Banded Cat Shark Aquarium

[GulfCoast251]

Just purchased a 6 inch Banded Cat Shark. Housing in a 180 (72x24x31) until I can get the new aquarium built. Looking for ideas.

Looking at a 60x60x24 tall perimeter euro braced glass tank custom from Glass Cages. 370 gallons with Island overflow, 6 schd 80 bulkheads, 56x22x21 euro braces sump on a steel stand with 1.5 thick beams.

Couple of questions. One, so you guys think 6ft x 6ft is sufficient? Two. Should I spend the money on the steel stand for a tank this large or could I do it much cheaper with wood? And am I making the right choice with island overflow??

 

[Aspect]

Just purchased a 6 inch Banded Cat Shark. Housing in a 180 (72x24x31) until I can get the new aquarium built. Looking for ideas.

Looking at a 60x60x24 tall perimeter euro braced glass tank custom from Glass Cages. 370 gallons with Island overflow, 6 schd 80 bulkheads, 56x22x21 euro braces sump on a steel stand with 1.5 thick beams.

Couple of questions. One, so you guys think 6ft x 6ft is sufficient? Two. Should I spend the money on the steel stand for a tank this large or could I do it much cheaper with wood? And am I making the right choice with island overflow??

I assume the shark you have is a Brown Banded Bamboo shark, which can very well get 3'+ in captivity. 6' x 6' is for sure enough space for these guys, I would say the absolute minimum they can be kept in by themselves in a species only tank would be 6' x 4'. Island overflow is fine as well, I've seen active swimmers do perfectly okay in a tank with an island overflow. You can go steel for extra support, but if built properly wood is fine. I built mine with 2" x 6" framed out like a room with supports on top and bottom which is supporting 500 gallons. Although if you don't have the lumber yet it might not be that much cheaper now after the massive Canadian wildfires, lumber is probably going to skyrocket.

 

[Kasrift]

Just purchased a 6 inch Banded Cat Shark. Housing in a 180 (72x24x31) until I can get the new aquarium built. Looking for ideas.

Looking at a 60x60x24 tall perimeter euro braced glass tank custom from Glass Cages. 370 gallons with Island overflow, 6 schd 80 bulkheads, 56x22x21 euro braces sump on a steel stand with 1.5 thick beams.

Couple of questions. One, so you guys think 6ft x 6ft is sufficient? Two. Should I spend the money on the steel stand for a tank this large or could I do it much cheaper with wood? And am I making the right choice with island overflow??

@pandaparties had sharks and has rays. He'd have good input.

 

[GulfCoast251]

I assume the shark you have is a Brown Banded Bamboo shark, which can very well get 3'+ in captivity. 6' x 6' is for sure enough space for these guys, I would say the absolute minimum they can be kept in by themselves in a species only tank would be 6' x 4'. Island overflow is fine as well, I've seen active swimmers do perfectly okay in a tank with an island overflow. You can go steel for extra support, but if built properly wood is fine. I built mine with 2" x 6" framed out like a room with supports on top and bottom which is supporting 500 gallons. Although if you don't have the lumber yet it might not be that much cheaper now after the massive Canadian wildfires, lumber is probably going to skyrocket.

Thanks! I have a quote for a 4ftx4ft, 5x5 and 6x6. The steel stand is quoted for over 7k! I hope I can just make it out of wood lol

 

[Aspect]

Thanks! I have a quote for a 4ftx4ft, 5x5 and 6x6. The steel stand is quoted for over 7k! I hope I can just make it out of wood lol

7k for the steel stand? That's more than I paid for my custom built tank.

 

[Aspect]

Thanks! I have a quote for a 4ftx4ft, 5x5 and 6x6. The steel stand is quoted for over 7k! I hope I can just make it out of wood lol

Just make sure you get a lid for your tank. Every tank should have a lid imo, but shark tanks aren't optional when it comes to lids. Sharks can really jump and I've read horror stories of naive people thinking their shark won't jump. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

 

[pandaparties]

Just make sure you get a lid for your tank. Every tank should have a lid imo, but shark tanks aren't optional when it comes to lids. Sharks can really jump and I've read horror stories of naive people thinking their shark won't jump. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

Second this. The bigger the better of your goal is to keep things in the elasmobranch family. I actually didn't realize that sharks posed a jump risk (and I have a deep euro that prevents most fish) and lost my marbled coral shark I'd had for two years just a couple weeks back. I'll only keep rays unfortunately. Vertical height on the tank is good, no need for more than 2 feet IMO. Make sure to get you go with soft sand, lots of hidey holes and don't forget you need vitamin supplementation.

