# DIY tank dividers



## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Ok I went to the lfs yesterday looking for a tank divider and they wanted $20 for a cheaply made one. So I went to the Hd and got some plastic sheeting . My plan is to cut to fit and drill holes to keep the water all on the same system . Has anyone had success with this? I heard of using egg crate but I am trying to keep fry from the other half of tank.


----------



## Benaiah (Aug 18, 2009)

I've not done the sheeting, but I have done this: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/diy- ... ers-21866/

So far, it's working well.


----------



## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

What size fry? I found the ready made dividers totally useless for my fry. The little buggers are nothing but jelly and can squeeze through almost anything. I found the edges warp enough to let them slide through the crack so went looking for alternates. Must be a better way but I have not found it yet. I tried the craft section plastic but found it too flexible. Great to work with but not stiff enough to depend on it. Currently I have it sewn to a section of eggcrate. The small grid to stop the fry and the eggcrate for stiffness. It was a nuisance to build though!


----------



## xxbenjamminxx (Jan 22, 2011)

Benaiah said:


> I've not done the sheeting, but I have done this: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/diy- ... ers-21866/
> 
> So far, it's working well.


+1 on this, also have used one of these with great success. I think that plastic canvas flows more water than the actual tank divider.

Also I got my tank divider for $10, so shop around.


----------



## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Well I cut the sheeting this after noon and drilled for like an hour. My drill died halfway thru. I used a 1/8 bit that had a starter on it so it wouldn't run . I started to drill out the whole thing but got impatient. I will drill more holes later. This was an experiment due to the spawning of my jds. They got super aggressive toward my Ebjd so I had to do something. They are in a 55 now expecting to have free swimming fry any day now. I just got two female BGJD to try to pair up with my larger Ebjd. They are divided for now in The 55 to see how the divider holds up. So far so good. The pair rams the divider and flares up at The rest of the fish on the other side. I will post some pics tomorrow when I get off work. My big plan for this is to divide my 125 for breeding Ebjd and BGJD. I think this is gonna work.


----------



## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Ok shot a video maybe I should of waited till night to shoot it. The sun was glaring a bit. But here it is.

http://static.photobucket.com/player.sw ... EO0053.mp4


----------



## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

I added some black sand to one side of the divided tank and here is a little clip of the fish trying to get by the divider.

http://static.photobucket.com/player.sw ... EO0054.mp4


----------



## Mercyx (Apr 5, 2011)

Hmmmm I am going to say they love each other so much right now im sad that you put that there to prevent them from giving each other big hugs and such haha , im really glad that worked well for you or im thinking you would have some jacked up fish haha , now get the ebjd and bgjd to spawn !!!!!!


----------



## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Working on that. I'm gonna divide the 125 up here shortly to give the bigger fish some more room .


----------



## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Double post.


----------



## jason_nj (Feb 24, 2010)

Cool. I hate these cheap mesh dividers. They never work. You have great looking BGJDs. :thumb:

The EBJD isn't bad too.


----------



## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Lmao :lol: the divider was cheap and I cut it with a utility knife. Just scored it over and over then broke it like a piece of sheetrock. I used suction cups to hold the top in place and substrate and a few rocks for the bottom. I got a sheet that is 18" x24" for around $8.


----------



## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

Just as another idea, Poret foam would make a great tank divider especially for fry. A 2" thick sheet for a 55g size tank would run you $20 for the foam and $10 for shipping from swiss tropicals website. Maybe $30 is a little pricey for a tank divider, but hey introduce a small powerhead that moves water from one side to the other or put your canister inlet and outlet on opposite sides and now you've got a tank divider that is also a HMF filter with a ton of surface area for bacteria to grow! $30 for tank divider + filtration doesn't sound so bad!


----------



## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Yeah there is a maxijet 1200 on the left side for that reason. I would move the intake but I need to get more hose. I will be drilling more holes soon. I killed the battery I my drill so I just stuck it in and put the power head in.


----------

