My Ultimate Multi Mantis System(s)
- Thread starter Kharn
- Start date
Kharn
MANTISMAN
Nope never went down that road and probably won't either.....It's not that I found "something" out about them its just that for what I have in mind with Zuzu, its just far to small, I want the Nano for Zuzu to be plumbed into a sump so I can put some nice coral in it, I am currently working on a design perhaps a 40L DT & 40L sump not sure yet but I am fairly positive Zuzu will not be phased by the brighter lights (for the corals).
For Zuzu's next tank I want it to be a really good setup, sump, skimmer, DSB, Refugium all the bells and whistles! I have already found a REALLY CHEAP HOB Ecosystem that is for sale locally, they normally sell for $400+ because they come with literally everything like lighting etc but this guy is selling his untouched brand new one for $150 (it came with something he bought but has no use for it).
http://www.ecosystemaquarium.com/products/eco-marine/eco-filters/deluxe-hob-system.html I can't justify a price of $400-$500 for this thing in box....but I can justify it at $150 =)
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TundraGuy
MantisOholic
I want so many pix it should shut down the server!
tanks on the truck.
tanks coming off the truck.
the empty space where the tanks will be sitting.
the full space where the tanks are placed while you build the stands.
the work space where your going to build the stands.
a pix of the mantis looking at you running around taking pix of everything.
lol........... yes I am excited for you.
tanks on the truck.
tanks coming off the truck.
the empty space where the tanks will be sitting.
the full space where the tanks are placed while you build the stands.
the work space where your going to build the stands.
a pix of the mantis looking at you running around taking pix of everything.
lol........... yes I am excited for you.
Kharn
MANTISMAN
Thanks for the anticipation and enthusiasm fellas =) not long now just 9 hours!
Tomorrow I also endeavour to capture both Morgoth & Leviathan in order to put them in the temp tank so I can remove there current tank to make room for the new tanks lol...Unfortunately I was unable to get bread ties as the good Dr.Caldwell has stated he uses for his Noose/Lasoo kinda weird to be honest considering that one would think bread ties are easy to come by....so I will attempt to make the Noose out of a fine (1.7mm) 'Whippa Snippa' plastic cable not sure if it will work yet.....
Expect the next few posts to contain pics and details of the tanks as its getting late here and I don't think my enthusiasm/excitement can keep me up for much longer!
Tomorrow I also endeavour to capture both Morgoth & Leviathan in order to put them in the temp tank so I can remove there current tank to make room for the new tanks lol...Unfortunately I was unable to get bread ties as the good Dr.Caldwell has stated he uses for his Noose/Lasoo kinda weird to be honest considering that one would think bread ties are easy to come by....so I will attempt to make the Noose out of a fine (1.7mm) 'Whippa Snippa' plastic cable not sure if it will work yet.....
Expect the next few posts to contain pics and details of the tanks as its getting late here and I don't think my enthusiasm/excitement can keep me up for much longer!
Kharn
MANTISMAN
Tanks are officially in all are healthy and all are intact and all are damn sexy too! 
I am amazed at the professionalism that took place in the ordering, making, delivering and in just general chatting that I had with these guys.
Needless to say I got what I paid for!
All 8 Tanks in my garage taking up a good half of the garage...
Spearer tanks (closest one to camera is 700mm High one behind it is 600mm high, BOTH are just 150mm wide!)
2footer behind and 3 footer infront! Note the dividers are mostly in the 2 footers because the 2footers will be housing the smaller species like G.smithii
2 of 3 of the 3 footers the rear one is the only 3 footer with a divider.
One of the magnificent looking dividers, will it hold up against the smashers ? Time will tell....If you look closely at the newspaper underneath the tank the headline reads "LETS GET TO WORK!" :lolspin: I certainly shall!
The Dividers on the few tanks that have them are marvelous in looks, I just hope they hold up to the larger smashers which I am sure they will, the black "plastic" used for them is very thick, all these tanks are "tanks" slightly thicker glass SPECIALLY the 2 spearer tanks (10-12mm thick!) the craftsmanship is amazing so slick & clean!
Now to get painting!
I am amazed at the professionalism that took place in the ordering, making, delivering and in just general chatting that I had with these guys.Needless to say I got what I paid for!
All 8 Tanks in my garage taking up a good half of the garage...
Spearer tanks (closest one to camera is 700mm High one behind it is 600mm high, BOTH are just 150mm wide!)
2footer behind and 3 footer infront! Note the dividers are mostly in the 2 footers because the 2footers will be housing the smaller species like G.smithii
2 of 3 of the 3 footers the rear one is the only 3 footer with a divider.
One of the magnificent looking dividers, will it hold up against the smashers ? Time will tell....If you look closely at the newspaper underneath the tank the headline reads "LETS GET TO WORK!" :lolspin: I certainly shall!
The Dividers on the few tanks that have them are marvelous in looks, I just hope they hold up to the larger smashers which I am sure they will, the black "plastic" used for them is very thick, all these tanks are "tanks" slightly thicker glass SPECIALLY the 2 spearer tanks (10-12mm thick!) the craftsmanship is amazing so slick & clean!
Now to get painting!
Kharn
MANTISMAN
It was too good too be true...although this is no 
sort of incident it does need to be resolved... The tank lids are done really well but they only work in 1 sort of way (this is just for the 2foot & 3foot tanks) there is glass edges/rims around the inside of the tanks, on these are a black plastic almost second rim, the lids for the tanks are divided length ways making rectangles rather then halved through the center making almost cubes.
There is 1 rectangle lid that sits on top of the black plastic rim, whilst the lid in the front (the one with the handle on it) slides under the rear one so it slides back and forward rather then needing to totally remove either lid for maintenance/feeding etc.
Just 1 of these black plastic rims are missing :lmao: but because of the design I cannot use lids on that side of the tank for now...they also didn't supply me lids for the tall thin long tanks which I am curious about.
Both questions have been raised to the maker/store.
You can see the tank in the rear with the red circle where the missing black plastic rim should be but its missing? I know its a mistake cause its the only tank with it missing. I thought it would be a simple fix as I have that stuff laying around but to no avail its a different shape to the ones of my other tanks that I have.
I also have to figure out a way to mantis proof the bulk head the diameter of the gaps I have are about 32mm and I need to prevent 50mm sized stomatopods from curiously falling into them xD thinking about fly mesh but not sure as it might restrict flow too much....ideas be good and appreciated
sort of incident it does need to be resolved... The tank lids are done really well but they only work in 1 sort of way (this is just for the 2foot & 3foot tanks) there is glass edges/rims around the inside of the tanks, on these are a black plastic almost second rim, the lids for the tanks are divided length ways making rectangles rather then halved through the center making almost cubes. There is 1 rectangle lid that sits on top of the black plastic rim, whilst the lid in the front (the one with the handle on it) slides under the rear one so it slides back and forward rather then needing to totally remove either lid for maintenance/feeding etc.
Just 1 of these black plastic rims are missing :lmao: but because of the design I cannot use lids on that side of the tank for now...they also didn't supply me lids for the tall thin long tanks which I am curious about.
Both questions have been raised to the maker/store.
You can see the tank in the rear with the red circle where the missing black plastic rim should be but its missing? I know its a mistake cause its the only tank with it missing. I thought it would be a simple fix as I have that stuff laying around but to no avail its a different shape to the ones of my other tanks that I have.
I also have to figure out a way to mantis proof the bulk head the diameter of the gaps I have are about 32mm and I need to prevent 50mm sized stomatopods from curiously falling into them xD thinking about fly mesh but not sure as it might restrict flow too much....ideas be good and appreciated
lionbacker54
New member
sorry to hear, hope this issue gets resolved quickly.
by the way, thanks for this awesome thread. we are all living vicariously through you.
by the way, thanks for this awesome thread. we are all living vicariously through you.
Kharn
MANTISMAN
Well Luckily the piece that is missing (that black plastic rim) isn't going to slow me down in terms of overall setup process just a minor annoyance, today after I get back from breakfast, I'll begin to fix the bulkheads in place and then paint the back and sides of the tanks black.
Should look good in the end.
funkngroovy
New member
Can you cover those holes with plastic gutter guard instead of fly screen? The maximum hole size on that stuff is 8mm and does not restrict flow.
Kharn
MANTISMAN
I will likely do this however I have thought about another area that I could go to as well, since the holes aren't "HIGH" pressure areas I have thought about using typical floor drains that you might see in a bathroom (the plastic ones not the steel ones). Because the holes are drilled to fit 32mm bulkheads I am assuming that the 32mm is quite a common size as far as PVC parts go so I hope to find them since it would solve my problem and still look really neat and tidy.
Much like this they come with many types of holes circular, square, spiral etc.
Kharn
MANTISMAN
Luck ain't got much to do with it really I just happened to spend my money on this and it is all money that I have bled for, worked for, sweated for so there was no "LUCK" per say.
Haven't started the steel work yet I still need to get the steel however that is all sameday stuff the building of the stands will be done this weekend when I have the spare time.
I wanna get these tanks up and running a.s.a.p its what I paid for :lmao:
Kharn
MANTISMAN
Thinking on DIY spray bars.
Going to need to fashion 2, 1 for my "2footer stand" & 1 for my "3footer stand" to help reduce the overall flow of the water going into the initial compartment of the top tanks that each FX5's output is in. The FX5 is a POWERFUL canister filter and a damn good one for DIY's my only concern is that I am reading most DIY spray bar jobs on these filters being at 18inchs or more where by mine can only be 8-10inchs long...
Unless (at the cost of Fuglyness)
Create a "L" shape or "Dogs Leg" shape where by the out let hose connects to 2 spray bars set at 90degrees so I can slot it in the corner at the back and one will run along the side of the tank whilst the other runs along the back of the tank.
Also thought about perhaps making the end portion of the spray bar (part with holes where water exits) slightly larger or thicker then the other portions of the outlet hose for example, if the entire hosing for an FX5 is 20mm diameter (I think it is) then I keep it that thick through all of the DIY job but make the last part of the bar (where water exits) slightly thicker at say 25mm-30mm.
Planned on making the holes slightly larger then a "normal" (if there is such a thing) DIY spray bar to also help reduce flow, most times I read of the holes being around 5/16 or 3/8 whilst I planned on going 7/16 or 1/2 max if needed but at 1/2inch that is getting to the point where a mantis could squeeze in, like during daily filter purge (FX5's shut off automatically daily then restart after about 1-2mins).
I be thinkin' linkin'
Going to need to fashion 2, 1 for my "2footer stand" & 1 for my "3footer stand" to help reduce the overall flow of the water going into the initial compartment of the top tanks that each FX5's output is in. The FX5 is a POWERFUL canister filter and a damn good one for DIY's my only concern is that I am reading most DIY spray bar jobs on these filters being at 18inchs or more where by mine can only be 8-10inchs long...
Unless (at the cost of Fuglyness)
Create a "L" shape or "Dogs Leg" shape where by the out let hose connects to 2 spray bars set at 90degrees so I can slot it in the corner at the back and one will run along the side of the tank whilst the other runs along the back of the tank.
Also thought about perhaps making the end portion of the spray bar (part with holes where water exits) slightly larger or thicker then the other portions of the outlet hose for example, if the entire hosing for an FX5 is 20mm diameter (I think it is) then I keep it that thick through all of the DIY job but make the last part of the bar (where water exits) slightly thicker at say 25mm-30mm.
Planned on making the holes slightly larger then a "normal" (if there is such a thing) DIY spray bar to also help reduce flow, most times I read of the holes being around 5/16 or 3/8 whilst I planned on going 7/16 or 1/2 max if needed but at 1/2inch that is getting to the point where a mantis could squeeze in, like during daily filter purge (FX5's shut off automatically daily then restart after about 1-2mins).
I be thinkin' linkin'
LeLutinBanni
New member
Really cool build !
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