Dividers in tanks?

[sueandherzoo]

Hi.
While I learn on my 12-gallon nano I am thinking about what I want to upgrade to when I feel ready enough (hopefully 2-3 months)and I originally thought that my next tank would be as big as the living room can handle but now I'm having second thoughts. The more I read and learn the more I realize it's not the size of the tank that is so important to me but more what I can put in it. Since there are a few very different types of livestock I am interested in it would seem I'd need a few different tanks. I would love to have a puffer. I would love to have seahorses. I would love to have some non-aggressive fish with corals. I realize I can't have all of that in one tank and having several tanks will get very involved in plumbing, set-up, maintenance, etc. Probably more than I can handle at this beginning newibe stage. I can't help but wonder -- is it feasible to have one big tank with a divider in it to keep different types of livestock rather than having 2 or 3 separate tanks? I've never seen pix of one nor heard anyone talk about one so there must be a good reason no one does it, right?

 

[robertmathern]

Honestly I doubt anyone dose. But if you wanted to check out mr x post stumped and look at how he made his sump. He made it out for walmart cutting boards and aquarium selicone. For you case I think it would work out just fine but beware some fish are jumpers. so you might want to think about that concept before you make the tank up you will figure it out I am sure. Good luck let us know what turns up.

 

[mrdonkeyazz]

I would think the hardest think with having dividers would be trying to keep proper water flow in the tank.

 

[robertmathern]

Well not really. If she set it up to overflow over the top she can set the hight where she wants to. But like I said fish would love to jump over the top and have a field day. Unless you put something there to stop them.

 

[errattiq]

dividers could be done, but i'd recommend using glass/acrylic to make the dividers from the bottom to a few inches above the water line... However, you'd have to treat the tank like 3 individual tanks or have each one overflow into a common sump where your filters/skimmer can be placed. powerheads in each section and you should be good. Only thing is your going to have one MASSIVE tank in order to ensure each species of fish has proper gallonage to swim in. thats where I think this idea falls short....

 

[robertmathern]

Yep I agree with errattiq on that. Must be a big tank to give your fish swimming room. But I still think it is worth a shot

 

[spanko]

or maybe the dividers they use in freshwater tanks with all of the holes in them. Lee's AQ2.

 

[sueandherzoo]

Thanks, Guys - all very good points and things that would need to be thoroughly thought through and resolved before I even started. Would either need a "holey" divider or a small powerhead in each section and even with a perforated divider a lot of the flow-through would be obstructed so probably separate power heads would be the way to go. And it would be very hard (impossible?) to make this thing look attractive while still being functional and healthy for the livestock,don't you think? Setting up the live rock/aquascaping would be pretty challenging in three small sections as opposed to one big one. And cleaning any algae off all the sides could be a pain. And most importantly, you're right - to be a GOOD habitat for all the different animals I'd need one really LOOOOONG tank. And now that I'm thinking out loud I wonder if having the livestock that don't belong together side by side with only a clear partition between them would stress them too much. There's probably lots of good reasons why people don't do this so I doubt it's something a newbie should take on, but it's interesting to think about. I'd also love a cowfish but from what I've read I don't want that sharing water with anyone - aren't they toxic when they die?
Sounds like I should plan on narrowing down which two types of livestock I want the MOST and just setting up two tanks, huh?
Sue
(sorry I rambled)

 

[sickboy]

A piece of acrylic that had lots of "slits" in it would work. A lfs by me has a corner of a tank sectioned off. It is a large coral lagoon tank (several hundred gallons?) but a corner is blocked with some kind of divider to hold the anemones from eating the corals. It does not have its own filtration.
But I would think that water flow would be a problem in most tanks.

 

[sickboy]

After I typed this, i thought of something. Instead of having one long tank divided into 3 sections, you could have 3 smaller tanks next to each other that are all tied into the same filtration system. Like have one tank overflow to the next and so forth until it goes to the shared sump.
anyway, just an idea.

