Foam tank divider question

[treefisher]

Somewhere on the internet I read about people dividing shrimp tanks with Poret foam. Was that anyone here, by chance?

 

I'm about to do the same, but have one concern; will the shrimp likely climb over the foam? I've never had shrimp attempt to escape before, but I guess I've never given them a ladder and a reason to go.

 

My water line will be an inch or two below the foam. I might make some acrylic overhangs above the foam to prevent escapes, but I'd rather not have to if I don't need to.

 

Opinions? Thoughts? Experiences?

[zodiac]

they will climb out of water if the surface is wet and there is something yummy to eat.

[NotKelly]

i wouldn't recommend a foam divider at all because if you ever need to clean it you completely destroy the separation

[treefisher]

10 hours ago, zodiac said:

they will climb out of water if the surface is wet and there is something yummy to eat.

I knew I'd hear this here. I probably shouldn't have even asked. Oh well, I'll just cut the barrier overhangs I was planning on.

 

5 hours ago, NotKelly said:

i wouldn't recommend a foam divider at all because if you ever need to clean it you completely destroy the separation

I have a plan for that. It's not a very good plan, but I'm aware this is an issue I'll eventually have to face.

I honestly don't foresee having to clean them often. I use the same foam for all my sponge filters, and rarely clean them. My shrimp water always tests clean, and the shrimp never complain.

[wyzazz]

Why clean them, the shrimp will eat most everything on them.  And by the time they are dirty enough to need cleaning you will probably want to reset the tank anyway.  

[treefisher]

Exactly,

 

I haven't cleaned some of my sponge filters in almost 2 years and my water is perfectly clean. Poret foam won't break down or collapse, so there really is minimal maintenance with it.

[Zima]

You need to choose very carefull the good sponge mat, cos sometimes the sponge mat starting to loose the form and resilence very fast (3-4 months).

I'm often using a sponge mat as HMF (Hamburger Matten Filter). If you want to build something like HMF, you need to calculate the waterflow and total space of sponge for best results.

Here is instructions for corner HMF 

http://www.seriouslyfish.com/a-basic-guide-to-the-hamburger-mattenfilter/

Just flat HMF

http://www.swisstropicals.com/library/mattenfilter/

[ricksza]

I made a divider for my 10 gallon tank using a 2" square 40ppi foam with glass above it. The foam allows water flow between the sides and the glass prevents escapes.