Opinions on Rack Design

[Disciple]

Hi All,

 

I have been keeping shrimp for a few months now and I have decided I am now quite addicted to the hobby. I decided a couple of weeks ago that I now want a rack so I can add more variety shrimps to my collection. I will wait a few more month before I pull the trigger as I want to make sure I have thought about as much as I can plus I would rather have it ready as summer goes into Autumn.

 

I have been spending a lot of time looking at the journals in these forums over the last couple of weeks and I have tried to pick what I think is the best parts from each rack. Now I am trying to everything on to paper so I can get quotes from various aquarium stores in Perth.

 

I do not have any experience at all with maintaining a rack before and I also have no idea about the plumbing of a rack (I will have to reply on the builder for this). Could you give me your thoughts on and flaws in what I have thought up. I know there are many ppl here that have hands on experience that could help improve my design.

 

I have decided to go with 3 x 48" long 14" high and 24" wide tanks that will be divided into different sections. I was thinking of either 4 for the bottom 2 and 2 for the top or 3 sections for each tank. The reasoning for these dimension is I will have a good water volume and maximise the floor area. Also it seems 48" is quite economical compared to 60".

 

I also have decided I was going to go with a sump for the filtration of the system. Again after thinking about the pros and cons I just like the thought of having a larger water volume to help keep the water parameters constant. I plan to run a couple of canister filters, chiller and heaters through the sump. I will also want either a sponge filter or Undergravel filter for each section. I want to be able to isolate tanks if there are any issues.

 

I am currently thinking the partitions will be stainless steel mesh but I am not a 100% on it yet. What are your experience with it over time?

 

As for the engineering of the cabinets and plumbing I will have to rely on the ppl I choose to build the rack for me. Is there anything I should ask for? I know I want to insulate it from the heat and cold as much as possible and reduce the noise too.

 

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for reading. Cheers

Edited October 21, 2014 by Disciple