DIY shark tank idea

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steve1815

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 28, 2010
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in my shark tank
I am in the beginning stages of the planning a very large built in shark tank. I want it to be large enough house bonnetheads and blacktips. I want some ideas of how I should build it. I want a viewing window in the house to seethe fish. I am thinking something around 18x10x5 or so. Or maybe a round pool that I can put a window in. Please give me advise (not advise to not do it)


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If you go to the sticky called shark tank size recommendations page 7 has both blacktips and bonnetheads. Just thought id let u know about that incase you hadn't seen it. Good luck!

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By black tip - do you mean Pacfic Black Tip Reef sharks (BTR) or Atlantic black tip? I would highly suggest the first over the second for a set up. Atlantics are fussy and hard to deal with.

Size seems ok. I assume you are wanting above ground since you mentioned a window. What are you thinking of for pool construction? Concrete? Soft side? Fiberglass? Indoors or outside?

Expect most of your expense to come when you set up filtration and water production.

Where are you located?
 
Also by 18x10x5 - I take it you mean an oval. As a rectangular tank won't do for either bonnetheads or Blacktip Reefs. A Round pool would be much better. Also a 18 feet x10 feet will not last long for juvie Blacktip Reefs and Bonnetheads, may about 2-3 years.

To keep Bonnetheads for life - you will eventually need a pond with a footprint of at least 500 sq. feet and over 15,000 gallons in volume.
To keep Blacktip Reefs for life - you will eventually need a pond with a footprint of at least 700 sq. feet and over 25,000 gallons in volume.
 
krj-1168 said:
Also by 18x10x5 - I take it you mean an oval. As a rectangular tank won't do for either bonnetheads or Blacktip Reefs. A Round pool would be much better. Also a 18 feet x10 feet will not last long for juvie Blacktip Reefs and Bonnetheads, may about 2-3 years.

To keep Bonnetheads for life - you will eventually need a pond with a footprint of at least 500 sq. feet and over 15,000 gallons in volume.
To keep Blacktip Reefs for life - you will eventually need a pond with a footprint of at least 700 sq. feet and over 25,000 gallons in volume.
Click to expand...

based on the fact that 500sqft = 26' round and the 700sqft = 30' round...you might as well just go straight to 30' round lol.
 
I am talking about btr sharks. And the tank construction I am not sure about. What do most people make these large tanks out of? I would like it to be rectangle so I can have a large viewing window in the house. I was thinking fiberglass with a large window. Any advice on the setup.


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If the foot print is large enough, they can handle corners. One thing to consider is a non stanard shape. Keep a flat viewing window edge and curve the rest of the tank.
Your best choices for tank material are concrete or fiberglass. They tend to be the easiest the work with and the most cost effective for large pools.
 
How would you build something this large? I want it to look nice because it will be in my house. It will be build on the outside wall with a window into the house. I would do cement blocks but I am not sure if it would hold and don't know how I would seal it. Also how would I deal with the open top with evap and also salt creap and so fish don't jump out. I had a 1000 gallon tank just out of plywood and steel and it bowed a little when it was filled. Anyone build something this large? Pic and dos and fonts would help.
 
I'd advise hiring a professional aquarium company, to consult at the very least.

If you can afford to maintain a 6500 gallon saltwater tank, you can afford to hiring someone to help you plan it :)

a lot of the design would depend on the room you have available at that size scale...
 
steve1815 said:
How would you build something this large? I want it to look nice because it will be in my house. It will be build on the outside wall with a window into the house. I would do cement blocks but I am not sure if it would hold and don't know how I would seal it. Also how would I deal with the open top with evap and also salt creap and so fish don't jump out. I had a 1000 gallon tank just out of plywood and steel and it bowed a little when it was filled. Anyone build something this large? Pic and dos and fonts would help.
Click to expand...

Approach it like a swimming pool build. Same idea, a big concrete bowl to hold water. The main points will be us as little rebar as possible, and the thickest concrete lay you can get between the water and rebar (so the sharks don't have navigation issues with the metal). For the window, you'll have to get in touch with one of the large acrylic companies to have a custom cut section done. Living Color or ATM would be your two best bets depending on where you live. Let me know if you need a person at either of them to get in contact with. The main difference between a swimming pool and a shark tank will be the filtration and decor on the inside. You'll want to invest a lot in the life support to prevent costly failures and upgrades later down the road. The proper set up also makes it easier to care for day to day.

The open top is something you have to deal with. Again, depending on location, you'll have temp to think about. Evap on a large system like this isn't usually a problem due to the volume of the pool. Salt creep is always something to think about, you just have to build it correctly to minimize the filth associated with a large marine pool.

If you dig in my REALLY old threads, we did a big FW concrete pool with an acrylic window at the Como Zoo in St Paul, MN several years ago. It's more or less what you are looking to do.
 
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