namehater

well, after a few weeks of flapping my jaws, i finally did it! it was pretty hard work making use of what few tools i had around the house, but i think it turned out very well for my first DIY.





notice in this picture how i ran a divider between the intake/output on the filter to promote circulation throughout the tank

CHoffman

Looks like it turned out pretty good...Great job..Now for the betta's.

agabr123

looks great! can't wait for the bettas!!!

aquarist48

Nice job!

namehater

thanks everybody, it took forever, all the holes had to be drilled and everything.

navyscuba

Great looking tank.

MeGustaUnaPez926

Hey, looks good! When are you getting fish?

namehater

i added the betta that had been living in my 29g this morning along with some seeded media and decorations. i just got back from my LFS, my wife picked out her own betta. once we got home we got him acclimating and we redid the gravel in each section so they are different, we got them all decorated. right now the new guy is exploring his new home and my old betta is making buddies with a big pond snail.

i think im going to keep african dwarf frogs in the middle section, im going to research their needs right now

agabr123

congrats!!! can't wait for new pics

namehater

i may try and get some pictures taken tonight, depending on how the new guy is feeling.

i have a concern with the tank tho, im trying to come up with a way to check the water flow between the sections. in theory, the tank should flow in a counter-clockwise direction through each of the sections, but how do i check to know for sure?

im worried that since i didnt silicone the dividers in that the back chamber is just circulating in itself and the front 3 chambers arent getting a 'clean' water flow.

think i could just dangle a piece of string in each section and see if its moving?

aquarist48

Great job!

Autumn8504

What did you use to make the dividers? I was thinking about doing something similar. You could probably test it with string or perhaps a piece of moss?

namehater

i thought that it was acrylic when i started the project, but after i burned out my dremel tool on it i decided that it must be something a little tougher, maybe its plexiglass? either way making the dividers would have been the same process.

i did notice after a few days that i could grind up flakes and sink them to watch the circulation, its not near as much as i would like tho so im contemplating adding maybe a very small powerhead to increase the movement. i could probably use one size up on the filter to accomplish the same thing tho. i might give that a try instead.

im also trying to come up with a good method for vacuuming the rocks in each section, the only thing that i have come up with is to stir the gravel and release all the yuk, then use a cup to dip water out. its not very efficient and i dont like clouding the water up with trash tho.

Suave

try something like this. It's pretty cheap and it works well. I have one and I used to use it all the time on my 5g. Mr. Cleaner

Lucy

How tall is the tank? If it's too tall they might have trouble getting up for air.
ADF's like horizontal swim room to stretch their flippers.

namehater

that cleaner is cool! ill have to start up another order with them i guess lol

i believe the glass is 13" tall, just going off memory. i run the tank about 2" low and have about 2" of gravel. if my memory is correct, that gives them 9" of water. ive kept ADF's in this same tank before, when it was an open tank and they never seemed to move around, they were always swimming up to the surface and then resting on the gravel bottom

Lucy

Wow, it looks taller than 13".

Sharkitty

So how is it going with your tank now? What is the final result? Pictures?

namehater

ill see if i can find some pictures of it currently.

it seems to be functioning perfectly well. ive had the tank set up like this for a few months now with no loses so apparently there is enough 'flow' between all the sections. my 2 betta boys are making their weekly bubble nests, so no complaints from them. i did take the two dwarf frogs out and put them in my 29g community tank, they didnt seem to have enough room.

i will be tearing the tank down pretty soon. i bought each of the betta's their own 10g, they seem a little cramped to me.

Sharkitty

Aww, yay for your boys!

namehater

heres a pic right after i redecorated their sections

bolivianbaby

That looks awesome!

Sharkitty

Cute!

namehater

well, i got the 10g's today, im pretty amazed at how short they were! it looks like the same footprint as my 14g, just shorter. cant wait to get them set up, im sure the bettas will love that much room