# NanoCubes for Bettas



## lilirose (6 Sep 2020)

Pics of my basic Betta tanks. I have two set up now...as they are 20l/30l/30l and fairly static with super-easy plants, I didn't think they each deserve their own thread. Two are currently set up, one will be scaped sometime over the next week, I think (and will be the only one with pressurised CO2).

Yes, I like to stick anubias to the tank walls with suction cups, it looks a lot better than the plastic "betta leaves" that a lot of Betta keepers think are a necessity!

The 20 liter has been running for a year now, with a minor rescape after the first Betta died last May. It has one of those canned CO2 kits, I've had to cover the bell with cheesecloth as otherwise the Betta tries to swim up it:





The first 30l has been running since July. I added a Bio CO2 kit a couple of weeks ago- it doesn't really do much bubbling, will likely remove it when I run out of refills:


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## Ags11 (10 Sep 2020)

Looking good! What is the purpose of the plastic rings floating on the surface? I have the same sponge filter as in your first pic in my 30 cm cube. No fish yet.


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## lilirose (10 Sep 2020)

Ags11 said:


> Looking good! What is the purpose of the plastic rings floating on the surface? I have the same sponge filter as in your first pic in my 30 cm cube. No fish yet.



Thank you! 

Those are DIY feeding rings made of airline tubing. They're partly to keep food in one spot so I can be sure the Betta doesn't leave any behind (somewhat critical in an inhabited tank that small), partly to keep floating plants away from the feeding area, and partly to train the Betta to come to the same spot. I should really remake the blue one, it was all I had when I got the Betta. You can buy ready made ones as well, they tend to be made of black plastic.

Both tanks have identical filters- only the one in the first picture is a little smaller, and the one in the second picture has the same blue airline that I made the feeding ring from.


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## lilirose (14 Sep 2020)

Here's a sneak peek of the second 30l which I planted today. It looks a little mucky, I know, it's pretty fresh. Still trying to work out how to best make pressurised CO2 work in a low-flow tank with a sponge filter- right now the CO2 is just going straight to the top instead of moving around the tank. Suggestions are welcome! 

This will eventually be home to a Betta after the crypts get well established.


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## lilirose (20 Oct 2020)

Update on the Crypt tank: everything melted. I waited a month, kept fertilizing and pumping in the CO2. Added a Crypt Nurii from @frothhelmet  which did not melt. Some of the melted plants began to grow back. A week ago today I decided to add more crypts. I did my best not to disturb the roots of anything in the process of regrowth. 

The new plants haven't melted yet- I lost a couple of leaves from the C. purpurea but it's hanging in there. That Petchii Pink in the centre is a cracker. I'm in love with it. 

The hornwort will be removed soon. The tank is nowhere near ready for a Betta- I need to see maybe 10-15cm more upward growth on the crypts first.


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## Radiant (20 Oct 2020)

Your blue boy is a real beauty. Such long fins, is he a crowntail?
I've never understoody the plastic betta leaves either.


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## lilirose (20 Oct 2020)

Radiant said:


> Your blue boy is a real beauty. Such long fins, is he a crowntail?
> I've never understoody the plastic betta leaves either.



Yes, he's a crowntail. He came from a German breeder and is the healthiest Betta I've ever owned.

Also- the Bettas do actually rest on the anubias all the time. I know other Betta keepers with planted tanks and plastic Betta leaves, which their Bettas use regularly- seems like an anubias on a suction cup is a no-brainer, but most people don't think outside the box, I guess...


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## Radiant (20 Oct 2020)

Its a good idea. My anubias is on a long piece of wood lent up in the corner for a bit of height, but he mostly rests under another piece low down. I'd much rather have real plants than the plastic leaf. The floating Betta logs also seem to be popular, but I just like the look of them.


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## PARAGUAY (21 Oct 2020)

@lilirose maybe a small HOB filter flowing in over your CO2 Not invasive in the tank and still keep sponge filter


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## lilirose (21 Oct 2020)

PARAGUAY said:


> @lilirose maybe a small HOB filter flowing in over your CO2 Not invasive in the tank and still keep sponge filter



@PARAGUAY, thanks for the suggestion. I use sponge filters because they are Betta-safe. HOBs need to be modified to a trickle in order to make them Betta-safe in such a small tank- otherwise the fish would be blown all over the place. I'm satisfied that the CO2 is getting around the tank just fine with the Twinstar diffuser. I realise I'm losing some CO2, but that's less important to me than maintaining low current for the health of the future inhabitant.


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## frothhelmet (21 Oct 2020)

Wow even I am impressed my crypt didn't melt when put into a new tank with CO2 coming from low-tech. Tough plant!


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## lilirose (21 Oct 2020)

frothhelmet said:


> Wow even I am impressed my crypt didn't melt when put into a new tank with CO2 coming from low-tech. Tough plant!



I split the crypts you set up- half in that tank and half in the other 30 liter, which I guess is mid-tech as it has bio CO2? I'll get a pic as soon as I get around to fishing out this week's catappa leaf (which is covering half of it). Amazing plants, I've maybe lost two leaves total even when the rest of the tank melted? I adore crypts (which is why I stuffed seven different species into one 30l, and even made it high tech!) but those C. nurii are the best!


