Any DIY tank divider ideas?

[Fish Folk]

We’re working with a 5th grade class on a guppy breeding project. We’ve got a beautiful 33 gal long aquarium. It’s housed a bunch of Livebearers this year.  The class is interested in breeding 3x different guppy strains, and 3x different neocaridina color forms. We’d like to set up tank dividers. They’re not cheap... and not all are that secure at keeping fry from crossing. I’m curious: have any of you come up with ingenious DIY tank dividers?? 

[FlyingFishKeeper]

I haven't used them personally but a 3D printer might be able to make something, plus you can customize it to anything you want. Something like PLA would be aquarium safe since it corn based. (Hmmm, PLA on the cob, sounds delicious!) Something like Tinkercad is a great tool for simple projects, plus its free. If you need any help feel free related to designing in Tinkercad feel free to ask! There's also a topic here about it:

 

Edited February 13, 2021 by FlyingFishKeeper

[MAC]

For about $15.50 I got a 23"x12.5"x2" 40ppi foam pad off the Big River in South America. Cut in half it fits perfectly in my 20 longs to use as dividers.  

https://www.amazon.com/Aquaneat-Reticulated-Sponge-Filter-Aquarium/dp/B07MC6PGYC

Edited February 14, 2021 by MAC
Found the link

[Fish Folk]

Thanks @MAC— this should work! Just ordered. 

[Fish Folk]

Thanks @FlyingFishKeeper — I’ve got to explore 3D printing for clever Aquarium DIY solutions. Thanks for the thread link! 

[Theresa_M]

2 hours ago, Fish Folk said:

Thanks @MAC— this should work! Just ordered. 

I was at a fish store today and noted that they used a sponge as a divider. I thought it was clever 🙂

[Jopinga206]

https://www.jehmco.com/html/accessories_-_media.html#FoamSheet

 

These sheets of woven plastic work better than sponge material. The water flows through it better. 

[Theresa_M]

13 minutes ago, Jopinga206 said:

https://www.jehmco.com/html/accessories_-_media.html#FoamSheet

 

These sheets of woven plastic work better than sponge material. The water flows through it better. 

Actually, I called it a sponge because it looked like the course material on the sponge filters at Aquarium Co-Op, but I think this is what it was.

[gardenman]

Making a perfect tank divider for fry is a big challenge. It seems like everyone who uses Matten filters ends up with fry behind the filter at some point. Not just from swimming down the airlift tube either as some will use netting over it to prevent that and fry still find a way behind it. It doesn't take much of a gap for fry to find a way through. Even materials like the woven plastic may have big enough gaps in the weave for small fry to wriggle their way through. It seems sometimes like the harder we try to keep a fish out of a place, the more determined they become to get there. Getting a combination of something fine enough to stop fry from escaping, but porous enough to allow good water flow is challenging. A fine netting material, like that used for brine shrimp nets would be ideal, but it would require a tight fitting framework to hold it in place.

[Fish Folk]

Followup up on this thread, the Foam piece recommended by @MAC arrived, and when cut perfectly in 1/2, _PERFECTLY_ fits in the tank. I couldn’t be more pleased! Three photos attached...

[Goosedub]

12 minutes ago, Fish Folk said:

Followup up on this thread, the Foam piece recommended by @MAC arrived, and when cut perfectly in 1/2, _PERFECTLY_ fits in the tank. I couldn’t be more pleased! Three photos attached...

This looks awesome. The kids are really going to enjoy this project.... I know I would

[MAC]

@Fish Folk glad that worked. Looks great!