Hi All,
I am currently looking to set-up a tank for a chain catshark. I have a standard 180 gal aquarium and I have kept brown banded bamboo sharks and coral catsharks with great success. However, when I moved I donated the sharks and emptied the tank. It's sat empty for about 6 months in my basement and I've been waiting for the chance to restock. I miss keeping sharks, but I know that my set-up was on the small side. So when I heard these were attainable by my local fishstore I thought I might give them a try. I have read the basic profiles and done some research online, but I am hoping some people may be able to share some specific experiences. I also left a list of questions below.
1. Hardiness and Durability:
As I have said before, I have kept a few different shark species with great success. I typically look for adults rather than juveniles because they are quicker to get eating. In my experience a shark that eats is a healthy shark.
2. Temperature Control:
I've typically never had to worry about controlling temperature. Since I kept bamboos they did well at the temperatures my previous basement stayed between 78-82. Never had to use heaters. Obviously, this will be a different experience, as it is my understanding that these sharks need colder temperatures 60F. My current basement runs fairly warm since it is small and the boiler is right there. I will definitely need to run a chiller. Since chillers are uncharted territory for me, I was hoping someone could tell me their experience (Can anyone recommend a good one. I plan for my system to be around 250 gal with the sump). I have done some research and it seems that they give off a lot of heat. How do people typically manage with the heat? Imagine it would have to be outside my stand since it is would need proper circulation.
3. Filtration:
My Tank is pre-drilled so running a sump would be the easiest. Previously, I have always used store bought products, so I ran a Eshopps 300 wetdry with an eshopps 300 protein skimmer filled with bio balls and packed with bio rings underneath the egg crate suspending the bio balls. I also ran an FX5 for mechanical and some added bio. I did weekly waterchanges of about 50 gallons and never saw any ammonia or nitrite.
Eventhough I still have these at my disposal, I would like to go custom. I found the store bought stand to be cramped and it made maintenance a pain. I have built stands for smaller tanks and I find them to be stronger and a lot cheaper. I am thinking of going with a custom 6' L x 2' W X 3' H. I like the extra height because it will give me some extra room to work underneath the stand. So now is where I have a few questions:
Soft plumbing vs. Hard Plumbing: I have only ever used soft, it's easy to manage but I feel like it lacks the finish of hard plumbing.
Protein Skimmers: I can honestly say I hate the Eshopps protein skimmers, does anyone have any quality recommendations for this size system?
Sump and Stand: Should I insulate the stand to keep the cold in?
Submersible vs. External pumps: I have plenty of leftover submersible pumps. They are deep blues, I find them to be power efficient and very reliable. However, I do find they give off quite a bit of heat. I am not scared of drilling the sump to go external, but I have always been skeptical about maintenance and keeping them dry. Thoughts?
4. Feeding:
I typically feed a varied diet of scallops, squid (the best in my opinion) and shrimp. I was curious about live feedings. So I am truly blessed with the location of my new home as my backyard is a canal to the Atlantic Ocean. Can I use natures killies, grass shrimp and mollusks for a food source. I have a few extra small tanks, so I would quarantine them before feeding. I have no problem using store bought fish food, but I'e eaten the fish out of the ocean so I was curious how much harm could it cause the sharks.
5. Price:
My LFS tends to be pretty good with pricing, but I wanted to check to see if this is on par with market. Does $500 seem reasonable?
6. Tankmates:
I see alot of people housing them with catalina gobies, but I know my selection in tank mates will be limited due to take temperature. Any recommendations?
I appreciate any advise you can provide. I am sorry if I came off as a little green, but I assure you I have 12 years in the hobby and 4 years with sharks. I am just looking to take a different approach to this tank. I have 2 weeks off in May so I would start the set-up process then if I think these sharks would be doable.
I am currently looking to set-up a tank for a chain catshark. I have a standard 180 gal aquarium and I have kept brown banded bamboo sharks and coral catsharks with great success. However, when I moved I donated the sharks and emptied the tank. It's sat empty for about 6 months in my basement and I've been waiting for the chance to restock. I miss keeping sharks, but I know that my set-up was on the small side. So when I heard these were attainable by my local fishstore I thought I might give them a try. I have read the basic profiles and done some research online, but I am hoping some people may be able to share some specific experiences. I also left a list of questions below.
1. Hardiness and Durability:
As I have said before, I have kept a few different shark species with great success. I typically look for adults rather than juveniles because they are quicker to get eating. In my experience a shark that eats is a healthy shark.
2. Temperature Control:
I've typically never had to worry about controlling temperature. Since I kept bamboos they did well at the temperatures my previous basement stayed between 78-82. Never had to use heaters. Obviously, this will be a different experience, as it is my understanding that these sharks need colder temperatures 60F. My current basement runs fairly warm since it is small and the boiler is right there. I will definitely need to run a chiller. Since chillers are uncharted territory for me, I was hoping someone could tell me their experience (Can anyone recommend a good one. I plan for my system to be around 250 gal with the sump). I have done some research and it seems that they give off a lot of heat. How do people typically manage with the heat? Imagine it would have to be outside my stand since it is would need proper circulation.
3. Filtration:
My Tank is pre-drilled so running a sump would be the easiest. Previously, I have always used store bought products, so I ran a Eshopps 300 wetdry with an eshopps 300 protein skimmer filled with bio balls and packed with bio rings underneath the egg crate suspending the bio balls. I also ran an FX5 for mechanical and some added bio. I did weekly waterchanges of about 50 gallons and never saw any ammonia or nitrite.
Eventhough I still have these at my disposal, I would like to go custom. I found the store bought stand to be cramped and it made maintenance a pain. I have built stands for smaller tanks and I find them to be stronger and a lot cheaper. I am thinking of going with a custom 6' L x 2' W X 3' H. I like the extra height because it will give me some extra room to work underneath the stand. So now is where I have a few questions:
Soft plumbing vs. Hard Plumbing: I have only ever used soft, it's easy to manage but I feel like it lacks the finish of hard plumbing.
Protein Skimmers: I can honestly say I hate the Eshopps protein skimmers, does anyone have any quality recommendations for this size system?
Sump and Stand: Should I insulate the stand to keep the cold in?
Submersible vs. External pumps: I have plenty of leftover submersible pumps. They are deep blues, I find them to be power efficient and very reliable. However, I do find they give off quite a bit of heat. I am not scared of drilling the sump to go external, but I have always been skeptical about maintenance and keeping them dry. Thoughts?
4. Feeding:
I typically feed a varied diet of scallops, squid (the best in my opinion) and shrimp. I was curious about live feedings. So I am truly blessed with the location of my new home as my backyard is a canal to the Atlantic Ocean. Can I use natures killies, grass shrimp and mollusks for a food source. I have a few extra small tanks, so I would quarantine them before feeding. I have no problem using store bought fish food, but I'e eaten the fish out of the ocean so I was curious how much harm could it cause the sharks.
5. Price:
My LFS tends to be pretty good with pricing, but I wanted to check to see if this is on par with market. Does $500 seem reasonable?
6. Tankmates:
I see alot of people housing them with catalina gobies, but I know my selection in tank mates will be limited due to take temperature. Any recommendations?
I appreciate any advise you can provide. I am sorry if I came off as a little green, but I assure you I have 12 years in the hobby and 4 years with sharks. I am just looking to take a different approach to this tank. I have 2 weeks off in May so I would start the set-up process then if I think these sharks would be doable.
