My Rio 180 Betta Tank Journal... Pic Heavy...

looks great so far. great job on the stitching..what sort of thread or other material are you using to hold those together? if cotton thread, will degrade in a few months time..may lead to a weakness somewhere along one of the dividers and perhaps a fish will wriggle through. im sure you know how clever they can be and observant of everything...if they see a potential gap somewhere they might just try it an be successful..be a shame with some fish carrying the prices youve mentioned (not that a "cheaper" fish would make a difference, but somehow be an even worse shame if $60 worth of fish got mangled). so if you are using cotton thread, before you get too far along and seal everything up, look instead to sew them with something else...if you are uncomfortable putting synthetic materials in like some sort of plastic some other suggestions: fishing line (big enough needle and will be the same as thread..but harder to get tightened and stay tightened. some patience though and itd be great and last virtually forever. if thats too much trouble, plain waxed dental floss (no flavored, like mint or bubble gum) is perfect and will last a long time. or look for wool yarn or even hemp thread is a better, more long lasting material...im only mentioning it because i can see how much work it is..and how the tank will most likely be up and running a while (i couldnt imagine tearing down a build so labor intensive any time soon). just something to think about.
other than that. awesome! keep it up and the updates coming :)
cheers
 
looks very good lol the only prob i find with the larger grid is that all my bettas tend to sleep next to each other on it and they tend to nip each other through the mesh
 
thanks loraxchick, will have to check, i just grabbed the one i had! will look on the pack.

shame i have to pull one of the dividers down as its MAJORLY wonky :-(

will update again later :good:
 
got some bad news, i have to rip it all out and start again :-(

its all gone wonky, so i need to start again. am gonna highlight the lines outside the tank with a felt tip pen (removeable one obviously outside too) and lie it on its side.

am gonna do a side at a time to save it sliding.

am absolutely gutted to say the least.

with regards to the sewed bits, i used polyester, but as i'm taking it all apart i may as well unstitch them and use fishing wire
 
well, if you are happy with the stichinhg on the ones youve done, you can stick with the polyester. its a synthetic plastic like fishing line and will take ages to degrade. sorry about the set back. dont get too upset tho..you want to do it right the first time!
keep up the good work.
cheers
 
it is a huge pain to divide a tank. I tried to do a 10 gallon but massivly messed up with the silicone. It got everywhere it shouldnt and it turned into a huge mess...I got so angry I threw that tank out and just bought a new one.. You probably cant do that because your tank is much bigger and would cost lots to replace.

You have to be sooooooooo very careful with the silicone. Goodluck on your second try :) At least now you know what mistakes not to make :)
 
well, lets hope it does go better.

we plan on cleaning the silicone thats extra on the glass with a filleting knife, we did it last time, just the dividers went wonky.

so, today we totally cleaned out the tank and divided it again.

pics;

setting up the tank, used a lip liner to mark the tank on the outside to keep straight

DSC_0518.jpg


DSC_0519.jpg


DSC_0520.jpg


the tank as it stands;

DSC_0521.jpg


We are hoping to get the otherside on tonight too.

will keep you posted :good:
 
ty soph :D

and ty Betta_246, but acetone can strip paint off a car, surely its no good for a tank? (are you on post review as that post wasnt there last night)
 
ty soph :D

and ty Betta_246, but acetone can strip paint off a car, surely its no good for a tank? (are you on post review as that post wasnt there last night)


Nice work!

See the cats noseing around thinking "What on EARTH are they up to now :p"

aha

Keep up the good work!
 
Acetone's only nail varnish remover. It won't affect the glass. Love what you're doing with this tank and the fact that you're getting it so neat. I think bettas are such lovely fish they deserve beautiful tanks :)
 
ty soph :D

and ty Betta_246, but acetone can strip paint off a car, surely its no good for a tank? (are you on post review as that post wasnt there last night)

Re Q1.) as Ellena said, its fine, i used it on my betta tank too.
Re Q2.) No comment :/ :good:

and your Cats looks great! Hes inspecting and making sure your doing the tank just right!! :lol:
 

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