# Divider failed :( never making my own again!



## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

So my 5.5g divider failed and i saw crimson on seabiscuit's side... but its ok no one got hurt... and no one is freaked out... crimson is in a kritter keeper right now until i can go out and actually buy a divider... anyone recommend one for my tank :/ ?


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## Alcemistnv (Jan 29, 2012)

oh dear, I'm scared now because I'm doing a divider in a 5.5 gallon o.o

What did you use for it?


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

craft mesh and report binders


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

they didnt jumpp over bec i put it all the way to the top... it curled and a spaced opened for crimson to slip through


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

katrina89 said:


> they didnt jumpp over bec i put it all the way to the top... it curled and a spaced opened for crimson to slip through


O_O woah!! Was it too long/too short? What part opened up for him? The side or the top?


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## Luimeril (Dec 29, 2010)

they do sell dividers for various sized tanks at pet stores, but they're clear, so the fish can see each other. 8U mine's used for a tank lid, rather than a divider. i'm sorry this happened, though. ;n;


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## Bettanewbie60 (Jun 26, 2012)

katrina89 said:


> So my 5.5g divider failed and i saw crimson on seabiscuit's side... but its ok no one got hurt... and no one is freaked out... crimson is in a kritter keeper right now until i can go out and actually buy a divider... anyone recommend one for my tank :/ ?


Yiiikes! Glad no one was injured. I've never done one, so I'm no help. I've thought about dividing my 5.5 so I can get Bella out of her 1g, but I think I'll wait till I have the money for another small tank. sigh


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## Alcemistnv (Jan 29, 2012)

I'm going to be using the binders and the mesh as well...Or maybe sunction cups if Michaels/Walmart sells them...


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Alcemistnv said:


> I'm going to be using the binders and the mesh as well...Or maybe sunction cups if Michaels/Walmart sells them...


Same, I already Madr mine, it's in my tank. Teeney is on her side & Tiny is in QT for another week & a half... Teeney has made no attempt to get to the other side, I actually cut a piece and used plastic paper clips and clipped it on the divider so it's extended above & nobody can jump over.


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

teeneythebetta said:


> O_O woah!! Was it too long/too short? What part opened up for him? The side or the top?


the side opened up...i guess it wasn't springy enough to stay tight... after 24 hours crimson slipped through :/ i thought it would stay tight bec the lid was holding it when it was down... i was wrong... guess ill leave it to the professionals next time... anyone know of any good dividers... idc if its clear... ill just put plants all over the divider and make the visibility hard... as long as it works and this wont happen again


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Mine does that too, but somehow I figured it out. A report binder on the bottom will make it less flexible. 
I do have a clear store bought divider and I like it more than the one I made. As long as you out some cover it's fine. Mine clouds over with a bit of aquarium gunk anyways. xD
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

Olympia said:


> Mine does that too, but somehow I figured it out. A report binder on the bottom will make it less flexible.
> I do have a clear store bought divider and I like it more than the one I made. As long as you out some cover it's fine. Mine clouds over with a bit of aquarium gunk anyways. xD
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


which store bought one do you have? im worried about buying one that doesnt work :/


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## cjconcepcion (Jun 7, 2012)

you buried the bottom of it in at least an inch of substrate right? it shouldve been curved when you look at it from the top of the tank


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

yup it was buried and curved... u could even see it from the front of the tank, that it bowed... i guess im just not crafty enough... plus crimson is kind of stubborn.... hes way more agressive than sea biscuit... SB couldnt even hurt a fly lol


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## GhostFeather (Jun 23, 2011)

When I divide mine(I have 10-10 Gallon tanks divided)I run the silicone the whole way down both sides and across the bottom,completly seals it off.


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

GhostFeather said:


> When I divide mine(I have 10-10 Gallon tanks divided)I run the silicone the whole way down both sides and across the bottom,completly seals it off.


yea but i didnt wanna make anything permanent so that i still had the option of using the whole tank... i know u can scrape the silicone off but i didnt wanna have to worry about it


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Mine came with the tank. The only one listed on petsmart website is the topfin one. Don't be afraid to open the box and check it out at the store.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

thanks! I searched for some on amazon... i think i might try to find some small local fish place and see what they carry as far as dividers


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Here's a thread about an issue with the top fin dividers :shock: Tank Divider Pushed Over
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

teeneythebetta said:


> Here's a thread about an issue with the top fin dividers :shock: Tank Divider Pushed Over
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


thanks! i think i may go with the lee's aquarium divider the thing is i have to cut it to size :/


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## Twilight Storm (Apr 14, 2011)

I have a divider I got from Petco it has sturdy forum blue (not attractive imo in my tank, but I like it in this forum) sides and smaller report binder sized sides for the top and bottom. The one I got is made to fit a 10 gallon aquarium.

