http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/ Fishkeeping en Brigitte http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=324 2011-12-21T21:25:21 +00:00 Brigitte DIY tank divider I have recently had to divide my tank to separate a 2 male goldfish I had just adopted (a common and a fantail) from my 2 female fancies. They are much larger than my girls and my oranda already has buoyancy issues and is not coping well with the relentless chasing from the common. As it was already winter when I got them, moving him to a pond straight away was not an option, so I decided to divide the tank temporarily until the weather warms up. Unfortunately, my tank is not a well known brand and the dimensions are quite different from the standard tank dividers available commercially, so I have had to DIY this one with some help from the internet. I have detailed the process below for anyone who ever finds themselves in this situation! What you will need: Sheets of Plastic Mesh: I got mine from Hobbycraft – plastic canvas in the Cross-stitch section. This is 5 mesh, 55.9cm x 33.7cm (22” x 131/4”) but they also do a 7 mesh which is a much finer mesh (smaller holes) – this might be a better option if you are dividing the tank for fry-rearing purposes, but the sheet is smaller though so if it’s a large tank you will need more of them. These sheets are really cheap, under £2! http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_2369.jpg http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_2371.jpg http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_2372.jpg Craft Knife http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_2375.jpg Cable Ties These are only necessary if you need to join sheets together. I used the smaller ones in this pic (80mm long). http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_2376.jpg Suction Cup Clips For securing the divider in place. I used these Clips http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_0797.jpg Decent pair of scissors Patience! Making the divider: First you need to check your tank’s dimensions INSIDE the tank. My tank dimensions are: 61cm deep and 44.5cm width (straight across the middle). If you want to divide the tank at a slight diagonal instead (which is what I eventually did) bear in mind that you will need extra width. Sheets can be overlapped to achieve the right dimensions. Also, it’s a good idea to aim for a width of divider a tiny bit wider than the actual width of the tank as the slight ‘bowing’ of the divider will help it keep in place better. If you make it too wide you can always trim it down a bit. This is where the ‘patience’ is required. These plastic sheets and also the plastic clips on the suction cups) have LOADS of sharp plastic bits sticking out on both sides as a result of the manufacturing process, and these need to be shaved off using the craft knife to leave a smooth finish. It takes ages but think how guilty you would feel if your fish cut themselves or tore their fins on these! The ones o the plastic sheets run along the rows and columns in almost a pattern so it’s not hard to locate them all. If you need to overlap sheets to get the right dimensions, secure the sheets together using cable ties. You need to use enough to make sure there are no bulging gaps large enough for your fish to get stuck between the 2 sheets, and to give the divider a bit of rigidity (the mesh is flimsy on its own) but also bear in mind that the more you use, the heavier that overlapped section becomes, and the more difficult it will be to make it stand up. http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_2377.jpg http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_2379.jpg I used 2 sheets overlapped along the longer edge to get the right depth. I then trimmed it down the side to get the required width. http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_2378.jpg Once you have pulled all the cable ties tight, trim them as close to the head as possible. http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_2380.jpg Once trimmed, I then rotated the ties and pushed the trimmed edge through the top sheet so that it sat tucked between the 2 sheets – again minimising the chance of fish injuries. The squares were the perfect size for the cable tie heads – they went in with a ‘click’ almost locking into place so unlikely to come out on their own. http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_0773.jpg The last step was to place the suction cups in the tank, it took a few attempts to get the spacing and angle of the diagonal right but then you can just slide the mesh into the clips, and tuck it slightly into your substrate to help keep it in place. http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_0806.jpg http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_0807.jpg http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_0809.jpg http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_0810.jpg http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/Brigdc/Fish/IMG_0808.jpg It seems fairly sturdy but obviously try not to be too vigorous with your tank cleaning! http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=311 2011-07-30T15:33:32 +00:00 Brigitte Hi everyone Sorry it has taken so long to get this up, but have finally done it. This is an attempt at a mini review with some pictures of different stages of setup but please all