DIY large divided betta tank

I am in the process of designing a permanently divided tank for my breeder kids. I am thinking of either 1 tank that is 10 feet long or 2 tanks that are 5 feet long. I was thinking of 12 inches high and 12 inches wide. There would be a 2-3 inch space in the bottom for the heater and filter intake with the outflow going into a pipe that has drop tubes going into each section. I am looking at 30 separate compartments.. or 15 to a 5 footer. I plan to drill many small holes in the bottom of each section and in the permanent dividers between each section, and paint each divider... But not the bottom... With some aquarium paint so there is less fighting and flaring between neighbors... Anyone have any suggestions or ideas on ways to get this done or maybe to improve on the idea??

 

Critter, I don't think you were on the forum when I had my 35 divided breeder tank...It was a pain in the rear! If one fish had a problem they all got it! This tank was a breeders dream......It was a 35 gallon custom made acrylic tank divided 14 ways....I kept my females in it.....

Long story short I ended up selling it and going back to the safest way to keep Bettas....Their own tanks and a lot more water changes lol

Good luck!

 

No I hadn't heard about that one...I was just thinnking if I had a custom divided, I could cut down on the number of filters and heaters..ect. My other half is really getting on me about the electric bill! Do all of yours have their own heaters and filters? I can't even imagine your electric bill!! LOL! Mine was almost $600 this month!

 

Sounds like a nice tank and layout... But as Martinismommy said, there'll be a big headache if one fish has a problem.

Critter, I don't think you were on the forum when I had my 35 divided breeder tank...It was a pain in the rear! If one fish had a problem they all got it! This tank was a breeders dream......It was a 35 gallon custom made acrylic tank divided 14 ways....I kept my females in it.....

Long story short I ended up selling it and going back to the safest way to keep Bettas....Their own tanks and a lot more water changes lol

Good luck!

I don't think I was here either when you had it.. or was I? I'm curious though, what happened to your females?

 

Just minor problems...Fin issues and they were always jumping into their roomates quarters....I have NO idea how they did it either! Also, I had a problem with slime building up on the surface even though I had a rena start canister filter running on this tank....

Here is the tank..

 

wow...that is pretty close to what I had in mind...maybe I should do a little rethinking!!

 

Hmmm... I don't know if it's possible critter but do you have a separate room for your Betta's? It might be more cost effective to just to buy a (large) space heater and heat a room up for them. I know that isn't an option for me (renting a basement and all) but I know some Canadian breeders who have a "Betta Closet" that they heat. Another option might be to have a large cabinet or other enclosed space and heat the interior of that instead...

However I do like the idea of the divided tank Just giving you some alternatives.

 

I had actaully thought of building a large cabinet but couldn't figure out how to heat it!! LOL!

 

I believe that there are heating coils to put under the tank to radiate heat. Reptile/amphibian keepers use them....but, not sure of the cost/wattage.

 

One option would be to heat it with lights.
I toyed with this but I don't have the space for it in my place.
If you insulate the cabinet well you could use either radiant heaters or a series of incandescent bulbs (under each shelf) to heat the tanks below. You can also use heat lamps. The trick would be setting up a "temperature gauge" that would turn the lights on and off to maintain the heat levels.
I didn't run full out with the idea but it might help you out. I know that you can heat dog houses with incandescent bulbs...

 

I think we have decided to build me my very own fish room! It will have independent heating and cooling so no more tank heaters! He is even going to set me up a storage tank for water so it will be the exact same temp as the fishy water for my water changes!!! And OHH the shelving I have in mind!!!

 

wow. just....wow.

 

I think we have decided to build me my very own fish room! It will have independent heating and cooling so no more tank heaters! He is even going to set me up a storage tank for water so it will be the exact same temp as the fishy water for my water changes!!! And OHH the shelving I have in mind!!!

Sounds very good! drool Can he build me one too? Hoping to see some photos of your fishy room when it's done. Best of luck!

 

Whoo!!!
After all the research I've been doing building and heating a separate space (ie fishroom) seems to be the best way...
To bad that's not an option for me
Can't wait for pics Critter

 

I will absolutely be taking a LOT of pics...the only down side to this is while I love the man dearly, he may have great ideas but getting him up to put them into motion is another thing entirely!!

 

I've got a stock prod kicking around here Let me know if you need me to ship it down Or you could try saying that the sooner the room is done and the fish are moved the sooner he can have a plasma tv or something ROFL

 

I was thinking along those lines exactly!!!

 

The stock prod or the tv?

 

BOTH...LOL!! I don't think the tv would work but maybe a weekend retreat with just the guys would...oh yeah, a weekend without any of the kids would do the trick I think!!

 

Haha