# General Topics > Plants, Plant Care & Plant Identification >  Dividing a Monster Macho Fern?

## Krispy

I have a macho fern we picked up early spring from lowes for $3.99 because they burnt it. 

Now, its so huge its retarded. How do i divide this monster thing up without killing it? Was going to divide it up between a few of the various vivs in the house. Was. 

Thing got so big it would eat an exo terra small.

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## bill

Depends on the species of Fern. Some are divisible by cutting of rhizomes, some by standard division. 


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## Krispy

Tig ol big ol sumbeach

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## bill

It's difficult to positively id it, but it appears as though it is in the nephrolepis genera (Boston ferns). You should be able to just divide it by cutting it into several pieces. I wouldn't go too small. Cutting it into quarters would be the safe bet. 


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## Krispy

The stupid tag says macho fern from costa farms and generic care. Its only in a 1gallon pot. So. Thinking maybe start with halfing it into 2 pots? 

Or build gigundo enclosures for the whites and my snake...

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## bill

Well, building bigger tanks is always my solution, but I am quite deranged lol. 

Halving it sounds about right if it's in a 1g pot. 


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## Krispy

Good to pick your brain man. What do you usually build with? Then what do you use to seal it water tight?

Stumbled across this odd PLASTIC blue plywood. 1/2in id say. Id swear its an old pool floor by the pattern and texture(1 side rough, 1 smooth). Odd stuff. Was thinking a good silicone(or glue?) job would do the trick. 

So far been making "tank extensions" or in other words my own taller lids to gain some size. But this will be for our 3 whites. The 2 girls are getting freaking massive. Passing baseball size up quickly. So their 29g home is quickly becoming a sick joke.

I'll post a pic in a few of this odd material. My phone and photobucket argue alot. Straight Talk is cheap, but a little tykes play phone gets better service lmao.

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## Krispy

Theres a few pieces of it.

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## bill

That looks like some stuff they used to sell back in the '80s as backing board for showers. Lol. 

Building materials depend on what I am building, obviously. I'm currently in the planning stages for a 8'x6'x5' indoor pond enclosure. I'm going to use 2x6 framing and 1/2 or 3/4 plywood. Sealing it will be accomplished with a few coats of Thompson waterproofer and then spar urethane with fiberglass mesh (not screening) as a strengthener as well as to help seal the corners. I would usually use marine epoxy, but since this will be a medium level humidity build, I don't have to go nuts. 

A note about sealing wood. Keep in mind that there is a huge difference between a sealer and a sealant. Silicone is a sealant. It only covers the material you are sealing. Since wood is porous, you need to use a sealer, such as urethane or epoxy. Something that will penetrate the pores of the wood and protect them. I have seen so many large scale builds eventually fail due to rotted wood because a sealant was used. Those folks just smothered the wood in silicone. That's fine for the surface, but water vapor gets everywhere, including behind silicone. 

Just a thought to keep in the back of your head while planning  :Smile: 


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## Krispy

Ahhhh, this is where i effed up then. We used rhino liner and flex seal. FLEX SEAL IS GARBAGE! especially the colored (non black). 

Thompsons water seal eh???? I have a router and whatnot also. Did you make a groove to interlock the pieces? The monsterfishkeeper guys yelled and said use fiberglass as well. 

Big pond man. Holy cow. I have 2 donors for your pond lol. Someone dumped off 2 red ear sliders (10 n 12in) both males, on my doorstep in a stainless steel pot. Literally. Knock knock, whos there, turtles and tail lights. All i have for them is a 40g tall. Its like a sick prison cell imo. 10g of water for every 1in of turtle.... 

At a loss with those guys(messy smelly bastards). They are a riot to watch though.

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## bill

Yeah, thompson's penetrates wood extremely well. It's a good last line of defense. Coupled with spar varnish (same stuff they use on cris craft wooden boats), it should provide plenty of waterproofing protection. At least in my application. 

I am not going to interlock the plywood. My plan is to have 4x4 posts at the corners, therefore, plenty of wood to adhered the background to. It should also provide a decent amount of stability for the background, which will be 2 sides and 4' above the pond. I don't plan on growing anything huge on it, so it should be plenty. 

Fiberglass is a must! I couldn't imagine building something like that without the added strength. Although, I do tend to over engineer things I build. Lol


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Krispy

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## bill

The turtles you can keep. Lol. While I think turtles are cool, I used to keep sliders and they are just as you said, dirty, nasty, smelly creatures. And besides, I'll be growing some rare crypts in the pond and I would really like to keep them in the pond, not in the turtles' bellies lol


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## Krispy

Lol point taken. Going to rummage what ive got left laying around here and see what happens. Still have a little better than half sheet of cabinet grade 1/2in somewhere and a ton of lexan pieces. 

Stupid turtles. I have to go to tractor supply soon and get a 150g stock tub. 

Im already quite familiar with spar. Making and re-doing outside door jambs, and refacing/finishing cabinets. Was worried about it eventually turning toxic over time with moist soil and plants growing in it. Fiberglass is a little out of my reach at the moment. So kinda chicken wingin it for the moment. 

Also considering being a cheapskate, taking a 40g thats been laying around and make it tall as humanly possible.  
Similar to the snake tank. Gained about 9in. For the plants and roaming purposes.


Thinkin maybe 2-3ft heigth is what i want. Just have to keep weight in the back of the cranium. See through doors are easy to make. Screen bottom few inches and the rest probably clear acrylic to save weight. 

Hmmph. Time to crack open another mason jar and start diggin around i guess. And possibly make a new thread. Idk.

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## bill

Fiberglass mesh is cheap and should be easily attainable at Home Depot, or lowes or any auto parts store that sells body repair products.  :Smile: 


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Krispy

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