Filtration system 10.000 gallon aquarium

[Rob Bobbaers]

Hi,

I have experience holding small sharks, Scyliorhinus canicula. I was able to keep water clean only by a huge biological fitration system.
As a biologist, I was also involved in shark research, mainly ecotoxicology studies.

As I plan to built a new private house, I also want to realise my dream aquarium of roughly 10.000 gallons.
Dimensions of 17-20 feet in length, 12 feet in width and 7 feet in height. (5-6m x 3.6m x 2.2m). All corners will be rounded.

There will only be a handfull of elasmobranchs in the aquarium. I'm thinking about 2-3 rays and maybe 2 smaller sharks.
As the total biomass will be very low, the pollution of the water will also be very minimal.
I don't have to calculate filtration system as there will be >100 fishes inside.

I'd like to have your opinion on the filtration system I'm thinking of, keeping in mind of the low bioload.

1) Drumfiltration 13.000 gallon/h
2) Biological filtration (8500 ft² active area)
3) Protein skimmer Sander helgoland 700 which has max flow of 9000 gallon/h (34m³/h)
4) UV C lamps (don't know yet how many)

I want to start without the use of ozone.
And I still have no idea on how many current pumps I'll need in the tank.

What do you think?


Kind regards Rob

 

[Zoodiver]

I would stick to something like a pressurized sand filter (bead filter) set up, a large pt skimmer and a commercial sized Emperor Aquatics UV unit. I would also run at least 2 large main pumps or even 4 smaller main pumps depending on how you set it all up. Are you planning on running a sump or everything pulling from and returning to the main tank?

 

[krj-1168]

Such an aquarium has a lot of potential for the number of species of sharks and rays.

Basically you are limited to sharks which are either benthic or non-ORV swimming sharks - such as catsharks, bamboos, epaulettes, smaller wobbegongs, horn sharks, smooth hounds, or even an average size Whitetip reef. For rays you also have a lot of choices as well.

Naturally you won't be able to have all of these in this aquarium. But it will depend on if you are considering a tropical aquarium, or a more temperate one.

 

[Rob Bobbaers]

Not sure yet if I'll go for a sump or not.
I try to have a proper filtration system, with the lowest power consumption possible.
What would be the advantage of sandfiltration above a drumfilter?

Drumfilters are highly commercial available, low in power consumption, easy to clean, and low in price.

 

[kendragon]

Bead filters can handle a lot higher flow rate than the barrel filters you are proposing. Bead filters are also closed loop which eliminates the need to balance the water levels to prevent overflow.

 

[Riley S]

From your drawing, it looks like all the filtration is above the tank. In that case, it really doesn't matter if your mechanical filtration is on a closed loop or an open loop since you aren't fighting gravity. Each type of filtration has its advantages and disadvantages. It probably depends more on your available room, power consumption, water loss, and what maintenance is required that you'll use to weigh your decision. I'm sure you've done some of that already.

I only run a tenth of what you propose, and for me a bead filter was the way to go for mechanical filtration. I feed it off of a small Reeflo pressure pump (dart size motor) so power consumption is low. I have a blower assisted backwash so I only lose around 20 - 30 gallons. It doesn't take up much room and I only touch it once a week for maybe 10 minutes tops.

The idea of a drum filter is slick, but I've never seen one in action so no opinion here. The materials its made of would be important since it is a marine application.

I like your proposed dimensions. I already picture some houndsharks of some sort swimming around. Banded houndsharks would look so nice.

 

[Rob Bobbaers]

I don't know yet where I'm going to put the filtration room.
I'm not limited in space in the basement nor the groundfloor.

As seen in the drawing, filtration room is about 3 ft below wateroverflow.

I don't know what's the best position for filtration, energy consumption wise.
For this size of aquarium it can differ thousands of dollars a year.
If filtration is in the basement, I need massive returnpumps to create a good flow.

What do you think is the minimum flow rate for the LSS with a biomass of 4-6 big fish?
Do you think a protein skimmer with max flow of 9000 gallon/h is sufficient?

 

[krj-1168]

Well - for 10,000 gallon tank with sharks - you really need a minimum flow rate of about 15,000 gallons per hour.