My project, Multistomatopod tank

[EI Gringo]

I have spent the past couple of months designing and building a multi stomatopod system. The tank consists of;
2 peacock mantis L shaped tanks, 51cm x 48cm x 37cm high with a smaller part at the back 15cm x 51cm x 30cm high. Peacock tanks are fitting with false bottom and a breeding hatch in the divider which is drilled for the passage of small fish.

1 giant spearer tank, ant farm shaped. Suitable for only a smaller specimen with a larger seperate tank somewhere down the line.

1 row of tanks various size 30cm deep and tall creating approximately 4 28L tanks (some smaller and bigger) and a spray bar passing through them all.

My equipment will be;
2 hidom powerheads 3000Lph for main peacock reef.
1 1200lph powerhead for spray bar.
3 Rena 100 heaters, 1 Rena 50 heater.
1 Hydra 50 internal filter.

Livestock will be;
Odontodactylus scyllarus x2
Gonodactylus smithii
gonodactylus chiragra
lysiosquillidae species
Gonodactylaceus Ternatensis
Pseudosquilla ciliata

 

[EI Gringo]

The tank will be reinforced externally by 2 galvanized steel bands tightened around 4 angle supports, 1 on each corner.

 

[Martini5788]

Do you have a design on a computer program? It's hard to tell what's happening with all the clear acrylic and how it's set up. Sounds really
Complicated though

 

[EI Gringo]

This might help explain it. A row of 4 tanks effectively sit on top of 3 larger tanks. The row of 4 tanks are half a foot narrower from front to back so to get into the peacock tanks I must reach down into a 14.7cm gap :L it's awkward but it's designed with the length of my arms in mind so I can reach the front of the glass :3

 

[Kharn]

Image number 5 looks like their is a horizontal flat running across with space above and below...

How do you access the bottom level once its been sealed

I also think that slowly over time you will find that the smaller smashers and even the larger ones will open up the holes in the divider so they can squeeze through if they can't already, I learned that fast with plastic dividers as such, it's not that 1 hit will break it...its the fact the animal has its life time to work the gaps slowly chipping away at the rim of the hole till it disfigures so much that the mantis will fit through.

Having it clear isn't the best idea either as it might goad them into attempting this more in order to "get at" each other.

I believe my split tank design was the most effective where I had 3x2ft tanks each split in half with a glass pane (no holes) backed by black acrylic sheet so no animal could see one another.

This all looks horribly complex and I personally wouldn't do it due to so many risks involved...

 

[EI Gringo]

The bottom tanks are l shaped so as I said you reach in at the back of the tank. I can easily black off one mantis from another if I get any problems, black plastic bin liner can be used easily and holes poked through to allow water to pass.
The holes with the smaller specimens are 2mm large with the specimens themselves around 2-3 inches + the dividers between specimens are 4mm thick, I'd be very surprised if they would even waste there energy trying to get through.
I have housed animals side by side already and they have shown very little interest but I understand that animals are different individually, like I said I can easily sort this out if it becomes a proble, only way to know is to give it a try. Animals above can't see below and vice versa because of the substrate on the above tanks, again if a specimen digs all that out I'll line the base, in hindsight I wish I'd used a black base for the above tanks but hey ho. The above tanks have a spray bar running through that will help create a good current enabling me to put frags in them as one continuous aquascape.
It is indeed a complicated design but in essence, it's extremely simple and enables me to use less equipment and have a single tank running at equal parameters, I'm sure it will work and I have no space for multiple tanks.

 

[EI Gringo]

Ps if you see picture 4 you can see the space at the back which allows access for bottom tanks.

 

[Kharn]

What is the overall Length Width & Height of the single tank structure (forget everything within it)?

Cleaning of waste could be a nightmare in the bottom row tanks

 

[EI Gringo]

122cm wide, 50cm deep and 70cm tall. I can get my whole arm down into the bottom so it should be ok, all I really need is to remove food waste and clean the front of the glass. The rock work for the pvc burrows will be at the back so directly below the opening. Every tank is open at the top and viewable at the front plus the ant farm tank will be viewable from the side as the other side is in the corner of the room

 

[EI Gringo]

Actual water volume is approx 120cm x 48cm x 65cm but then a large sandbed using approx 18L for spearer, a substrate making up 7cm x 100cm x 48cm, all the rock work, at a guess 12kg of LR, all of the thick plastic divisions which I worked out take up 6L of space all together and 4 heaters + a quite large filter.

 

[Calappidae]

EDIT: Actually roy already addressed this in another thread of your's. Regarding G. ternatensis.