divided tank

[simple]

Ok, i figured that since my current octopus (abdopus aculeatus) currently resides alone in a 110 gal. tank that i could try and divide it and maybe have two octo's.
I want to divide it in a way that water will flow through but they cant see each other in order to keep them from stressing out from the site of another octpus, so this is what i came up with. Please any suggestions would be helpful. I dont plan on carrying this out for a while but it has been in the back of my head, so i decided to plan it out.

 

[Animal Mother]

Hmmm, maybe with black acrylic that has tiny holes for water movement... but they'd probably be able to sense each other if they were both on the divider. Be warned, could end badly.

 

[simple]

yea thats why i decided to use netting for flow then the black acrylic works to keep them from seeing each other, but theres a gap between each piece to allow water to move, and theres also a gab between the netting and the acrylic so there never within reach of each other. I also would cover the gaps between the acrylic with netting in two places for extra safety, so they should never even be able to notice that theres another octo nearby.

 

[OutlawBoater92]

Hey Simple,

I'm currently working on an octo-based research project, and we had a very similar problem. We divided the tank using custom-built dividers, and they seem to be working so far...
We started by ordering some fairly soft plastic sheets from an industrial supply company (McMaster Carr I think). We drilled countless tiny holes into two sheets of the same size, and then glued them together using three length-wise shims so that the holes were offset. This way, the water could pass through one of the sets of holes, into the interior space, and then out the other side. The larger bimacs we're keeping do investigate the dividers, but they don't seem to be too interested in trying to pass through. The dividers sit inside tracks we made that span the entire height and bottom length of the tanks, and they sit recessed again to make a seal that the animals can't slip through. We also bored out the holes to make a bit of a jet-effect, but the water seems to pass through them well enough. Just for good measure, we split the pump output hoses and included one "in" for each chamber.

Just a few thoughts, drilling all the uniform holes is a somewhat daunting task, but good luck!

 

[DWhatley]

There is a plastic "peg" board in both black and white available that would save you a lot of drilling and trouble. I have used it as peg board but not as a tank divider. It is not an acrylic and will need support to keep it from bending but a bottom and side track should work. We found a place on line that sells it in several sizes but I don't have the link. If you are interested in looking it up and can't find it, let me know and I will see if Neal remembers a name.

If you used the drilled wall, I would think two of your offset walls might be the way to go rather than the netting on one side.
I would recommend that you make both dividers removable, especially if you are using netting. I have used netting in my shrimp tank as a divider and it needs cleaning from algae build up and gunk more often than acrylic or plastic. Even with two plastic dividers, having them removable will make cleaning easier and allow you to remove one side without disrupting everything.