Help with a developing idea!

[davito92]

I have been thinking about streamlining Betta keeping, and I have come up with an idea, combining my ideas with setups people already have.

A diagram

You probably have seen this basic design before, but I've added a bit of a twist. The grey bit is removable, meaning a powerhead can be placed at the bottom of the tank easily, which makes for effective waste removal. The waste falls though the bottom of the compartment, and the powerhead moves all the waste within reach of a tube leading to a filter (probably canister, or other type), then the spraybar adds the clean water back in. Turn the filter on for a few hours a day to clean the water. The only problems I can think of are keeping the water at an acceptable level, making sure that the power head isn't pushing too much water, forcing the water up where the tube is or forcing waste water back into the compartment with the Betta's, and the cost (time and money) of making this.

Please point out other problems, especially point out if someone else has had this idea, as I don't have the time to check all the threads on the forum, and I don't want credit for an idea someone else has had. I'm also a newbie at keeping fish, and have been unable to get my hands on any Betta's (can't justify cost of importing with risk of death, and lack of a desired Betta at local pet store), so I don't know of all factors of keeping fish, like keeping water conditions tolerable, or what filters will work better, etc.

[y2jdaze]

Well 1st thing once you turn a filter on it needs to stay on permanently, a couple hours a day won't do anything to actually make the filter work properly, it needs to be on 24/7 for the tank to cycle and build up the beneficial bacteria that break down all the ammonia and nitrites created by the waste.

The other thing you may want to consider is all the bettas sharing water. In my experience this is a bad idea but some have had no troubles with it. The thing about sharing water is that if one gets sick and dies there's a damn good chance all the others will as well. (especially if you have something nasty like columnaris). So you have to make sure any fish that go in have been quarantined and studied for any signs of illness before placed together with the others. You could get lucky and not have a problem at all or you could have tragedy like myself and lose them... I have a 12 bay barracks, it was unsealed allowing shared water... I lost probably 9 out of the 12 fish within the space of a month or so all from the same sickness. So it's definitely something to consider.

I'm sure someone else can give you more ideas :dontknow:

[Callatya]

UV Steriliser! I cannot stress this enough, you really need one on a barracks system, especially if you are bringing in new fish or have fish from mixed origins in your system. If it was just for raising things you'd bred, that'd be OK.

Looking at that setup, have you considered a UGF plate base and uplift tube as your intake? I'm not all that mechanically minded, but It could be an option.

I'd also think about having a back compartment to shove in some plants for waste management and hold your heater etc.? Or even maybe a front compartment for low-level plants and to hide all the doohickies under the grate? It wouldn't need to be too wide, but it could look interesting especially if you paired it with taller plants in the compartments (could be potted or on driftwood). If you make it large enough, it could also house females or juvies in the same system.

For me, purely for water stability, I'd definitely try and squish in some plants and gravel or other in-tank media for biofiltration purposes. It wouldn't need to be a lot as I'm sure you are looking for ease of cleaning in this design, but just something as a backup for the canister

Cost shouldn't be too bad Find a cheap or 2nd hand tank (try freecycle.org), use a UGF plate as your base (put it on lego stilts to fit your powerhead underneath) and set up dividers using old window or picture frame glass, plastic canvas, artists acrylic, gutterguard, or one of the other weird and wonderful things that keeps the boys from chewing each other. If the mock-up version works well (you are bond to find something that needs tweaking) then invest in better glass and materials. Excluding filtration and pumps, and assuming you bought the tank and filter plate new, I'd say you'd scrape in under $100.

[davito92]

Well, thanks for point out the flaws. Unfortunatly, I can't start even planing to create something like this till atleast the end of the year, being in year 10 is a drain, and I only expect it to get harder when I get a part time job. Hopefully by the end of the exams, I can get back into keeping betta's especially when I get some in from Thailand, and I really want to breed them (we seem to lack variety in Aus, my nearby pet stores rarely gets betta's and if they do, not great ones).

[Callatya]

Sounds like a plan

Do you have the tank you want to convert already or should we keep an eye out for a cheapie/freebie? :D