2000 Gal. Man Cave Tank

[Sniffles]

I am going to build my house, and when I do, I am going to put a 2000 gal. tank in the bottom floor which will be my man cave. Do you guys have any ideas what to put in it? Preferably one or more species from each fish thingie. (Angels (Large), Angels (Dwarf), Anthias, etc.) With an exeption of Anglers, Boxfish, Damsels, Dartfish, Dottybacks, Dragonets, Eels, Filefish, Groupers, Jawfish, Lions, Parrotfish, Pipefish, Rays, Scorpions, Seahorses, Sharks, Squirrelfish, & Triggers.

Ones I would like are Angels (Large), Angels (Dwarf), Anthias, Basslets, Batfish, Blennies, Butterflies, Cardinals, Chromis, Clowns, Rabbits, Gobies, Grunts, Hawkfish, Puffers, Lots Of Tangs, Wrasse, And A Hi-Hat For Sure.

Otherwise, if you want me to do like a shark and ray tank, that'd be cool too. Like possibly bonnethead, black-tip, cat, marble cat, bamboo, etc. sharks. Or blue dot, haller's, spotted caribbean, rounded, fiddler, etc. rays. And a couple of large fish.

I personally like this ray:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+288+2074&pcatid=2074

Thank you for your suggestions & time!

[McGarnicle]

I thought this tank was going to be dedicated to Tangs?

[Sniffles]

It was, but I read alot on tangs, and they are succeptible to ich alot more than other fish, and they are particularly aggressive to other tangs. So I am just going to put a few different species of tangs in there. My favorite is the Bluespine Unicorn Tang.

[hijinks]

make sure you have plans to handle all the evaporation that will occur. More so since you live in a cold weather area that has dry winters.

[Sniffles]

Yeah, it is -27 fahrenheit today, and I'm not even counting wind chill...

[danimallaminad]

First off I'd like to say Good Luck with the build, sounds awesome.
Second, I'd suggest just flipping through Live Aquaria and reading up on any fish you want or are thinking about. You should make a list of the fish you for sure want and some that you kind of want and then post the lists and we can tell you what will work and won't work and our experiences with fish. It's easy to ask others to chose fish to put in your tank but remember your the one who has to look at it everyday, so pick what you want.

[Sniffles]

Ok I will send a list in a minute or two.

[leveldrummer]

A tank that size would be able to house many tangs without much aggression between them as long as you pick the right tangs.

That being said, you can also pack many of the other fish you mentioned in there without too much issue too. Pick what you like, make sure its compatible with the coral you are keeping (if any) and fill it up.

[Sniffles]

Amount Fish - Max Size Of One Fish
1 Bluespine Unicorn Tang - 2ft
2 Bonnethead Shark - 5ft
1 Epaulette Shark - 3ft 6in
1 Blue Dot Ray - 2ft 4in
1 Shovelnose Shark - 4ft
2 Cownose Ray - 1ft 6in
2 California Spotted Stingray - 2ft
3 Threadfin Lookdown - 1ft 8in
1 Banana Wrasse - 1ft
1 Green Bird Wrasse - 11in
1 Emperor Angelfish - 1ft 3in
I'm pretty sure these are compatible, maybe not the angel though. You tell me what you think.

[Sniffles]

I'm not going to keep coral in it. I would like to have a large angel in it. So yeah.

[McGarnicle]

What's your tanks dimensions going to be to support a 5ft shark?

[Sniffles]

Very big, I don't exactly know the dimensions, about 12 feet long, 6 feet wide, 6 feet tall. With rounded edges.

[CRJ]

sounds to me like you should read over the big tank threads and start getting a game plan. a tank that big will need to be installed as the house is being built, and design it around the house/tank. you have to consider air movement, filtration locations, load supports, and will have to have the concrete reinforced below it to prevent cracks. It sounds like an awesome project, and a wonderful way to spend 20 grand!

also so you know, a 12 ft long, 6ft tall and 6ft wide tank is 3200 gallons, and will require a crane to move, as will probably cost around 7-8K to make. Thats my guess atleast

[Sniffles]

Thats what I am going to do, I am going to get a custom tank and let them install it while the house is being built. I don't really have a budget limit. It'll just take a long time to save up for.

