Newbie to this place.

[smelvin]

Hello I am new to here. I hope to learn more about the hobby. As of right now I have an empty 180 gallon that Myself and a friend have sunk into my gameroom wall. Not sure where I want to go with it. As of now I have a 40 gallon long that I am going to make into a sump. First off I hope this is large enough for a 180. I plan on putting in bio balls as well as live sand and live rock. And algae that will consume nitrates. My goal as of right now is a fish only tank. And really want to keep a banded cat shark, and a horn shark. Sharks are my favorite, however I would really like some direction as to what I will need to home them. Any help to get the ball rolling would be great. I want to take my time 6 months to a year to get all needed equipment before even adding water into the tank. So let me know what kind of equipment I need to get this off right.

[jhnrb]

Welcome to the site. Sharks are not one of my areas of expertise, however, you will need the proper substrait and depth, good water currents and circulation, very good filtration, protein skimmer, feeding tongs, just for a few items. I would recommend you check with your local lfs and buy a good book on the type of sharks you are interested in. This will be very valuble in the long run. Maybe some others will weigh in here also. good luck, keep us posted on your progress, and have fun. You may want to check out our helpful/saltwater articles which have a lot of information on setting up a marine aquarium. I do believe though to be successful with sharks you will need to create a special habitat for them. again welcome to the forum.

[smelvin]

Thanks for the reply. I will keep everyone posted as progress continues. Behind the tank in the wall I have a 8x14 back room that I can just turn into something amazing behind the scenes. But till spring rolls around and my business gets back up since I landscape, Funds are limited. So far I have to clean the tank, get all that evaporation lines off of it, clean the actual room that has seemed to turn into storage somehow, build the sump, Tap into our main water line inside and run a line to the tank for easy filling. I think my first purchase is gonna be a skimmer. Not sure what to get though. So many on the market. Also Im looking into an inline uv sterilizer. Good Idea or waste of money? My tank sits four foot high bottom of tank, 6 foot at top. So I was thinking what if I let gravity do the work. Set my sump say at the four foot level same as main tank which would be say 2 foot lower than the top of main tank. Set up the uv coming out of the sump and into a refugium. Then I would have two sources for biological. I could then send it to a lower sump built strictly for mechanical. All this kinda looking like it is on steps. Ill post pics as soon as I figure out how to and the tank and back room are cleaned out. I have a 29 Gallon I also need to set up as a quarintine so I can treat with copper for illness. Man do I have a lot of work ahead of me and I dont even want to think about the $$$$$$$$$.

[JellyMan]

No, but think about the beauty when it is complete. Its all your prefrence but as for the uv steriliser and a tank that big you may want to consider getting a canister filter that has a uv light with it I know live aquaria sells them just a suggestion Im getting a 125 in 3 weeks and thats what Im doing, there again your prefrence, its your tank.

[smelvin]

Thats different. I never heard of a canister that has uv built into it. I need to check that out. You know when im in bed trying to fall asleep I think of the goofiest crap. New Idea. What about a 55 for a sump. Take 1/4 or 1/2 inch plexiglass and run it down the middle long ways. One long side can be for mechanical while the other side can be for biological. Then I can have a refugium the whole length of a 55 gallon. Not to mention I could have a lot of space in the refugium to house some inverts that could fall prey very easily inside the main tank. Let me know whet everyone thinks of that Idea. Could save a lot of time, money. I believe a 4 foot compact would do the job for that one side.

[Bifferwine]

That's a good idea. I have a 20 gallon as a sump/refugium for my 55 gallon and it's nice having all the equipment away from the main tank and in one place.

[JellyMan]

I thiink its a good Idea thats actually what Im doing for my 125. the 55 fits perfectly in the stand beneath it.