For those who are visual - I just put together a 20 gallon divided tank and I took pics along the way to help other who are doing this.
What you need:
- Tank
- binder dividers (poster dividers will work too if they are tight) ($2 for me - cheaper in the US I bet)
- plastic craft mesh (from walmart or craft store - used for needle point and such) (A few bucks for me - like a buck in the US)
- Aquarium safe silicone or aquarium glue ($3 for a big tube - again, probably cheaper in the US) If you buy the big silicone things you'll need a silicone gun - something I did not realize -- thank goodness my husband had one =)
Optional:
- "Goo-gone" or other silicone remover
- q-tips
- paper towel
1) Take your tank and set it on it's side. Measure it and decide where you want to put the dividers. Then mark it with chalk or something:
What you need:
- Tank
- binder dividers (poster dividers will work too if they are tight) ($2 for me - cheaper in the US I bet)
- plastic craft mesh (from walmart or craft store - used for needle point and such) (A few bucks for me - like a buck in the US)
- Aquarium safe silicone or aquarium glue ($3 for a big tube - again, probably cheaper in the US) If you buy the big silicone things you'll need a silicone gun - something I did not realize -- thank goodness my husband had one =)
Optional:
- "Goo-gone" or other silicone remover
- q-tips
- paper towel
1) Take your tank and set it on it's side. Measure it and decide where you want to put the dividers. Then mark it with chalk or something:
2) Get your dividers ready - take them off of the report covers. I bought 2 packages so I could have matching colours:
3) Put a healthy amount of silicone onto the divider - put it on the flat side - not the side with the opening (told you this was for dummies) ;)
4) Take the divider with silicone and place it in aquarium where you marked it with chalk. Try and get it straight (I did this on my table and I used the table leaf line to make sure I got it right) Smoosh it down really well!
5)(optional) If you want to keep things nice and neat then dip your q-tip in some 'goo-gone' or silicone remover and wipe off any excess silicone.
6) Repeat this process as many times as you need. Let dry 24 hours (or whatever it says on your silicone):
7) Take your plastic mesh and slide it into place. I already had it precut - but you might need to cut it depending on the size you get. Be sure and be generous as you can always cut more if it doesn't it in the first time. Also make sure it's nice and tall so you can fill up the water more and your fish can't jump over. I wish I had made mine taller so I could fill the water higher. You can also create jump barriers though - but I didn't.
Add water, fish and stuff:
TIP - if your binder dividers are not SUPER DUPER tight then silicone them into place. This is the second time I made a divided tank - the first time I used poster dividers that weren't as tight - they got loose and my boys swam through and got into fights!
TIP - if your binder dividers are not SUPER DUPER tight then silicone them into place. This is the second time I made a divided tank - the first time I used poster dividers that weren't as tight - they got loose and my boys swam through and got into fights!
Happy Dividing!
