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Dividing tank


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I was in a LFS yesterday and they were selling off their display tanks. They had a couple of sets of 2 x 4ft(approx) tanks on a tiered wooden stand, each tank was divided into 4. The piping was there with a drip system for water coming in and a pipe coming out of the bottom for overflow.

I was thinking the set-up would be great for housing my bettas if I could divide the tanks further making each tank divided into 8 (or maybe even 12, would have to measure) instead of 4. I could probably even leave one row how it is and use 2 to house females and 2 as spawn tanks. To do this I would have to put a divider into each section leaving a gap at the top or bottom so the water still flows through to the overflow. I would also have to work out how to connect up hoses/pipes and a sump tank. The set up as it is with the stand is selling for $300. With the extra work I would have to do does this sound like it is worth it or should I just stick with the getting more of the tanks I currently have like below? I would need 3-4 more of these at $65 each plus an air pump for each to run the filtration. I also need to buy a stand for them all and some sort of lighting for them.

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What are your thoughts?

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2nd hand 4ft tanks are worth about $50 - $80 to buy in the right places / right times - I got 4 x 4ft tanks and stand for $200 a few months ago - for $300 if its got all the plumbing and lighting it sounds worth it - a sump isn't hard to hook up but the pump could set you back a few dollars for a good one....

You could always just cover the holes where the plumbing exits the tank with glass and treat the tanks as normal and run them on sponge filters for each compartment.....

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The 2nd hand tanks are a LOT more expensive here in Perth than what they are in the eastern states. I saw one advertised the other day that was a single 4ft tank on a wooden cabinet, no hood for $700. The best I have ever seen is at the same shop yesterday that had a 4ft divided into 2 with no stand for $55 or divided into 3 with no stand for $85. I have never seen a 4ft tank for that price in Perth before.

If I am going to run sponge filters I still need air pumps to go with them. If I was going to run it with a sump, what size pump would I need and at what approximate cost?

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Grab them if they're a bargain over there then for sure!!!

If you're going to run sponges in each compartment - get a high output air pump and run all your sponges off the one pump (saves power a lot). I have a hailea 60 litre per minute pump and its running about 20 tanks at the moment with plenty of air to spare.... hasn't mssed a beat in 2 years and is as quiet as quiet.... I run the main airflow into 12mm micro irrigation pipe and run that to each rack of tanks then use barbed micro irrigation outlets and run 4mm airline off them into each sponge filter.... you can get smaller volume pumps if you don't need the capacity of the 60 l/m pump though....

If you're running sponge filters you won't need to sump the tanks at all as a sponge in each compartment will do all the filtration you'll need.....

To sump the tanks and run them by sump you'll need to get a pump that will get the water up to the height of the highest tank - usually around a 3000 l/hr water pump will do the job but anything from about $50 to $200 depending on quality and brand....

I run all my tanks on sponges and its very much easier than sumps - with a sump all your fish will use the same water and will need to be happy in the same water conditions - with sponges you can have 2 different types of fish right next to each other in the same rack each with their own water conditions....

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Thanks for the info Wayne. They will all be bettas as I am getting rid of everything else except my goldfish that are happy in their little 30L tank.

I will have to go back and get some measurements to see how much the glass dividers will cost and see if they will let me lay-by the tanks for a couple of weeks and then find someone that can help me get them home and rearrange my dining room to fit them in :D Who needs a dining table anyway right?

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