Auratus Posted May 6, 2017 Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 Just finished cycling my new 40 gallon breeder. DIY partitions cut from plexi glass. HMF back wall is common to all 4 partitions. Hope this will be the new home to some healthy and happy shrimps. Undershrimp, ImDisclose, Shrimple minded and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikolaus777 Posted May 6, 2017 Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 thats awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimple minded Posted May 6, 2017 Report Share Posted May 6, 2017 What keeps the HMF in place (pushed forward) that I'm not seeing? Really cool setup.......would be interested in any empty tank pictures you might share Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auratus Posted May 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 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 Shrimple minded 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimple minded Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 Awesome. Where did you source that huge piece of "wavy" HMF foam? Cazpuh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted May 7, 2017 Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 12 hours ago, Shrimple minded said: Awesome. Where did you source that huge piece of "wavy" HMF foam? Yes, this looks like a perfect piece of foam to do divided tank setups. very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auratus Posted May 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2017 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotKelly Posted May 8, 2017 Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 not to be a downer, but what are you going to do when you need to clean one of those sponges? won't it ruin the separation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted May 8, 2017 Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 8 hours ago, NotKelly said: not to be a downer, but what are you going to do when you need to clean one of those sponges? won't it ruin the separation? good point. I wasnt thinking about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afeather Posted May 8, 2017 Report Share Posted May 8, 2017 This is amazing! So inspiring. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auratus Posted May 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2017 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishRFriendz Posted May 10, 2017 Report Share Posted May 10, 2017 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auratus Posted May 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2017 Good ideas for the next setup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uriel RT Posted May 22, 2017 Report Share Posted May 22, 2017 HMF don't need to be cleaned until the tank or soil break down, Nice setup BTW. EricM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGlassBox Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazpuh Posted July 5, 2017 Report Share Posted July 5, 2017 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 TheGlassBox 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted July 5, 2017 Report Share Posted July 5, 2017 very cool idea. havent seen somebody do that yet with 1 long HMF! props to thinking differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coordinate Posted December 3, 2017 Report Share Posted December 3, 2017 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonRon Posted December 4, 2017 Report Share Posted December 4, 2017 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyzazz Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 For anyone that is interested, I've split a 20gal long and a 30gal breeder using corner HMF's. I used a black piece of acrylic siliconed in place to split the tank in both cases. No issues so far. TheGlassBox, Shrimple minded and jd30 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimple minded Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 Nice work, very well done. wyzazz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGlassBox Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 Neat idea! If you wanted to rinse the sponges, you could put up a temporary divider to keep everyone separate too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 I like it. very clean looking work wyzazz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd30 Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 Caspuh, That's what I would do. Easier maintenance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd30 Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 Auratus, This is great! I'm a big believer in mattenfilters. Maybe four different sections for easier cleaning? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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