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New custom build, 50L divided long tank

Joined
7 Jan 2021
Messages
146
Location
Nottingham, England
Currently I have 3 tanks (well, more than 3 but I'm happy with the other 2) with bettas - a Fluval Spec 19L, Fluval Spec 10L and a Fluval Flex 57L. The three tanks take quite a lot of maintenance time and I think it'd look a lot neater as a single divided tank.

So I'm currently considering a custom build long tank closely modelled after the Spec 19L, as I really like the design - effectively just a really long Spec with about 15L per compartment for each fish. Since I am literally the most hopeless person in existence when it comes to any kind of DIY, I'm planning to have Aquariums4Life build the tank, and then possibly set up the divider configuration by 3D printing.

Below is my mock up - in orange is a spray bar that passes through all compartments, with water circulating through the vents in each compartment. The pump/media compartment would be really similar to the Spec 19L. I am considering whether an external canister filter would be simpler though.

newbuild.PNG


newbuild2.PNG
 
I'm not a Betta keeper anymore, and I am aware they are often kept in cramped conditions, but I personally don't think any fish should be kept in a 15 litre box, and definitely not a 10L Fluval Flex.

I had a beautiful blue Betta in a 280L community tank some 20 years ago, and he was very active exploring all areas of the tank all day long, so I don't accept that such small tanks are sufficient space for them.

It's really disconcerting to see the new tiny glass box racks that Maidenhead Aquatics have started installing to show their Bettas for sale, where each container must be 2-3 litres.
 
I'm not a Betta keeper anymore, and I am aware they are often kept in cramped conditions, but I personally don't think any fish should be kept in a 15 litre box, and definitely not a 10L Fluval Flex.

I had a beautiful blue Betta in a 280L community tank some 20 years ago, and he was very active exploring all areas of the tank all day long, so I don't accept that such small tanks are sufficient space for them.

It's really disconcerting to see the new tiny glass box racks that Maidenhead Aquatics have started installing to show their Bettas for sale, where each container must be 2-3 litres.

I honestly think it depends on the personality of the fish. I have them in tanks ranging from 10L to 200L. I wouldn't dream of putting one of the girls in the 200L into a smaller tank, for example, as she's a very active and inquisitive fish. But the boy in the 10L was originally in a 60L and he seemed to be stressed all the time, constantly glass surfing, and he stopped doing it after being moved (he's also still a baby, I was planning to move him into something bigger when gets older anyway). The boys in the 19L tanks seem perfectly happy, they are very well planted.

But yeah those new racks at Maidenhead are a bit disconcerting, I'm not sure why they would need like 30 of them at a time either.
 
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I'm with @Wookii here. We should offer our fish suitable accommodation. Just because a fish is more sedentary, for example, doesn't mean that they do not like more space. Perhaps the 'glass surfing' has stopped because he no longer has the space to do so? In nature, these fish are not confined to small spaces and SF recommends a size of 45X30 cm base. other suggests a minimum of 10 gallons...
 
I think people conflate the fact bettas are found in very overgrown waterways with them not requiring any space in an aquarium...
that, and that they're kept in small spaces in LFS because they can't be kept together in a display tank.
 
Currently I have 3 tanks (well, more than 3 but I'm happy with the other 2) with bettas - a Fluval Spec 19L, Fluval Spec 10L and a Fluval Flex 57L. The three tanks take quite a lot of maintenance time and I think it'd look a lot neater as a single divided tank.

So I'm currently considering a custom build long tank closely modelled after the Spec 19L, as I really like the design - effectively just a really long Spec with about 15L per compartment for each fish. Since I am literally the most hopeless person in existence when it comes to any kind of DIY, I'm planning to have Aquariums4Life build the tank, and then possibly set up the divider configuration by 3D printing.

Below is my mock up - in orange is a spray bar that passes through all compartments, with water circulating through the vents in each compartment. The pump/media compartment would be really similar to the Spec 19L. I am considering whether an external canister filter would be simpler though.

View attachment 182636

View attachment 182637
Hi
I have one of the betta duo tanks with sump in back.While the filtration has a large volume the design is extremely uneffective in taking out mulm due to the intake being high and in only one one compartment. In the second compartment is always debris being wafted about. Even with devider removed a lot of the mulm still stays in the dysplay part of the tank .
I will suggest to run 3 tanks separately with hob filters.It will give you better system.
Regards Konstantin
 
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Completely agree with Konstantin. The betta duo/trio tanks I've seen have normally given quite a lot of trouble and although they look like a neat option, you'd be better off getting either 3 separate tanks or a larger tank with glass divides and separate filters.
 
Hi everyone,

Following above discussion I'm going to shoot for a bigger size per compartment, probably 30L each. As before the plan was always to move the juvenile betta out of the 10L tank once he's older, it was not a permanent setup.

I'm going to go with a trio tank design with glass dividers, but with a twist - the dividers won't reach the top of the tank, but instead a 3D-printed vent will be installed on top of each divider to separate the compartments. That gives more room for customisation, because if I have problems with the single-filter design I can just block the compartment off completely with another 3D printed piece and rework the tank to have 1 filter per compartment.

tankv2.PNG


Thanks for all your input
 
Update 21/04

Started off with a pile of stuff:

IMG_20220420_170213.jpg


Built the lid using a DD Jumpguard Pro DIY kit, and tested out the Nicrew light:

IMG_20220420_183217.jpg


Next, I 3D printed the first of the divider vents. Pretty close for a first try but needs a bit of refinement + I forgot to account for the lid:

IMG_20220421_171759.jpg


So now I've redesigned it:

vent.PNG


Currently printing - will update! Left to do after this is the filter media holder, and a bracket to hold the light up.

1650558387680.png
 
I always like projects when there is attention to the little details, will be interesting to see how it all fits together. Just watch the vent width (is it smaller on the second design?) last thing you want is a fish wedging itself in and sometimes they aren't the brightest!

That was a quick build by A4L - my parents have a couple of tanks on order and have been quoted the same lead time, hope it turns out a bit quicker too!
 
I always like projects when there is attention to the little details, will be interesting to see how it all fits together. Just watch the vent width (is it smaller on the second design?) last thing you want is a fish wedging itself in and sometimes they aren't the brightest!

That was a quick build by A4L - my parents have a couple of tanks on order and have been quoted the same lead time, hope it turns out a bit quicker too!

Yes the vent width has been reduced in the revised version, after printing I could immediately imagine Princess trying to wedge herself through there haha.

I was quoted 12-15 weeks and it was ready for delivery after 6 weeks so they did pretty well! Can't fault them at all
 
Nearly finished! Princess was moved into the left side from the community tank a few days ago (because she's become a moody little ****e), then after confirming parameters for a few days Paddles was moved into the middle compartment tonight. Princess and Paddles have largely spent the night flaring at each other, interspersed with breeding stripes - hopefully they get used to each other, or else I'll put a translucent divider up. Riz (right) is quite perturbed by Paddles' existence, but Paddles completely ignores him.

Not sure what I want to do with the leftmost compartment yet. Quite happy with the middle and right, just want to get a carpet going in the middle.

IMG_20220427_204644.jpg
 
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