Quest Lobby 560 Gallon build
- Thread starter MuralReef
- Start date
Had to move the location of the shark tank due to some insignificant matter called fire code and egresses.
So thanks to risk management, the shark tank has a new prime location in the main lobby of the school. We were in a holding pattern while electrical was installed, but that finally happened last week!
Now time to fill this sucker with RO for the leak check!
Of course, fill it with the “fish club” kids first.
What approximately 125 gallons looks like in a 560 gallon tank:
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So thanks to risk management, the shark tank has a new prime location in the main lobby of the school. We were in a holding pattern while electrical was installed, but that finally happened last week!
Now time to fill this sucker with RO for the leak check!
Of course, fill it with the “fish club” kids first.
What approximately 125 gallons looks like in a 560 gallon tank:
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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The fish club kids are so fun. They’ve been patiently waiting while the district installed the electrical. And now that it’s finally being filled, every student and staff member who walks by asks about it (because literally every school community member will walk by this thing at least once a day). The kids are the experts, and telling people all about the epaulette sharks and how big they start and how big they’ll get eventually. It’s really fun to see them so enthusiastic.
Stocking list should be two epaulettes, perhaps a ray or two, and then the rest of the fish will be chosen by the kids (with approval by Mike and I, of course). They’re doing a good job researching what fish are compatible with our sharks. They already have a nice list of tangs they want to add.
Seriously. Being a teacher is the best. Especially when kids fight over who gets to clean the skimmer and test the chemicals. (The person who cleans the biggest skimmer also gets first dibs on feeding the eel in Mural’s room).
Really excited that this build is finally moving forward.
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Stocking list should be two epaulettes, perhaps a ray or two, and then the rest of the fish will be chosen by the kids (with approval by Mike and I, of course). They’re doing a good job researching what fish are compatible with our sharks. They already have a nice list of tangs they want to add.
Seriously. Being a teacher is the best. Especially when kids fight over who gets to clean the skimmer and test the chemicals. (The person who cleans the biggest skimmer also gets first dibs on feeding the eel in Mural’s room).
Really excited that this build is finally moving forward.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My skimmers need changed, water tested, sumps cleaned out and coralline scraped off of my glass. Field trip? I am kidding... which I guess needs to be pointed it out in today's age of internet creeperism.
I had sharks a long time ago. They are tricky and sensitive, but also quite hardy when done correctly. I am sure that you know what you need to know, but hollar if you have any questions. My main piece of advice is to find a local asian food market where you can buy anything from whole squids, octopus the size of basketballs, whole cuttlefish, etc. where the variety, quantity and cheap price is awesome for tanks with larger eaters. With a willing and eager club, you should have no trouble slicing and dicing them into nice sized hunks to freeze quite quickly. When I had small sharks, I had them order the smallest size of whole shrimp and had to wait - just the tails are not enough they need the guts, brains and livers and stuff too. Shells can be good depending on the type. Tangs are not great tank mates since they pick, especially when they get larger, so choose your species well. Believe it or not, some puffers and the more gentle planktivore type triggers are really good (and really personable) like Crosshatch, Bluethroat, Sargassum and even Pink Tail and Black Durgon - if you are patient you can find a lot of these fish that have been captive for a while and no longer fit in a 180g. Salinity is the main thing along with stray voltage - have a good refractometer and calibration fluid handy and even a cheap harbor freight voltmeter in your kit.
When choosing fish, planktivores in general are a good place to start - not fish that truly eat plankton, but that get food from the water column and do not pick at stuff. If you want the sharks to be out all of the time, then they don't need their slime coats picked at, even if the fish is just trying to get a piece of food that got stuck.
Let me know if you need any cutting boards, freezers, knives or anything else that always comes up later on... Adams Appraisal always will to make some donations and while mean old boss has been working me long hours, he lets me do whatever I want for this type of deal.
Looking Good.
I had sharks a long time ago. They are tricky and sensitive, but also quite hardy when done correctly. I am sure that you know what you need to know, but hollar if you have any questions. My main piece of advice is to find a local asian food market where you can buy anything from whole squids, octopus the size of basketballs, whole cuttlefish, etc. where the variety, quantity and cheap price is awesome for tanks with larger eaters. With a willing and eager club, you should have no trouble slicing and dicing them into nice sized hunks to freeze quite quickly. When I had small sharks, I had them order the smallest size of whole shrimp and had to wait - just the tails are not enough they need the guts, brains and livers and stuff too. Shells can be good depending on the type. Tangs are not great tank mates since they pick, especially when they get larger, so choose your species well. Believe it or not, some puffers and the more gentle planktivore type triggers are really good (and really personable) like Crosshatch, Bluethroat, Sargassum and even Pink Tail and Black Durgon - if you are patient you can find a lot of these fish that have been captive for a while and no longer fit in a 180g. Salinity is the main thing along with stray voltage - have a good refractometer and calibration fluid handy and even a cheap harbor freight voltmeter in your kit.
