DIY Tank divider

Hi!

Well - since I cannot find a tank divider that would fit my tank (I want one to house 2 female Bettas in a small tank) - can you help me on making a DIY one? What do I need to do? I have a small budget. (The sort of one you'd expect a kid with no source of income apart from pocket money and Birthday/Xmas cards who runs his 47 gal community to have!)

Any help here?x

 

What size tank? You could use slate. My girlfriend used it for a 10 gallon when we couldn't find the dividers.

Or, you could go get some report covers, and plastic cross stitch fabric. Put the two together and ...waalaa...divider. Honestly, I haven't made the last one, but I've heard it mentioned often enough.

 

Check out the Betta section, there's a thread there about making a DIY divider. I did one myself for a 30 gallon tank (picture of it is in my gallery) and whilst I did get it done, it was a pain to do so; most likely because it was a 30 gallon tank

Doing it for a 10 gallon tank would have probably being better. It certainly works out cheaper

Oh, if you can get some plexiglass and drill lots of little holes in it, that will work too - just have to have the patience to do it

 

Does anyone know if the plastic canvas and report cover binders will work on a bow front tank? If not, any suggestions as to what would work?

Thanks!!

 

That's an awkward one! The difficulty with bow fronts is that it is hard to hold a divider in place unless it's straight down the widest part. Another consideration is filtration, as to whether the two sections will be independently filtered or will the water need to flow through the divider? This will determine the type or material you use for the divider, since a solid one will restrict water flow from one side to the other.

If it were me, I would use acrylic sheet, the type you get from the diy store, (it only costs a couple of bucks), and drill small holes along the bottom, middle and top to allow for water flow. This can be cut to size and wedged into the tank across the middle, or glued in place with acrylic glue if you want different sized sections. The disadvantage with the glue method is that if you want to remove it later on, the tank is spoiled!

 

I made a DIY tank divider with plastic mesh and report cover sliding bars.
It might be too transparent though, so I might add another layer of mesh.
I got both from walmart.
I got 3 mesh canvases for $1.50 and the sliding bars for $0.88.
Much cheaper than buying an actual tank divider.
I'm going to house two bettas in there eventually.

 

I did the same for mine! From experience, if possible, it's best to have a sliding bar at the bottom, too. Makes the divider really stick in place. Yours looks nice!

 

I did the same for mine! From experience, if possible, it's best to have a sliding bar at the bottom, too. Makes the divider really stick in place. Yours looks nice!

Thank you!
I actually haven't thought of putting another one at the bottom. Thank you for the suggestion! I'm going to go add that right now

 

That looks great! Going to pick those up today. I just got the canvas mesh and it didn't work so well by itself. Thanks for the post!

 

Thank you!
I actually haven't thought of putting another one at the bottom. Thank you for the suggestion! I'm going to go add that right now

No problem! For mine I did the bars on the top, sides, and bottom, but the top was not 100% necessary. Just helps it to stick in place when I do water changes. I like the silver color of your sliding bars, mine are multi-colored.

 

Great ! I will be doing it tomorrow.

 

Yes it is much much better with one on the bottom. It has more support and it's sturdier and I also added a second layer so it's less see-through.

I will probably add decor and plants to cover the divider so the bettas don't get stressed by each other.

 

No problem! For mine I did the bars on the top, sides, and bottom, but the top was not 100% necessary. Just helps it to stick in place when I do water changes. I like the silver color of your sliding bars, mine are multi-colored.

I was actually trying to find black ones but they didn't have them there, but I don't think it's looks that bad. I added one on the top in my case because I have two layers, so it will help the two layers stick more together. When I didn't have the top piece, the two pieces had a slight gap in between.

 

I was actually trying to find black ones but they didn't have them there, but I don't think it's looks that bad. I added one on the top in my case because I have two layers, so it will help the two layers stick more together. When I didn't have the top piece, the two pieces had a slight gap in between.

Cool! It looks really good! I'll need to check my local Walmart for those silver bars next time I go. Mine are black, blue, (green?), and red. It's a color monstrosity. XD

 

Cool! It looks really good! I'll need to check my local Walmart for those silver bars next time I go. Mine are black, blue, (green?), and red. It's a color monstrosity. XD

Ahaha that sounds nice and colorful though, but it would be more aesthetically pleasing if it was all one color

 

Ahaha that sounds nice and colorful though, but it would be more aesthetically pleasing if it was all one color

It would look good if the style of the tank was colorful, but I prefer a more natural look and the natural look plus the random colors clashes a lot. Perhaps someday I'll do colored gravel in it. It may look interesting to do a different theme for each portion of the tank.

