pros and cons of tank divider

[mikemou]

I have a 55 gal community tank - 7 danios and 2 algae eaters, with 2 albino tiger barbs mixed in there! I want to use a tank divider to seperate the barbs from the rest of the tank so I can get some colorful slow-moving fishes. I figure by doing this I can keep both semi-aggressive and community fishes in one tank, but would like to know any experience/advice/suggestions you have on using a tank divider?
THANKS!

 

[grimlock3000]

Can't you just trade in the two Tiger Barbs? Tank dividers can make your tank look ugly, create massive dead spots, and reduce the effectiveness of your filtration. If you have two filters on the tank, this will solve two out of the three problems presming you have a filter in each section.

 

[mikemou]

I like the barbs a lot and don't want to get rid of them.
Yeah I figured the impact on water flow. It makes the tank look ugly? Hmm.... that not good.

 

[TankGirl]

I agree that it would not be an esthetically pleasing option. You can certainly try getting more barbs, because their aggression is then confined to their ranks (for the most part) and they will pick on each other rather than the other types of fish.

Or you can just turn them in and concentrate on another "feel" to your tank completely.

 

[William]

Well, honestly.. It depends on how you do the divider.

Your typical mesh-tyepe or eggcrate type divider will look ugly.

but one of my LFS has their tanks devided with nice thick pieces of glass silliconed into place, and I must say that it looks quite nice.


They solve the deadspot and filtration issues by having each "section " having its own filter.


They did not seat the glass all the way to the glass bottom, tho. Its just below the gravel/sands surface so they can do a water change for the whole tank, instead of having to suck each pocket indevidually.

 

[Christmasfish]

The better a mesh allows waterflow the uglier it will be as far as a "natural look".
And the itty bitty holes in a flat piece style (that becomes opaque in time), are tiny and do not allow water flow, but do allow fungus, bacteria and algae a place to hide and anchor.
And the solid method, not only needs filtration for each side, but once you split the tank you need to start thinking stock in terms of what that half size is..
What can you fit in a 20 gallon with a extra bit? What is the horizontal surface so far as preventing aggression? (do 55 use height for more than 1/3 the gallons?)

We have dividers for breeder bettas. 3/10 gallons. 3 fish in a 10 gallon doesn't need calculation. and bettas are not sensetive to less oxygen and current as a barb might be.
*edit typos

 

[QTOFFER]

Here is a pic of my 15 gal betta tank with two dividers. As you can see, I have two filters in the tank - since it's a betta tank, there really is no current anywhere . I siliconed the green runners to the side of the tank and slid the mash between them. The heater is in the middle chamber and I haven't noticed any temperature fluctuations between the three chambers.