[Politiceaux]

Very big, I don't exactly know the dimensions, about 12 feet long, 6 feet wide, 6 feet tall. With rounded edges.

To be honest, a 5 foot long shark would be pretty miserable in a 12 foot long rectangular tank, IMO.

ETA: This is some information from another forum on them:

"Bonnetheads are about the only type of hammerhead shark known to do well in captivity. They are born at about 14 inches in length and grow to about 5 feet. They only grow a little over a foot a year. They also don’t live very long. Their life span is only estimated to be around 12 years for females and even less for males. Bonnetheads eat mostly shrimp and crab; they can also be feed squid, octopus, and other marine life. Bonnetheads is on the list of sharks that shouldn’t be purchased by average home hobbyists. They require better than excellent care. If you do get a Bonnethead shark you should hire an aquarium service technician with a lot of shark experience to do all your tank upkeep for 6 months. After 6 months your bonnethead should be sufficiently broken-in to your tank environment to live out the rest of its life. This is of course as long as you can provide the same care the technician could. It has been written that bonnetheads can live in 2,500 to 2,800 gallon aquariums… but I wouldn’t ever house them in less than 5,000 gallon tanks. Average cost for Bonnethead setup and upkeep $10,000."

[CRJ]

Thats what I am going to do, I am going to get a custom tank and let them install it while the house is being built. I don't really have a budget limit. It'll just take a long time to save up for.

thats for sure! whens the house being built?

id also throw out to talk to miracles aquarium in orangeville ontario. they built mine, and they do a fantastic job.

[Sniffles]

Ok I may have to change the bonnett heads to something else. Let me look. Otherwise, are the other fish compatible?
Are there any sharks that swim in the middle water?

[Politiceaux]

Ok I may have to change the bonnett heads to something else. Let me look. Otherwise, are the other fish compatible?

Yeah, this is some further information:
"Okay, so a 1000-gallon tank won’t do it, huh? What about a 2000-gallon tank? Well, maybe, as long as it’s not a square or rectangle. Requiem sharks swim a lot—not necessarily all the time, but a lot for sure, and these sharks tend to find the corners of rectangular or square aquariums especially annoying. Sharks generally don’t go in reverse, and when a bonnethead gets “caught” in a corner it tends to thrash back and forth. The thrashing gets more and more violent as panic ensues—because they feel trapped. Eventually their sensitive, broadened heads get chafed up, and infection can set in. At that point it may be too late to save them. Sharks, like all elasmobranchs, are notoriously difficult to medicate successfully once ill. Oval or round tanks, or at least tanks with rounded corners, are needed so the bonnetheads don’t get caught in the sharp angle of the 90-degree corner found on most standard types of aquariums; a rounded aquarium of 12 to 15 feet in diameter would be the minimum for one of these sharks."

As far the rest, basically any normal commonly available fish would be fine in your huge tank. All manner of large angels, large tangs, etc.

[Meanmike]

sounds to me like you should read over the big tank threads and start getting a game plan. a tank that big will need to be installed as the house is being built, and design it around the house/tank. you have to consider air movement, filtration locations, load supports, and will have to have the concrete reinforced below it to prevent cracks. It sounds like an awesome project, and a wonderful way to spend 20 grand!

also so you know, a 12 ft long, 6ft tall and 6ft wide tank is 3200 gallons, and will require a crane to move, as will probably cost around 7-8K to make. Thats my guess atleast

Your guess would be way off. That's roughly the price of a tank my size.

[Sniffles]

I am going to get the tank installed by professional custom aquarium manufacturers while my house is being built. I am just going to ask them to make a tank for sharks and rays in the middle of my basement. So yeah I am just going to go with how big they say it needs to be.

[McGarnicle]

I am going to get the tank installed by professional custom aquarium manufacturers while my house is being built. I am just going to ask them to make a tank for sharks and rays in the middle of my basement. So yeah I am just going to go with how big they say it needs to be.

Sounds like it will be an awesome tank, when's the house getting built?