Here are some pics and a little step by step of how I put together my 280g indoor stingray pond. It is 96"x48"x20", but the final inside measurment of the water volume is 92"x44"16" = 280 gallons. Start off with a solid stand. This is about the best stand I have ever built. It has 4x4 legs that are reinforced with 2x4s.
I built the actual tank part of the pond out of 2x12 and 2x8. With only 16 of water going into it, Im not too worried about it bowing out at all.
I used ½ pink styro to insulate the box. Though this cuts my total gallonage down by 20 gallons, I wanted to insulate it to help reduce heat-loss as best I could.
I then used a 45mil pond liner and trimmed out the edges with 1x4.
Since stingrays have a tendancy to burn themselves on regular heaters, I bought a 300w Hydor in-line heater well see how it works. If it doesnt heat well and I have to add an additional submersible, then I will need to build some type of heater guard to go with it. I filtered the tank with two canisters (XP3 w/heater and an FX5).
Anyway, I'm sure there are better ways to do it, but I had fun planning and building this so we'll see if it works.
As for the the venture into the world of rays, I've been keeping/breeding Malawian/Tanganyikan species for 14 years now. I still have the 220g with Mpimbwe frontosa and Haplo. microlepis in it, but I've been eyeing and studying about rays for several years. Anyway, I'd like to try to breed them...hopefully the new setup will suit them well.
I built the actual tank part of the pond out of 2x12 and 2x8. With only 16 of water going into it, Im not too worried about it bowing out at all.
I used ½ pink styro to insulate the box. Though this cuts my total gallonage down by 20 gallons, I wanted to insulate it to help reduce heat-loss as best I could.
I then used a 45mil pond liner and trimmed out the edges with 1x4.
Since stingrays have a tendancy to burn themselves on regular heaters, I bought a 300w Hydor in-line heater well see how it works. If it doesnt heat well and I have to add an additional submersible, then I will need to build some type of heater guard to go with it. I filtered the tank with two canisters (XP3 w/heater and an FX5).
Anyway, I'm sure there are better ways to do it, but I had fun planning and building this so we'll see if it works.
As for the the venture into the world of rays, I've been keeping/breeding Malawian/Tanganyikan species for 14 years now. I still have the 220g with Mpimbwe frontosa and Haplo. microlepis in it, but I've been eyeing and studying about rays for several years. Anyway, I'd like to try to breed them...hopefully the new setup will suit them well.
