posible cheep alternate stocking tank??? 4 tanks one canister filter

[iamvictor2k]

But what is the advantage over much simpler, easier, probably cheaper, and less-prone to failure standard vertical dividers?

the ability to house fish that swim side to side not up and down. try putting some balla sharks in a tightly divided vertical storage tank. also better filtration. and posibly the ability to house more hiding spots for specific types of fish that require it. happier fish = better selling product happier customers and less dead on arrivals and less return fish and possibly a longer guarantee time.

 

[Sploke]

So if you have fish in all 4 levels and a customer wants a fish on the bottom level, how do you get it out? Do you lift all three tiers up and let the fish flop around in the now considerably compressed areas in between the tiers, or do you catch them all?

 

[iamvictor2k]

Its not a stupid idea. Its not very practical as the space seems limited. What are the dimensions of the tanks?

i was thinking about using a tank size of 75-150 gallons. you can get these tanks very cheep on craigs list all the time. it also allows us with minimal space to have just a few of these tanks in tight areas and still be able to have a large stock of what ever fish we would like. it can also be modified to 2-3 tiers depending on the height of the fish. imagine the space saved with 1 125 gallon verses 4 30 gallon tanks if you have 3 125's that would be 12 30 gallons. im pretty sure you are going to get a better deal on 3 125's vrs 12 30 gallons. and i know i dont have the means or the space to house 12 30 gallons. let alone all the money you will spend on building custom stands for all of them.

 

[iamvictor2k]

So if you have fish in all 4 levels and a customer wants a fish on the bottom level, how do you get it out? Do you lift all three tiers up and let the fish flop around in the now considerably compressed areas in between the tiers, or do you catch them all?

depending on how many they would like. normally 1-3 you would only need to put the net in the open hole at the top move the net down to block the majority of the open space under the tiers and scoop what you need. if you need a large quantity then yes you would have to lift the tier segments and crowed the fish temporarily.

 

[iamvictor2k]

i havent attempted this yet and am looking for things that i havent thought of yet and i appreciate your comments please keep them coming

 

[Sploke]

The problem is that all 4 dividers won't be able to be the full width of hte tank, if you have supports siliconed onto the sides of the tank. Say the tank is 18" wide, then the top horizontal piece could be 18" wide, but the supports underneath would stick out from the wall, so you might be left with 17 or 17.5" of width for the next tier, since you would have to be able to hinge it up past the supports from the horizonal divider from the first tier. The supports would that one would stick out further, etc etc, so it would present an additional issue to keep all the levels sealed from each other.

 

[iamvictor2k]

The problem is that all 4 dividers won't be able to be the full width of hte tank, if you have supports siliconed onto the sides of the tank. Say the tank is 18" wide, then the top horizontal piece could be 18" wide, but the supports underneath would stick out from the wall, so you might be left with 17 or 17.5" of width for the next tier, since you would have to be able to hinge it up past the supports from the horizonal divider from the first tier. The supports would that one would stick out further, etc etc, so it would present an additional issue to keep all the levels sealed from each other.

i had thought about that issue and my conclusion was to glue the supports underneath each tier and have each tier support itself on each tier all the way to the bottom of the tank. problem solved. chaching!

 

[dundadundun]

there will be a lot of kinks to work out of that system as i see it. for instance, raising a level or 3 will necessitate a place for the water to go. if you lift it too fast water will lift over the sides with it. if you remedy that it'll either be with large holes that some fish/fry might get through or with the same holes with mesh or media that needs extra maintenance. it just seems like too much hassle. first you have to design and build it... then work the kinks out and then the maintenance involved will be somewhat unique... and that's if you're not pouring water on the ground every time you open the tank.

i can see solitary bottom feeders struggling to stay out of the light and swimming toward the shallower end as the level is raised only to tumble down back into the small area left that may still contain water.

i just don't think i could bring myself or my fish to be subjected to this project. idk, maybe i'm just mentally incapable and i'm not seeing something.

 

[iamvictor2k]

there will be a lot of kinks to work out of that system as i see it. for instance, raising a level or 3 will necessitate a place for the water to go. if you lift it too fast water will lift over the sides with it. if you remedy that it'll either be with large holes that some fish/fry might get through or with the same holes with mesh or media that needs extra maintenance. it just seems like too much hassle. first you have to design and build it... then work the kinks out and then the maintenance involved will be somewhat unique... and that's if you're not pouring water on the ground every time you open the tank.

i can see solitary bottom feeders struggling to stay out of the light and swimming toward the shallower end as the level is raised only to tumble down back into the small area left that may still contain water.

i just don't think i could bring myself or my fish to be subjected to this project. idk, maybe i'm just mentally incapable and i'm not seeing something.

????????????????????

 

[Sploke]

I'm still not convinced that this is a solution to a problem that actually exists. Most pet stores just use 33 longs, 55s or larger to hold big fish (i.e. balas in your example), so I don't see what would be gained by adding the complexity of the several layers above the bottom. Having worked in a fish store, I think you would be hard-pressed to pass this off as a viable idea or even a useful addition to the display tanks.