D.I.Y. "Bubble" Separator for Display Tank(with pi

[sammigold]

Hi everyone,

A community tank based on Discus is a beautiful thing.. but as we know these Kings of the Aquarium often have personality issues which mean Bullying!

Having tried everything to fix my discus heirachy issues, nothing seemed to work and my BD and BBT seemed to be constantly getting bullied resulting in skinniness and health issues so I had no choice but to separate them.

Initially I used that ugly green plastic trellis stuff.... see pic
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_3963.jpg

As you can see that is not very pleasing to the eye, and also stopped any other fish, other than my cardinal tetras, having access to that part of the tank.... so I racked my brain for a solution that would allow my other fishies full access and not interfere with the filtration of the tank and most importantly look acceptable and possibly artistic....

The result....My ..... "Bubble" separator
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4232.jpg

This is a step by step instruction on how to make it...

You will need:
A piece of Acrylic/perspex cut to size of the inside of the tank..
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4201.jpg

A Holesaw drill bit set (available at Bunnings for around $10)
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4205.jpg

A drill
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4206.jpg

A compass or circle stencils and pencil (forgot to take a pic. :lol: )

Step 1. Take your piece of Acrylic..place on a flat surface.

Step 2.
First you need to make sure that the hole sizes you choose will be large enough for the fish you want to allow through but still small enough to stop the fish you dont want to get through.... ie. my largest hole was 7cm in diameter which will allow my pleco access but still stop my discus from getting through as they are all above the 9 cm mark height wise.
(I have a juvie who is small enough to fit through but he is not bullied so that is ok)

Use your compass or stencils to draw your circles on the paper of the acrylic... (I used 4 different sized circles for design purposes, to give the impression of bubbles rising from the floor of the tank)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4204.jpg

Step 3.
Find a flat surface that you can put the acrylic on to keep it from snapping whilst you are drilling..(We used a large piece of pine on which we placed a thick piece of folded cardboard box)

Find the corresponding Holesaw bits to suit your circle sizes.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4208.jpg

Step 4.
Fit the Holesaw bit onto the Drill and start Drilling.. (We started with the smallest holes first, then did the 2 largest and then the medim holes... I don't know if it makes a difference)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4214.jpg

see a girl can do it too!!
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4216.jpg

Hint: Try to keep the drill pressure as even as possible so you don't get jagged edges on your holes and go slowly so that the acrylic doesn't melt...

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4215.jpg

Continue until all your holes are done...
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4217.jpg

Step 5.
Lightly sand the inside of the holes whilst the paper is still on the acrylic (so you dont scratch it) I used 1200grit wet and dry...its all I had on hand that wasnt so rough.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4218.jpg

Step 6.
Carefully peel the paper off...dont snap the acrylic by being to rough.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4219.jpg

Step 7. Rinse the finished product under hot water to get rid of any residue of glue, plastic etc.... and ....
Wallah!!! Its finished... (Hubby chopped my head off, but anyway... :roll: )
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4220.jpg

To put in the tank I just placed rocks strategically on either side to keep it in place and a small piece of blu tack at the top of the tank to keep it there.. If this fails as a means of keeping it in place then I will just bond two pieces of acrylic flat across the bottom to make it stand straight by itself..(The Playstation box stand theory) does that make sense..?

Anyway here are some shots of it in use...pardon the tanks state ..have a 2 year old with icky fingers and water change day is tomorrow.. but this will give you an idea...
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4227.jpg

My bolivian ram making use of the holes...
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a328/sammigold/100_4225.jpg

That is my "Bubble" Separator.

[Roy]

Nic work Sammi !
Where did you get the acrylic from ??

Roy

[sammigold]

I got it from a Plastic manufacturer...I just rang around and asked how much and when I could get it.. A place in Campbellfield charged me $10 and I could go and get it that day as they werent to flat out... I think the name of the place was Plasticut... They were also willing to cut the holes for me for an extra $20 as they said it can be hard to cut because of the brittleness of acrylic, but I thought I'd take a punt and it worked...

I think you can also buy perspex at Bunnings but its not cut to size.

[scott bowler]

thats great sammi good idea hope it works well for you scott

[wickedglass]

thanks, sammi,
I've been cutting glass panes and drilling holes in the glass just coz I could and I have some glass panels hanging around, but I'd say the perspex is much cheaper and convenient to use. And you made it look so funky and 60s, too ... looks like the credits from the avengers

I also use circular cuts of pvc flyscreen to silicone over the holes in my glass panels if I don't want other fish to go through the screen.

[sammigold]

Thanks Chris, that PVC flyscreen is a good idea, just what I need to use to stop my catties going down the pipes into the bottom of my backdrop..at them moment I'm using ugly green aquariam plant pots...

I originally wanted to use glass for this project but when I rang about getting glass cut and holes cut in it the guy quoted me about $110 (said It would cost minimum $5 per hole.) I made a joke about the irony of paying for nothing (a hole)... he didnt find it too funny... but he was the one who put me onto acrylic/perspex as an option... so I have to thank him for that. lol I was nearly going to buy tinted acrylic (how much more 60's would that have looked? hahaha)