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## lilirose (27 Oct 2020)

The first 30l nano cube, which has bio CO2, freshly trimmed Bacopa caroliniana, and another lovely Crypt nurii from @frothhelmet which seems to be enjoying the sand hugely... Had a strange die-off of my Frogbit in that tank- it looked like it was rotting, not the usual suspects like drips from above- but it's easily replaced...


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## lilirose (4 Feb 2021)

Just an update on the evolution of the tanks. Rescaped the crowntail Betta's tank, it's fully low-tech for now.




And a progress pic of the Cryptocoryne tank (which is acquiring inhabitants, including a Cambodian Betta along with Amano shrimp, a few Anubias and a Buce that the Betta uses as a bed:


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## aec34 (4 Feb 2021)

Love these - totally different look to my gloomy forest floor 20l dennerle cube! Great inspiration.

Mustn’t get a betta... 😬


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## lilirose (4 Feb 2021)

aec34 said:


> Love these - totally different look to my gloomy forest floor 20l dennerle cube! Great inspiration.
> 
> Mustn’t get a betta... 😬




I'll be honest, the Betta in the 20 liter (the one at the very top of the thread) is ailing, and when he goes- his tank will become a shrimp tank, and I'll be adding a third 30 liter to the group before I get another Betta. 

20 liters is just about adequate for a Betta, but I have found that a water change every fourth day is required to keep it fresh, which gets a bit tedious. I have two other 20l with shrimp and they don't require quite so much maintenance.


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## aec34 (5 Feb 2021)

Yeah, I’m still scarred from killing a pair of ill-chosen fish 15 years ago - and beautiful as they are I don’t think fish are for me. 
I love how low maintenance, yet fun, my shrimp are.


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## Matthew Robinson (20 Feb 2021)

Really nice cube lovely layout


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## lilirose (20 Feb 2021)

Matthew Robinson said:


> Really nice cube lovely layout



Thanks...this thread actually features three of my cubes, a 20l and two 30l.


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## Matthew Robinson (20 Feb 2021)

I actually thought that 😅


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## lilirose (2 Apr 2021)

New 30l NanoCube. Will be using this wood and these plants plus a Sagittaria subulata "Pusilla" as a semi-carpet (I don't mind if it grows longer than a standard tank carpet, this is for a Betta, who will love it). Filter is a JBL CristalProfi Greenline M with a bag of sintered glass biomedia behind the sponge. Am well pleased with this filter so far. Substrate will be a mix of various aquasoils I have on hand (Amazonia, Dennerle DeponitMix, Flourite brown). Will be planting as soon as my CO2 gear arrives, will likely add more plants depending on how it looks once I get the Dwarf Sag planted.


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## Owleye (13 Aug 2022)

Hi, don't mean to hijack this thread,but any update on this tank?
 I am in the process of setting up a 30l Dennerle nano with the hope of it housing a betta (Imbellis if I can source one) and I also opted for this filter instead of the corner one supplied with the kit. I have also packed the recess behind the sponge with nano filter tubes. How has the filter performed so far, is the water flow ok for a betta? 
I have it seeding in a mature tank at the minute but am unsure about the power of the outflow in a smaller tank.


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## lilirose (13 Aug 2022)

Owleye said:


> Hi, don't mean to hijack this thread,but any update on this tank?
> I am in the process of setting up a 30l Dennerle nano with the hope of it housing a betta (Imbellis if I can source one) and I also opted for this filter instead of the corner one supplied with the kit. I have also packed the recess behind the sponge with nano filter tubes. How has the filter performed so far, is the water flow ok for a betta?
> I have it seeding in a mature tank at the minute but am unsure about the power of the outflow in a smaller tank.




You're not hijacking unless you came here to take over the thread with pics of your own tanks!  Comments and questions are always very welcome.

I'm still running the tank with that  filter. When I first got the filter, the inhabitant was a female Betta who had short fins and was fine with the flow. An Imbellis also would probably not struggle too much. The female Betta died about six months ago, and I got a male Half-Moon and was forced to baffle the flow using some airline.

However, I've already had to replace the tiny little pump inside the filter (it was a bugger to find the replacement, as well!). Another constant issue is BBA growing on the black sponge- I've already had to replace it once and it's overdue to be replaced again.

Attaching a photo of the tank when it was probably at its best. I didn't dare fill it up all the way as the female Betta was definitely prone to jumping.

 I greatly regret using Seachem Flourite, which is far more orange than it is brown, and I also regret trying to grow a carpet of _Sagittaria subulata_- it refused to stay small, and the reason I'm not posting a brand-new photo of the tank is because the Sag choked out all the cryprtocorynes. The echinodorus are still surviving, though, as is the _Rotala h'ra_.


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## Owleye (14 Aug 2022)

Well ,your tank looks great there, the substrate doesn't look too orange at all and the  Rotala H'ra looks very lush.
 I have a Fluval flex 57l which is home to some CPD's, an apisto and some orange shrimp. When I was setting that up the out flow was too strong so I used some coarse filter sponge over the nozzles to stem the flow. Will try and do something similar to the Profi M if it's too strong when it's set up, perhaps a thin strip inserted in to the out flow.
I haven't kept Bettas before  but have heard they're good jumpers, so will keep the water level down and a cover on the tank (when I can eventually source the fish I'm looking for).
Thanks for the info on the filter, if anything goes wrong with it hopefully it will be in the next 12 months (covered by warranty),and will cut some spare sponges in case of BBA.


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## FISHnLAB (6 Nov 2022)

Nice tanks Lilirose👍.


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