BioCube

[bearbear922]

I enjoy betta fish alot. My problem now is...that i dont own any.

I want to do this right. My older brother has a biocube for his saltwater fish.

Could I use it for my future betta?

If I were to switch out the water to fresh water and add a nice filter and low voltage heater and some special lights it would work right?

Or is there a real reason as to why i cant seem to find anyone else doing this?

 

[bearbear922]

ok does nobody care at all???????

 

[HN1]

If the biocube is cleaned out very well, it will work fine. No need for special lights unless you are going to plant it.

 

[BigJim]

Take it easy. We'll get to your questions.

There's no reason why you couldn't use the biocube for a betta. In fact, PetCo's website says it's fine for freshwater fish. I have a feeling that the reason you don't see Biocubes used for FW very often is that it's on the expensive side for it's volume.

 

[mfdrookie516]

vinegar and razor blades will clean it good, then rinse several times, air dry, and get to work setting it up... the biocubes are marketed more towards saltwater because they generally have intense lighting that only corals and plants would need.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I'm a newbie but I'm thinking after you clean it out properly as what mfdrookie516 indicated, you will have to re-start the cycling process to make it safe and before added the inhabitants. Anybody with more experience can call me out on this if I'm mistaken or if there's a better procedure.

 

[bearbear922]

well the thing is his is really crappy. I meant as to just buying a new one.

Someone said that the light was intense..will that harm my betta?

 

[thominil]

The lighting really isn't intense, they are only power compacts (PC). Rather crappy compared to T5 high output (HO). Would be fine for a planted tank. I don't think you would need a filter as they have chambers in the back filled with ceramic media and bio-balls which would be your biological filter. Your betta would be fine under the lights, no need to worry.

 

[Bige]

I think its a great idea. Bettas are classy fish and the biocube is pretty classy too. The lights would be fine and you could have some live plants. It has a filter in the back that would be fine for bettas.

 

[bearbear922]

would that uhhh what lights would work best for live plants? I'm not getting them right away because I'm moving out in less than a year and don't want to risk killing plants.

also, would that filter be enough? I want to do this right and clean and efficient. So please tell me, is that filter going to be good or just good enough?

 

[bluerose]

It's hard to kill low-light freshwater plants like java fern and anubias, and your betta will thank you for them-- both in water quality and napping places I move my planted 5gal ~4x/year with no issues.

The issue with bettas and filters is current-- male bettas especially can't handle a lot of current thanks to their fins (they just get shoved around). If the current isn't too strong, you should be fine. You will want to re-cycle the tank, though, since after rinsing everything with vinegar to kill any bacteria you'll have no biological filtration. Fishless cycling is a good time to start plants-- they'll help the cycle along and grow quite happily.

 

[bearbear922]

so does anyone know if i can actually control the filtration power in a biocube?

 

[Jennybo]

I have just purchase a nano cube and cant wait for it to arrive. I bought it as an upgrade for my freshwater fish.

Enjoy the betta and don't be afraid to try a couple other fish with it!

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Will this help with strong currents?

The issue with bettas and filters is current-- male bettas especially can't handle a lot of current thanks to their fins (they just get shoved around). If the current isn't too strong, you should be fine.

I wonder if the Hydor Flo (link) units help with reducing or deflecting powerful currents coming from the power head. My nano cube seems to have a lot of power in creating (almost) too strong of a current for small freshwater fish. Might be more ideal for saltwater? Anyone have experience with this?

YouTube - hydor flo

 

[bearbear922]

That video didn't seem that bad.

Is that the filter output?

Isn't there replaceable heads to it? I know my brother bought a wave maker one and put it on...

Maybe they have a more simple one that doesn't make waves

 

[Bige]

The hydor head will help. I would start with that and see how it goes for the fish. If still to strong, you can use splitters.