Cycling Small Tank

So some friends of mine just got a betta. They have the poor thing in a 1/2 gallon container. I told them in the nicest way possible that it wasn't big enough. That they would have to change the water every couple days and it most likely would never cycle.

It got me thinking, how small of a tank can you actually get to cycle? I've seen people say they can get a 1 gallon to cycle, but idk about that. I have an old 3 gallon that is what my angelfish came in when he was a baby. You guys think it would be possible to get a 3 gallon to cycle?

Because I really want their betta to have the best chance at life. So I feel like the nicest way I can do that is to set up and cycle a tank for them, then give it as a gift. That way there would be no excuses for putting the betta in a bigger tank.

I ask about a 3 gallon because I have one already. But if it will be impossible to get a good cycle going on a tank that small, I can probably find a used 5 gallon for pretty cheap.

Thoughts? Tia.

 

You can cycle tiny tanks. It's just that it's harder to control water parameters in tiny tanks, and the waste builds up faster (not to mention that there's not enough physical space for the fish).

 

Yes I know it is harder to maintain a smaller tank than a larger. I just wondered if it was even possible to cycle one so tiny. Lol!

As for the size, they are limited on space. Well, kind of. I'm sure they could make space for a larger tank. I'm just not sure they would. And as I'm going to gift this to them, I don't want it to be too difficult for them to find a place for. Plus cost is a factor, and I've already got everything for the 3 gallon. Or it could all be used for a 5 gallon if I could find one cheap.

And I've seen numerous places that the smallest tank one should house a single betta in is a 2.5 gallon. I personally think that is still too small. My betta is in a 10 gallon, and I'm about to move him to a 20. Lol!

But I feel like just about anything would be better than the tiny 1/2 gallon this betta is in. And time is kind of a factor here, because the longer I wait, the more the risk that their betta dies.

 

In theory if they made a filter small enough you could cycle the little cups that some bettas come in.

 

In theory if they made a filter small enough you could cycle the little cups that some bettas come in.

Have you seen the tiny little tetra 1-3I air pump powered filters? I have 2 of them and I'm going to turn them into essentially canister filters. Well, with the small space I have to work with inside them, it might be more like glorified sponge filters. Lol! But if I can get some of the small pieces of lava rock that I use as media in the larger tetra internals I've converted, to fit inside these little filters, I think it would help speed up the cycling process.