Building a Betta Barrack

[BillysBettas]

Hey All,

I have had a succeful spawn and am thinking i will need something to house them in in a few months time, I want to build a betta barrack, i have looked at purchaisng them but are quite expensive, I want something to hold around 30 Bettas and i want substantial space for each of them also what it all to be on the same heating, and filtration system, I have searched heaps on google but cant seem to come up with many concepts. As i am just setting out i wondered if anoyone had any links to good sites or personally anything they would like to share or if any of you know anybody in perth that would help advise me on how to egt started, I would like to put alot of time and effort into creating a good quality barrack that is easily maintainable and a great home for my betta, so any information would be greatly appreciated

Kindest regards,

[gulp]

Try searching betta barracks on youtube, I have found quite alot of info on there. Thats if you have access to youtube...

Otherwise, if you look through all of the DIY threads you are sure to find alot of different ways on building a barracks. There are a number of posts on the topic, maybe do a search? Goodluck!

[BillysBettas]

Thanks i can only open youtube for 2 hours a day between 12-2:00pm but having a quick look now, looking through DIY threads as i put this post up i did a search but not much came up thanks :)

[Bettarazzi]

You're never going to find something that exactly fits what you have in mind because everyone will build their DIY barracks to suit their particular needs. So you just need to get pen and paper out and start designing. If you give us more details about what you're having trouble with we can help you solve those issues. At first glance I would have thought that the basic principle of any barracks would suit. You just need a sump at the bottom which will hold filter media, heaters and a pump that will pump water up to the top row of tanks then an overflow system that returns it via gravity back to the sump below.

Here's a video of my system. You could use the same principle just tweak a bit by using larger containers and a slightly different overflow system.

[paul]

Hey, while watching Michael's vid I saw these clips also. Step-by-step instructions. I guess you could adjust per your needs/wishes, but really good starting point:

The third part is here: part3, but can only attach 2 vids.

Paul

[BillysBettas]

Thanks Guys I love this sight ,

For some reason i cant view those videos im so close to getting internet at home, cant wait ,

I have taken pencil to paper, Well the aquaone betta barrack cubes are 100x100x150mm i wanted soemthing similar just on a Larger scale so i was thinking say 250Wx200Hx150W Cubes 10 in arrow and 3 rows high, I am thinking very much like you said "sump at the bottom which will hold filter media, heaters and a pump that will pump water up to the top row of tanks then an overflow system that returns it via gravity back to the sump below" As im only new to the hobby i dont have to much knowledge on this sort of thing (Have signed up at tafe to do Aquotics and Marine Science for more insight to the whole hobby so excited ), and have been travelling around to LFS just about everyday to try and see one in Person so i can establish a better idea of materials and how it all works etc but people arnt very big on Bettas in Perth and very few around that i know of anyway.

Kindest Regards,

[delyall]

Im afraid I cannot help with such a large betta barracks, my largest one can hold about 6-10 males, but its very much more a display tank

Id say with the tank size you want, your going to need a very big, very strong shelf/stand I personally really do like bettarazzis setup *jealous*

May I ask why '30 bettas'? It just seems like quite a lot :blush:

[Bettarazzi]

Pfft! How can you have too many bettas?

Billy-Jo, are these containers going to be glass? Will you be building them yourself? Or getting them made for you?

[BillysBettas]

Im spewing i missed getting on youtube at lunch "damn the old lady sitting behind me at work and ausaqua not being related to accounting in any way" will definately be on today to view your videos since they sound very interesting, Yeah my BF is going to build me a really nice jarrach stand(cupboard type thing) quite heavy duty he and his friend (french polisher) said that he is willing to help make a really nice finish on it, i really wanted glass but my BF things that plastic(perspex) will be better, im not really sure to be honest i just think glass looks nicer and would be easier to keep clean, Im doing some research at the moment pricing and if it would be cheaper to make it myself or have it made i asume it would be quite time consuming though and maybe worth paying extra to have them made, In just over 2 months of buying my first ever fish(Betta) having it die in 4 days due to it starving itself to death, so i did heaps of reserach now i have now about 15 Bettas all in various tanks all over the house(so unpractical), a tank full of various tropical fish, my first spawn at 1 week 2 days old and today my second spawn just hatched (My BF is going crazy)and i feel that i need something quit large to put them all in so that i can view them and enjoy them all and is more convenient to maintain, and i am really against really small tanks i really want them to have substaial space each and i have also found a few more bettas that i would like to purchase and my BF says i canthave any more untill i have a home for them all , so thats my reason for building such a large scale betta barrack.