 

Ohhh this is such a great idea! I am setting up a divided tank soon, definitely doing this for my dividers. So much cheaper. Thank you for sharing!

AllySaturn here is an idea for dividers that are budget friendly.

 

This looks really good!

 

how do I make a DIY divider for my 15 gallon tank. I want to put 2 bettas in my 15 gallon tank

 

Sliding Binders, and craft mesh.
You can get those items at Michael’s.

Bruxes and Bubbles made some from those materials.

 

I saw some special suction cups at my LFS the other day, basically designed to hold a piece of glass or acrylic in place as a divider.

Something similar to the attached picture.....

 

fish are gonna get in between that. It has some gaps

 

fish are gonna get in between that. It has some gaps

Fry maybe but a betta definitely not!

 

I don't recommend most DIY divider designs for male Bettas, have some firsthand experience as I have tried building a few different kinds. Unless you go with heavy guage tank-safe mesh they will still be able to see each other, and over time can cause stress. Some have had luck, though. Check on YouTube, there's a bunch of tutorials though. I personally recommend buying one from Sheila from LifeWithPets. She and her husband have a YT channel and also sell their custom dividers. They're extremely sturdy and worth the money-I have a couple. If you were to do your own I would recommend using black PVC sheets as they do, but they only come in one size generally and can get pricey. Just my 0.02

 

You're a but late....I gave up on that idea a while ago. I just bought another 15 gallon tank for my next one

 

You're a but late....I gave up on that idea a while ago. I just bought another 15 gallon tank for my next one

Yeah I figured that out soon after

 

Hi all...as my Angels are starting to get aggresive, I would like to make a tank divider. I thought I would purchase plexi glass if I can find some that is not see through. I would hold in place with little suction cups. I am not sure how tiny I need to make holes, so they share the same water. If I am ever lucky enough to have fry, I would want to keep them with their parents as long as I can, but don't want them swimming through the holes when they are real tiny. Any ideas on how large I should make the holes? Sorry if this is posted in the wrong spot..I couln't see where to post.

 

Maybe do slits inside of holes? Might be harder for them to try and swim through. You could do holes but you want them to he tiny.

 

hmmm...thanks so much. I have never seen an angel fry so not sure how tiny they will be. Will have to ask Hubby if he has a tool to do slits rather then a drill for holes.

 

No need for any holes in a divider if you have multiple filters in the tank and on each side . It’s impossible to cut the plexi glass tight enough to stop some water and possibly small fry swimming from one side to the other .IMO.

Changing water is difficult without Multiple slots or holes. When removing the water the divider will fall over. If you don’t remove slowly.Ether you need two hoses or you end up taking a few litres in one side and then the other. Adding it back is a pain as well.

Even with a one millimetre /. 0.039 inches hole I suggest you will need hundreds of holes .

I strongly suggest you try the divider with a water change a couple of times before you add fish that would be aggressive when the divider falls over.

sorry if a bit of algae offends your eyes

 

No need for any holes in a divider if you have multiple filters in the tank and on each side . It’s impossible to cut the plexi glass tight enough to stop some water and possibly small fry swimming from one side to the other .IMO.

Changing water is difficult without Multiple slots or holes. When removing the water the divider will fall over. If you don’t remove slowly.Ether you need two hoses or you end up taking a few litres in one side and then the other. Adding it back is a pain as well.

Even with a one millimetre /. 0.039 inches hole I suggest you will need hundreds of holes .

I strongly suggest you try the divider with a water change a couple of times before you add fish that would be aggressive when the divider falls over. View attachment 771574
sorry if a bit of algae offends your eyes

Thanks for your thoughts. I did wonder about water changes, as I use a python...that would be a pain. I can't stand watching the aggression...guess I should have stayed away from angels, but then I guess most fish would be territorial when breeding. I will wait on it a bit, and hope they soon decide who is alpha..lol. Otherwise, I would have to move some fish. I have one angel smaller then the others, who would sometimes swim with the big guys, but then would hide in a corner if things got heavy, but I couldn't catch him to move to my community tank.

 

Good afternoon, before I add new fish, I put on a regular plastic divider and, over time, do I need to remove it or not.