Cat shark biological filtration

[dillon lif]

Hello,
I am looking to get a juvenile coral cat shark for my 75 gallon saltwater aquarium then move him to my 240 gallon. I have very little experience with sharks especially in smaller tanks. The 75 gallon where he will only be for a short amount of time has 15 lbs of live rock so he has room to swim and a fluval 207 canister filter as well as a fluval aqua clear for 100 gal tanks. The shark will be on the only fish in this tank(might as well call it a setup tank). Both filter have full bags of bio media for biological filtering as well. I’m not looking to do a full sump with this tank and really not looking to add a protein skimmer unless absolutely required because this tank will be in a quieter place of the house and they can get quite loud. I guess the question I’m asking Is does this setup tank have enough biological filtration to replace the use of a protein skimmer? ( again shark will be moved into a 240 in the future). Biological filtration- light on coral chunks for sharks underbelly so it’s a finer grain sand mostly, 1lb of fluval bio max total, and 11 lbs of live rock. Thank you and I’m open to all suggestions because I’m not an expert in sharks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

You want good chemical and biological balance as they don’t tolerate changes in water quality especially nitrates and are susceptible to bacteria issues so water quality is of importance

 

[dillon lif]

You want good chemical and biological balance as they don’t tolerate changes in water quality especially nitrates and are susceptible to bacteria issues so water quality is of importance

Gotcha, so what I’m hearing is it wouldn’t be a bad idea to add more biological filtration. Especially because this is a smaller tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Gotcha, so what I’m hearing is it wouldn’t be a bad idea to add more biological filtration. Especially because this is a smaller tank.

Absolutely

 

[dillon lif]

Absolutely

Thank you I’ll go ahead and do that!

 

[Aspect]

Hello,
I am looking to get a juvenile coral cat shark for my 75 gallon saltwater aquarium then move him to my 240 gallon. I have very little experience with sharks especially in smaller tanks. The 75 gallon where he will only be for a short amount of time has 15 lbs of live rock so he has room to swim and a fluval 207 canister filter as well as a fluval aqua clear for 100 gal tanks. The shark will be on the only fish in this tank(might as well call it a setup tank). Both filter have full bags of bio media for biological filtering as well. I’m not looking to do a full sump with this tank and really not looking to add a protein skimmer unless absolutely required because this tank will be in a quieter place of the house and they can get quite loud. I guess the question I’m asking Is does this setup tank have enough biological filtration to replace the use of a protein skimmer? ( again shark will be moved into a 240 in the future). Biological filtration- light on coral chunks for sharks underbelly so it’s a finer grain sand mostly, 1lb of fluval bio max total, and 11 lbs of live rock. Thank you and I’m open to all suggestions because I’m not an expert in sharks.

You don't want any chunks of rock or anything like that on the sand bed, they will swim right along the sand bed and can scrape themselves on that which will only lead to stress/infections. You will need a sump to keep these or a very established bacteria colony (2 years if not running a skimmer). I would not get a shark without an oversized skimmer. A shark alone can produce as many DOCs as 20 bony fish studies have shown. Coral cats are more active than the Bamboo sharks and also grow faster and eat more. 75 Gallons is enough for one until they reach 10". What would the dimensions of the 240 be? They will outgrow a typical 6' x 2' 180-220 gallon tank. I would recommend at least a 6' x 3' tank.

 

[dillon lif]

You don't want any chunks of rock or anything like that on the sand bed, they will swim right along the sand bed and can scrape themselves on that which will only lead to stress/infections. You will need a sump to keep these or a very established bacteria colony (2 years if not running a skimmer). I would not get a shark without an oversized skimmer. A shark alone can produce as many DOCs as 20 bony fish studies have shown. Coral cats are more active than the Bamboo sharks and also grow faster and eat more. 75 Gallons is enough for one until they reach 10". What would the dimensions of the 240 be? They will outgrow a typical 6' x 2' 180-220 gallon tank. I would recommend at least a 6' x 3' tank.

The dimensions for the 240 was going to be a 6x2. But if it’s recommended the it be 6x3 then I can change the order.

 

[Aspect]

The dimensions for the 240 was going to be a 6x2. But if it’s recommended the it be 6x3 then I can change the order.

So the current dimensions would be 6' x 2' x 3' if my math is correct?