What I did is I took the aquarium sealant and put a total of 8 blobs of it up at the top and bottom under the black rim of the tank to hold it in place. It never failed me and it didn't bow. However I didn't get really any water circulation through the divider because the holes they punch in it are so tiny.

Also just be aware one side of the divider I got is *sharp*, so if one of your fish likes to rub on the divider to try to see/get at the other one turn the soft side to that fish so he doesn't get hurt.

I have seen dividers with nice looking black plastic sides but I don't know what brand they are, or if they are better then the one I got.


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

Twilight Storm said:


> I have a divider I got from Petco it has sturdy forum blue (not attractive imo in my tank, but I like it in this forum) sides and smaller report binder sized sides for the top and bottom. The one I got is made to fit a 10 gallon aquarium.
> 
> What I did is I took the aquarium sealant and put a total of 8 blobs of it up at the top and bottom under the black rim of the tank to hold it in place. It never failed me and it didn't bow. However I didn't get really any water circulation through the divider because the holes they punch in it are so tiny.
> 
> ...


thanks for letting me know! this is one of the dividers i'm considering... guess i need to find out more and weight my odds


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

Take a picture of the divider you made. 

I wouldn't TOTALLY scrap it, but I would try to make some adjustments & reinforce the area that opened up.


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## GhostFeather (Jun 23, 2011)

Scraping the silicone off can be a pain!!!
The ones I have seen at our local Petstores run around $14.00,if you only want 1 or 2 that is not bad,that is why I did mine myself.


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

MSG said:


> Take a picture of the divider you made.
> 
> I wouldn't TOTALLY scrap it, but I would try to make some adjustments & reinforce the area that opened up.


+1 there has to have been a fault with yours, otherwise this would've happened to a lot of people. Tons of people have these homemade dividers.


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

I know, Like i said...I'm not that crafty... so i ordered Lee's aquarium divider last night on amazon for 8 + shipping.. so about 14.. its worth it knowing that my babies will be safe...hey its good for most to make it and i tried... but im not gonna risk it again... heres a pick of the old divider


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Yep, as long as there safe that's all that matters 

P.s. I notice his name is crimson  Haha... Did your hubby change his mind about the name?


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## Shadyr (Mar 27, 2012)

If it opened up at the side, it might just not have been quite wide enough. The one I made is almost 1/4" too wide, so it's got a pretty noticable bow in when I put it in. (I do not have a frame piece on the bottom, just the sides, to allow it to keep its tension) It's also got about half an inch of sand supporting it at the bottom, and it touches the lid at the top. I actually had to trim the top a bit after I initially put it in. I'm not using any sealant either.

Dunno that it makes a difference in terms of how well they hold on to the craft mesh, the folder binders felt flimsy to me. I got clip on poster "frame" pieces - same idea, but sturdier. I wish I could find a link for you, but my Google-Fu is failing to come up with the right combo of keywords and searching Michael's website for a specific thing is an exercise in futility! I had to ask one of the Michael's employees about them, and they took me to a little endcap where some were hanging.

I'm glad your fish were both OK! And don't beat yourself up on this, it was your first attempt at doing it, right? 

As a couple of others have said, don't scrap the whole thing! Most of the things you'd buy are not going to be any better from what I understand. I admit I didn't even look, cause my tank is not the standard shape.


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

teeneythebetta said:


> Yep, as long as there safe that's all that matters
> 
> P.s. I notice his name is crimson  Haha... Did your hubby change his mind about the name?


yup! I told him the name and he was like "Oo nice like blood" and im like "no like the rose" and he was like" its a cooler name u should change it and i can think its blood, which is cooler, and u can think its a rose" lol so yea its crimson now haha


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

Shadyr said:


