My Betta Idea

fattikins

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Hey Everyone,
I'm new to this forum, so I thought I would try it out!

Today, an idea just came to me. I was at local hardware store and I passed the rain gutter section. I looked at the kind that you place on the edge of your roof that have the open tops and then the thought came to me, Betta tank.
I have some ideas to adjust it so it would be suitable for a betta though, obviously I wouldn't just fill a rain gutter with water and expect a betta to live in it.
First, I would cut a long strip it into 4 pieces, then use 4 of the curved pieces to attach them to make a square.
Each piece is only about 4 in tall and 4 in wide. Would a betta be comfortable in these surroundings?
I know what everyone is thinking, heating and filtration. For this I would take two of those 10-gallon clear bins with the blue lids that you can store almost anything in and stick them on opposite sides of the "aquarium". I would put a filter and heater in one of them, and leave the other one filled with water. Then I would cut the gutter and the bins so they would connect. I would connect them using a 100% non-toxic sealant.
I know how bettas don’t like fast flowing water, so they can avoid this section and swim in the other 10-gallon or gutter.
For substrate I would just use the left over 40 pounds of pool filter sand I have left over from using it on my actual 10-gallon aquarium. I would only use a ¼ - ½ inch layer of sand in the gutters but a 2-inch layer in the bins.
Obviously lighting this thing would cost me a sh!t load so I just wouldn’t. It will be in an area that gets natural light, not directly in front of a window though. Therefore, the only plants I would consider growing are java moss and fern, unless you have any other suggestions?
I thought that this would be a waste for one betta though. So I thought of some tank mate possibilities. I definitely want a school of corydoras because I love looking at them from the top. The only other fish would be a school of cardinal or neon tetras. What do you think? I want your opinions, and sorry for the length!!!
I included a VERY rough drawing of what the outline might be like, for those who have any trouble imagining this.




Also, I think this “aquarium” is kind of sounding a bit ugly, can anyone think of any ideas to make it look nicer?

If you have any questions or concerns, fire away!
 
dosent look good in my opinion. Why not just go buy a cheap 2.5-5 gallon tank?

i have a 2.7 gallon that i rigged with a heater, filter and a couple of cold cathodes for less thank £30 total.
 
dosent look good in my opinion. Why not just go buy a cheap 2.5-5 gallon tank?

i have a 2.7 gallon that i rigged with a heater, filter and a couple of cold cathodes for less thank £30 total.

Thats the thing though, I don't want a tank! I wanted to try something different, that is why its a DIY project, theres no DIY in buying a tank. Sure, maybe you could make a mini filter or something, but I decided that I wanted to make something unique.
Could you think of anything that would make it look nice? I know that it probably wouldn't be the most attractive thing, but I'm thinking of things that could. Maybe spray-painting the gutters black?
 
Hey Everyone,
I'm new to this forum, so I thought I would try it out!

Today, an idea just came to me. I was at local hardware store and I passed the rain gutter section. I looked at the kind that you place on the edge of your roof that have the open tops and then the thought came to me, Betta tank.
I have some ideas to adjust it so it would be suitable for a betta though, obviously I wouldn't just fill a rain gutter with water and expect a betta to live in it.
First, I would cut a long strip it into 4 pieces, then use 4 of the curved pieces to attach them to make a square.
Each piece is only about 4 in tall and 4 in wide. Would a betta be comfortable in these surroundings?
I know what everyone is thinking, heating and filtration. For this I would take two of those 10-gallon clear bins with the blue lids that you can store almost anything in and stick them on opposite sides of the "aquarium". I would put a filter and heater in one of them, and leave the other one filled with water. Then I would cut the gutter and the bins so they would connect. I would connect them using a 100% non-toxic sealant.
I know how bettas don't like fast flowing water, so they can avoid this section and swim in the other 10-gallon or gutter.
For substrate I would just use the left over 40 pounds of pool filter sand I have left over from using it on my actual 10-gallon aquarium. I would only use a ¼ - ½ inch layer of sand in the gutters but a 2-inch layer in the bins.
Obviously lighting this thing would cost me a sh!t load so I just wouldn't. It will be in an area that gets natural light, not directly in front of a window though. Therefore, the only plants I would consider growing are java moss and fern, unless you have any other suggestions?
I thought that this would be a waste for one betta though. So I thought of some tank mate possibilities. I definitely want a school of corydoras because I love looking at them from the top. The only other fish would be a school of cardinal or neon tetras. What do you think? I want your opinions, and sorry for the length!!!
I included a VERY rough drawing of what the outline might be like, for those who have any trouble imagining this.




Also, I think this "aquarium" is kind of sounding a bit ugly, can anyone think of any ideas to make it look nicer?

If you have any questions or concerns, fire away!

sounds like a very interesting concept females fighters would love the corrifors to explore. you couldmake multiple connected chambers with clear pvc tubing for them to swim thru arranged however you would like.

you got me thinkin now. as i have around 20foot of 2inch clear tubing and those rectangular guttering lying around. willhave a think about this.
i thinl you can get clear types of guttering or drainage channels nowadays from the builders yards.
 
but the gutter is black so the fish will only see black all the time..

its open top, and bettas tend to jump



this idea is just a waste of time. it would look HORRIBLE and it wouldn't suit a betta..
post this on the Betta section and you will get the same response

also, without light you cant see your fish

natural light will just fill the "contraption" with algae..
just get a tank it will look 10x better and the fish will be alot happier
 

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