Betta Tank for 6 ..err make that 8 Betta Buddies

[SRC]

I've looked and looked for some nice Betta tanks to house my boys in my office..to no avail.

So, I decided I was going to make some individual tanks, but that was just going to take way too much plexiglass..and there wouldn't be enough water in each tank (at approx 1.5 gallons each) for a filtration system and heater (even if I could there'd be wires running everywhere..not good or professional looking imo). I'm also limited on teh amount of space I have curretly (I'm going to place them on top of my hutch over my desk...yes it will be re-inforced with 2 support braces underneath ..hehe)

So I start searching around for a way to house my boys, as having 5 currently and 2 more on the way...I've been spending way too much time changing water 1-2 times a day (I have a couple of dirty little boys who sometimes need it done 3 times daily..little scoundrals lol).

Of course, here again I find the solution (I this site btw lol) and go about drawing up the plans for my new tank.

I'd like to get some opinions, if I may from people who might have done the same (which is why I put it in the Betta section, but if it's not in the right section...please do place it where it needs to be ).

It's going to be 22 1/8"L x 12"W x 10"H.

The individual bays will be 3 1/2"L x 9"W x 10"H.

There will be a 22 1/8"L x 3"W x 10 1/2"H section in the back (behind the individual bays) to house the 10-20 gallon Whisper 20 Aquarium Tank Power Filter and 75 watt heater.

The back wall (which will be one solid piece for the back of the bays) will have a 1/4" strip routered out down the middle, and (6) 1/8" holes drilled on either side of that strip..to let the water and heat flow freely (the bay walls will be solid).

The partions for each bay will be of 1/8" thick clear plexi and have a bracket so that I can slide a piece of white plexi in to *divide* so that I can remove it at random to allow the fish to exercise with each other (flaring).

These are not true to scale, but give a good representation of what the tank should look like.

I figure this way the filtration will cut down the daily cleaning..to nothing more then gravel vaccuming and 25% water changes as I vaccum gravel maybe once a week or so, or if it gets dirtier sooner.

What do you guys think?

 

[AlexsDaddy]

3.5 inches might be a little tight for the boys. I like the idea for the filter bay though. I had thought about making something similar to your setup minus the filter bay. The set up that I had thought of would have a trough that goes from the filter end of the tank to the other to take the filtered water back toward the other end, with holes drilled in the trough over each bay so they all are getting freshly filtered water, and holes in the dividers so the water can flow through back to the filter on the other end.

 

[SRC]

Well I remeasured my desk (I"m sure everyone who walked by thought I was absolutely out of my gourd lol) and found that if I take an inch off the width and scoot the tank back an inch..I can fit 6 bays (instead of 5) of 4" wide each.

Awesome!!! (I think 4" wide is plenty because the beanie boxes I have are a good width, just not deep enough for a good romping swim..you know.)


*********
Hopefully you will come back to this thread, so I'm gonna ask a question or two of you.

How did you drill the plexi without cracking it?

Did you drill it with or without the paper backing still on?

How did you sand down the edges?

And did you do any of it with it wet, or was it all dry?

Thanks in advance.

 

[bshockstubb]

Save your self the time and money an go to wal-Mart and buy and Aquaview for 10 bucks. Comes witha UGF, plant, hood w/ light pumb, airstone ect. best deal around...so for 60 bucks you can get all that...save your self from well all that work....thats just personally what I would do

 

[AlexsDaddy]

Hopefully you will come back to this thread, so I'm gonna ask a question or two of you.

How did you drill the plexi without cracking it?

Did you drill it with or without the paper backing still on?

How did you sand down the edges?

And did you do any of it with it wet, or was it all dry?

Thanks in advance.

You got questions, I got answers .

1. When I drilled the plexiglass, I used very very very light pressure (so light I was barely touching the plexiglass), very slow speed, and a brand new drill bit. If you are drilling bigger holes, start off small, and work your way up useing extremely light pressure every time.