bear in mind that I am a first timer here, and have never owned or set up a proper tank and filter before (I refuse to count my pathetic 21L as a proper tank!), so have nothing to compare to. So this is more or less a description of my experience rather than a proper review. I'm not sure if this is the right place to put it so please let me know if it belongs somewhere else on this site. Thanks! ALL POND SOLUTIONS TANK: 4ft/120cm, 330L, black This particular tank was not in stock when I first ordered it (this was clearly stated on their website so I knew before I ordered it). Unfortunately I did not receive the tank until just over a week after their stock came in, but this was due to my work schedule rather than any inefficiency on their part! For anyone interested in these tanks: you will need to arrange to be home and sign for the tank. You are able to pay an additional fee of around £40 for a morning delivery or Saturday delivery, but if you opt for the free delivery option you will need to set aside a whole day to be at home as you will not be able to specify a particular delivery time. The tank arrived very well packaged, the tank and cabinet (flatpacked) were in separate boxes, and the tank had fine bubble wrap around it inside the box, and several layers of heavy duty bubble wrap around the box. APS were very helpful during the whole process, checking to see if I had been successful in scheduling delivery and also whether the tank arrived safely. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6139/5989852847_e3b775e53d.jpg The instructions that came with the tank were extremely basic, I am not sure if this is standard or not, but I was hoping for a kind of 'idiot-proof' step-by-step picture guide. The APS instructions are very brief and without pictures, but having put together lots of flat-pack furniture, the cabinet at least was fairly quick and easy to figure out ad put together. I did not delve to deeply into the instructions for the internal filter (again without pictures) as I had by this point decided I was probably only going to use the external. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6010/5989852605_9f856fb903.jpg Putting the tank on the cabinet was an experience with only 2 of us, it is a lot heavier than I anticipated - again, newbie!! I then proceeded with my 'goldfish-proofing' thanks to some super tips from Suey2! I found a able Tidy product for aquariums that consists of some brackets that attach to suction cups, and you clip your airlines and cables into them. I removed the suction cups and stuck them back to front (using the flat front surface) onto the inside of the tank using clear aquarium silicone, for my airlines to be secured into. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6023/5990411096_cdc9ca1994.jpg I also stuck down the 2 airstones with aquarium silicone, and weighed the airlines down with plant lead weights coiled around them. Suey2 suggested extra lengths of airline due to shrinking over time, to avoid them being pulled off as they shrink, so I have snaked plenty of length across the base of the tank before clipping them up the side into the cable tidy. There is also extra length between the air pump and the tank. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6021/5990410912_49021d6b2f.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6027/5990410704_22338f99f9.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6123/5989851745_bbbeb3f348.jpg I attached the inlet pipework suction cup holders in the gaps between the brackets to keep everything neat and tidy in one place, and it fits over the brackets perfectly - it is held far enough away from the side of the tank so as not to be pressing on the airline at all. I attached the spraybar at the opposite end, but have since reduced the length as it took up most of the length of the tank! http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6150/5990410280_033910bfb1.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6009/5990410124_550539ef36.jpg The hood of the tank houses the lights and internal top tray filter system. The back flap accesses the filter, and the front narrow flap is for general tank access, feeding etc. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6016/5989851163_502499e15f.jpg As I said I decided not to use the internal filter so did not go through the process of setting it up. I found the instructions slightly vague and it seemed a bit complicated, but again may have been the fact that I am very new to this. There are 5 boxes side by side on a sort of runner, so they can slide sideways a little. Each one has a hole at the right end (in the bottom box, the box inside it, and the lid and foam pad). The right most tray has a platform jutting out to the right that I think the powerhead clips onto. Each box has a removal box that sits inside it, with a grate-type lid to go on top. A thin foam pad (black) sits on top of the lid. When it arrived, there were two spray-bar tubes that sat on top of the foam pads running the length of the 5 boxes, and there was a bag of pipework joints that look like the connect the hole on each box to the next? This was as far as I got with figuring it out. If anyone wants more detail/more photos of this, send me a PM and I will try and put it together for you to see. The lid also has cutouts for external filter pipework, however, depending on the size of your pipework, it may not fit as the internal filter boxes partially block both holes. (The cabinet also has a hole cut out on one of the three back panels for external filter pipework, and as all three panels are the same size you could put this one at either end when building the cabinet, which is great!). http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6134/5990409748_c8143f15f1.