Should I Give Up On My Dream Shark Aquarium?

[Kayden]

Thanks so much for this! The zebras aren’t WC but I’m worried about it being unethical as many other have told me it would be to keep one. Maybe I’ll have to switch to white tips then. My tank will be about 30’ to 35’ (not an oval unfortunately but I’ll be aquascaping it so the clear paths are in a circular shape). The tank could POTENTIALLY be longer, but only by about 5’ and that depends on the inner structure of my wall according to my engineer so we’ll see. I aim to make it as big as possible.

As for funds, I’ve got many saved up, enough for initial construction, and between my parter and Is income we will be able to sustain the tank easily. I’m a big finance person so I’ve been making budgets and crunching numbers constantly and as of now it should be able to work well and hopefully if things take a turn in that department we’ll be able to recover quickly.
I’ve also worked with sharks in many aquariums and worked with a few ocean researchers so I like to thing I’m well educated on shark care. Of course there’s always more to learn but I believe I can provide for them. The only real thing I’m shaky on is tank size as it’s not something I had considered before this project and many told me it would be cruel to do so.

Awesome! Glad you have this planned out. Most people who want sharks aren’t as educated for sure!
I haven’t seen any ethical concerns in caring for and raising endangered fish. In fact you are preserving the population. Zebra sharks are also one of the more personable and easy to care for sharks IME. I personally don’t see ethical concerns but that is up to the individual!
the only problem I see with your plans is if you aren’t doing an oval or at least rounding the ends/corners. Rounded acrylic doesn’t look the greatest imo either, however 85 percent of the time sharks will be glass surfing or be very close to the edges. I the only ones I would feel comfortable doing in squared off tanks would be fully benthics like nurse’s or cat sharks. Even a part time swimmer like a zebra would worry me too much about ramming their face (best case) or getting stuck in the corners and dying (worst case). Realistically even if you only set you corners to curve with a 12” radius (inside dimensions) you save a lot of injury for your animals.

white tips are my personal favorite, and if I ever become a Bond villain will be the type of shark I go with. The feeding behaviors even from what I’ve seen in captivity are incredible. And even though they tend to disregard people and stay a manageable size there still is something menacing about them!

 

[AwesomePossum]

Awesome! Glad you have this planned out. Most people who want sharks aren’t as educated for sure!
I haven’t seen any ethical concerns in caring for and raising endangered fish. In fact you are preserving the population. Zebra sharks are also one of the more personable and easy to care for sharks IME. I personally don’t see ethical concerns but that is up to the individual!
the only problem I see with your plans is if you aren’t doing an oval or at least rounding the ends/corners. Rounded acrylic doesn’t look the greatest imo either, however 85 percent of the time sharks will be glass surfing or be very close to the edges. I the only ones I would feel comfortable doing in squared off tanks would be fully benthics like nurse’s or cat sharks. Even a part time swimmer like a zebra would worry me too much about ramming their face (best case) or getting stuck in the corners and dying (worst case). Realistically even if you only set you corners to curve with a 12” radius (inside dimensions) you save a lot of injury for your animals.

white tips are my personal favorite, and if I ever become a Bond villain will be the type of shark I go with. The feeding behaviors even from what I’ve seen in captivity are incredible. And even though they tend to disregard people and stay a manageable size there still is something menacing about them!

Sorry I did forget to mention, the corners will be rounded, the tank just won’t be a cylinder. With this insight I might lean back into getting a zebra shark as I’m very fond of them and I’ve worked with quite a few. I’ll look into white tips vs black tips a little more now to fully decide, but for sure I’ll think about the zebra more. Thanks!

 

[fishdance]

Unfortunately MFK died about ten - twelve years ago and only keeps the same name. Many posts are now about tropical fish, aquatic plants and basic water chemistry. Life goes on....

I think your query has two parts.

1. Fish Tank: I did some research before building my own tank - 40 foot (10 meters) tank and realised it was significantly more economical and practical to build an outside tank as close to my house - but not touching - as local zoning regulations permit. Thereby eliminating construction restrictions/certifications and structural approvals. Cranes and concrete trucks were required in my case so getting these indoors would be logistically difficult and costly. Building from scratch also removes any planning constraints with height, length, foundation, construction access, time restrictions etc as well as being much cheaper. It is quite easy to extend a two story deck roof over a tank or open up a house wall to bring the tank "indoors" once you have finished. If your tank is within your house, it would need to be separately sealed from the house to prevent humidity and heat regardless. Skylights for natural sunlight for example.

You will need to plan the tank around your filtration, lighting, heating, drainage, etc - don't make the mistake of trying to add filttration, water lines and electricals afterwards. And as with any large tank, you would also need a second sizeable tank for quarantine of new stock (which can also be used as treatment tank). Cost wise, there is not a lot of difference between 35 foot and fifty foot if you want bigger shark species in the future and you should go much wider if you want to see real interaction.

