300g Shark/Ray aquarium

[glarior]

This is the start of my first journal. I have been doing aquariums since 2000 and got invovled in saltwater 2008/2009 (I don't remember which year lol). I have learned a lot over the years and now want to take on something more advanced... sharks, rays and eels.

I highly recommend the book "Aquarium Sharks & Rays: An Essential Guide to Their Selection, Keeping, and Natural History" by Scott W. Michael

The setup at this time:

• 6ft x 3ft x 27" aquarium with black backing
• ~400lbs of fine grain sand plus ~100lbs of my current live sand
• Live rock - unsure how much at this time.
• Sump - in debate with bioballs, live rock and/or fluidized sand bed (what you think?)
• LED lights - trying to figure out how many LED's to use
• Octopus skimmer for 300g
• Algae scrubber - May 1st is the release date of Santa Monica's new design/patent. Can't wait!
• simple stand

[LIST=1]
step 1: locate the current 75g aquarium and rebuild/reinforce the floor.

step 2: bring home stand and figure out how to move the aquarium inside the house

step 3: if step 2 is successful I will bring the aquarium home with bulk supply of salt

step 4: install aquarium, plumbing, wait 2-3 days for the RO/DI filter to fill the aquarium.

step 5: let aquarium run for a while and add my lion, eel and puffer to the aquarium

step 6: this will happen when I think the aquarium is ready and matured, relocate puffer to reef tank, introduce shark/ray.

step 7: ultimate challenge/goal, have the sharks/rays reproduce!


Wow, seems so simple right?

[Lady Hobbs]

Sounds like an awesome tank project but I know of no sharks or rays that could go in a 300 gallon.

[glarior]

Sounds like an awesome tank project but I know of no sharks or rays that could go in a 300 gallon.

The rays I am still researching.

There are only 3 sharks that can be housed in that small of an aquarium... bamboo, epaulette and catsharks. They are not active sharks and spend most of their time resting on the bottom of the aquarium.

[Surfdog]

But think of all the eels you can house, boy oh boy...

[glarior]

Update: Floor rebuilding starts this weekend. 3/4 plywood on top with new 2*6 cross bracing and railroad ties put under all that to spread the weight. Might be a redneck if you use railroad ties to support the fish tank

I will take pictures.

In debate... fully loaded bioball sump or fluidized sand filter. My readings say both are just as good for bacteria growth but neither remove nitrates. However, the scrubber I plan to build will. In theory I should be set...

Light fixture is going to be a DIY Cree LED setup with nothing to bright and red LED's for night viewing.

The one LFS I do business with is getting me a bulk supply of fine white sand and salt which saves money.

The scrubber design is coming. Algaescrubber.net releases a new patent design May 1st everyone is waiting for... once released I will debate between my 'I' design LED scrubber or the new design. The LED part is awesome and people are getting great results using the 660nm deep red LED's. I am building one for the 120g reef tank as soon as the parts come in.

[glarior]

Past weekend rebuilt the floor and supported it from under the house with railroad ties.

I am glad I did this... the 75g scrubber was leaking and I never knew it! The floor was already warping and going through the insulation!

Painted the stand yesterday with wood fence water seal. I plan to put thin black acrylic on the front and side of the aquarium since its going into a corner.



Hope to bring the tank home this week so I can figure out how big to build the sump, scrubber and all the other stuff.