I currently have a unhatched banded cat shark, that I took out of its mermaids purse and put into a plastic container. It's been in there for a few weeks now and is doing well. I have decided to create a 300 gallon pond and still planning it out, which will be fish only. I am think of creating a refugium and also adding a canister filter. Any suggestions for filtration?
Predator tank
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Ya it's still attached to the yolk and still has a few weeks to go. Should I go for like double the gallon size or does it jot matter? I plan on keeping it in there for good, so should a go bigger than 300 gallon?
If you can go bigger them 300 do it. What size tank is he in now? I wouldn't move him into a tank to big to fast. Start him out in something 20 gallons-40 gallons so you can keep an eye on him. Good job with putting him in a container, you don't want the sac to break. Post a picture.
What is your skimmer situation?
A sand filter similar to the one below will work. If you use cainster filters go for double or triple the capacity. 3 large Sunsuns brand canisters should be good. They also have UV sterilizer built in.
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Choice-P...F8&qid=1432255888&sr=8-8&keywords=sand+filter
What is your skimmer situation?
A sand filter similar to the one below will work. If you use cainster filters go for double or triple the capacity. 3 large Sunsuns brand canisters should be good. They also have UV sterilizer built in.
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Choice-P...F8&qid=1432255888&sr=8-8&keywords=sand+filter
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
I currently have it in a 40 gallon that has a 10 gallon sump that I created. With a coralife skimmer that is rated for 65 gallons. I was planning on moving it around a year after its yolk goes away. I am most definitely going to add a refugium to it with a lot of live rock and Marco alge. You think I need double the size filter or can I get away with something close to the gallon size?
Cwindless
New Member
I am currently building a shark pond for my bamboo sharks as well. I went with a 300g stock tank, I have it plumbed into 2 75g aquariums one on top of the other. One is strictly for my protein skimmers 2 200g skimmers (bottom). The top will contain all live rock and Macro algae. I have a reeflo dart pump that will pump water from the bottom tank into the top tank as well as create circulation for the Sharks. I will be adding a UV sterilizer in the near future. I am finishing the plumbing, checking for leaks then filling all rock is already seasoned.
I was considering adding a canister filter but with what I am currently doing I don't think it is necessary. Of all the filter types a fluidized sand bed would be the best. Read anything about them and you will know they are the best hands down. For sharks you want the maximum filtration you can afford. So if it is cleaning the water 5x an hour, then go for it. They don't like fast flow in their setup but I don't think you can go wrong with over filtration. I don't think 2x the tank size is enough though because of how much waste they have the potential to produce. Also YouTube and Google different filter types, the pros and cons.
I started my sharks in a 220 gallon they are fine. I was glad I did because with the extra uneaten food the bio load was heavy, I wanted to ensure they had adequate food since I heard the hardest thing to do was getting them to start eating. For that reason I offered minced squid and minced table shrimp 2x a day with a spot feeder blown in the area they were resting and hiding during the day. I didn't cause stress by constantly checking on them and I never handled them which I think made it easier for them to start feeding on their own. Now they come out every evening around 645-7 just before my lights start tuning off to eat. I still spot feed them but bigger chunks so there is less waste in my water. They eat directly from the feeder now. I feed until their bellies are distended. I feed every other day to every 2 days because that is all they want to eat. They are right around 8-10 inches. One was born Thanksgiving the other the day after Christmas. Be patient and don't stress them. It took about 3-4 weeks before I noticed them actually eat. Before that I just fed the tank heavy and left food in the tank for them to find throughout the night. Good luck and I hope your setup is awesome.
Attached are some pics and a small video explaining my filtration. The bottom tank will only have 10" water when running. I was checking my design and leak testing tanks at that time. My rock was curing and I was leak testing with fresh water. Both the drains will go into the pond with a t split so some is returning for a second round of filtration. Since this video, I have gotten a different pump ( reeflo dart) because that one burned out. It was out a old hot tub someone was throwing away. It will Gravity feed down into the pond as well as circulate in with the lower tubing. Still a work in progress but I hope it gives you some ideas.
