500 + Gallon Shark and Ray System

[trigger happy]

Here are some early photos of my custom built Shark and stingray tank that I built myself. The system is finished for the most part in terms of equipment, but not yet stocked with any type of livestock. It measures just over 8 feet in length by 4 feet in width with a depth of 2 feet. The entire system including the sumps, etc. is just over 500 gallons.

Although the tank is obviously not meant to be a display piece, the best part has been the overall low price tag and the enjoyment (Mixed with frustration at times, of course!) that I had building the system and I can't wait to add fish to it later on! I hope you enjoy the photos.
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[gixxer600]

What material did you use to construct the tank itself?

 

[trigger happy]

I thought I would add a few more photos.
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[gnashty]

Wow - that would be a killer aquaculture tank! Nice job

and :welcome:

Gary

 

[acroholic]

That looks really nice. Good job! :up:

 

[trigger happy]

The tank was constructed with hard wood lumber for the most part (i.e. 2" x 8", 2" x 12", 4" x 6") and held together with 3 to 3.5 inch large thread screws. I used a large plastic liner tray on the very bottom for a little "extra insurance". This was installed once I had the wood stand/base built and then the real fun began as the actual tank area was constructed with cement and precision grout. Weeks later, the cement and grout was cured and I applied the non-toxic epoxy fish liner. By far the worse part of the whole build was the applying the cement by hand since it was far too small to be poured or blown in and I didn't need a very thick layer of cement or grout really, just enough to be solid and for the liner to adhere onto. In hindsight I could have passed on the cement & grout altogether since the epoxy liner will actually adhere directly to sanded wood as long as 60-80 grit sandpaper is used and the surface is clean.

 

[weaglereefer]

Yeah, but the concrete looks good, gives it a look of something you'd find at the aquarium. There going to be a sandy bottom? And what kind of pump are you using for circulation?

And finally, what species are you going to keep?

 

[trigger happy]

Thanks for the very warm welcome! I actually just joined the Atlanta Reef Club as an official (paid) member and I hope to get to one of the meetings soon! I have a 300 gallon reef system which is right across from this tank, my friend built it and it is less than half of the depth at 10.5 inches but it is actually a true reef system that we are using to aquaculture various corals and live rock, etc.!

I will add some build photos although they are not very pretty. I warned you!:yuk:
I will also add some of the reef system so you can see how he built that system too!

You can build a tank like this for as low as $350-$400 minus the pond epoxy but if you use a cut-in-half boat dock float (non-toxic plastic...BTW) which cost about $50 a piece for us, you can build one even cheaper and more shallow for your corals and high water flow is sooooo- easy to achieve with that shallow depth of water! I'll show you the photos, this is why I wanted to share b/c this stuff may not be as pretty as glass or acrylic tanks but it is a lot of fun to make and you can go really large for cheap.... uhmmmm...I mean reasonably priced!:up:

Think Home Depot and Lowes if you want something like this!

 

[trigger happy]

Oh, those prices don't include your pumps, lights, skimmers, etc. just the actual tank and plumbing....you know, the primary structure and not the gadgets!

 

[midas]

Looks good! The size is impressive and it should provide a great home for the sharks and rays. Look forward to future photos.

 

[trigger happy]

These are some pics of the reef tank that my friend had built and it is also in my basement across from the shark tank in the fish room.

This design would make a huge frag table b/c it is also 8 feet L x 4 feet W x 10.5 inches in depth. You could also use the epoxy pond liner that I used, which comes in black, blue, and any color you want to be matched if you send them a color sample....BTW, and make a frag table of any size to fit your needs like a nice 4' L x 4' W or something. The pond liner is made by Pond Shield, just Google it, and it has been extensively tested in both the cured and uncured phases to be completely non-toxic to fish and plants and is used for water fountains, Koi ponds, and garden ponds mainly. A quart and a half kit will seal an approx. area of 60 square feet and cost between $75 w/ free shipping up to $79.95 plus shipping. Just don't use spray or paint in swimming pool liners as most that I found are treated with chlorine (spelling?/sorry) and that obviously won't work well! :lol2:
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[trigger happy]

weaglereefer;576654 wrote: Yeah, but the concrete looks good, gives it a look of something you'd find at the aquarium. There going to be a sandy bottom? And what kind of pump are you using for circulation?

And finally, what species are you going to keep?

You reminded me of something, the Pond Shield pond epoxy is actually available in a clear epoxy color so you could still seal it and the concrete would not affect the water quality but retain the rock/concrete look!

