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This all started with the Idea of eliminating some of the tanks in our apartment. I'm currently running 4 seperate betta settups(2-5G Hex tanks one 10G & a 2.5G) I figured that was to many in our 1 BR apt. Besides the 5G Hexs I got a Wally-World & they suck when it comes to filtration. So much for cheap tanks. They might be fine with a better filter on them though. But that doesn't change the fact that I have multiple heaters, filters & lights running too. So one day I thought why don't I just stick them all in one 10G tank with dividers. 4 Bettas one tank not bad but it would be a little crowded Next step Price dividers. Ok a divider is about $10-12 bucks locally. Then the thought hit me, "Hmmm... they look like crap...wife won't like that at all". Well I bought one just to be sure. I took it back within the hour because the whole thing looked like crap and wasn't the most stable looking device I had ever seen. I had visions of the thing coming apart in the tank & having my wife come home alone to the sight of her bettas in a 4 fish free-for-all match and fin chuncks fluttering everywhere in the tank. It was then that I thought why not go to a bigger tank for them and go back to using the 10G as a QT like it was intended. I settled on a 20L because it would provide the best hight width ratio of the divided compartments. The other decision I made was to minimize the number of bettas in it. I originally had planned 5 divisions so I could get another betta but it would look to busy. So I settled on three compartments & Darla the female is going to live in the 55G & the three males will go in the divided 20L. The betta condo is now done & I'm currently working on building a top & stand for it.
I had been trolling for a used 20L but ultimately I started with a new All-Glass 20L which I got for less than $15 bucks after I used a petco gift card I got for christmas. Lucky for me I don't have in-laws that buy crappy Christmas Ties. I'm not big on petco or petsmart but hey gift card, can't return it. Anyhow I headed down to Home depot and found 11X14 sheets of lexan. I could have used 11X12 but I had never worked with lexan before so I got the longer ones in case of error & bought extra sheets. Good move, since the first 2 holes I drilled were totally messed up. I found out that you can't drill holes in lexan very fast. It chips & breaks like glass if you try to work with it to fast. So to make the project go quicker I sandwhiched the sheets together, so the middle sheets would be less likely to chip out, a little trick I learned in HS wood shop when trying to get a perfect cut on cabinet grade plywood. It worked with drilling the lexan too. With drilling so slow it took me about 1 minute per hole to get it right. When I was done drilling I just scored the sheet with a box cutter and sandwiched the sheet between scrap wood and snaped the excess off. It's similar to cutting window panes just not as brittle as glass.
After that I just peel the protective plastic off and silicone the new divider into place.
Make sure the glass is nice and clean. Turn the tank on it's side and tape the top of the divider sheets in place to hold them while your attatching one side(I used plain old scotch tape)
I intentionally left a gap at the bottom of my tank for either a RFUG or in my case I'm going to run a piece of clear hose under it from one end to the other. I will make a filter screen for it and the other end will be attached to my Aqua Clear 30 filter. My intention is to force a current throgh the tank. Ideally I would use a canister ans have the inlet/outlet at opposite ends but this should achieve the same results.
Let it cure for about 20 minutes the turn tank over & repeat. Let the whole thing cure for 12-24 hours before using.
Supplies:
20 Gallon Long from Petco $15 after the gift card
2 sheets of Lexan 11X14 from Home Depot $5
Silicone: Home Depot $4
Tape: Already had it
Total cost: $24
The cost on this would be comparable if you located a good used tank.
The good thing about this is the Lexan is cheap enough that it would be plenty easy to add more dividers if you were looking for that too.
My End result will be a Display quality setup, with One Heater One Pump & One Light System! This will also give me the flexibility with the Stand to hide a CO2 system under it since it will probably be planted like everything else I have.
I had been trolling for a used 20L but ultimately I started with a new All-Glass 20L which I got for less than $15 bucks after I used a petco gift card I got for christmas. Lucky for me I don't have in-laws that buy crappy Christmas Ties. I'm not big on petco or petsmart but hey gift card, can't return it. Anyhow I headed down to Home depot and found 11X14 sheets of lexan. I could have used 11X12 but I had never worked with lexan before so I got the longer ones in case of error & bought extra sheets. Good move, since the first 2 holes I drilled were totally messed up. I found out that you can't drill holes in lexan very fast. It chips & breaks like glass if you try to work with it to fast. So to make the project go quicker I sandwhiched the sheets together, so the middle sheets would be less likely to chip out, a little trick I learned in HS wood shop when trying to get a perfect cut on cabinet grade plywood. It worked with drilling the lexan too. With drilling so slow it took me about 1 minute per hole to get it right. When I was done drilling I just scored the sheet with a box cutter and sandwiched the sheet between scrap wood and snaped the excess off. It's similar to cutting window panes just not as brittle as glass.
After that I just peel the protective plastic off and silicone the new divider into place.
Make sure the glass is nice and clean. Turn the tank on it's side and tape the top of the divider sheets in place to hold them while your attatching one side(I used plain old scotch tape)
I intentionally left a gap at the bottom of my tank for either a RFUG or in my case I'm going to run a piece of clear hose under it from one end to the other. I will make a filter screen for it and the other end will be attached to my Aqua Clear 30 filter. My intention is to force a current throgh the tank. Ideally I would use a canister ans have the inlet/outlet at opposite ends but this should achieve the same results.
Let it cure for about 20 minutes the turn tank over & repeat. Let the whole thing cure for 12-24 hours before using.
Supplies:
20 Gallon Long from Petco $15 after the gift card
2 sheets of Lexan 11X14 from Home Depot $5
Silicone: Home Depot $4
Tape: Already had it
Total cost: $24
The cost on this would be comparable if you located a good used tank.
The good thing about this is the Lexan is cheap enough that it would be plenty easy to add more dividers if you were looking for that too.
My End result will be a Display quality setup, with One Heater One Pump & One Light System! This will also give me the flexibility with the Stand to hide a CO2 system under it since it will probably be planted like everything else I have.
. Bettas will be wanting to jump in your pocket so they can come live with you 
.
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