Help me put together the perfect luxury home for a Betta.

[Rcguerra]

In a very near future I'll have a new office space that will give me room to a tank. After some struggle (Fresh or salt, high end or simple, betta or guppies, fish or shrimp) I realized that a single male betta will be a perfect fit for me.

For the last week or so I have been doing my homework. What started as "let's just buy a self contained nano-cube and I'm all set" clearly evolved to something more elaborated. Brian_Nano12G has been very helpful. Actually, so helpful that we e-mailed each other over 10 times within the last 24hrs, leading to my private communication being suspended. (Brian, if you are reading this, sorry, I am not rude, the forum doesn't let me reply to you!).

Here is what I have so far. I don't want my budget to go way over US$200.00, so here it is:

Tank: low iron Mr. Aqua 12"x12"x12" glass cube on amazon for about 60 bucks;

Light: AL-12WM: Finnex FugeRay Unibody Ultra Slim LED Fixture - 12" Daylight +Moonlights. About 50, and my understanding this will allow me to have some decent plants to keep everything sharp.

Heater: mini heater from hydor (15W) for about 15 bucks.


Now I need help with a good filtration system for a 6.6g tank that will not create a lot of current. As you know, Bettas are not strong swimmers and they like little to no current.

Plants will come once I read more, but with this light I believe I will not have any trouble with them suffering. If you have any suggestions, please add them here. Just be nice and don't use acronyms, and if a link is available, it is a lot easier for you to add a link than for me to google 30 of them.

Same thing about gravel, substrate, ornaments and (if necessary) the silk plants. I do like the looks of driftwood as background, with "grass" and smooth stones in the middle. something like this (plus the smooth stones) would be perfect:

Thank you for your help in advance.

 

[Maxkolbe]

If you need a low current filter look into sponge filters. Never used them but they're supposed to be good for betas. Good luck.

 

[tarpon]

The filter I use on my betta tank is a tetra whisper 10. Mines a ten gallon but I think it'd work just fine for 6.6.
It makes virtually no noise and barely agitates the water at all.
I used to have a more powerful filter but after switching to this one my betta is much more active.

I also like sponge filters. You just plug an air pump in and you're good to go.

 

[Rcguerra]

Thank you. I'll start reading about them but hopefully someone with more experience than me can narrow down my search to one or two options. These things are so overwhelming. My "official" hobby is fixing and selling antique bikes. Sometimes I am talking to some people and I can see that I am being too technical. Now I know how it feels. D:

 

[tarpon]

Oh I also think you should consider sand as a substrate. I used to use gravel but have switched all my tanks to sand and I love the look

 

[Rcguerra]

Oh I also think you should consider sand as a substrate. I used to use gravel but have switched all my tanks to sand and I love the look

I know! Sand, specially if predominantly dark but with hints of white sand somewhere, makes the tank so classy!

 

[brennae]

I second the sand idea. I also like crypts and anubias for plants. Have you considered getting some kind of shrimp as tank mates? Some Bettas will leave them alone. I just have cheap ghost shrimp and they are doing well. They are hard to see so its fun to look for them. (might be a good distraction for stressful times at work)
Best wishes for your new tank!

 

[brennae]

also if you do plants whose roots are in the sand like crypts you will need root tabs to fertilize. Anubias needs to be attached to driftwood or stones. I use rubber bands but some prefer fishing line or thread.

 

[Rcguerra]

As the project unfolds, one of the main items that I have no clue where to start is the center piece ornament. I don't mind something common like the Buddha, the oriental architecture or even the Walmart stone, but if anybody here can inspire me with something not so common, that would be g r e a t.

 

[tarpon]

As the project unfolds, one of the main items that I have no clue where to start is the center piece ornament. I don't mind something common like the Buddha, the oriental architecture or even the Walmart stone, but if anybody here can inspire me with something not so common, that would be g r e a t.

What about driftwood if you want to go natural?
you could have driftwood and stones and live plants, it would be a cool all natural tank (if that's What you're going for)
And about anubias, I've had great success leaving it in the plastic pot it comes in. (If you don't mind the look)

 

[Rcguerra]

Driftwood and stones are nice. I am actually from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The entire seashore is paved using a type black and white (sometimes red) Portuguese granite, as seen here:

I actually have a few black and a couple whites, I am planning on using them in one way or another...

