Condensing small tanks into a 55 gallon

I have way too many small tanks floating around my house. I had an idea to get a few 55-gallon tanks and build two dividers to make three completely separate tanks. I do not want to allow any water to transfer between but I also cannot use a clear or see-through divider because each of my tanks has a betta in it. There is the option for tinted acrylic but I'm not sure if that is enough to prevent the bettas from seeing each other. And with it being so expensive I was wondering if anybody had and idea for a cheaper option like maybe a thick piece of plastic. But I'm not sure what is safe or what would disintegrate over time.

 

Plexiglass?
It's commonly used in aquariums and you can silicon it in place
Oh, hang on
You want opaque.
How about plexiglass for the structure and support, with a piece of coroplast, a lightweight solid coloured plastic on one side to keep them from seeing each other?

 

I can't seem to find anything anywhere that's not transparent and doesn't cost me an arm and a leg for a 12 by 12 inch sheet of it

 

I can't seem to find anything anywhere that's not transparent and doesn't cost me an arm and a leg for a 12 by 12 inch sheet of it

Black coroplast at homedepot.

 

Black coroplast at homedepot.

I'm assuming that it's cannot get wet so what I have to sandwich it between pieces of acrylic and seal it off all the way around?

 

I mean, it's just plastic, I don't see why it can't get wet. It's used for outdoor signage and guinea pig/bunny/small animal cages. Your thought would definitely work, or you could just stick it to one side of whatever material you are using, like Plexiglas or acrylic.

 

Is silicone strong enough to hold a divider in place if the water levels become different somehow?

 

Is silicone strong enough to hold a divider in place if the water levels become different somehow?

Silicone will be able to hold the plastic in place, but will not make it watertight, and prevent water from going from one side to the other. Because silicone will only stick to the glass in your aquarium, and will simply peel off the plastic once cured.

 

Silicone will be able to hold the plastic in place, but will not make it watertight, and prevent water from going from one side to the other. Because silicone will only stick to the glass, and will simply peel off the plastic once cured.

So what do you recommend? Stick to acrylic? Use glue of some kind?

 

So what do you recommend? Stick to acrylic? Use glue of some kind?

Silicone also will not stick to acrylic. Acrylic tanks use an acrylic cement (such as Weld On 4) as an adhesive, since if they use silicone, it will not hold much weight. You can try using silicone to hold acrylic in place, but there's always a chance of it leaking water to the other sides if the silicone seal does not fully cover the sides of the acrylic.

Another idea is to make a glass divider, then just add the pieces of corrugated plastic right beside the glass.

 

Here Petco has been having their $1/gallon sale. Maybe buy three 20 gallon tanks and just set them side by side. You could slip something between the individual tanks to keep them from being visible. Hey .. it's a thought!

 

What about those opaque plastic sheets from home Depot, the ones you put like covers over those long light bulbs? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Or is that not strong enough?

 

What about those opaque plastic sheets from home Depot, the ones you put like covers over those long light bulbs? Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Or is that not strong enough?

I thought about it and I don't think it's strong enough. I also don't want there to be any water transfer between the tanks just in case one of them gets sick and I have to deal with an entire 50 gallon tank versus a 20 gallon section. I'm just trying to find what is the sturdiest and most reliable material for my project. If it ends up being where I have to buy glass to stick to my glass fish tanks then I will look into it but I really would like this to work and last a long time without issues

 

Sheila from Life With Pets (YouTube) makes dividers for bettas.

A little costly but in the long run they are well made. Just passing that along.

 

Sheila from Life With Pets (YouTube) makes dividers for bettas.

A little costly but in the long run they are well made. Just passing that along.

The k you but the goal is to not have any water transfer between tanks invade I need to quarantein someone. It's easier to treat a 20 gallon tank than a 50