 

[dillon lif]

You don't want any chunks of rock or anything like that on the sand bed, they will swim right along the sand bed and can scrape themselves on that which will only lead to stress/infections. You will need a sump to keep these or a very established bacteria colony (2 years if not running a skimmer). I would not get a shark without an oversized skimmer. A shark alone can produce as many DOCs as 20 bony fish studies have shown. Coral cats are more active than the Bamboo sharks and also grow faster and eat more. 75 Gallons is enough for one until they reach 10". What would the dimensions of the 240 be? They will outgrow a typical 6' x 2' 180-220 gallon tank. I would recommend at least a 6' x 3' tank.So the current dimensions would be 6' x 2' x 3' if my math is correct?

So the current dimensions would be 6' x 2' x 3' if my math is correct?

Yes that is correct

 

[dillon lif]

You don't want any chunks of rock or anything like that on the sand bed, they will swim right along the sand bed and can scrape themselves on that which will only lead to stress/infections. You will need a sump to keep these or a very established bacteria colony (2 years if not running a skimmer). I would not get a shark without an oversized skimmer. A shark alone can produce as many DOCs as 20 bony fish studies have shown. Coral cats are more active than the Bamboo sharks and also grow faster and eat more. 75 Gallons is enough for one until they reach 10". What would the dimensions of the 240 be? They will outgrow a typical 6' x 2' 180-220 gallon tank. I would recommend at least a 6' x 3' tank.

What skimmer would you recommend? Again please keep in mind this is a temporary home for about a year so no sump and a hang in skimmer is preferred. If there is no way around it then so be it it.

 

[Aspect]

Yes that is correct

Yeah, if you're going to be keeping a shark, height will not improve the shark's qol. Sharks don't use the vertical aspect of the tank nearly as much as they do the horizontal. If the space is big enough and is possible for you a 6' x 4' would be perfect for the shark.

 

[Aspect]

What skimmer would you recommend? Again please keep in mind this is a temporary home for about a year so no sump and a hang in skimmer is preferred. If there is no way around it then so be it it.

Are you planning to keep only the shark in the tank? Also, fyi the shark will outgrow a 75 in a year, I would expect them to be at least 14" inches and possibly growing up to 16" at one year of age.

 

[dillon lif]

Are you planning to keep only the shark in the tank? Also, fyi the shark will outgrow a 75 in a year, I would expect them to be at least 14" inches and possibly growing up to 16" at one year of age.

Only the shark. Apologies a year or whenever the shark outgrows the 75. I’m placing the order for the 240 this week so unless it grows 5-6 inches during the cycle period it shouldn’t outgrow the 75 during that period.

 

[Aspect]

Only the shark. Apologies a year or whenever the shark outgrows the 75. I’m placing the order for the 240 this week so unless it grows 5-6 inches during the cycle period it shouldn’t outgrow the 75 during that period.

If it's the only fish in the tank it should be okay for 6 months is my conservative guess. If possible, for you then a tank like 6' x 4' x 18" would work great for this shark and that would be 270 gallons.

 

[Aspect]

What skimmer would you recommend? Again please keep in mind this is a temporary home for about a year so no sump and a hang in skimmer is preferred. If there is no way around it then so be it it.

You could run 2-3x the recommended amount of purigen in a HOB that can filter 8-10x the total water volume through it. Also be sure to remove any uneaten food. That should be plenty as long as you keep up with changing out the purigen when it is exhausted.

 

[dillon lif]

If it's the only fish in the tank it should be okay for 6 months is my conservative guess. If possible, for you then a tank like 6' x 4' x 18" would work great for this shark and that would be 270

You could run 2-3x the recommended amount of purigen in a HOB that can filter 8-10x the total water volume through it. Also be sure to remove any uneaten food. That should be plenty as long as you keep up with changing out the purigen when it is exhausted.

perfect.

 

[dillon lif]

Perfect right now I have 2x the purigen sitting in my HOB filter as the last thing the water flows through. I will add one more to the smaller canister filter as well.

 

[Aspect]

Perfect right now I have 2x the purigen sitting in my HOB filter as the last thing the water flows through. I will add one more to the smaller canister filter as well.

I would also add an air stone to the tank as Sharks are oxygen hogs. And I would recommend a lid with a weight on it as sharks could possibly jump. I would not use a powerhead as it's unnecessary with a shark.

 

[dillon lif]

I would also add an air stone to the tank as Sharks are oxygen hogs. And I would recommend a lid with a weight on it as sharks could possibly jump. I would not use a powerhead as it's unnecessary with a shark.

Thank you again

 

[dillon lif]

Thank you again

I would also add an air stone to the tank as Sharks are oxygen hogs. And I would recommend a lid with a weight on it as sharks could possibly jump. I would not use a powerhead as it's unnecessary with a shark.

Is it okay if I have the wave makers in there or is it not recommended?