Kindest regards,

[BillysBettas]

Just watched all videos in this Topic Thanks heaps guys very helpful, i feel like iv gained heaps from that i wonder why i couldnt find that vidoe the other day when i was looking thanks Paul and bettarazzi :)

[delyall]

True true, no such thing as too many bettas

@billysbettas Oh, I didnt realise you already had so many A large barracks will definitely be needed, at least to just save on heating and filter costs for all the lil' tanks

I think youve got some great ideas here, its definitely making me want to look into making one <_<

[BillysBettas]

Hehe they are so amazing i just cant decided which ones are my favourites

I think aswell that im running out of power points i have cabels running all over my house, power boards, double adapters and BF thinks im going to start a fire (I hope not),so trying to minimise this.

Well once i get a camera i can load some pics up of my fish, setups, and future building of my Betta Barrack, atm i cant seem to figure out how to send a photo from my phone to the computer i dont think i can with the phone i currently have its quite frustrating.

Thanks i hope to show everyone once i put my ideas into practice :D

[Bettarazzi]

A few things I think you might consider:

• perspex scratches easily but is easy to drill and attach plumbing to
• glass is more sturdy, doesn't scratch as easily, drilling is more difficult but not impossible
• the size of the tank that you're planning is large enough to fit a small sponge filter so you could do away with the sump and just plumb the tanks to make water changes easier

[delyall]

But with a sponge filter in each tank, and no sump, then heating will be a problem.. hmmm :book:

[Bettarazzi]

You can heat multiple tanks by running reptile heating cords underneath them.

[delyall]

Oooh! I didnt even think of that, very clever That solves my jarred-fry heating questions :P

[louu]

This is making me curious myself but I am wondering if a reptile cord would be dangerous with the water around if you slop some during water change?? I suppose many of those reptile boxes are humid and everything poops and pees but would it handle some spilt water?

[Bettarazzi]

The kind I use is waterproof. It seems to be the most common kind. I've used them completely submerged.

[BillysBettas]

thanks Bettarazzi

I have decided to go with Glass,definately something to think about a small sponge filter i am drawing a to scale concept pic at the moment to upload for you guys should be done in abot 2-3 days or so, its looking really good cant wait to get your opinions.

Havent been able to find someone that stocks the reptile cords so i can have a look at them will it have the same heating effect if i sit them in a plastic sleeve flush with the shelf about 3cm deep with a a layer of grating about 5mm thick on top then having all the tanks sitting directly on the grating? Also just in general how much heat will the produce to the tank? do they have temperature control?

something similar to this sort of concept and having the cord run under the grating but im going to cutom make it myself alot smaller plastic and thinner gratting, also i will have the bottom layer of the plastci sleeve slightly angled down a pipe through the cabinet so that any spilt water during changes can easily make its way out.

http://www.stockgap.co.uk/html/polychannellr.jpg

Thanks Guys,

[Bettarazzi]

This came up when I typed "reptile heating cord" into Google

[BillysBettas]

Thanks Very Helpful, will be loading pics soon :D

[Bec]

The kind I use is waterproof. It seems to be the most common kind. I've used them completely submerged.

Do you mean you put it in the water?

[Bettarazzi]

Yep. They can be used in or out of water. I use them dry under small tanks and beanie boxes and wet in my drip system. I've also used them to warm the water in my ageing bucket. They're basically just a wire completely sealed in rubber.

[Sarah]

Always thought they go UNDERNEATH. Thanks for that Mike!