> If it opened up at the side, it might just not have been quite wide enough. The one I made is almost 1/4" too wide, so it's got a pretty noticable bow in when I put it in. (I do not have a frame piece on the bottom, just the sides, to allow it to keep its tension) It's also got about half an inch of sand supporting it at the bottom, and it touches the lid at the top. I actually had to trim the top a bit after I initially put it in. I'm not using any sealant either.
> 
> Dunno that it makes a difference in terms of how well they hold on to the craft mesh, the folder binders felt flimsy to me. I got clip on poster "frame" pieces - same idea, but sturdier. I wish I could find a link for you, but my Google-Fu is failing to come up with the right combo of keywords and searching Michael's website for a specific thing is an exercise in futility! I had to ask one of the Michael's employees about them, and they took me to a little endcap where some were hanging.
> 
> ...


the only diff between your divider and mine was that i didnt have the clips holding it to the edge... it was high enough to touch the top of the hood so i thought it would hold it in place... i figure atleast when i buy this... itll have the clips and if it breaks i can put some black craft mesh in the slides and not have to buy another one  and its ok im not beating myself up over it... the guys are safe lol and it tells me alot about crimsons personality... he cornered sea biscuit and wasnt even flaring... what a bully... sea biscuit just sat there cowering... he is stoked to have the whole tank to himself again... i just cant make one myself again bec god forbid it happens again poor sea biscuit is such an angel he wont fight and he will for sure be the one who gets injured or dies :/ and i love him too much to risk it


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## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

I made dividers for my 10 gallon...I use airline suction cups to keep mine in place. I haven't had any problems with my 2 boys, but have bumped them while cleaning. The suction cups work great as stabilizers.


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Hopeseeker said:


> I made dividers for my 10 gallon...I use airline suction cups to keep mine in place. I haven't had any problems with my 2 boys, but have bumped them while cleaning. The suction cups work great as stabilizers.


Thanks for mentioning that! I'm going to petco later anyway and I'm goin to pick some of those up! They sell a 6 pack for $4.50


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## katrina89 (Jul 16, 2012)

Hopeseeker said:


> I made dividers for my 10 gallon...I use airline suction cups to keep mine in place. I haven't had any problems with my 2 boys, but have bumped them while cleaning. The suction cups work great as stabilizers.


thats a good idea, i think if i had clips or suction cups this wouldnt hve happened


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## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

I, also, made my dividers where the report spines were on all 4 sides of the plastic canvas. This helps with my complete clumsiness when cleaning.


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## tanseattle (Jun 28, 2012)

Below is my divider DIY. It is ugly but heavy duty. Go to Lowes buy a white trelix cap and SI Clera gel (must say aquarium safe).


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## mursey (May 9, 2012)

Tanseattle I don't think your divider looks so ugly. Once I wondered if I could cover the part you see of the divider with a piece of aquarium background or something that looks "plant-like" or somehow blends in to the aquarium's theme. 

Ok- I have a home made divider, and 2 different brands of store bought. I do not think the store bought ones are anythign great at all. One cracked, and both were really hard to customize, and one brand has such tiny holes that there is one fish with no filter movement and one with all of it. The other one cracked in the mesh part and I had to glue it together and it's a mess. I prefer the DIY method I learned from all of you on this forum. Also, the clips that come with the kits didn't seem to work right on both my 6.6 gallon but also my regular, run-of-the-mill 10 gallon tank that those are supposedly made for. I had to take heavy duty pliers and work with them to try to change the shape so they would stay, they still moved around, and that is when I said "forget it!" and made my own with the report binders and craft mesh. 

Now, you just need to think about whether to try it with suction cups or silicone. Yeah, the silicone might be a pain to scrape off . . never tried it but I have ripped off silicone from DIY "hidey hole caves" and tunnels and it comes off ok. Just make sure when you use the suction cups that you don't press them in such a way (too tight against each other on the opposite sides) that they make the divider bow and leave little spaces on the side. It almost helps to position the cups in a more "relaxed" manner. If this sounds confusing I think it will make sense when you try it.







Maybe use more suction cups than I did here.


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## MissLyss1024 (Jun 24, 2012)

I made one with the craft mesh and report binders. I didn't seal it in the tank, the gravel holds the bottom and I cut it big enough so it would bend. I took my extra binders and cut them to the right length and put them on the lip of the tank on both sides of the divider and it holds so well! There is no movement of the binder at all.


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## goldfishyman (Jun 8, 2012)

Hot glue it if you dont want it to move. Should be easier to remove than silicon.


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## cjconcepcion (Jun 7, 2012)

i made one that was a little wobbly so i duct taped the top of it to the top edge of the tank..


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