I am a restaurant owner in the Midwest area and I'm considering opening a new restaurant with a tiki/aquatic theme. Just to give a quick background, I've been in the saltwater hobby for over ten years, and I've kept all kinds of fish and corals. I currently have a 125g acropora and fish tank which has been doing well for a few years now.
One main feature for the new restaurant that I'm considering would be a saltwater stingray lagoon. It would be a large, relatively shallow tank, with a sand bottom. It would be surrounded by ropes or fencing to keep people from being able to touch the water. The idea is to allow people to view the stingrays from above.
I found a company that builds realistic-looking artificial rock-lined ponds and spas, and they said they can do custom work (for the right price). All of the materials they use are saltwater fish safe. I'm not allowed to post links yet, because I'm new to the forum, but the company is called Universal Rocks. They have a website, where you can find their pond designs. I'd be interested in the above-ground type of pond that sits on a hard level surface. Digging down into a concrete floor would be tough and not cost-effective, especially thinking about plumbing.
Anyway, I talked to them about building a larger pond than what they offer on their website. Something large, with a somewhat flat bottom for the sand bed. I'm trying to figure out how big this thing would need to be in order to hold two or three stingrays. I like the look of the Atlantic Stingray, Cortez Stingray and the Blue spotted Stingray (which I've heard don't do well in captivity, but I might try anyway).
Can anyone comment on how big this thing would need to be? I was thinking the interior swimming space would need to be at least 10 feet long and 5 feet wide. That's 50 square feet, 100 cubic feet with a 2ft. depth, or about 750 gallons. Am I way off on tank sizing here?
We can discuss filtration & water quality later.
One main feature for the new restaurant that I'm considering would be a saltwater stingray lagoon. It would be a large, relatively shallow tank, with a sand bottom. It would be surrounded by ropes or fencing to keep people from being able to touch the water. The idea is to allow people to view the stingrays from above.
I found a company that builds realistic-looking artificial rock-lined ponds and spas, and they said they can do custom work (for the right price). All of the materials they use are saltwater fish safe. I'm not allowed to post links yet, because I'm new to the forum, but the company is called Universal Rocks. They have a website, where you can find their pond designs. I'd be interested in the above-ground type of pond that sits on a hard level surface. Digging down into a concrete floor would be tough and not cost-effective, especially thinking about plumbing.
Anyway, I talked to them about building a larger pond than what they offer on their website. Something large, with a somewhat flat bottom for the sand bed. I'm trying to figure out how big this thing would need to be in order to hold two or three stingrays. I like the look of the Atlantic Stingray, Cortez Stingray and the Blue spotted Stingray (which I've heard don't do well in captivity, but I might try anyway).
Can anyone comment on how big this thing would need to be? I was thinking the interior swimming space would need to be at least 10 feet long and 5 feet wide. That's 50 square feet, 100 cubic feet with a 2ft. depth, or about 750 gallons. Am I way off on tank sizing here?
We can discuss filtration & water quality later.
