Funny conversation with the Fiancee

[Jim96Sc2]

Since I've loved sharks all my life and I've really never gotten the chance to do anything about it, when I saw a pair of PJs in my LFS I was all !

Planning began, joined a few sites, researched some sharks, looked at different ideas, and figured the easiest thing to do would be to build a pond in the 2 car garage I was planning to have built this year or next. Thought up some dimensions vs shark sizes, figured an 8x12 would do nicely, probably end with a square tank but then "round" the corners with some live rock/reef setups to add both color and some added filtration.

Next was online research. Thanks MFK! I really liked the PJs and Horns, and they'll probably end up in the pond. Good shark-like qualities, good activity, and nice to look at. Not to mention they won't take a limb with them when I decide to snorkel in there tank.

But then I see some BTR aquarium pictures...

One thing leads to another and I start to show the Fiancee pictures and diagrams. Shes all for the idea, depending obviously on our lives at the time. Shes a big fish nut too which works well. I tell her about the BTRs, sizes, and tank ideas, just as our 2yr old water-loving black lab decides to join us. Now Keenan is a "special" dog. Nearly bite my face off when we tried to get him in the water, now we can't let him in the backyard unsupervised because of his swimming addiction.

Pond + moving fishies + ADD water dog =

We figured it would end in 2 ways:

1) Keenan gets a new 4 foot squeeky toy with teeth.

2) Keenan becomes the 3 legged devil dog.

We decided a small "baby fence" around it would be good for the sharks, the dogs, and the eventual toddlers.

 

[krj-1168]

Cool - your Fiancee loves the idea.

If you go with the 12' x 8' (footprint I assume) pond - then you have a pretty good choice of "aquaria friendly" benthic species.

A pond that size could make for a nice little breeding pond for Bamboos or Eppies. Or even a pair of Cali Horns -if you like.

Personally I would it maybe suited for just 1 fully grown PJ - since they are the largest Heterodontid (at possible over 5' long).

Another possibility is a multi-species pond. I've seen people do a tidal pool or rocky reef type pond with couple species of sharks & a ray.

The point is you have options.

 

[Jim96Sc2]

Cool - your Fiancee loves the idea.

If you go with the 12' x 8' (footprint I assume) pond - then you have a pretty good choice of "aquaria friendly" benthic species.

A pond that size could make for a nice little breeding pond for Bamboos or Eppies. Or even a pair of Cali Horns -if you like.

Personally I would it maybe suited for just 1 fully grown PJ - since they are the largest Heterodontid (at possible over 5' long).

Another possibility is a multi-species pond. I've seen people do a tidal pool or rocky reef type pond with couple species of sharks & a ray.

The point is you have options.

Yep, lots and lots of them. The nice thing is that I can do a lot of stuff in a garage since it'll be for my personal enjoyment and not for every tom, dick, and harry coming to the house. Theres a lot of stuff that still needs to be worked out. All of this is still contingent on permits from the town and a variance to build the garage, along with seperate power supply.

I could go with the horns, which I probably will. I'd like to get maybe 2 sharks and a few other fish, perhaps even local blue fish to add some color. Its still in very basic planning at this point. I've got plenty of time to look into different setups and options. As usual I like to plan at least a year in advance with plenty of research and cost/budgeting.

I still have my 200g show tank i'll be using as a bar back to get started on.

 

[shinypenny]

You May also find the site that krj has posted in his sig quite interesting. You have lots of options at this point, good luck with the pond build.