Shark and ray pond build

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
DanimalK said:
I hadn't seen those reviews. Good to know. I'll probably look into another stock tank or build a pond with liner
Click to expand...

It would look a lot better if you made a tank out of wood and lined it. 8'x6'x2.5' = 900 gallons.
That is my next big project.
Are you going to have substrate? If you are, Tractor Supply also sells crushed coral and oyster shell. That is what I have in my cichlid tank. Nice and white, but upi may have to vacuum it.
As I recall it was pretty cheap, but I had to rinse it real good.
Good luck on the build out!
 
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johnnymax said:
It would look a lot better if you made a tank out of wood and lined it. 8'x6'x2.5' = 900 gallons.
That is my next big project.
Are you going to have substrate? If you are, Tractor Supply also sells crushed coral and oyster shell. That is what I have in my cichlid tank. Nice and white, but upi may have to vacuum it.
As I recall it was pretty cheap, but I had to rinse it real good.
Good luck on the build out!
Click to expand...

I actually ordered an above ground pool (link is in a previous post) that I'm going to line with pond liner for extra protection. The pool is 102"x67" so similar to the size of your future build.
As for the crushed coral, I get a pretty good discount from the LFS near my house and they have a pretty fine sand that I like to use for the sharks and rays but thanks for the tip about tractor supply, always good to know about deals.
 
Alright so plans have changed. I am now going with the 300 gallon stock tank from tractor supply. Unfortunately space became an issue with the above ground pool so I returned it and bought the stock tank.

So far I have the tank doing a leak test in the garage, seems to be going well. Next step will be getting plumbing setup.

I'm planning an internal pump up to a raised sump with my 500w heater, 540 simplicity protein skimmer, bio bricks (aquadog posted link) and a micron sock. I'm debating if I should do a 20 gallon trashcan with bio balls as a wet/dry and have that feed to my sump or as it's own system, or just not having it at all.

As far as stocking goes, since its smaller I'm thinking maybe 1 epaulette or white spotted bamboo and then a couple small rays (not sure which kind exactly)
 
Started some work on the wet/dry filter! Should I go with bioballs or the plastic pot scrubbers? Do the plastic pot scrubbers degrade over time?20190901_210645.jpg20190901_210639.jpg20190901_210634.jpg
 
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Alright so I got bioballs in the wet/dry. I was researching pros and cons of bioballs vs plastic pot scrubbers vs even LR rubble and decided bioballs. Easier to clean than plastic pot scrubbers and wont be as messy at LR rubble.

I got saltwater mixed in to the pond as well today. I've found someone giving away a bunch of free fine aragonite sand and hopefully I'll be able to pick up a couple hundred pounds of it this weekend.

I'm also planning on getting LR and dry rock from another person sometime next week so I could get this pond finally cycling and ready for livestock.
 
I honestly thought you were another one of those people who simply said they were going to get a shark but never do, to see you actually doing what is required to get said shark is beautiful. I’m subscribed to the thread and I can’t wait to see how it ends up.
 
Thank you!

It's been a lot of fun doing this build and getting it set up. I had a previous pond around a similar size as this one that was just a lot messier and not set up as much as I would like. I mean there are still things with this one I'm not happy with but all in all it's a good start.
Hopefully I'll be able to upgrade the pond size in a few years as well!
 
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