2. Shark Keeping: There should be plenty of information on shark keeping available. I would not let unknown people discourage you from your dreams but do visit some shark keeping facilities if you haven't already done so.
I used to set up display and public aquaria many years ago and everyone wanted sharks. Black tips will actively hunt and eat any other fish you try to keep with them. I am in Queensland, Australia where black tip reef, white tip reef and freshwater bull sharks can be found/caught but it was much easier and cheaper to import small ones from Indonesia (and once from Thailand). Despite the easy availability, I would not keep a shark personally (probably because I have done so).

 

[AwesomePossum]

Unfortunately MFK died about ten - twelve years ago and only keeps the same name. Many posts are now about tropical fish, aquatic plants and basic water chemistry. Life goes on....

I think your query has two parts.

1. Fish Tank: I did some research before building my own tank - 40 foot (10 meters) tank and realised it was significantly more economical and practical to build an outside tank as close to my house - but not touching - as local zoning regulations permit. Thereby eliminating construction restrictions/certifications and structural approvals. Cranes and concrete trucks were required in my case so getting these indoors would be logistically difficult and costly. Building from scratch also removes any planning constraints with height, length, foundation, construction access, time restrictions etc as well as being much cheaper. It is quite easy to extend a two story deck roof over a tank or open up a house wall to bring the tank "indoors" once you have finished. If your tank is within your house, it would need to be separately sealed from the house to prevent humidity and heat regardless. Skylights for natural sunlight for example.

You will need to plan the tank around your filtration, lighting, heating, drainage, etc - don't make the mistake of trying to add filttration, water lines and electricals afterwards. And as with any large tank, you would also need a second sizeable tank for quarantine of new stock (which can also be used as treatment tank). Cost wise, there is not a lot of difference between 35 foot and fifty foot if you want bigger shark species in the future and you should go much wider if you want to see real interaction.

2. Shark Keeping: There should be plenty of information on shark keeping available. I would not let unknown people discourage you from your dreams but do visit some shark keeping facilities if you haven't already done so.
I used to set up display and public aquaria many years ago and everyone wanted sharks. Black tips will actively hunt and eat any other fish you try to keep with them. I am in Queensland, Australia where black tip reef, white tip reef and freshwater bull sharks can be found/caught but it was much easier and cheaper to import small ones from Indonesia (and once from Thailand). Despite the easy availability, I would not keep a shark personally (probably because I have done so).

Ok thanks for this insight! I’ll talk to my team about building it outside and get an estimate from them. If it’s not insane then I’ll discuss an even longer tank potentially, I never really considered this, thanks again for the suggestion!
Don’t worry I’m fairly experienced in the shark department and I’ve worked in and out of aquariums with sharks before plenty. Thanks!

 

[fishdance]

You would need walkways over the tank I imagine (I use moveable aluminium planks to reduce anmoying lighting shadows) which would require a raised roof especially with your 9.5 foot high viewing panels.

When discussing your build, do consider permanent PVC formwork as it's already waterproof, lightweight, modular, inexpensive, self centers rebar, curved walls possible, paintable, etc. In Australia, we have 2 excellent products with Dincel being more known - https://www.dincel.com.au/ . Your country should have the equivalent. I built an smaller 8m tank last year from this stuff and would use it again. Most DIY's would be capable.

Another possibility is pre-cast concrete slabs. Cast horizontally (either on site or remote and trucked in) then crane lifted into position and bolted together. The seams are easily water proofed. Lots of buildings are made this way so there is economy of scale and readily available experience. Your tank could be erected in a couple of hours! High density concrete 42+ MPa is fully waterproof but additional additives (Xypex) and color can be incorporated.

 

[fishdance]

Photo of walkways while water level is down.
Some of the ideas I implemented below in case this helps you.
* A lot of unseen infrastructure - two oversize water lines, concrete piers to bedrock, drainways, driveway to back of tank, tree removal etc.
* Tank is aligned for best sunlight and breeze capture. Solar panels/battery storage and solar heating yet to come.
* Fully insulated tank with 40mm polystyrene all over including enclosed roof.
* Large swing doors at each end for airflow venturi for my hot summers. Added bonus as these become wings to catch and funnel breezes.
There is 6mm aluminium wire screen (black) inner doors to prevent wild birds flying in and fish jumping out.
* Removable gantry hoist beam that extends out doors for heavy decorations - the doorway is 2.2m above ground level.
* Insulated skylights for ambient natural sunlight - essential to make fish colours pop
* Sheer tank walls above water to prevent jumpers - some fish are 2m long
* Moveable walkway planks - floodlights aim between the cross walkways
* The glass goes right to floor as I dislike fish hiding in blind spots.
* Heat Pump set into the tank enclosure to recycle thermal heat mass and remove air humidity
* Redundancy where anything critical is needed.

I think you get the idea. A lot of planning is needed before construction begins.