When choosing fish, planktivores in general are a good place to start - not fish that truly eat plankton, but that get food from the water column and do not pick at stuff. If you want the sharks to be out all of the time, then they don't need their slime coats picked at, even if the fish is just trying to get a piece of food that got stuck.
Let me know if you need any cutting boards, freezers, knives or anything else that always comes up later on... Adams Appraisal always will to make some donations and while mean old boss has been working me long hours, he lets me do whatever I want for this type of deal.
Looking Good.
Oh, the kids would have a blast doing your fish chores. Children are great - they’re still enthralled with magnetic cleaners and getting to test “real” chemicals. They bragged to their teacher (5th grade) in the hall about how they got to test pH using a real kit instead of pH strips. Seriously. It’s like fishy Christmas morning every Tuesday afternoon.
Appreciate any and all advice! I’ve never kept sharks before, though I’ve always loved them.
Coral magazine recently had an entire article about epaulettes and their husbandry. It was very informative and gave a lot of good advice about feeding, tank mates, rock work, diseases, etc. Much of their advice echoes your own. Stocking wise, I think we’re going to start with groups of different kinds of damsels. We can’t have an empty box of water in the lobby for long, and it won’t be a huge loss if the damsels are eventually prey for the sharks.
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Appreciate any and all advice! I’ve never kept sharks before, though I’ve always loved them.
Coral magazine recently had an entire article about epaulettes and their husbandry. It was very informative and gave a lot of good advice about feeding, tank mates, rock work, diseases, etc. Much of their advice echoes your own. Stocking wise, I think we’re going to start with groups of different kinds of damsels. We can’t have an empty box of water in the lobby for long, and it won’t be a huge loss if the damsels are eventually prey for the sharks.
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Chocolate tang is a nice tang that does not pick. I would trust a Purple or Yellow which don't get huge and are not jerks like Sailfin nor pick like a Bristletooth. Genicanthus angelfish are good planktivores and you can get male/female pairs and trios that are sexually dimorphic that they kids can call him or her. I had a golden puffer in with mine - super aggressive sometimes at feeding, but never to the sharks... dogface might be better choice and they are really good with people, cheaper and not a holy grail fish. Well fed large angels not like passer or queen are probably good too... the coral eating type that are good with tank mates. I had a pair of Chysurus in with mine and they were great. Also had a pair of Semilevartus Butterflies, but they need more reef type water and got stressed with higher N and P levels. Avoid all wrasses - the stupid picking ones are a horrible choice and while the ones that sleep in the sand are super friendly, the sharks try eat stuff that sleep in the sand although Eps don't eat a lot of fish.
Do you have a plan for elevated N and P levels? Some say that this does not affect sharks, but I don't believe it (rays too). I have no idea what that article said, but I would keep the water as close to NSW as you can and you won't be able to do this with water changes alone. Since it is not a reef, you can dose sugar, vodka or vinegar and use some Lanthum Chloride for the P... something cheap. Only real risks for fish and sharks is an overdose and oxygen starvation, so have a good dosing scheme and good skimmers. A friend had a sulfur denitrator with his sharks and rays and used GFO and a fuge for the P.
Lastly, for now, the Eps dig, so secure any rock well or it can fall on them.
Do you have a plan for elevated N and P levels? Some say that this does not affect sharks, but I don't believe it (rays too). I have no idea what that article said, but I would keep the water as close to NSW as you can and you won't be able to do this with water changes alone. Since it is not a reef, you can dose sugar, vodka or vinegar and use some Lanthum Chloride for the P... something cheap. Only real risks for fish and sharks is an overdose and oxygen starvation, so have a good dosing scheme and good skimmers. A friend had a sulfur denitrator with his sharks and rays and used GFO and a fuge for the P.
Lastly, for now, the Eps dig, so secure any rock well or it can fall on them.
stingrays are awesome!Progress!
Plumbed the returns and installed the return pumps. Plumbed the overflows and drains, and then took them apart and reassembled them again when they leaked the first time. They always seem to leak the first time.
Then we began building the pvc structure for the rock work. Many of the animals we plan to get are diggers and will knock over rocks, so we’re using the pvc and zip ties to keep the rock secure, along with a good amount of mortar.
Fish club kids continued rinsing sand today, as well as getting the water nice and salty. They were also told to bring shorts for next week, because I absolutely intend to have them be the ones climbing into the tank and attaching rock to the pvc structure. Should be a great time.
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Plumbed the returns and installed the return pumps. Plumbed the overflows and drains, and then took them apart and reassembled them again when they leaked the first time. They always seem to leak the first time.
Then we began building the pvc structure for the rock work. Many of the animals we plan to get are diggers and will knock over rocks, so we’re using the pvc and zip ties to keep the rock secure, along with a good amount of mortar.
Fish club kids continued rinsing sand today, as well as getting the water nice and salty. They were also told to bring shorts for next week, because I absolutely intend to have them be the ones climbing into the tank and attaching rock to the pvc structure. Should be a great time.
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Are you really stocking with sharks and rays? That'd be awesome!
Sent from my SM-G975U using MASC mobile app
Sent from my SM-G975U using MASC mobile app