? for you shark guys

My friend is getting back into the hobby and doing a shark tank. He had one years back and realizes the industry has changed a bit and was asking me for advice on filtration. He has a 180g with a big wet dry with bio balls and a good sized euro reef skimmer he just purchased. Before it gets all set up he was asking me if he should do live sand, sump with live rock, no bio balls etc. Since he knows my tank well with refuge/sump/skimmer/socks he thought of going that route. So when keeping sharks with no rock in the tank is it better to go with live sand vs non live? bio balls in a wet dry or maybe a remote sump with live rock? skimmer is gonna be there regardless. And what about a refugium? Anyone who has experience with this have suggestions?

Thank you

 

im no expert on sharks, and i wont pretend to be. but heres what i know.
they have very sensative bellys, so small grain sand is best, but not too small that it looks like a hurricane with the power heads. live rock is needed in the Main tank so they can hide. a large pile in the middle of the tank looks good and gives them a place to hide. you can definately put more in the sump/refugium, but some are needed in the MT to give a place to hide.

thats about all i know :/ i havent ever had a setup that could do a shark so ive never researched them thouroly.

 

I don't like bioballs, so I would get rid of them, but I agree with Gexx, I would have some rock in the DT. I think it would look bad and not provide any security for the shark, plus, you will need the surface area for your biofiltration. Second, live sand is the same as dry sand except it has some bacteria living on/in it. I wouldn't waste my money on "live sand" but if you cycle the tank normally, the sand will become "live."

 

I agree. Also you can just buy some base rock and seed ti with live rock so you don't spend a lot of money on live rock at the LFS or wherever you get your LR from. I would add live rock to the refugium, however.

 

the sand in the tank needs to be very very fine, like when you hold it it feels like powdered sugar, because large grains will hurt his belly. also i believe a 180 will be too small. except maybe a bamboo will do ok. other sharks will hit their noses on the glass until they are rubbed raw. also with alot of sharks legal issues may apply and some you may need a license. also the live rock doesnt have to be very good quality, just for hiding spots. technically dry rock would work just as well but wont do good with the cycle