Attaching A Divider To Tank Question

[starlitsunrise]

Good morning (or night depending where you are) everyone,

Yesterday I divided my 10 gallon tank with a diy plastic canvas divider and put my bettas on either side. It seems to be holding well but it is causing me to worry that they will find a way around it since it is not actually secured in place.

I wanted to know if it is safe or even possible to use aquarium silicone to secure plexiglass in a tank that is in use? I know I would need to take out my fish and the water but I'm worried about the biological bacteria in the sand and the plants etc. What steps should I take to not lose bio bacteria and to make sure the silicone cures properly?

I want to attach two pieces of plexiglass a few inches apart so I can put my heater in between them (as another member suggested on a different post)

Thanks

 

[Akasha72]

hi, I divided a small breeding tank a couple of years ago (I used a glass pane but I don't see how it matters) I used aquarium silicone and I can tell you that the glass needs to be completely dry and you also need to allow 48 hours for it to dry before re-filling with water. Hope that helps  

 

[attibones]

If you remove the substrate (and you should for this sort of project), all you should need to do is fill a bucket or something with the substrate and add some water. If you want, you can add an airstone, but this may not be necessary for just a few days. The bacteria in the substrate should be all right in a bucket of treated water. Once you've got the tank divided and settled, add the substrate to the original tank. If you have lost some bacteria, it really won't be that big of a deal because you're only looking at two betta fish which really have a small bioload. Your filter should be fine enough to handle the loss of any bacteria from the substrate.

 

[starlitsunrise]

Thank you for both of your replies. I feel more comfortable doing this now.