getting back into the hobby

[darklcd]

Hey all

well after a little break after the loss of my trigger I have decided to start another tank. After I took my family on a trip to the mall of america and walking through the underground aquarium display I decided that I miss my tank too much.

The one thing that caught my wife's eye was the bamboo shark eggs that were hatching in a nursing tank which I thought was just amazing I have seen the eggs and the young sharks on line but never in person. That along with the rain forest cafe display tanks made my wife rethink the shark idea.

So with that in mind I am starting to plan a fish only tank but I need a little help.

I have a line on a 250 gal tank I am just waiting to hear back on the details but I need some help with filtration, lighting, some other fish that might work and a clean up crew if possible.

Here are my thoughts so far

I am thinking that with fish only and some basic live rock I should not need any lighting higher the some good t5s or a pair of MH bulbs.

As for filtration I was thinking about the fluval fx5 as its good to 400 gal so it says and I am only going to be going with a 250 or a 300 gal tank.

skimmer is going to hurt I know but I was going to try and find something that I could set up with an inline pump or something like that as I am trying to avoid a sump ( I know I am going to get some flack for this one )

For water flow I was thinking either a handful of good wave makers or setting up a closed loop system.

As for fish I was thinking just a few other fish triggers, angels or maybe some tanks of somekind maybe a puffer.

As for a clean up crew I don't know what I can do with a shark or 2 plus some other semi aggressive fish in the tank.

I know it sounds like lot of questions but I want to look into this as best I can to make sure that I avoid the problems that I had with my trigger fish.

I would really like to hear all ideas and thoughts on this new adventure for my wife and I

Thanks to all for reading and for all you info in advance.

 

[Krish]

Welcome back man!! 250 gal sounds like a really nice sized tank!! I wish my wife would approve that!! I'm not at all familiar with the fluval fx5, but is it a wet/dry filter? If you plan to go with a "predator" type setup and no corals, then a wet/dry my be in your best interest to help process all of the waste that your fish will produce. Powerheads vs closed loop is something you will have to decide. The disadvantage I see of powerheads is it will take up space in the tank and aren't that easy on the eye whereas a closed loop will take up less space and can be hidden. Powerheads though are the easiest option to go with. Simply plug and play. Guess you'll have to decide on that one.

Just wanted to pop in and say welcome back! Good luck with the setup!!

 

[darklcd]

I am happy for sure I just have to wait for all the details and see where it goes. If the 250 dosen't work out there are 180 and 200 gal tanks all over

this was part of the reason things are moving

 

[WA98296]

Good Luck with your new tank.

 

[Chichas01]

A shark or 2? Honestly, I wouldn't do it. 250 gallons is not enough to keep one shark long term let alone 2. Not trying to rain on your parade but there are plenty of fish that will work great in your tank without including a shark.

 

[y2says]

Welcome back and good luck. Let us know how it goes.