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40 Gallon breeder tank divided


Auratus

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Sorry I don't have empty tank photos.  Was too eager to get the setup going.  

The HMF back support was by smaller blocks of HMF cut from a larger strip. I put them behind the dividers. Heaters, airlines, flow adjusters and lift tubes go in between the blocks. This picture may show it better.

 

Auratus

image.jpg

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I got the foam from Swiss Tropicals.  The folks there were very helpful in giving me inputs and allowing custom cuts with very reasonable pricing. They offer waffle cut and ridge cut for the thicker foams.

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NotKelly,

You are right on. The sponge cleaning consideration is definitely a drawback of this design.  I looked into that a bit and from what I gathered, it takes a good while for the large surface area of the backwall to be clogged enough to make a difference in filter efficiency.  It probably depends on tank loading. My plan is to keep the tank clean, lightly stocked, and see how long it'd last.  It will be a learning experience and I'll be happy to report back.  

Just in case, I have 4 buckets ready for a complete tear down :).

 

Auratus

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I guess a single 40 would be easier to maintain water quality and make water changes easier than four 10G. Maybe the acrylic sheets could have gone the full width and had holes in the back portion to allow the systems to still all be one and cover the holes with filters. Cleaning the filter might actually be easier with 4 smaller pieces than 1 huge long one too.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been thinking about doing this as well....  I saw someone else's setup (can't remember where - rats) and they'd drilled holes through the dividers and siliconed wire mesh over them.  It would allow flow-through of water but keep the babies in.  They had only one HMF at the end of the tank in one compartment and a sponge filter in each compartment (probably to give the shrimp in the other compartments something to graze on...)  But he/she did it with a 20 long.  Just some thoughts...  It looks beautiful!  And it would be easier changing the water in 1 tank as opposed to 4.  And keep the water quality more stable.....  I like it!

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  • 1 month later...

So i recently had the same thoughts about doing this to a 75g. Except i was thinking about using glass and actually dividing each of the 4 compartments to its own sealed tank per say. And doing a hmf in each as you did. That way i can have the freedom of housing differing paramsmaters, and preventing multiple colony crashes. Will be keeping up with this though

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  • 4 months later...
On 5/8/2017 at 10:05 PM, Auratus said:

NotKelly,

You are right on. The sponge cleaning consideration is definitely a drawback of this design.  I looked into that a bit and from what I gathered, it takes a good while for the large surface area of the backwall to be clogged enough to make a difference in filter efficiency.  It probably depends on tank loading. My plan is to keep the tank clean, lightly stocked, and see how long it'd last.  It will be a learning experience and I'll be happy to report back.  

Just in case, I have 4 buckets ready for a complete tear down :).

 

Auratus

It should last a few years 

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Do you have any Problems with the plexyglass staying attached to the glass wall, since it is not touching the other side of the tank? Oh, you are using plastic tubing instead of Silicone. How is that working out? Do you have to Keep moving the pieces to Keep the dividers even?

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Auratus,

 

This is great!  I'm a big believer in mattenfilters.  Maybe four different sections for easier cleaning?

 

John

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