Divided tank rebuild/ hood mod for 2nd filter (56k warning)

[adamxaotmic]

Well, my other hobby is building and modding high end computers. I love taking something and making it completely personal. Here's some examples.





So the issue I was having was when I divided my 10gal into 3 sections, the store bought dividers were crap.
If you have a hood, or a specific location where a HOB filter needs to be then you'll have to mod the divider to fit.
This in turn makes it even more crap. So I put all the fish in temp housing while I renovated their tank.
I decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and mod the hood to fit another filter on the other side of the tank, because it wasn't getting enough filtration.
The hood I had only had 1 square hole on the right for a HOB filter.

I'd really like to thank Neelie for the dividing tutorial posted here.
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread....utorial&page=4
And I'd also like to thank Pataflafla, tlyons01, Littlebittyfish, and jskate94 for their posts and advice on fixing my filtration problem.
Rather than do some elaborate Mario Bros. style plumbing to extend my intake nozzle, I just decided to mod the back of my hood to fit another filter.
What I was going for was a filter on the 2 end divisions, and the heater in the middle. Here's the hood after about 10 mins with a jig saw.


Next were the dividers. I'll tell you what. Any one who is considering a divided tank and want it to look half way decent.
Make your own! It's cheaper and turns out so much better.
I marked my lines on the outside of the tank with a dry erase marker and this is after about 20 minutes of cutting and fitting.


While I was waiting for the sealant to dry I decided to take some old plants I had laying around and make some "Franken-plants". Muahahaha!!
I kinda really like them.




Ok. Play time is over. Back to work.
So I put everything back in the tank. Franken-plants included and test fit the 2 filters and the heater.
(The 2 filters are the same type and brand. Just different styling.)
And bingo! Works like a charm.


So here's some pictures with everything set back up. And nnooo! My water is not dirty. My camera just kinda isn't that great.

[ForbiddenSecrets]

Oo~ very nice. I like you Franken-plants and I love your computers :D

[adamxaotmic]

Originally Posted by ForbiddenSecrets

Oo~ very nice. I like you Franken-plants and I love your computers :D

TY! Right now my interest is shifting more towards Bettas. They are cheaper than computers. But not by much lol.

[Findlay]

Nice! I will be doing the same soon
Thanks for the inspiration!

[Laki]

What size tank did you divide? It looks great!! Also, great job on the comps too :D

[adamxaotmic]

Originally Posted by Findlay

Nice! I will be doing the same soon
Thanks for the inspiration!

No problem. Just take your time and it'll turn out great. Remember, measure twice cut once.
If you need a parts list, let me know.

Originally Posted by Laki

What size tank did you divide? It looks great!! Also, great job on the comps too :D

It's a 10gal. I figure 3.3gal ea should be enough for the Bettas. If they don't mind sharing some room with some Ghost Shrimp and a Mystery Snail.
I eventually want to divide something way bigger. And use acrylic sheet (plexiglass).

[Princess Penny]

That looks awesome. My divider looks pretty crap compared to yours, lol XD

[adamxaotmic]

Originally Posted by Princess Penny

That looks awesome. My divider looks pretty crap compared to yours, lol XD

Mine did too and it bugged the crap out of me. I swore my Bettas were looking at me like "WTH is this?"
Making your own is really easy and fairly cheap.
Aquarium Silicon- $6 Petsmart, Black slide binders $5 (pack of 15) at office max. #5 cross-stitching (plastic canvas) $1.50 at craft store.

You can see where I tried to cut it to fit around the HOB filter.
That and the blue really stuck out like a sore thumb since the rest of the stuff in my apt is black, grey, white or red.

[Princess Penny]

Yeah I made one with the craft mesh and report spines but my tank has a bow-front which I think is what is making it warp so much?

[adamxaotmic]

Originally Posted by Princess Penny

Yeah I made one with the craft mesh and report spines but my tank has a bow-front which I think is what is making it warp so much?

You should still be able to get it almost perfect since the bow is horizontal and not vertical.
If you have stuff left over, and want to kill some time. I'd take a knife or razor blade and cut the silicon on the old one one and start over.
Use a flexible measuring tape (like found in a sewing kit) and find your halfway point from each edge of the front. Then do the same for the back.
After you adhere your spines in, they should be pretty flush with each other.
The hardest part will be cutting the mesh to fit perfectly. I measured between the 2 spines that were adhered to the tank and took off about 1/8" and made 2 support spines for the top and bottom of the mesh. And after I got it cut right, it just slid right in.
You got a pic of the divider?