 

[sueandherzoo]

Originally Posted by sickboy
http:///forum/post/2776514
After I typed this, i thought of something. Instead of having one long tank divided into 3 sections, you could have 3 smaller tanks next to each other that are all tied into the same filtration system. Like have one tank overflow to the next and so forth until it goes to the shared sump.
anyway, just an idea.
Actually that was my original thought - setting up a few "medium" sized tanks all in the same area, but then I started thinking about all of the plumbing that would be involved and I got intimidated by it. However the divider idea is starting to intimidate me, too, so settling on two tanks (three including sump) is probably the way to go. OR I have to act like an adult and just accept that I can't have everything I want.

(nah, never happen)
Sue

 

[maxalmon]

When you think about this, your wanting nothing more than one of those divided bank of tanks like they have at Petsmart. It's actually easy to do, just figure out the measurements you need, run down to Homedepot and they will cut the glass to the size you need for something like .50 a cut or you could find a acrylic shop to make them for you, what it all boils down to is the asthetics of the design.
You could always take a 55 or 75g tank, then use foam to create cover a both side and back and then create a fake wall of rock down the middle to divide the tank, you could hide, water openings and such. This could be a very cool tank design and easy to do. You can make ultra-realistic fake backgrounds using spray foam and chunks of live rock.
This actually sounds like a fun project. Cost would be something like $50 for the spray foam and whatever the cost of the live rock you use.

 

[sueandherzoo]

Wow - that really would be a cool and fun project and the final outcome might be an awesome looking set up. Is that your foam/live rock thread I was reading the other day with all the photos? The results were mind-boggling and breath-taking. Made me wish I wasn't such a newbie because I think right now I need to concentrate my time, energy and efforts on creating a HEALTHY environment for livestock. I'd probably be biting off more than I could chew trying to build what you describe as my first real tank, but it's certainly something to think about. I haven't even figured out what the best type of equipment/hardware/setup I'm going to want for my first big unit so to lock it all in with foam might be a bad idea. Tempting, though..... and it would look SO COOL. What about the water flow, though. Powerhead in each section I guess?
Sue

 

[maxalmon]

If I were to build a tank like that, I'd actually center a overflow on the partition wall, against the back wall so that water flowed from each side into the overflow and then have 2 returns one for each side.. Foaming is actually easy, almost like frosting a cake. You could even just foam the sides and then dust the foam in crushed coral and it would only take 20 minutes to do the entire project.....(can you tell that I'm Foam-Addicted

)
And yes, a hidden powerhead on each side would work fine.

 

[mustangcaleb]

ive seen it done, these are smaller tanks, but you get the idea. you just notch the top of the divider as if it were an overflow, you can also notch the bottom for more flow. put little holes, and so on until you get the flow the way you want it.

 

[sueandherzoo]

Originally Posted by maxalmon
http:///forum/post/2776892
If I were to build a tank like that, I'd actually center a overflow on the partition wall, against the back wall so that water flowed from each side into the overflow and then have 2 returns one for each side.. Foaming is actually easy, almost like frosting a cake. You could even just foam the sides and then dust the foam in crushed coral and it would only take 20 minutes to do the entire project.....(can you tell that I'm Foam-Addicted

)
And yes, a hidden powerhead on each side would work fine.
The heck with the dividers.... now I'm thinking I can't wait to get a new tank so I can set it up with foam and rock and sand, especially after seeing how gorgeous yours came out. What will probably stop me, though, is that I have used this foam several times and always SWEAR I will never use it again - it can be SUCH a nightmare to work with. The first time I used it I had no idea how serious they were about the warnings to use gloves and cover all exposed skin. And of course I'm one of those people who hates working in gloves - just too awkward, so you can imagine what I mess I was for a long time.... and then it gets on your arm when you lean over or reach for something, and then you bend down and get some on your legs, and you scratch your face, etc. etc. Perhaps if I were doing this on a small project like a tank I could be more careful but shooting it under, around, and over rocks outside I tended to not be careful enough for my own good. Ugh - I have a love/hate relationship with that stuff. OK, off to read more so I can start to narrow down what I want to raise in my "winter upgrade". The possibilities are endless but the space and funds are not.

Sue