I was considering adding a canister filter but with what I am currently doing I don't think it is necessary. Of all the filter types a fluidized sand bed would be the best. Read anything about them and you will know they are the best hands down. For sharks you want the maximum filtration you can afford. So if it is cleaning the water 5x an hour, then go for it. They don't like fast flow in their setup but I don't think you can go wrong with over filtration. I don't think 2x the tank size is enough though because of how much waste they have the potential to produce. Also YouTube and Google different filter types, the pros and cons.
I started my sharks in a 220 gallon they are fine. I was glad I did because with the extra uneaten food the bio load was heavy, I wanted to ensure they had adequate food since I heard the hardest thing to do was getting them to start eating. For that reason I offered minced squid and minced table shrimp 2x a day with a spot feeder blown in the area they were resting and hiding during the day. I didn't cause stress by constantly checking on them and I never handled them which I think made it easier for them to start feeding on their own. Now they come out every evening around 645-7 just before my lights start tuning off to eat. I still spot feed them but bigger chunks so there is less waste in my water. They eat directly from the feeder now. I feed until their bellies are distended. I feed every other day to every 2 days because that is all they want to eat. They are right around 8-10 inches. One was born Thanksgiving the other the day after Christmas. Be patient and don't stress them. It took about 3-4 weeks before I noticed them actually eat. Before that I just fed the tank heavy and left food in the tank for them to find throughout the night. Good luck and I hope your setup is awesome.
Attached are some pics and a small video explaining my filtration. The bottom tank will only have 10" water when running. I was checking my design and leak testing tanks at that time. My rock was curing and I was leak testing with fresh water. Both the drains will go into the pond with a t split so some is returning for a second round of filtration. Since this video, I have gotten a different pump ( reeflo dart) because that one burned out. It was out a old hot tub someone was throwing away. It will Gravity feed down into the pond as well as circulate in with the lower tubing. Still a work in progress but I hope it gives you some ideas.
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Nice setup. I was looking at that same pond the other day, which I will prob get. I just bought a 50 gallon long tank for my refugium. Thinking of adding a fluval fx6 as well as a a skimz monster skimmer. Will have to look into sand filters tho.
Cwindless
New Member
Yeah that was a 300g stock tank from a feed store. I plumbed it through the drain whole on the pond with 2" threaded pvc, I used toilet bowl washers/rubber seals. Most people just cut a hole further up the tank the same size. I didn't understand that.... I have It on a 2x4 stand to get it up off the ground. It has wheels as well incase I need to move it for any reason... for maintenance. So far that was an awesome idea... I have had to stop leaks and swap parts out for better design and moving all that sand rock and water was easy on wheels.
If you have any questions let me know.
If you have any questions let me know.
Cwindless
New Member
I have not used a sand bed filter. I was going to try to figure out how to incorporate it into this design. Was thinking about going with a trash can or run my plumbing so the water coming out the tank feeds directly into the trash can with dirty water then drains into my bottom sump tank.
I started researching them after I established this set up, so no I have to figure out how to encorporate it. The pump I am using draws water faster than the pond drains so that is my latest obstacle...lol I have it worked out by recycling the bulk of the water back into the sump tank but the flow isn't what I want it to be in the top tank. Also getting a lot of bubbles which I don't want either. My thought on how to fix that is increase my depth in my lower tank. I need to try to widen the plumbing on the pond to allow for more flow through as well. I was trying to avoid having to run several powerheads but that may be what I have to do also. It will be a work in progress and probably constantly changing. Will keep you posted though.
I started researching them after I established this set up, so no I have to figure out how to encorporate it. The pump I am using draws water faster than the pond drains so that is my latest obstacle...lol I have it worked out by recycling the bulk of the water back into the sump tank but the flow isn't what I want it to be in the top tank. Also getting a lot of bubbles which I don't want either. My thought on how to fix that is increase my depth in my lower tank. I need to try to widen the plumbing on the pond to allow for more flow through as well. I was trying to avoid having to run several powerheads but that may be what I have to do also. It will be a work in progress and probably constantly changing. Will keep you posted though.
