Thanks, Phloxface, Rose, and Aesedai. I just made myself two tank dividers, one for each of my male betta tanks. The girls are now in the same tanks with the boys but there is a divider separating them. Bessie is in with Benji and Belle is in with Barney. The tanks are situated end to end so Belle and Bessie are also able to see each other as well as the male on the opposite side of their dividers. 8)
This is how I made my dividers: I bought the plastic mesh canvas used for crafts and cut it to size. One piece cost 76 cents and made two mesh dividers. I used the gripping bar from a Sliding Bar Report Cover on the outside edges and tops of the canvas. (I already had these in my house.) The dividers look good, allow the water to flow through, and protect the fish from each other. They fit snuggly and I don't think there will be any problems. The dividers go to the top of the tank, so there is no way the fish can get through or jump over. All together the dividers cost me 76 cents. I am going to try to get some nice pictures to show you what they look like. It may take me a while though.
I wouldn't call that stupid. People have been buying those dividers for years. My mind just never stops working so I made my own when I discovered how flimsy they were. I'm glad you like the idea.
It's the gripper bars from the Sliding Bar Report Covers that makes it stand up. The gripper bars are just the right size to stand up on each side of the divider and fit right under the lip on the inside of the tank. I cut about 2 inches (measure to be sure) off one of the gripper bars and slid it on the top of the mesh canvas. I cut it just short enough that it would hold the side grippers out when it went between them.
I hope this made sense. Look in an office supply store for the Sliding Bar Report Covers. They shouldn't cost too much, and a package of 6 Report Covers has the 6 gripper bars needed for 2 dividers.
I'm working on getting pictures that are good enough to show you what they look like.
If I were you, I would stick the report covers to the sides of the aquarium with aquarium caulk. My bettas are escape artists and would find a way to get at each other anyway. I like the idea of using the report holder things, though... I ended up making a whole box out of plastic canvas and cable ties, with plexiglass across the front.
I believe that using the aquarium caulk would be great if you want to go that route. I am using bent paper clips to hold the edges of my dividers tight to the edges of the tanks. So far it is working great, as there have been no escapees.
Here are some pictures I took. They aren't very good but are the best I can do without a digital camera.
I ordered the materials to make one today. Thanks for the idea. I am considering making the 12 gallon into a 2 betta tank as I hear that the works are in to get me my MARTY JR!!!! He notified his buyer that it is a priority and I am so happy!
My only problem is that the size of the tank is going to mean splicing two sheets of the Plastic canvas. Do you know if it comes in BIG sheets? Never mind, I just found the UltraStiff and in a size that i want.
I would think that it does. Maybe a specialty craft store would carry it. If not, maybe it could be special ordered for you. I will look into it.
CherryRose
Is anyone else having trouble with the dividers getting very white and cloudy? I tried scrubbing them with an algae pad but it does nothing. My fish can barely see each other anymore. All you can see is shadows on the other side and I think it's freaking them out a little. It also makes their section feel more closed-in than before.
I like this idea very much but my problem is that my two betta boys can see each other through the divider and get flared up and focused on each other which I know is not good for them. I have one of the store bought dividers. would they be able to see each other less with this homemade kind?
With betta boys you do not want them to see each other so the perforated canvas would be perfect..that is why I was so thrilled because my tank will have two males and I do not want them seeing each other. They should not be able to see a good image of the betta on the other side and you can get colored canvas if you want even more opacity. (white would be better than clear) I got mine off of Amazon.com but I was buying in volume and do not have access to a craft shop nearby that I can get to. They referred me to a subshop that carries the size I needed and I was thrilled.
For those of you who are having trouble with clouding, I do not know what material that the commercially purchased dividers are made of and whether it is perforated or solid, but if it is solid, my friend who has a large tank in Colorado uses plexiglas he gets from a framing shop and it never turns cloudy but he never uses cleaning pads on it either. He cleans it with filter floss so it does not scratch.
Just a thought as I don't like divided tanks that's why I don't have one but depending on the holes in the tank would it not be better to have two smalll filters on both sides to remove the larger wastes that cannot make it through the divider or make sure that you gravel vac a lot on that side of the tank without the filter.
Having tried the store bought dividers, Divakeeks, I would agree with Rose that the fish cannot see as well through the plastic canvas dividers.
I haven't had any difficulty with cloudinesss on my canvas, Phloxface, but I would think that otos would take care of any algea build-up. I don't know of anything ese that would cloud them up. Rose's suggestion, from her friend, of using filter floss to clean the dividers is a great idea.
Yes ATM, that is the best way to make sure both sides are clean and filtered. I have a regular filter on one side and a smaller filter on the other in all my tanks that are divided. So far it seems to be working well.
Cherryrose can you buy these at a craft store like jo-an fabrics? So the report covers just close on the canvas holding it in place? I'm thinking of making a large breeding net out of this, do you think you can silicone two report covers together?
I have never looked in Joanns Fabrics for the plastic canvas, but yes I would think that they have it there. Actually, I just looked on line and yes, they have the 8 1/2 by 11 sheets of plastic canvas.
I am having a little difficulty imagining exactly what you are envisioning, but what I am seeing in my mind is a boxlike shape made out of the plastic canvas, with four sides and a bottom. I would think that the silicone put on the seams would hold it together well, but I would use fishing line to sew around the 8 seams. I would then use the silicone to seal the joined edges together and hold the shape. The gripper slides from the report covers would hold the top edges of the "net" to ensure its stability. Is this what you have in mind?
Ya sorta but just a with a bottom and a side hopefully. I'm hoping to use the walls of my tanks as sides, though I'm not sure if the the things would stick to the sides withoug something holding up. Maybe this can help
The visual helped. Yes, I think it could be done that way. The silicone should hold the gripper slides to the tank with no difficulty. Let me know how it turns out. Sometimes you don't know until you actually do it. If it doesn't work one way, you can always fall back and punt. hehe (My husband is watching the Super Bowl.)
lOL I watched it between posts, do you think you can give me a link to what it looks like, so if I pick some up today I can see what it looks like? I sure will keep you posted, I'm not sure if I'm going to do it yet, depending how much it will cost me and how much $ I have leftover today after I go to my LFS
I bought some tank dividers at Petsmart. They are nice looking and are very secure. But I have the same problem. Its not fun trying to rub that stuff off. I like the idea of using glass in place of the plastic dividers. I have a place that will cut glass and bevel it in the size and thickness that I'll need. But I know that I will not hear the end of it from my husband. He said that the fish just cost 3 to 5 dollors and look at what they cost me. HA HA HA. He likes them too! He just likes to tease me about it. :
If you use glass it may be easier to clean but you will need a filter and heater on each side of the divider as the glass will not allow water to flow and be filtered and heated. This is why I liked the plastic canvas idea so much.
Ya sorta but just a with a bottom and a side hopefully. I'm hoping to use the walls of my tanks as sides, though I'm not sure if the the things would stick to the sides withoug something holding up. Maybe this can help
with regards to ur picture I think that as long as it was mesh of some sort an adhesive that is safe to fish should hold it quite nicely. my only concern would be the bottom of the sectioning 'cause it is very likely to collect various wastes.
I put a net over the bottom of my small gravel vacuum, I'v done this before, works great sucks up the junk but not fish. Only problem is I'm not sure if I can do this now, I'v only been able to find two fry and two fry can live in my two breeding boxes, my angels are doing a good job of eating my fry mad, but I'll wait.
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