Betta Rack Filtration System

[e_watson09]

Hello everyone!

I am in the process of building my fish room and making it easier to deal with. First step is the bettas. I have a rack system currently housing some adult bettas while they're quarantined (they're moving to divided tanks after) then I plan to use the rack as a grow out for my betta babies.

I originally planned to build a sump using a trash can having water overflow from the 1g jars down PVC into a trashcan sump system then get pumped back into the jars as a constant recirculating system. I am now debating how to build this filter. Originally I was going to make it a more standard sump but now I am debating if I can just use a large sponge filter in the trash can and then maybe be able to put a breeding colony of shrimp in the trash can or use it as a grow out for some of my mystery snails.

Do you think just putting a big sponge filter in there would be enough? It'll end up ultimately having ~36 jars on it but the trash can it 30g or bigger I can't remember exactly so it'll be filtering roughly 50g of water.

 

[Flyfisha]

jumbo sponge filter

Ocean Free Junior Jumbo Sponge Filter for up to 680l Tanks

In term of filtering 50 gallons with one sponge filter that is no problem at all. They come in many sizes, some of which can be used for much bigger tanks.
You would be better to have two or three large sponge filters in any set up . One that was cleaned last month one that is going to be cleaned next month and one you just cleaned. I use 4 jumbo sponge filters in 4 separate 55 gallon tanks but also run Hang on backs, box filters, modified ziss filters and a couple of standard sized sponge filters in all tanks. Sure the hang on back is technically big enough on its own? But I hope you get my point on cleaning with obsolescence?

Having seen a sump system working for half a fish room there is one big draw back . Should you need to medicate you are treating every tank in the system. Should one new fish have ich all the tank get it. Don’t let me put you off the idea of doing it that way . You would not be wasting much money medicating 30 or 50 gallons anyway it’s just the cross contamination thing to think about.

A second point is the hormones from male betta.
I don’t claim to be any kind of expert but some people say they would know there was other males in their water. Leading to stress they say?

I can 100% guarantee you will end up stocking any sump.

Are you familiar with LRBs wall of tanks he had in his old house with a 55 as a sump? A link.

At the 44 second mark

My suggestion would be to have a 10% change of fresh water every day not to use any of it again as per how Michael fish room has his set up . A link.

The king of mulm.

I have a 60 litre / 15 gallon rubbish bin with a submersible pump as my waste water drain (sink ) but don’t have an auto anything .

 

[e_watson09]

jumbo sponge filter

Ocean Free Junior Jumbo Sponge Filter for up to 680l Tanks

In term of filtering 50 gallons with one sponge filter that is no problem at all. They come in many sizes, some of which can be used for much bigger tanks.
You would be better to have two or three large sponge filters in any set up . One that was cleaned last month one that is going to be cleaned next month and one you just cleaned. I use 4 jumbo sponge filters in 4 separate 55 gallon tanks but also run Hang on backs, box filters, modified ziss filters and a couple of standard sized sponge filters in all tanks. Sure the hang on back is technically big enough on its own? But I hope you get my point on cleaning with obsolescence?

Having seen a sump system working for half a fish room there is one big draw back . Should you need to medicate you are treating every tank in the system. Should one new fish have ich all the tank get it. Don’t let me put you off the idea of doing it that way . You would not be wasting much money medicating 30 or 50 gallons anyway it’s just the cross contamination thing to think about.

A second point is the hormones from male betta.
I don’t claim to be any kind of expert but some people say they would know there was other males in their water. Leading to stress they say?

I can 100% guarantee you will end up stocking any sump.

Are you familiar with LRBs wall of tanks he had in his old house with a 55 as a sump? A link.

At the 44 second mark

My suggestion would be to have a 10% change of fresh water every day not to use any of it again as per how Michael fish room has his set up . A link.

The king of mulm.

I have a 60 litre / 15 gallon rubbish bin with a submersible pump as my waste water drain (sink ) but don’t have an auto anything .

This primarily would be used for growing out bettas. Basically from the time they need to be separated from the rest of their spawn until they go home. Most breeders cup them at this point and do daily water changes on cups. I'm hoping to find a way to filter the water (and heat it for that matter) to give them the best living conditions as possible. Plus then I could water change directly from the trash can versus 36 individual tanks to make the process a little easier. Ultimate goal is to do away with buckets as much as possible, I can't get rid of them completely but this will be a start. I can turn off the pump to the fish so its not pushing any water into the jars, use a pump to remove some water from the trash can straight into the sink, then using a python hose pump it directly into the trash can at the proper temp, add water conditioner then restart the system.

I have thought about the illness issue. So again these will primarily be used for baby fish from the same spawn from my own fish room so they would already have been sharing water but say I need to medicate I could pull one off the system and throw a small sponge filter in the individual tank if needed, or as you mentioned about 50g really isn't a huge deal in terms of medication cost. Not ideal to have to treat the whole thing but it is do-able.

I'm only using it to quarantine right now because I just imported 14 fish at once and this was the best way I could quarantine this many fish. They are getting daily water changes and are kept in a warm room to keep temp up and they're not currently on a filtration system at all at this point. Very soon they're going to be going in 20g long tanks divided up (multiple tanks not all of them in one lol) with multiple filters inside the tanks.

 

[Flyfisha]

Yes a sponge filter will do all the biological filtration you need. A sump system you describe will not remove solids from the small containers ( mechanical filtration) .

Changing water in cups.
I was amazed to see first hand how fast it can be done.
A plastic take away container has the lid clipped on permanently . There is a 1/4 inch hole in the lid. In one movement the cup is squeezed into an empty bucket and placed in a full bucket as the squeeze is released. Each container takes a few seconds to remove the water and solids then suck up fresh water.

I can see by your reply you have given the fish room a lot of thought. I look forward to seeing your progress.
You don’t mention if you follow LRB ? Learning from other peoples mistakes makes following others worth the effort. He acknowledges even after years of building projects he mistakenly used the wrong silicone for his first stage of the wall project.

Oh what fun we have.