Saltwater & Reef

jangel · 11-22-2011, 02:34 AM

My name is Jake Angel from IL. I do not consider myself a newb but I am new to online forums. I have worked for Petco as the Aquatics Specialist for almost a year now and have been keeping fish for more than 3 years. I was introduced to the saltwater world when I got the job at Petco and I am now addicted to it.

I have 1 freshwater tank and 1 saltwater tank. The freshwater tank is 150 gallons and has been up and running for almost 2 years now. I have about 20 assorted cichlids and 5 Eupterus Catfish. The saltwater tank is 125 gallons and has been up since may. I use 2 3 foot 4 lamp Wavepoint T5 fixtures to light it. In each fixture I use 2 actinic 460 bulbs, an actinic 420 bulb, and a coral growth accelerator bulb. The tank is stocked with 150 pounds of LR stacked into 5 separate towers using 1/2 inch PVC piping and a drill bit for internal structuring. I have a few various mushroom and zooanthid colonies scattered around the tank with a kenya tree, pagoda coral, green finger sinularia, some whisker's and some clove polyps as well. As far as fish go, I have a 6 inch Blueface Angel, a 6 inch Sailfin Tang, a 6 inch Volitan Lionfish, a 5 inch Blue-jaw Trigger, a 5 inch Miniatus grouper, and a 15 inch White-spotted Bamboo Shark. I use a 30 gallon sump tank underneath with a ASM G2 protein skimmer inside it. But I am getting a bigger tank since the shark is going to grow to up to 3 ft in length!

I have just as of a week ago ordered a custom tank from glasscages.com. Got a great deal on it and am going to pick it up after the first of the year. It is a 8ft x 2ft x 2ft 240 gallon long glass tank. Got the oak canopy and stand for it along with an extra door put into the side of the stand so I can put the 65 gallon sump tank on wheels and can slide it in and out of the stand with ease. I also got the holes drilled and bulkheads put in, 2 glass overflows with black acrylic covers installed, 4 hinged lids, and a 1600 G/hr pump. I am also going to purchase an additional 100 pounds of LR, another ASM G2 skimmer, and a RO/DI unit.

I really want to do this new tank the absolute best way possible with my main focus on the white-spotted bamboo shark. I feel like I am going to get rid of the lionfish and grouper. As amazing as they are, they are just too boring and aggressive to other tank mates and I feel like they are limiting me to what other fish I can keep. I was also wondering if I could add a second or third shark and maybe a stingray or two? Any comments, tips, pointers, or anything anyone might have would be great. The more help the better.

Thank you in advance to anyone who replies and I will be posting pictures of both my current tanks later on tonight.

Jake Angel, IL

siva · 11-22-2011, 03:20 AM

Hello and welcome to AA!!

Awesome lookin' tanks you have there. Any Petco customer is definitely lucky to have you assisting them!

Personally, I don't feel it's right to keep a whitespotted bamboo shark in a tank that size. Unless you have some serious plans for the future when it's 3ft long.

jangel · 11-22-2011, 03:33 AM

Thank you. And yes, I just ordered a 240 gallon 8ft long tank that I will be setting up after the holidays. Can't wait to get started on it

Talvari · 11-22-2011, 08:53 AM

Even a 240 gallon tank seems really small for a fish thats going to be three feet long... The tank is only two feet wide so once the shark hits three feet, hes barely going to have room to turn around.

Beautiful tanks, though.

jangel · 11-22-2011, 02:56 PM

He's barely over a foot right now. I understand that the 240 wont be big enough forever but how fast do they grow honestly? I figured I had about 2 or 3 years until I would have to get my hands on a 10 footer. Or do they grow much faster than that?

LyndaB · 11-22-2011, 03:45 PM

welcome to the forum, nice to have you here..... beautiful tanks!

siva · 11-22-2011, 04:09 PM

No one can say for sure the speed at which it will grow, but I don't think a 10ft tank is going to solve the problem by any means. I don't think sharks like this one belong in home aquaria. Just my opinion.

adadkins1 · 11-22-2011, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by siva

No one can say for sure the speed at which it will grow, but I don't think a 10ft tank is going to solve the problem by any means. I don't think sharks like this one belong in home aquaria. Just my opinion.

Welcome to AA!

Totally agree, when you get to fish that are pushing 3 feet, it is just not very feasible to keep them in home aquaria.

redsea · 11-22-2011, 06:01 PM

Welcome thanks for joining us!

Beautiful tanks!

Taron · 12-01-2011, 10:15 PM

From what ive read and heard bamboo sharks grow from .5"-1" a month

gafights · 01-10-2013, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taron

From what ive read and heard bamboo sharks grow from .5"-1" a month

It will grow about 8 to 12 inches per year. I own several sharks and rays and house the. In a 7x7x3 tank. 1000 gallons. That shark will be able to live in that tank till it is about 20 inches. That will take about a year or so considering you will probably by it at 10 inches long. I have a full grown coral catshark. A 2ft white spotted bamboo and a 2 ft Japanese leopard shark. Stingray and many other items. The footprint is more important than the gallons but the more water the easier to maintain. Sharks are very messy. Feel free to ask any questions u want.