They are about this big (for scaling purposes):

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Hello RC...Actually for the heater, i would get the 50w which would be more suitable for 7.5g (which the Mr. Aqua is)..
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3743+11368&pcatid=11368

The Mr. Aqua low iron rimless is cheaper on Marine Depot, rather than Amazon...
http://www.marinedepot.com/Mr._Aqua...Cube_Aquariums-Mr._Aqua-AZ1151-FIAQRC-vi.html

The Finnex Fugeray 12" Daylight LED - http://www.amazon.com/AL-12WM-FugeR...qid=1352097282&sr=8-1&keywords=finnex+fugeray

A review of this fixture on a similar cube rimless tank.. However, i expect the low iron glass on the tank i recommended to be superior in appearance...
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=173593

As for the substrate.. For planted tanks, sand is okay but a substrate that has a high CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity) like Eco-Complete or Floramax would be better. The high CEC means that the substrate absorbs ferts and fish waste that in turn supply the plants with the nutrients they need. I'm sure its more technical than that, but that's it in a nut shell. You can use the sand to still create like a beach or something (similar to my 6g project).

One more thing, the tank pictured as your example would be a high tech, high light, co2 injected tank... You can certainly go that route, but you'll probably need the finnex ray 2 instead of the fugeray.. And then add a co2 system. But if you wanna stick with low to moderate light plants, it can be achieved with the moderate light finnex fugeray model. You won't need co2 and can get by with dosing liquid carbon a found in Seachem Excel http://www.amazon.com/Seachem-453-F...qid=1352098255&sr=8-1&keywords=flourish+excel along with some good liquid ferts such as Seachem Flourish.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I just found another example of someone using the fugeray on a similar tank (different model)..

 

[Rcguerra]

Thank you again Brian. Yes, I do want to keep it simple for now. After all this is a fish tank with plants, not a plant tank with fish.

I will be making the purchases soon. Any other US$0.02 for the filtration system?

 

[Rcguerra]

The Mr. Aqua low iron rimless is cheaper on Marine Depot, rather than Amazon...
Mr. Aqua Cube Frameless Low Iron Glass Aquarium Tank

I found this one on Amazon as a second source. The first one is 10 bucks higher than on Marine Depot, but please let me know if there is a difference between that one and this one here:

From Amazon

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Well...my opinion would be an Aqua Clear 20. Its relatively inexpensive. Very efficient 3-stage filter. Easily customizable. Lifetime warranty. And flow control to reduce the current if its too much for your Betta. BTW, the YouTube video I linked in... That tank looks like its also running an AC20.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I found this one on Amazon as a second source. The first one is 10 bucks higher than on Marine Depot, but please let me know if there is a difference between that one and this one here:

From Amazon

There's a low iron high clarity version and one made with regular glass.. I can't tell on Amazon based in the description, unless i missed it somewhere. You should message the seller to make sure. The low iron version would be like my GLA 36-L and is worth the extra cost IMO... But its up to you. Either would still work.

 

[Rcguerra]

I will be making some purchases today. If there is 2 types, I will get the one you linked. The difference in price just doesn't justify the risk or the time...

Thank you!

 

[tarpon]

Well...my opinion would be an Aqua Clear 20. Its relatively inexpensive. Very efficient 3-stage filter. Easily customizable. Lifetime warranty. And flow control to reduce the current if its too much for your Betta. BTW, the YouTube video I linked in... That tank looks like its also running an AC20.

When I tried this the flow was too high for my betta even with it turned down. They are great filters though.
Maybe try a smaller one

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Perhaps adding a sponge prefilter can alleviate any concerns on an AC20.. That way if the Betta was just floating around being lazy, his fins won't get sucked in the intake. I had a Betta in my GLA 6g with an overkill Fluval 106 filter with the flow tamed down a bit, she did completely fine in there. After a day or two, she knew where the outflow was and didn't get pushed around by the current. I would have left her in this tank if it weren't for my original intended purpose of making this a shrimp tank with galaxy rasboras. But having her in there for a couple of weeks was a delight.

Link to sponge pre-filter:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004K9A15G?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1&ref_=aw_bottom_links