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6022/5990409574_469c35049a.jpg In the end my wonderful OH unscrewed the left side panel of the hood and slid the left-most filter box out and re-attached the panel for me. With the extra space I was able to slide the remaining four boxes more into the centre leaving the cutouts clear from any blockages! The green pipework that runs between the external filter and the inlet and spraybar was very stiff when I unpacked it and it was tough to position it properly and get it through the hole After that it was just a matter of adding gravel and plants and filling up! http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6003/5989850613_c8ac56ef6f.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6145/5989850201_f5d2fc0274.jpg The tank had no leaks at all and the final stages of the set-up went really quickly :-) It is not solid oak or pine or anything fancy, but does not look cheap and nasty at all, it looks really nice all set up and my OH (a sceptic at best!) was also rather impressed given the price of these compared with the bigger names. Overall I am very pleased with the tank and I would highly recommend it! ALL POND SOLUTIONS EXTERNAL FILTER: 2000EF with 9w UV I ordered this filter with the tank, and as with the tank, it was also out of stock at the time (also clearly stated on the site). I guess they must be popular! It is quite a hefty sized filter, I am not sure exactly what I was expecting but I was very surprised at the size! http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6132/5990407396_2c66f8d397.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6010/5989848491_c0d8825f1c.jpg The instructions that came with the filter were a lot better than the ones for the tank and cabinet, colour pictures etc, which made it very easy to set up. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6129/5989848335_f2bb42eb51.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6029/5989848071_d50035c1a9.jpg When you remove the motor head (not sure if this is the right term) you see the media baskets lovered by a grate type lid. This version of the filter has 4 media baskets as opposed to the 1400EF version which has 3. The baskets are massive with tons of room for media - great for messy fish! The filter came with a poly foam pad in the bottom of each basket, with bioballs in one, ceramics in one, carbon in one and the last one empty. I have changed the set up to have Fluval pre-filter media in the bottom basket, all four poly foam pads in the next basket up, together with the sponges from my old tank that I added later just before I moved my fish across, then ceramic noodles (I did remove the bag they were in), then filter floss in the top basket. I did initially try to put the plastic bioballs in the bottom tray on top of the fluval pre-filter media, but after starting it up and getting major leakage I figued out that there was too much in the bottom basket preventing the motor head from sitting completely flush and sealing. After removing the bioballs I had no more leaking issues! So although there is tons of room, be careful not to overfill! http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6124/5989847857_c0621f41d5.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6131/5989847613_199179cda9.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6126/5990405986_87027f4808.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6126/5990405798_b9105171d3.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6001/5989846829_7feaf7f6ec.jpg The inlet and spraybar pipework comes in 4 sections each so the length is adjustable. I used the full length for the inlet but took 2 sections of the 4 out of the spraybar. Not sure if this has made the flow stronger or weaker - still learning so will play around and see! http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6123/5989846437_418425c6ec.jpg http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6123/5990404996_ff15977324.jpg There was adequate length of green pipe to reach where I needed it to, in fact I had to shorten it. It was really easy to attach and secure the green pipe at both ends and the tank has been running just over a week now, no leaks in the pipework. The black plastic parts (filter baskets, inlet and spraybar pieces etc) are not the strongest plastic I have ever come across, but as my arms are not the strongest either this shouldn't be a problem ;-). Basically, treat them gently and they are fine. The filter primed fairly easily (I think?) - I double checked all attachments then pumped for a bit on the blue button and hey presto, water came out of the spraybar! Apart from the bit of leaking when I filled the baskets too much, I have had no further issues since adjusting this and am very pleased with this filter. It is REALLY quiet and you don't really even know its on unless you have the cabinet door open. Despite its mammoth size it fits into the one side of the cabinet with room to spare. One happy tank owner who will definitely be using APS again!!