That's a great idea! I think the concrete had the public aquarium look too, but I like the "deep water blue" bottom look but since adding the araganite sand it isn't near as blue in the tank.:sad:

 

[nanonano]

Wow you guys have a killer setup. Jealous. I might have to pay you to make one of those for me someday.

What sharks are you going to keep?

 

[trigger happy]

NanoNano;576699 wrote: Wow you guys have a killer setup. Jealous. I might have to pay you to make one of those for me someday.

What sharks are you going to keep?

Thank you very much! I must admit that I certainly got the idea for my build off of my friends reef setup but I wanted to go larger and so forth, plus he put a central two inch drain pipe (as seen in the photos) in the center of the tank and it constantly sounds like someone is draining their bathtub. That is why I came up with the swimming pool inspired skimmer/overflow boxes and they are virtually silent! Just let me know, I may be up for another build one day, I could do a much better job on the second model as I have learned from my many mistakes along the way on this one! :blush: It only took about two or three weeks for me to get the tank itself built in my spare time.

About the residents... I'm just going to keep a pair of smaller bamboo sharks, most likely the common brown banded bamboo shark and a pair of cortez stingrays. I hope I can raise some healthy captive bred rays and sharks one day and help to reduce the amount being taken from the reefs in the wild. I have eliminated the idea of getting coral cat sharks instead of bamboo sharks as they are reportedly extremely active at night and aggressive too. I don't really want that. :unsure:

Thanks again! I like the Mork avatar!

 

[trigger happy]

Here are some build photos and so forth. I am sorry to say that I was so caught up in getting the tank made that I didn't take many photos until I was several miles down the road with the project. There's always next time I suppose!
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[trigger happy]

Trigger Happy;576684 wrote: These are some pics of the reef tank that my friend had built and it is also in my basement across from the shark tank in the fish room.

This design would make a huge frag table b/c it is also 8 feet L x 4 feet W x 10.5 inches in depth. You could also use the epoxy pond liner that I used, which comes in black, blue, and any color you want to be matched if you send them a color sample....BTW, and make a frag table of any size to fit your needs like a nice 4' L x 4' W or something. The pond liner is made by Pond Shield, just Google it, and it has been extensively tested in both the cured and uncured phases to be completely non-toxic to fish and plants and is used for water fountains, Koi ponds, and garden ponds mainly. A quart and a half kit will seal an approx. area of 60 square feet and cost between $75 w/ free shipping up to $79.95 plus shipping. Just don't use spray or paint in swimming pool liners as most that I found are treated with chlorine (spelling?/sorry) and that obviously won't work well! :lol2:

The liner/tray in the reef tank photos is actually one of those boat dock floats cut in half, if anyone really wants one of those I think my friend can still get them for $50 a piece from a place that makes the boat docks for off of Lake Lanier near Gainesville, Georgia. The liners are 100% waterproof and you don't have to do anything as far as sealing or treating the surface except build a stand/frame for it to go into. They have a nice dark blue color on the inside and are black on the outside.

 

[jdabs]

This is a really cool idea! Thanks for sharing with us and keep the pics and updates coming!

 

[nanonano]

Trigger Happy;576827 wrote: Thank you very much! I must admit that I certainly got the idea for my build off of my friends reef setup but I wanted to go larger and so forth, plus he put a central two inch drain pipe (as seen in the photos) in the center of the tank and it constantly sounds like someone is draining their bathtub. That is why I came up with the swimming pool inspired skimmer/overflow boxes and they are virtually silent! Just let me know, I may be up for another build one day, I could do a much better job on the second model as I have learned from my many mistakes along the way on this one! :blush: It only took about two or three weeks for me to get the tank itself built in my spare time.

About the residents... I'm just going to keep a pair of smaller bamboo sharks, most likely the common brown banded bamboo shark and a pair of cortez stingrays. I hope I can raise some healthy captive bred rays and sharks one day and help to reduce the amount being taken from the reefs in the wild. I have eliminated the idea of getting coral cat sharks instead of bamboo sharks as they are reportedly extremely active at night and aggressive too. I don't really want that. :unsure:

Thanks again! I like the Mork avatar!

What about an Epaulette?

 

[nanonano]

Is that tank going to be big enough for a full grown horn shark though?

 

[trigger happy]

NanoNano;576866 wrote: What about an Epaulette?

I have considered the Epaulette shark also, but for some reason I just like the overall "look" of a bamboo shark a little better. Plus, the price point is so much lower on a banded bamboo shark....but I guess there are two ways you could look at that issue.

I hear that they are a lot of fun though and that is indeed a great suggestion from everything that I have read about them! You have got me thinking more about it now....uhmmmmm??????:confused2: