Abstract:
An aquarium or aquatic system such as a fish tank for the safe and clean containment of a plurality of aquatic specimens such as fish, segregated from one another by a series of divider panels aligned within that tank. The divider panels are spaced from the walls and floor of that tank so as to permit a “bottom current” flow of water under those divider panels to sweep away the debris accumulating in each of those chambers, and then into a collection unit such as a series of filters, filtration system or water processors which thus treats and cleans the water and preferably reintroduces that water back into the upstream end of that water flow.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates to aquatic animal culturing, including culturing of fish, crustaceans, plants, corals, and other aquatics, and aquariums and more particularly to a system for compartmentalizing such systems while permitting a flow of water between those compartments and to maintain the separation of any aquatic specimens within those compartments while also providing a superior aquatic environment, such as for display aesthetics, water quality within the compartments and the aquatic life clean and safe, while permitting aquatic waste removal and waste processing/collection. This application is based upon our U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/574,064, filed on 27 Jul. 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
         [0003]    2. Background of the Invention 
         [0004]    Typical aquariums will often have a variety of aquatic specimens within a typically elongated tank. Those aquatic specimens may get along with each other and they may not. Those elongated tanks often have to be cleaned out relatively frequently because of the contamination from the specimens and whatever else may collect within the water. Many types of aquatic specimens do not get along well with one another and will attack and/or eat their tank mates if and when they are given the chance. 
         [0005]    It is an object of the present invention to provide an aquarium which may be subdivided into varying sized compartments to segregate any particular aquatic specimens or species of specimens from any other specimens. 
         [0006]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide an aquarium which is intended to have an extended life cycle without requiring the need for frequent cleansing of the tanks or their individual compartments. 
         [0007]    It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an aquarium for multiple specimens, one or more of whom require cleaner water than the other specimens or the downstream currents of the other specimens to allow and promote the exchange of chemical stimulants between the specimens. 
         [0008]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a “bottom current” or a similar means to sweep sedimentary debris from successive compartments and into a filtration and processing/collection system to provide a cleaner and more healthy environment, while permitting the further use of such aquatic/fish debris. 
         [0009]    It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a “low current” living and display environment for aquatic specimens that prefer such conditions within a portion of the compartment, and also provide “cleansing currents” that infiltrate filtered water into each respective compartment and remove waste and debris from such compartment and process it in the filtration part of the aquatic system. 
         [0010]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a means to contain large specimens within respective compartments while allowing smaller aquatic specimens passage to one or more of the other compartments and by the graduation in size of respective compartment dividers creating a method to sort the specimens by size, thereby minimizing interaction and chances for predation between larger and smaller specimens including parent and offspring. 
         [0011]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide an aquarium for multiple aquatic specimens, one or more of whom require cleaner water, or other condition and state, including in the introduction and transfer of nutrients or chemicals and stimulants from other specimens and anthropogenic means than the others. 
         [0012]    It is another object of the present invention to provide compartments which permit the individual respective use of each as filtration systems including the use of flora and aquatic specimens to provide additional filtration capacity, prior to a subsequent compartments, with an anesthetic display. 
         [0013]    It is yet a further object of the present invention to create a filtration system in the rear portion of the elongated tank that processes waste water and thereby cleansing, treating and aerating the water in the aquatic system and also being the means for creating the flow and current of the system. This filtration system draws in the water from the last compartment at one end of the elongated tank and ejects the cleansed and treated water into a first compartment at the other end of the process or the elongated tank. A variant of this system could draw water from a center section or compartment and use one or more respective end sections or compartments for discharging cleansed or treated water individually or in combination. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]    The present invention comprises an aquatic system for the compartmentalized storage/display and maintenance of a plurality of aquatic specimens, such as for example fish or other live aquatic specimens. The aquatic system in a first preferred embodiment thereof comprises an elongated tank having a first or upstream end wall and a second or downstream end wall, a bottom or floor, and a front wall and a rear wall. The elongated tank in this particular embodiment is divided into a plurality of compartments by a plurality of spaced apart divider panels. This embodiment may include a filtration system attached to the rear of the tank, comprised of a new rear tank wall, sidewalls, a bottom and various divider panels utilized in the filtration/treatment process with this filtration system also being the means to establish the flow or current in the main compartmentalized aquatic storage section of the elongated tank. 
         [0015]    The divider panels are supported transversely across the longitudinal length of the tank by engagement tabs discussed hereinbelow. Each divider panel has an elongated gap between its lowermost edge and the bottom or floor of the tank. Each divider panel also has an elongated gap between its respective side edges and the adjacent sidewalls of the tank. The divider panels may be spaced apart a uniform distance or a non-uniform distance from one another, as necessary, for the segregated containment of different sizes of different aquatic species within their own individual compartment(s). 
         [0016]    The divider panels themselves may be transparent, opaque, or partially or fully opaque, or even colored, as desired. Each divider panel may also have perforations therein, to further allow transfer between compartments and permit downstream fluid flow between successively adjacent compartments. The perforations in any particular panel as well as the gaps along their side edges and the side walls and the gap between the lower edge of the divider panels and the bottom or floor of the tank would be of course smaller than any particular species of aquatic life which was being retained within that particular compartment, in order to maintain their separation from one another. Such perforations and/or gap between the lower edges of the divider panels and the floor may be, for example, about ⅛ to ½ of an inch depending upon the size and species of aquatic life contained there within. Commercially sized aquatic systems for the farming of fish and/or other species of aquatic life may necessitate larger or smaller gaps to prevent their intermixing. The gaps will allow the separation of specimens and or provide specific flow patterns within one or more individual compartment. 
         [0017]    The purpose of the openings and/or bottom gaps is to permit a directionally aimed or a laminar flow of water to pass between the bottom of adjacent compartments and thus carry waste products such as fecal matter and aquatic debris from an upstream end of the flow of water to a downstream end of the flow of water. The aquatic life in each compartment contributes to the debris and fecal matter which settles gently to the bottom of each compartment and is swept downstream through the bottom and other gaps. 
         [0018]    The flow of water for this aquatic system begins at the upstream end of the tank and passes through each individual compartment via the gaps and openings. The flow of water through the compartments ends at the downstream end. In this embodiment, it enters a filtration system through a plurality of holes/slots and the water exits the filtration system and back into the compartmentalized portion of the tank through one or more holes or slots in the upstream end of the tank. The filtration system itself, may contain various compartments that process the water and waste and provide treatment through mechanical, biological, chemical and or photonics. These various processing compartments can include sedimentation traps, sponges, bio media, drip tubes, mechanical pumps and aerators, agitators, protein skimmers, ultraviolet sterilizers and other filtration specific devices that aid in the process and treatment of the water in the aquatic system. 
         [0019]    A further embodiment of the present invention comprises the bottom or floor of the aquatic system having a stepped configuration as viewed from the side. In such a stepped embodiment, the downstream divider panels would be of increasingly varying dimension to accommodate the difference in height due to the stepped bottom their adjacent. A gap or opening would still be necessary between the lower edge of each divider panel and its adjacent floor portion of its respective compartment, to accommodate and permit a smooth flow of water and the step passage of aquatic debris and fecal matter downstream. 
         [0020]    In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, the bottom or floor of the tank is of sloped configuration as viewed from the side. In such a sloped-floor embodiment, the downstream divider panels are of increasingly greater height to accommodate the greater depth of that particular compartment. The gap or opening arrangement would still be required between the bottom edge of the divider panel and the surface of the floor there adjacent. 
         [0021]    The aquatic system in yet a further embodiment thereof may be comprised of a non-linear tank, as for example, one of circular configuration as may be viewed in a plan view thereof. Such a non-linear tank may have an outer wall and a correspondingly configured innermost wall with the innermost wall attached to the inside of the outermost wall by a rigid panel therebetween. Such a rigid panel would function as both the beginning or upstream end of the water flow on one side thereof and as the end or downstream portion of the water flow on the other side of that rigid panel. Each respective side of that rigid panel would have a filtered water source or a filtered water extractor arranged respectively thereat. The divider panels in such a non-linear tank would divide the volume of that tank into generally “pie” shaped compartments. Each divider panel would of course have a gap or openings between its side edges and the inner wall and the inside edge of the outer wall as well as the lower edge of that panel and the floor or bottom of the tank. 
         [0022]    A further aspect of the present invention is the method of maintaining similar or different aquatic specimens or fish and sequentially altered water within the elongated or the non-linear tank. The water in each successive chamber downstream may contain elements from the previous chambers due to the nature of the flow and the water may thus be slightly altered from its upstream neighbor. Upstream treatments, both natural and anthropogenic can alter the water to affect specific responses, such as is considered in aquaculture. The nature of the flow allows the upstream compartments to have “cleaner” water than each successive compartment. 
         [0023]    A still further aspect of the present invention comprises the use of a retrofit panel support arrangement for use within an existing tank or core, as a kit, to enable the support of one or more divider panels therewithin, so is to subdivide a tank by those panels, while maintaining a changeable space (compartment) between those panels and the flow of water along the floor of the tank under and around the side of the tank&#39;s walls. 
         [0024]    The invention thus comprises a system for the sustained support and segregation of various species of aquatic life in a fluid containment tank and may include a combined filtration system that also generates the current in the tank. The tank has an upstream end and a downstream end, the system comprising: an arrangement of a top cover and enclosure walls and a lowermost floor; at least one divider panel supported between the exterior walls or by means of support members to divide the tank into at least two compartments, the divider panel having a pair of side edge portion and a lowermost edge portion; a gap between the lowermost edge portion of the at least one divider panel and the lowermost floor to permit a flow of water therebetween from the upstream end and the downstream end of the containment tank, while maintaining aquatic life within the at least two compartments segregated from one another. The fluid containment tank is of rectilinear configuration in one embodiment, and non-rectilinear configuration i.e.: circular, oval or crescent shape, in other embodiments. The outer enclosure and support walls of the fluid containment tank are thus of curvilinear configuration in another preferred embodiment. The lowermost floor is of stepped configuration in one embodiment. The lowermost floor is of sloped configuration in a further embodiment. The system may include a filtration system which also generates the current in the tank, fed by water at the downstream end of the containment tank for filtering water and injecting it at the upstream end of the tank. The system may include other types of external filter arrangements utilizing both the downstream end and the upstream end of the containment tank. The system may include a fluid recycling arrangement for recycling water from the downstream end of the containment tank into the upstream end of the containment tank. The divider panels may have a gap extending between their side edges and the outer support and enclosure walls, to permit a narrow flow of water to flow from an upstream compartment to a downstream compartment along the sidewalls of the enclosure and support walls. The divider panels may be of varying or of increasing height-wise dimensions along the downstream direction for the stepped floor. 
         [0025]    The invention also comprises a method of safely maintaining various species of aquatic life in a common containment tank, for the sustained support and segregation of various species of aquatic life in that fluid containment tank, the tank having an upstream water feed end and a downstream water discharge end, comprising: arranging an arrangement of a top cover, enclosure walls and a lowermost floor comprising the fluid containment tank; placing at least one divider panel supported between the exterior walls or by means of support members to divide the tank into at least two compartments, the divider panel having a pair of side edges and a lowermost edge in supported contact with the outer support and enclosure walls; forming a gap between the lowermost edge of the at least one divider panel and the lowermost floor to permit a flow of water therebetween from the upstream end and the downstream end of the containment tank, while maintaining aquatic life within the at least two compartments segregated from one another. The method may include filtering the water as the water is removed from the downstream end of the containment tank. The method may include recycling the water as the water is removed from the downstream end of the containment tank up to the upstream end of the containment tank. The method may include collecting the water at the downstream end and filtering the water before it is fed into the upstream end of the containment tank. 
         [0026]    The invention also comprises a system of safely maintaining, supporting and segregating various species of aquatic life in a common aquatic containment tank, the aquatic tank having an upstream water feed end and a downstream water discharge end, the system comprising: at least one divider panel having side portions and a lower portion, the divider panel arranged across the containment tank to divide the tank into at least two species-segregatable compartments; a pump facilitated filtration arrangement to withdraw water from a downstream end of the system and to recycle the water into the upstream end of the system, the pump facilitated filtration arrangement also creating a flow of current between the at least two compartments; and at least one opening along the lower portion of the at least one divider panel to facilitate the flow of current and any movement of debris from an upstream compartment to a downstream compartment for subsequent filtration and or collection. The filtration system may be arranged at both the upstream water feed end and at the downstream water discharge end of the containment tank. The at least one divider panel is preferably displacably adjustable within the containment tank. The at least one divider panel preferably has an opening along a side edge portion thereof. The aquatic containment tank has a shape preferably selected from the group comprised of: a rectilinear configuration, a curved configuration in a plan view, and a curved configuration in a cross-sectional view. 
         [0027]    Still another variant could draw water from the bottom/floor at one or more location in one or more compartments through slots/holes in the floor or another type of conduit resting on the floor or below for removing water to recreate or reinforce the cleansing currents and establish a bottom current flow. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0028]    The objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent, when viewed in conjunction with the following drawings in which: 
           [0029]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the aquatic tank invention in its most basic format, showing the outer walls of the tank and a plurality of divider panels forming a reality of individual compartments within that tank; 
           [0030]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the aquatic tank shown in  FIG. 1  with the divider panels herein, shown spaced unequally along its longitudinal length; 
           [0031]      FIG. 3  is side elevation view of the aquatic tank shown in  FIG. 1  where the divider panels shown spaced equally apart along its longitudinal length; 
           [0032]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are sectional views taken along the lines  4 A/ 4 B in  FIG. 3  showing the divider panels supported within the side walls and bottom of a tank of the present invention, maintaining their gap between the side walls and the bottom whilst there between while still maintaining a support within those walls to define the various compartments of it within; 
           [0033]      FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of an elongated aquatic tank having a bottom with a stepped configuration and with divider panels of increasing height wise dimension in the downstream direction; 
           [0034]      FIG. 6  is a side elevational view of an elongated aquatic tank having a bottom with a sloped configuration and with divider panels of increasing height wise dimension in the downstream direction; 
           [0035]      FIG. 7  is a plan view of an aquatic tank having a non-linear configuration, in this figure the outer wall is a circular configuration dividing the compartments into pie shaped units with a common wall which marks the beginning of flow on one side and the end of flow on the other side thereof; 
           [0036]      FIG. 8  is an elevational view of the rear side of the elongated tank represented in  FIG. 2 , showing a filtration arrangement at both ends thereof for filtering fluid as it exits the tank and again filtering the fluid as it enters the tank; 
           [0037]      FIG. 9  is a plan view of the aquatic tank shown with a filter system arranged on the rear side thereof; 
           [0038]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of the aquatic tank, shown in generally crescent shape; and 
           [0039]      FIG. 11  is a plan view of yet a further embodiment of the aquatic tank utilizing bottom/floor water discharge/collection systems, shown in an elongated tank configuration. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0040]    Referring now to the drawings in detail and particularly to  FIG. 1 , there is shown the present invention which comprises an aquatic system  10  for the compartmentalized maintenance of a plurality of aquatic specimens, such as for example numerous species of fish or the like. The aquatic system  10  in a first preferred embodiment thereof comprises an elongated tank  12  having a first or upstream end wall  14  and a second or downstream end wall  16 , a bottom or floor  18 , and a front wall  20  and a rear wall  22 , as may be seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 . 
         [0041]    The elongated tank  12  in this particular embodiment is divided into a plurality of compartments  24  by a plurality of spaced apart divider panels  26 . The divider panels  24  are supported transversely across the longitudinal length of the tank  12  by engagement tabs  28  as may be seen in  FIG. 4A . Each divider panel  26  preferably has an opening or elongated gap  30  between its lowermost edge  29  in the bottom or floor  18  of the tank  12  as may be seen best in  FIG. 3 . Each divider panel  26  also has an opening or elongated gap  32  between its respective side edges  31  and the adjacent inner sidewalls  20  and  22  of the tank  12 , as may be seen in  FIG. 4A . The divider panels  26  may be spaced apart a uniform distance as shown in  FIG. 3 , or a non-uniform distance from one another, as shown in  FIG. 2 , as necessary, for the segregated containment of aquatic species “S 1 , S 2  . . . ” within their own individual compartments  24 . 
         [0042]    The divider panels  26  themselves may be transparent, or partially or fully opaque, or even colored, as desired. Each divider panel may also have openings or perforations  34  therein as shown in  FIG. 4A , to further permit fluid flow between successively adjacent compartments  24 . The perforations  34  in any particular panel  26  as well as the gaps  32  along their side edges  31  and the side walls and the gap  30  between the lower edge  29  of the divider panels  26  and the bottom or floor  18  of the tank  12  would be of course smaller than any particular species of aquatic life “S” which was being retained within that particular compartment, in order to maintain their separation from one another. Such perforations  34  and/or gap  30  between the lower edges  29  of the divider panels  26  and the floor  18  may, be for example, about ⅛ to ½ of an inch depending upon the size and species of aquatic life contained there within. Commercially sized aquatic systems for the farming of fish and/or other species of aquatic life may necessitate larger or smaller gaps. The perforations  34  and gap  30  can also be sized to create unique water flow patterns in one or more specific compartment as may be preferred by a particular species for maintenance and cultivation. 
         [0043]    The purpose of the gaps  30  and  32  is to preferably permit a laminar flow of water to pass between adjacent compartments  24  and thus carry waste, such as fecal matter, food products, detritus and aquatic debris from an upstream end of the flow of water to a downstream end of the flow of water along the floor or bottom  18  of the tank  12 . 
         [0044]    The flow of water “F” for this aquatic system  10  begins at the upstream end of the tank  12 , as for example, to the right as shown in  FIG. 3 , through a plurality of slots  38  from a filtration system, such as  40  in  FIG. 8 , into each compartment  24  through the gaps  30  and  32  and/or perforations  34  to the opposite/downstream end of the tank  12  where it passes into the first compartment of the filtration system  40  through slots  39  or another means of discharge. The aquatic life in each compartment  24  contribute to the debris and fecal matter which settles gently to the bottom of each compartment  24  and is swept downstream through the gap  30  to the lower edge of each divider panel  26  and the floor or bottom  18  of the tank  12 . In one embodiment of the present invention, the debris and fecal matter seized by the filtration system may be collected for further use in agriculture or the like. 
         [0045]    A further embodiment of the present invention comprises the bottom or floor  52  of the aquatic system having a stepped configuration as viewed from the side, as may be seen in  FIG. 5 . In such a stepped embodiment, the sequential downstream divider panels  54  would be increasingly of varying (taller) dimension to accommodate the difference in height due to the stepped bottom there adjacent, as may also be seen in  FIG. 5 . The gap  56  would still be necessary between the lower edge of each divider panel  54  and its adjacent floor portion  52  of its respective compartment  58 , to accommodate and permit a smooth flow of water and the step passage of aquatic debris and fecal matter downstream. 
         [0046]    In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, as represented in  FIG. 6 , the bottom or floor  60  of the tank  12 , is of sloped configuration as viewed from the side. In such a sloped embodiment, the downstream divider panels  62  are of increasingly greater height to accommodate the greater depth of that particular compartment  64 . The gap  66  would still be required between the bottom edge of the respective divider panels  62  and the surface of the floor  60  there adjacent. 
         [0047]    The aquatic system in yet a further embodiment thereof may be comprised of a non-linear tank  70 , which for example, one of circular configuration in a plan view thereof, as represented in  FIG. 7 . Such a nonlinear tank  70  will have an outer wall  72  and a correspondingly configured innermost wall  74 . The innermost wall  74  is preferably attached to the inside of the outermost wall  72  by a rigid wall panel  76  therebetween that prevents water flow. Such a rigid panel  76  would function as both the beginning or upstream end “U” of the water flow on one side thereof and as the end or downstream portion “D” of the water flow on the other side of that rigid panel  76 . Each respective side of that rigid panel  76  would have a filtered water source  78  or a used water extractor  80  arranged respectively thereat. The divider panels  82  in such a nonlinear tank  70  would divide the volume of that tank into “pie” shaped compartments  77 , as may be seen in  FIG. 7 . Each divider panel  82  would of course have a gap  84  between its side edges and the inner wall and a gap  86  at the inside edge of the outer wall as well as the lower edge of that panel and the floor or bottom of the tank  70 , as is represented in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0048]    A still yet further embodiment has a filtration system  40 , as shown in  FIG. 8  that withdraws compartment tank water at one end  39  of the elongated tank and discharges filtered water at the opposite end  38  thereby creating the current and the means, both filtration and other natural and anthropogenic means, to thus treat cleanse by filteration the main compartment tank. The filtration system  40  is attached to the rear of the aquatic tank  12  by any water tight means provides processing/treatment of the water and establishes the current “F” cleanses the aquatic compartments  24 . In this embodiment, the water enters the filtration system through the plurality of slots  39  that withdraws compartment  24  tank water at one end of the elongated tank  12  into the first filter compartment  42 , shown in  FIG. 8  containing slots  39  and a filter/bio media, and passing the water through the filter media into a drip tube  45  that drips water into the second filter compartment  44  over additional filter/bio media  43  where it is then pumped  46  into the third filter compartment  48  and flowing through additional treatment means. Proposed variants of this embodiment, not shown in the figures include additional natural and anthropogenic filtration/treatment means such as natural media like gravel, rock, charcoal, wood and plant material and manmade treatment media like photonic sterilizers, chemical treatment systems, protein skimmers, aerators and other electronic and mechanical devices/means. 
         [0049]      FIG. 9  shows the aquatic tank  12  with an attached filter system  40  arranged on the rear side thereof, with additional filter system compartments  42 ,  44 , and  48  created with an additional rear wall, side walls, bottom floor panel and two rigid/wall divider panels. The filtration system withdraws the compartment tank water through the slots  39  and discharges filtered water at the opposite end through the slots  38  thereby creating a current “F” to cleanse the aquatic tank. This embodiment of the filter system illustrated in  FIG. 9  shows three filter compartments,  42 ,  44  and  48  attached to the compartmentalized tank system  12  that is the front of the aquatic system. The water flow “F” within that tank system  10  creates the cleansing current that is an embodiment of this invention. 
         [0050]    A further aspect of the present invention is the method of maintaining similar or different aquatic specimens or fish in sequentially altered water from the downstream currents within the longitudinal tank  12  or the non-linear tank  70  by using other specimens in preceding compartments or by introducing substances to allow and promote exchange of chemicals or stimulants between the specimens as a process in culturing, nursing or maintenance of the downstream specimens. 
         [0051]    A still further aspect of the present invention comprises the use of a retrofit arrangement for use within an existing tank, as a kit, comprised of notched elongated supports  36  to enable the support of one or more divider panels  26  therewithin, as represented in  FIG. 4B , so is to subdivide a tank  12  or  70 , by those panels  26  or  76 , while maintaining a changeable compartments  24  or  77  between those panels  26  or  76 , and the flow of water along the floor of the tank  12  or  70  under and around the side of the tank&#39;s walls. 
         [0052]    In yet a further aspect of the present invention, the aquatic tank  10  may have a cross-sectional shape of crescent shape, as represented in  FIG. 10 , having side portions  98 , and a bottom-most portion  100 , with a divider panel  102 , shown arranged in a supported manner therewithin. The divider panel  102  has an arrangement of side openings  104  corresponding with the side portions  98  of the aquatic tank  10  represented here as of crescent shape, and with a bottom opening  106 , shown here corresponding to the bottom-most portion  100  of the aquatic tank  10 . 
         [0053]      FIG. 11  illustrates still yet a further embodiment of the present invention the aquatic tank  10  that substitutes the bottom gap or adds to the cleansing ability of the bottom gap  115  with a water withdrawal mechanism such as floor holes/slots  111 , a conduit  112  or other type of plenum  113  thereby removing water from the compartments, In this embodiment the divider panels can also be fixed  114  and/or without a lower gap  115  such as may be used in large or commercial scale aquatic tanks. The influx of water can be supplemented with additional inflows  116  at locations that help recreate/supplement the cleansing currents.