I went with powder coated steel for my stand and I'm happy I did. Not sure who you are going through but I got my stand, 10x3x2 tank and sump for around 13k from miracles. Awesome build quality and should last forever

 

[vetteguy53081]

Maintain good filtration and water quality as this fish is a messy housekeepers yet requires good water quality. Do not feed goldfish or guppies, but rather black mollies IF you must. Have on hand General cure should any treatment be required.

 

[Aspect]

Second this. The bigger the better of your goal is to keep things in the elasmobranch family. I actually didn't realize that sharks posed a jump risk (and I have a deep euro that prevents most fish) and lost my marbled coral shark I'd had for two years just a couple weeks back. I'll only keep rays unfortunately. Vertical height on the tank is good, no need for more than 2 feet IMO. Make sure to get you go with soft sand, lots of hidey holes and don't forget you need vitamin supplementation.

I went with powder coated steel for my stand and I'm happy I did. Not sure who you are going through but I got my stand, 10x3x2 tank and sump for around 13k from miracles. Awesome build quality and should last forever

Sorry to hear about your shark. Yeah a lot of people don't know they can jump as high as they can. They can clear over 1' in the air when in a feeding frenzy or stressed out. Lids are a necessity.

 

[GulfCoast251]

7k for the steel stand? That's more than I paid for my custom built tank.

It's more than the tank lol

 

[Crazysharklady]

Thanks! I have a quote for a 4ftx4ft, 5x5 and 6x6. The steel stand is quoted for over 7k! I hope I can just make it out of wood lol

Where do you live? My husbands a welder and made our shark pond and tank frame out of steel.

 

[Gp!]

Where do you live? My husbands a welder and made our shark pond and tank frame out of steel.

Can you share details about the steel pond?! So many questions!

What steel did they use? How did you prepare it for salt water? How long have you used it? How has it lasted?

 

[GulfCoast251]

Where do you live? My husbands a welder and made our shark pond and tank frame out of steel.

I'm in south alabama

 

[GulfCoast251]

Second this. The bigger the better of your goal is to keep things in the elasmobranch family. I actually didn't realize that sharks posed a jump risk (and I have a deep euro that prevents most fish) and lost my marbled coral shark I'd had for two years just a couple weeks back. I'll only keep rays unfortunately. Vertical height on the tank is good, no need for more than 2 feet IMO. Make sure to get you go with soft sand, lots of hidey holes and don't forget you need vitamin supplementation.

I went with powder coated steel for my stand and I'm happy I did. Not sure who you are going through but I got my stand, 10x3x2 tank and sump for around 13k from miracles. Awesome build quality and should last forever

So I see you went with 10x3x2. Am I better to go that size with extra length rather than shorter but wider (4ft)? I also considered a 6ft x 4ft.... I'm all over the place, thankfully not in a hurry lol. I just want to get it right, but also practical

 

[Aspect]

So I see you went with 10x3x2. Am I better to go that size with extra length rather than shorter but wider (4ft)? I also considered a 6ft x 4ft.... I'm all over the place, thankfully not in a hurry lol. I just want to get it right, but also practical

With a shark tank you want area. A 10' x 3' only has 30 sq ft while the 6' x 6' has 36 sq ft. The shark you're keeping can get over 3' as well so 4' is the absolute minimum width.

 

[Crazysharklady]

Can you share details about the steel pond?! So many questions!

What steel did they use? How did you prepare it for salt water? How long have you used it? How has it lasted?

I'll ask my husband on lunch what kind of metal he used. I vaguely remember him saying it was rated for 2 ton but I'm not quite sure. He made the metal stand for our 300 and 500 gallon tanks then we bought wood and cabinets to fit around the frame. We pretty much did the same thing with our pond. He built a stand for our 96x48x36 insert and we are almost done with the surrounding rock wall to enclose it. All of this is in my dining room (well now fish room lol). We just got rid of the pool that we were currently using and upgraded to this. We have had the 300 and 500 gallon stands for about 3 years now. The stands should last forever, my husband only does structural work like gantry's for penndot and railroad catenary's