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"Thats a huge rack" - The journal


_OnTheRocks

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So finally finding the time to post a quick intro and progress of my previous / current tanks.

I've been into planted tanks for the past couple years but I'm slowly drifting away and focusing more on shrimp. They're just a lot more fun to look at. haha

I don't want to photobomb you all with pictures so I'll just post pictures of my current shrimp tanks.

My selective breeding cubes:

1bbe2c43-6f84-4959-9e90-4912c39525fe_zps

and my newest rack and tanks.

image_zpsygvprrfp.jpeg

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Yes, those are 40 breeders... I originally purchased my storage rack with the intentions of building custom rimless tanks with a shallow footprint (36x18x12) but I couldn't pass up the dollar per gallon sale at petco so I left the store with 4, after just wanting to "look at them". haha

I plan to mirror both bottom tanks with each other, most likely with a large piece of driftwood covered in coral moss.

The top tanks will be divided into maybe 2 or 3 sections so I can house multiple species and get rid of my selective breeding cubes.

I'm still debating on how I want the filtration set up. I will probly run 2 canister filters on the bottom tanks in conjuction with a UGF and the top tanks will be just the standard dual sponge filters. I'm always open to suggestions as well :)

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Nice! That's exact setup i want! What i was thinking about was splitting them using a HMF. It won't be a pretty as the other setups but it all can be run with one air pump and there is practically no maintenance. What rack are you using? Can't wait to see it completed!

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Nice! That's exact setup i want! What i was thinking about was splitting them using a HMF. It won't be a pretty as the other setups but it all can be run with one air pump and there is practically no maintenance. What rack are you using? Can't wait to see it completed!

 

The hmf divider was an idea for me at one point but I'm deciding against it. Not only cause the size of the 40b but the fact that 2 tanks will be sharing the same water. I want to be able to contain any problems in one tank if they arise. 

 

The rack is from Lowes. I got the idea from a goldfish breeder on youtube. The plastic trim on a 40b is an exact fit to the inside rails where the plywood sits and each shelf is supposedly rated for 1000lbs.

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The hmf divider was an idea for me at one point but I'm deciding against it. Not only cause the size of the 40b but the fact that 2 tanks will be sharing the same water. I want to be able to contain any problems in one tank if they arise. 

 

The rack is from Lowes. I got the idea from a goldfish breeder on youtube. The plastic trim on a 40b is an exact fit to the inside rails where the plywood sits and each shelf is supposedly rated for 1000lbs.

What breeder?

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Very nice !! Have also been looking at using UGFs and have a few test tanks on the go. What's your idea here .. normal air tube into the UGFs or are you going to be sucking out through the UGFs into a canister or with an internal powerhead ?

 

 I'm getting good success with using a light layer of plastic gauze under the ADA on top of the UGF which prevents any ADA pebbles falling through, well before it powders in time. This also enables me to also do the unthinkable and lightly gravel vac the ADA say once a month, to recycle it and prevent any stagnant areas and the shrimp go mad for it and forage there for a day or two. Of course I turn all filtration off when doing a vac. 

 

I also like the large 40G tank size as this has produced better breeding results and more stable conditions compared to say the 15G breeders which I also use.

 

Are those DIY UGFs in your smaller cubes, trying to work the pics out ?

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Very Nice setup! Look forward to the progress, looks like you have a spare bedroom aka shrimp room!

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Nice set up! I like the low profile of that rack. Do you have a link for it? Did you slide the bottom tanks in from the top to make them fit?

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Very nice !! Have also been looking at using UGFs and have a few test tanks on the go. What's your idea here .. normal air tube into the UGFs or are you going to be sucking out through the UGFs into a canister or with an internal powerhead ?

 

 I'm getting good success with using a light layer of plastic gauze under the ADA on top of the UGF which prevents any ADA pebbles falling through, well before it powders in time. This also enables me to also do the unthinkable and lightly gravel vac the ADA say once a month, to recycle it and prevent any stagnant areas and the shrimp go mad for it and forage there for a day or two. Of course I turn all filtration off when doing a vac. 

 

I also like the large 40G tank size as this has produced better breeding results and more stable conditions compared to say the 15G breeders which I also use.

 

Are those DIY UGFs in your smaller cubes, trying to work the pics out ?