2. Drilled it without the backing on, but I am sure it would work just as well with it on.

3. I used a utility knife to get the big stuff off, then used a very fine grit sand paper to smooth it down.

4. I did it all dry.

You could save yourself a lot of money by doing what bshockstubb suggested, but then you wouldn't get the satisfaction of doing it yourself, plus you get to have it just the way you want it. Plexiglass thick enough to support a tank that size is expensive. Hope this helps!! Good luck with your project!

 

[SRC]

I've already got the plexiglass ordered, I'm just waiting on it to arrive. I got all the plexi I need (1/4" for the walls, and 1/8" for the bay walls, and 1/8" white for the dividers), plus they are going to cut the sheets for me (for free btw) before they ship it, shipping price, and the acrylic sealant (that welds it) for the low low price of $80 on Ebay.

Ebay really kicks tail on all kinda stuff...you'd really be surprised what all you can buy on that place lol. What's funny is, people who sell plexiglass on ebay will list one kind...but stock many other sizes/types/colors. Never hurts to ask for something else.

It's not so much getting the satisfaction of making it myself as it is just that I think it will work out alot better in the long run.

With a tank I would buy already made I'm limited on how many fish I can put in there, the heating methods, and filtration methods, and the sizes (as I'm having to make this to fit the top of my desk).

Thanks for the tips on the plexi. I'm gonna practice that on some before I go drilling what I get though. Just to be safe, don't wanna ruin the peices that are pre-cut for me.

 

[Texaswoman]

Another idea, even though you are already going with the plexiglass is to use the cross stich plastic meshing that you can get at hobby lobby, Wal-mart for about 25-40 cents a sheet. I used these and the spines from report covers and divided a 10 gallon into 4 partitions for my boys. You could divide it in half again longways to have 8 partitions, but I didn't want it that tight. No drilling, just measure and cut the pieces and glue into your aquarium. go to www.deepbluebettas.com and you can find an article to build one of these.

 

[SRC]

Well I finally got my plexiglass, and after having to trim some off the ends of numerous pieces...I finally got it together in a dry fit!!!!!

Now I just gotta build a jig so I can get my bay walls placed correctly...drill holes int eh iner back wall...and weld it all together...YAY ..I can't wait..I'm so excited to get it finished, cycled, and see my fish in it.

I think I'm even gonna buy a laminator so I can make backdrops for each bay.

 

[newfishies]

that's gonna be go cool!

you can buy self adhesive laminating sheets in drug stores or office supply stores, rather than a whole laminating machine. i got some to cover the dividers in my tanks, so they're not see-through!

 

[Texaswoman]

Very special and creative. Alot of work though. Hope you enjoy it. I bet it will look great with the fish in.

 

[SRC]

Thanks!

I hope it looks as good finished as it does right now lol. I just hope I don't goof it up when I start welding it...but I'm gonna practice on some scrap pieces before i start, so hopefully I won't .

 

[AlexsDaddy]

Lookin good!

 

[rain-]

Looks nice, I'm sure it will be great
I wish I'd had the patience to drill holes, it would be so neat to use plexi.

Good luck with it

 

[SRC]

Finally got my tank welded together and I am proud to report it holds water lol.

Now I just have to finish the lid and get the hinges welded on and I'm in business .

Here is the back and one wall, before I welded in the "Stalls"

This is the inside "stalls"

This is one "Stall" portion of the back wall

Front View

Side View

It's not "beautimous" lol but I think it's gonna work out great for what I need. The holes weren't hard to drill at all. I have a drill press, so it went pretty smooth...just bore down lightly and let it skin the first layer..after that I just pressed down and it popped out the other side.

I have a few guys with large finnage, so I made the stalls different sizes to accomodate those guys.

 

[wuvmybetta]

oh wow, that's going to be fantastic You've done such a great job on it,I'm super impressed. When can you put the fish in? I wanna seeeee!!