller but I'm not sure I'll risk it. Oh, did I mention the 150 gallon sump to bring up volume and allow for a TON of media?

 

[alprazo]

Not really a volume issue, more space. I would recommend a sand or bead filter and a degassing tower plus a skimmer. Heaters with covers, netting for the top, and simple lighting. That's about it. Live rock will not give you the filtration you need. It's more for decor. For a 300 I would personably recommend and aqua ultraviolet ultimate Ii 1000 bead filter and a reeflo dart gold pump. The skimmer will be your biggest expense. Forgo the sump, not needed. You can also use a denitrator to decrease water changes.

 

[kangadrew]

Not really a volume issue, more space. I would recommend a sand or bead filter and a degassing tower plus a skimmer. Heaters with covers, netting for the top, and simple lighting. That's about it. Live rock will not give you the filtration you need. It's more for decor. For a 300 I would personably recommend and aqua ultraviolet ultimate Ii 1000 bead filter and a reeflo dart gold pump. The skimmer will be your biggest expense. Forgo the sump, not needed. You can also use a denitrator to decrease water changes.

Do you think I could DIY the bead filter? I could build one that's got practically the same effect and make it even bigger than the ii 1000. I could build an external CC skimmer too if necessary, not a big problem. I could make it 5 foot high, could do up to 8" wide if I need to although that might be overskimming. I'm considering a denitrator, not sure though. For a degassing tower, would additional powerheads work the same? Just on a wavemaker I guess. I could likely DIY one, not QUITE sure how they work though.

 

[kangadrew]

Not really a volume issue, more space. I would recommend a sand or bead filter and a degassing tower plus a skimmer. Heaters with covers, netting for the top, and simple lighting. That's about it. Live rock will not give you the filtration you need. It's more for decor. For a 300 I would personably recommend and aqua ultraviolet ultimate Ii 1000 bead filter and a reeflo dart gold pump. The skimmer will be your biggest expense. Forgo the sump, not needed. You can also use a denitrator to decrease water changes.

For the DIY bead filter, I would likely follow this design and use the ultima media. It would likely cost far less than the $500 for the bead filter you recommended. Would having a mag-drive in the tank pumping water upwards into a ~50 gallon rubbermaid tub filled with the media and then back into the stock tank have the same effect? Seems like it would be much cheaper AND I could keep heaters in there. I have good connections, and can get a denitrator at wholesale price so I need to get into contact with him and see what kind of prices I'm looking at.

For a degasser, it doesn't seem like there's any good DIY ones out there so I might be better off getting them for $60 a piece at AES, probably 4 of them for $240 - could I go with 3 or even 2 or should I not? And would powerheads inside the tank have the same effect as a degassing column or no?

Planning on polycarbonate roofing panels to cover the top, super cheap and it will help with evaporation. Netting is an option as well though. Probably going to use pool filter sand - any experiences with it? Rock will be probably less than 100 pounds of it from BRS, dry stuff. Lighting will be basic stuff, probably hanging shop lights with CFLs, just to give it enough light to see into it.

This is the skimmer design I would likely follow.

 

[alprazo]

Nothing wrong with a sand filter. They work great and are 1/3 the cost of s bead. Maintenance is a nightmare with your design. Trust me. I used the corrugated polycarbonate roof covers. They are great and keep humidity down

Shop lights is all you need

 

[kangadrew]

Nothing wrong with a sand filter. They work great and are 1/3 the cost of s bead. Maintenance is a nightmare with your design. Trust me. I used the corrugated polycarbonate roof covers. They are great and keep humidity down

Shop lights is all you need

Sounds good, I'll get one of those from AES then - way cheaper. I definitely want to keep this thing pretty low mainetnance so my idea is out then. I've got shop lights lying around that I can use so I'm all set there. God, I can't wait to get this thing going. I know brown banded bamboos are relatively bulletproof, but how are coral cats and yellow stingrays? They seem to be way up there with hardiness, just figured I'd ask someone who's actually kept them (I think)

 

[alprazo]

You say bulletproof, but I can count on one hand the number of full grown ones I've seen for sale on Craig's list, eBay or other sites yet they are everywhere in the pet shops from eggs to pups. On the other hand, It is not uncommon to see an adult coral cat. I have never owned a banded. I sold my Arabian years ago to a restaurant, similar but smaller shark. Hardy as can be, but unfortunately never seen for sale anymore.

 

[kangadrew]

You say bulletproof, but I can count on one hand the number of full grown ones I've seen for sale on Craig's list, eBay or other sites yet they are everywhere in the pet shops from eggs to pups. On the other hand, It is not uncommon to see an adult coral cat. I have never owned a banded. I sold my Arabian years ago to a restaurant, similar but smaller shark. Hardy as can be, but unfortunately never seen for sale anymore.

Hmm, never thought about that. If you look on Youtube, there are plenty of adult brown banded bamboos though. The reason most die is because people want to hatch them from eggs. I was looking into some of the other bamboos, the brown banded seems to be the coolest and easiest to get (hasselt's is cooler but there's no reports of them surviving over a month or so) so brown banded it is.

 

[JaihWill]

There's a great group if your on FB called Sharks & Stingrays https://www.facebook.com/groups/429580500551376/

 

[kangadrew]

There's a great group if your on FB called Sharks & Stingrays https://www.facebook.com/groups/429580500551376/

Yeah man I tried to join but they haven't accepted me.

 

[Dmorty217]

Yeah man I tried to join but they haven't accepted me.

Alprazo knows more than most of them combined. Zoodiver on here and monsterfishkeepers is well educated also. Between the two of them you have more than enough knowledge available to you. No need for the FB group

 

[kangadrew]

Alprazo knows more than most of them combined. Zoodiver on here and monsterfishkeepers is well educated also. Between the two of them you have more than enough knowledge available to you. No need for the FB group

That's what I was thinking, alprazo is the benthic master and zoodiver is the master of... everything big.

 

[alprazo]

Thx. But the FB site provides another great source of elasmobranch enthusiasts and experts.

 

[Fishfirst]

Alprazo knows more than most of them combined. Zoodiver on here and monsterfishkeepers is well educated also. Between the two of them you have more than enough knowledge available to you. No need for the FB group

You do realize that both of the people you mention are already on and actively involved in the Facebook group right?

Also, there are some other extremely knowledgeable people on there. Some have written articles, been in charge of elasmobranchs exhibits, are in the industry, and in public aquaria.

Plus there is the added bonus of it being exclusively geared toward sharks and rays.

 

[Dmorty217]

You do realize that both of the people you mention are already on and actively involved in the Facebook group right?

Also, there are some other extremely knowledgeable people on there. Some have written articles, been in charge of elasmobranchs exhibits, are in the industry, and in public aquaria.

Plus there is the added bonus of it being exclusively geared toward sharks and rays.

Yeah I know that but being they aren't accepting the request made by the OP so the second best option for him is Carmen and Matt. I have no doubt there is a great wealth of knowledge on the FB group but sometimes we need answers now and I know Alprazo has helped me and several others on here by going way beyond the typical response is all I was saying

 

[Fishfirst]

Yeah I know that but being they aren't accepting the request made by the OP so the second best option for him is Carmen and Matt. I have no doubt there is a great wealth of knowledge on the FB group but sometimes we need answers now and I know Alprazo has helped me and several others on here by going way beyond the typical response is all I was saying

Often group admins need to make decisions based on limited information from their profile to prevent spam. A simple message to the admin should be all they need to get in