Shark pool filtration and water changes - 20.000 gal

[Banung]

Hello,

I want to ask an experienced shark keeper about filtration a water changes in my future dream tank.

Pool size: 50 x 17 x 4 foot. About 20.000 gal
2 or 3 Black tip sharks only.

On the Youtube is movie called "David's Shark pool at King Car Aquarium" and it is close to my dream. Means lot of space for sharks and not nice tank. Pool will be closed.

How strong filtration is needed for that setup? How big waterchanges are needed?
Is it possible to use water from Mediterranean or Baltic Sea?

Of course, such "dirthy" tank is in order to cut running costs down.

I want to have heathy sharks first. Nice tank is the second.
I run only fresh water aquarium. I know wery little about salt water aquarium.

Thanks

 

[Grinch]

Filtering a salty tank is the same as filtering a less salty tank in principle.

 

[Hendre]

This calls for sump filtration on a BIG scale! Look into how koi ponds are filtered maybe?

 

[Yoimbrian]

Same filtration as a small saltwater tank. Just bigger.

Just mechanical (sand filter) and Big protein skimmer (with ozone probably) are the two main things. Likely a flow through heater as well.

 

[twentyleagues]

Same filtration as a small saltwater tank. Just bigger.

Just mechanical (sand filter) and Big protein skimmer (with ozone probably) are the two main things. Likely a flow through heater as well.

I agree. Very big protein skimmer and a very large pool filter or two should work. If you could get some other means of mechanical filtration in there too before the pool filter that would be good. I had about a tenth of that in my house at one time. I had 2 300 gal stock tanks that I had rays and bamboo cats in, 2 large reef tanks, coral prop tank, clown breeding racks everything was plumbed together except hospital and acclimation tanks. My skimmer was a custom made recirc that had about 2000gph through it. It was bigger then me, 6.5' tall and 2.5' diameter. Id guess that'd be small for what you need. We have an aquarium that opened recently in my area I got the chance to see behind the scenes. I think the main salt tank is 10,000 gal. The skimmer holds something like 600gals of water. Its bigger then my half bath at home!

 

[BIG-G]

I agree with what the others are saying. 20,000 gallons sounds like a lot, and for an aquarium it is but not for a pool. So I would recommend you think of this as a pool and look at all the filtration made for swimming pools. Saltwater pools are very popular now so it would be a simple thing to use the mechanical filtration means of those setups, and really oversized the filtration. A good prefilter of some kind then a sand filter, then to a protein skimmer and finally through a heater or chiller which ever you would need or maybe both.

I would say the skimmer is going to be the most important part or this system and having it designed for efficient and effective operation plus easy maintenance is going to be the key to a really good filtration system.