240 gallon build

[jangel]

Hello my name is Jake. I currently have a 125 gallon tank that has been running for about 6 or 7 months and I am upgrading to a 240 gallon 8 x 2 x 2 tank. I have ordered the tank but do not have it yet. Should within the next month or so. Im hoping before the holidays but well see.

Anyway, im starting this thread in hopes to hear back from many people and receive answers that I have been struggling to find. From my current tank I am transferring my whitespotted bamboo shark that is roughly a little larger than a foot. I am also keeping my 6 inch blueface angelfish and my male and female bluejaw triggers that are maybe 4 inches or so.

My first questions concern the shark. I know and completely understand that it can reach lengths of up to 3 ft and will outgrow the tank eventually. And when that time comes ill move him to a lagoon that I plan on building in my basement. Now for the first question. What would be the best way to arrange my LR in order to achieve maximum space for the shark to swim around but still provide enough places for him to hide out and get away from the lights when they're on??? Any input or general ideas would be great. I will be using about 300 lbs of LR.

My other questions concern compatibility.
I want to add the following:

2 maroon clowns w/yellow stripes

2 hawkfish
I was thinking maybe the lyretail or the longnose. But not sure which would be best, or, if those are even good choices in the first place.

1 foxface rabbit
I don't really want to add the basic one though. Id like to find something else that is cool but not very aggressive. I was thinking maybe the magnificent or something I don't know.

At least 4 if not more from this list of tangs:
Orange shoulder tang
Kole Yelloweye tang
Blue hippo tang
Chevron tang
Purple tang
Clown tang
Two spot bristletooth tang
I have no idea which of the following could be put in a 240 together but I know I have to add them all at the same time. Suggestions on anything on that list would be appreciated.

I also wanted to add a school of anthias of some kind. I don't know much about anthias at all or if its even possible with everything else I will already have. But I most definitely want a school of something in the tank if I can't get anthias.

A picture of my current 125 is below.

Hopefully this turns out to be an amazing build. Thank you in advance to anyone who will be following along for this one. =)

 

[AquaRick]

Nice! Looking forward to the new bigger tank.

 

[LordErrorprone]

I'm no expert but they look like they will get along, I've heard of allot more tangs then that getting along in that size tank. 240 gallons has allot of territory.

 

[jangel]

If thats the case then how many could i put in? Id love to have a large group of them! Which ones would be most compatible together?

 

[LordErrorprone]

I know it doesn't matter what kind of tang when it comes to same species, they are territorial toward other tangs but of course you can get away with it in big tanks such as yours. I don't know an exact amount to give you, I would wait for someone more experienced to tell you.

 

[jangel]

Alright so I bought my lyretail hawkfish at my LFS tonight. Got em in my 40 breeder QT now. Ill snap some pictures and post them tomorrow afternoon when the lights are on. I also finished setting up my 30 gallon hex tank today. Which will be housing my 2 maroon clownfish w/yellow stripes until they're ready for the bigger tank. Plan on ordering the pair this weekend sometime so those pictures will be coming too.

Does anyone have suggestions on tangs?

As of right now I am thinking about getting 5. The yellow eye kole tang, two spot bristletooth tang, blue tang, purple tang, and an orange shoulder tang.

As far as any other fish go I am interested in picking up a one spot foxface rabbitfish and a pyramid butterfly. Those 2 sound good so far, but, I need to do some further research still.

Would a school of any species of fish be able to fit in my tank as well???

 

[wapparia]

just been reading your thread and am more interested at the lagoon you intend to build in your basement. that would be good to see. i havent had anthias but in my last build i had a school (well 3 but not a massive tank) of green chromis and they were good to watch. might be an option for you good luck with the build.

 

[jangel]

I don't know if green chromis would work or not. I feel like maybe they would seem appealing to the shark and end up being a tasty treat. As far as the lagoon goes...its just an idea I have for when the shark starts approaching over 2 ft. Until then the lagoon is just an idea. Want to focus on the 240 until its finished. Well, let's not say finished. When is anything ever finished? Lol. But at least set up and fully stocked with fish.

 

[jangel]

Ok so I haven't been on here for a little while but I have been busy. Finals week was last week so now im done with school until january 17th...so you know what that means...nothing but fish stuff until then!! So I ordered the tank officially and an additional 125 lbs of LR along with it. I will be picking it all up from glasscages.coms warehouse in Tennessee december 28th. Merry Christmas to meee!! I have also picked up one spot foxface and an orangeshoulder tang and put them into my QT. I got the tang with some size already on him because after QT he's going into my 125 that contains a blueface angel that's already 6 inches as well and bosses that tank around all day. I told my LFS to order me 2 yellow striped maroon clowns and 2 longfin bannerfish too. So they should be coming in Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Ill post pictures of them next week, but for now here are some pics of the tang, foxface, and hawk.

 

[wapparia]

Nice looking forward to more picks

 

[redsea]

Very nice! I really like the Orangeshoulder!

 

[jangel]

Me too! He's a beautiful fish and I can't believe the size of em already! Over 6 inches for sure!

 

[FTMMWS]

Very nice...

 

[jangel]

Nothing new yet. But how often should I be feeding my shark? Right now its twice a week with silversides and raw shrimp and I'm picking up some mussels on the half shell today at the store to see how that goes. Is that enough or should i feed more frequently??

 

[jangel]

Mussels and clams on the half shell*

 

[jangel]

Finally picked up my tank and everything. The rock looks amazing! Ill post some pictures. I'm not sure what color I want to stain the stand and canopy. Its unfinished oak. Anyone have any suggestions on a stain color??

 

[Tlynd]

Triggers usually aren't compatible with sharks make sure they are nipping the sharks fins..

 

[jangel]

Well I had my male blue jaw trigger in the 125 with the shark for about 2 months or so...but out of nowhere he all of a sudden died on me about 2 or 3 weeks ago. So that was a bummer...and I think I may have given up the idea of any triggers at all. Although I am still interested in the sargassum. Iv heard mixed stories about him so I dk yet.

 

[User]

Cool shark! How are you going to arrange your rock? In tall columns perhaps?

 

[jangel]

No that's how I did my 125. This time I think I'm gonna try some Plexiglas shelves reinforced with triangles and silicon them to the back wall. Then drill small holes through the shelves and the rock and use zip ties to secure rocks to them. It will hopefully look like a floating shelf all the way across the tank with a couple spots reaching the bottom of the tank for a little extra support in the middle. I may use a couple towers too like my 125. Just depends on how far my LR goes considering my tank is 8 ft long.

On a side note I finally got some pictures of the new tank. I also just finished my first coat of black paint for the background so I snapped some pics of that too. Gotta wait another 30 mins or so until I start applying the second coat. Its coming along tho!! Still unsure about what color to stain it as well. Any suggestions to go along with my black background??