My original plan was to just use the basic airline in the UGF, but now that you brought up the plastic gauze, I think I might redo the entire set up :/

 

I didn't even think about the amazonia breaking down and falling through the top tray...I just threw them in cause I had it laying around. I may just end up making a looped pvc system with holes drilled into the side, similar to my cubes. Those are connected to finnex pure-5 hob filters. (Same exact thing as the Azoo Palm Filter)

 

I stumbled upon this setup on somebody's blog last night and might do the same. Credit to the owner if you're on here :)

Photo-Jan-10-11-29-24-PM.jpg

 

 

 

Very Nice setup! Look forward to the progress, looks like you have a spare bedroom aka shrimp room!

 

Thank you! You're actually the one who greatly inspired me to transfer my focus onto my shrimp. I think I've watched every single one of your videos. haha. Its an honor to have you approve of my setup

 

Nice set up! I like the low profile of that rack. Do you have a link for it? Did you slide the bottom tanks in from the top to make them fit?

 

Thanks!

 

Heres the rack I used. Looks lowes is offering Free Shipping on orders over $49 too. Hopefully this qualifies

http://www.lowes.com/pd_319466-1281-MR3618BWG_1z13eao__?productId=3529778&pl=1

 

and yeah, I had to lift each tank up and over the sides and drop it in carefully from the top. Not the easiest thing to do by yourself :startle:

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  • 1 month later...

I made my own light fixtures 6 feet in length to span across both levels. Started off with sheets of aluminum and bent them up in my sheet metal break to form a "c" channel and soldered a series of LED lights strips to the underside. All connections were then sealed in marine grade heat shrink and mil spec sleeving. 

 

The color temperature is more on the blue side than I would have liked but I'll live with it. Hoping its bright enough to at least keep my mosses and buces alive. haha

 

image_zpsg9wnxbpu.jpeg

 

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(blue film still in place to prevent scratches during the bending)

 

The two bottom tanks of the rack are just about cycled as of last night.

 

I went ahead and removed all the amazonia and replaced it with SL Aqua nature soil and I also decided to set up my UGF filters a little differently after seeing how Eric (discobee) had his tanks set up and seeing a few videos online from some german breeders. Its a little combination of both. The top level you see has an inch and half of some lava rock and another inch or so of seachem matrix with a layer of nature soil on top. One column has the basic air stone and the other is attached to a powerhead with a DIY spray bar. Flow in the tank is awesome but its not too strong for the shrimp. I also have tons of micro bubbles introduced into the tank from the powerhead.

 

Only time will tell how well this set up works, but so far I'm liking it and I think it looks awesome as well.

 

image_zpsfhyf2i5g.jpegimage_zps8pc6whgf.jpeg

 

Plants consist of a couple of clumps of buces, fissedens, and mini pellia.

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I'm planning on moving over all of my mischlings to tank on the left side and all of my PRL's into the right side in the next couple days.

 

I still have another 2 tanks with spotted head german pintos and blue bolts that are set up on the other side of the room. Those will eventually be taken down and all the shrimp will be transferred into the rack.

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Wowwwwwww.........that's really nice.  The bottom kinda looks like one long, gigantic tank.  Will look amazing once things are popping with shrimp.

 

How are you liking (hating) the massive amounts of water to do changes on 4-40s?  I'd be interested to see your water management setup.

 

What are you using to remineralize?

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Setup looks fantastic! I am a big fan, I am assuming you used the lava rock and matrix to cover the UGF, did you create your own modified UGF or just purchased a standard?

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Wowwwwwww.........that's really nice.  The bottom kinda looks like one long, gigantic tank.  Will look amazing once things are popping with shrimp.

 

How are you liking (hating) the massive amounts of water to do changes on 4-40s?  I'd be interested to see your water management setup.

 

What are you using to remineralize?

 

Water changes haven't been that big of a issue yet. It was quite simple actually.... I have a submersible pump with a sponge filter over the intake that I drop in and the line goes right out the bedroom window. haha. Then I just do the same when filling. I drop the pump into my remineralized water and run the line into the tank.

 

I'm using Salty Shrimp GH+

 

Setup looks fantastic! I am a big fan, I am assuming you used the lava rock and matrix to cover the UGF, did you create your own modified UGF or just purchased a standard?

 

Thanks! Yeah, the lava rock and matrix was just to prevent all the nature soil from falling through. I used the standard UGF found at petco but I trimmed them to fit my "filtration section".

 

My only regret in using them is not painting them black before I put them in. The blue stands out pretty significantly. haha

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