New Betta Tank

[missdarwin]

Hi, I'm looking for some guidance...  I have an empty Baby Biorb (grrr hisss...) that I've used previously as my classroom coldwater tank with some danios and shrimp in.  My little boy is desperate to expand his fish collection (we have a big coldwater brackish  tank atm) with a male betta.  Now, there is no chance that betta can live in my cold saltwater tank, so could I use the biorb??  
 
My friend has a single male betta in her 15L tank, with a couple of shrimp and snails, as well as real plants and he seems happy...  He bubble nests regularly and flares when she goes to feed him....
 
I realise the ceramic media on the bottom is too harsh for a betta's fins and the silk plants that i already have would be ok, if I supplemented them with a betta friendly live plant (IAL or something else)?  What media could I use on the bottom to cover to the ceramic (don't want to get rid of it, as that's where my bacteria are)?  Glass pebbles maybe? 
 
I know 15L is a small tank, which is why I'm asking here.  If I had an unlimited tank budget there'd be a 20,000G marine tank where my garage is and I'd quit teaching biology and go back to being a marine biologist  
 
Any betta advice would be great, I'm a font of information about saltwater but hey hum, I can't be good at everything....

 

[Mamashack]

It's just about on the lower limit size-wise, tho bigger would be better. How are you planning to heat the BiorB?
Not sure what to suggest for covering the ceramic beads - I'm setting up a betta tank at the moment and I've got gravel in as substrate tho I hear sand might be better. Not sure how that would work with your ceramics tho.

 

[missdarwin]

It's just about on the lower limit size-wise, tho bigger would be better. How are you planning to heat the BiorB?
Not sure what to suggest for covering the ceramic beads - I'm setting up a betta tank at the moment and I've got gravel in as substrate tho I hear sand might be better. Not sure how that would work with your ceramics tho.

 
I know it's small, but I begrudge purchasing yet another tank when the acrylic one I have isn't readily recyclable.  Why can't they make them easier to dispose of....?!  
 
I've heard mixed reviews about the heater that Reef-One (the people who make the biorb) make.  It's a bit on the pricey side.  Also, some that I've spoken to say it makes the water too hot for the smallest aquariums..  I'm wondering if there's a small generic heater that's not going to overpower the tank or hurt his fins?  Do they exist?

 

[TallTree01]

I have my biorb media covered with massive ( 5-8 cm across ) pebbles. This has no effects on the filtration and prevents fish getting injured on it. I would reccomend against keeping a betta in this tank but It could be done if ALL the media is covered and you clamp the air tube.

 

[RCA]

Firstly,

  to TFF
 
This is the heater I use for all my boys, if you are in the UK and order it from the link, if you can select Ark Stores as I have found them the quickest, plus they sell it for about £10 inc P&P.
 
Personally I would not use the Baby Bio-Orb for anything but shrimp and even then there is very little surface area for them, the Betta needs to be in a heated tank.  There maybe other options to help you...
 
...before advising you further please can you put your location into your profile, as it assists with what is readily available by Country etc.

 

[Wildbetta]

4 gal (15L) is not a bad size for a betta.(although 5 gal+ is best)  I personally don't care too much for using round containers for bettas BUT as long as you can cover the rough media AND the top (bettas are jumpers) as well as heat it then you should be able to make a pretty nice tank for a betta.  It would be a perfect one for surface plants like frogbit or dwarf water lettuce.as well as a couple of easy growing stem plants like elodea and several hygrophilia species or some other easy plants like java fern, anubias, or java moss all of which bettas love.  I would go that route VS the silk plants if you are able because it helps with keeping your tank cycled and is better for your betta.  A heater of 25-50 watt that is adjustable is the best and make sure you get a thermometer that hangs inside the tank to monitor the temp especially since some of the adjustables just have a +/- instead of a temp range so you have work with the heater to set the correct temp ( 79-84F ).  To cover the media, I would get some craft canvas and cut to size to make a cover and then use some large smooth pebbles or glass pebbles.

 

[missdarwin]

Thank you, my tank is cycling nicely (fishless of course) and I've found a surprisingly knowledgeable lady at my local pet shop who is al about her tropical fish (specifically bettas) and aquatic plants (think i have a girl crush)...   Elodea is great as I use it at school all the time to show photosynthesis!  I've found a 17W heater that's keeping the water at 26oC but am monitoring it while I'm cycling just to make sure it's reliable.
 
I have nabbed a truckload of glass pebbles from my grandma who weirdly just had them lying about and handed them over when I mentioned my plan, so they're gonna be washed and sterilised with a milton tablet (I'm assuming if it was safe for my newborn baby, it'll be ok for fish?) to make sure they don't have anything nasty on them..
 
I'm now trying to decide what kind of betta I love the most.... so hard!!

 

[Mamashack]

Milton is bleach and bleach contains chlorine which kills bacteria and can kill the ones we try to cultivate during the cycling process. You could just rinse the pebbles in boiling water - should do the trick, but if you must use Milton make sure you rinse the pebbles several times and dry well before putting them in the tank.
Are you adding ammonia to your tank to simulate fish-waste?

 

[TallTree01]

How big are the glass pebbles?
If they are any smaller than about 5x5 cm than I think it could cause problems with the filteration.

 

[RCA]

....

 
I'm now trying to decide what kind of betta I love the most.... so hard!!

 
Yes Betta resistance is futile
 
I have become a fan of the Plakat as I find they appear to be a lot healthier, there are some pictures and discussion here, in case you have not seen it

 

[DyArianna]

Keep an eye on the glass pebbles.  I had to remove all mine from my tanks as they started cracking and breaking apart.  Some even had a liquid inside of them giving them the coloration.  My tanks' parameters were all good (0, 0, 40... normal for us) and my PH is 6.8.  Temp 78.  I'm not sure if it was something in our water that did it or if it was just the pebbles gave out after a few months of being submerged in water.  I just know that I will never use them again. 

 

[Mamashack]

Oooo that's rather scary Dy! I always assumed the pebbles were made from coloured glass rather than being dyed or filled! Am glad I've got standard gravel!

 

[missdarwin]

Hi, the pebbles are about 2cm across but they seem to be fine re filtration....  I just boiled them in the end and gave them a really good scrub....
 
Tank is STILL cycling....  yawn....  current levels are Ammonia - 0ppm, Nitrite - 2.5ppm, Nitrate - 5ppm....  I'm so bored of cycling.... 

 

[Mamashack]

Well if you started cycling the tank when you started the thread I'd be amazed if it was cycled by now unless you'd got some mature filter medium to start with. It is really quite tedious after a few weeks, but  is so worth it in the end. If you are only having a single betta in the tank, you'll need to be clearing ammonia and nitrite within 24 hrs. I'd been holding out for 12 hrs but was finding it virtually impossible to achieve until a mod told me that 24 hrs clearance time would be fine for a single betta.
 
Since then I've introduced a juvenile platy male, an assassin snail and 3 amano shrimp and the levels this morning were absolutely fine ammonia 0 and nitrite 0. I'll be doing a partial water change tomorrow just to refresh the water more than anything.
 
Keep it up and you'll have a tank occupant in no time and then you'll be looking toward getting your next betta tank. I'd had mine less than a week before I was mentally rearranging stuff to make room for another tank! lol