I'm new. Need advice/guidance.

[Jordyn]

Hello, I just joined the forums today.
I rescue betta fish. I know, to some that sounds completely rediculous... well to me, it's not.
I work in a pet store, and strive to better the lives of as many animals as I can. Despite not having an say over the fact the petstore I work for does indeed, sell animals.
I prefer to adopt, and have so far saved 4 bettas from poor homes. No one seems to understand that bettas are NOT easier to care for than any other fish, and cannot just live in a small bowl or CUP.

I put up an ad on my local Kijiji, and over the last year I have rescued 4 bettas. Doesn't seem like a lot? Well... it's a handful! My first betta, Pezz, to whom was almost 1.5 years passed about a month ago. He was dear to me. So I am currently down to 3 veil-tailed bettas. Their names are Brom, Murtagh, and Gyarados.

They all have their own 5 gallon bin. Yes, I said bin. The bins are 5 gallons a piece, and I pay about 7$ for them at Wal Mart. They're clean plastic, and they make GREAT tank enclosures. They're heated with 75 WATT Elite Radiant heaters. I do 50% water changes every 5 days, and 100% water changes every 10 days. Having three tanks going has proven to be a huge hassle, because I do not have filters in there. First off, to have multiple filters going like that in such small tanks would drive me crazy. I know bettas can survive with out filters, so I have left it until now. I do water changes religiously, it's just a pain because it takes a few hours to get everything cleaned out properly, and I know it can be stressful on my precious betta fish.

So I have a few questions.
I was inspired by our sump system at work, would it be possible to make a home-made DIY one for my three betta tanks? I am looking for any information, links, etc I can get helping me achieve this. I have little restraints, so I'm up for any advice.

Here's a picture of the tanks:

Any advice is welcome.
Thank you.

 

[David S]

I dont know anything about beta's but if you build another shelf so you have 4 move your bottom bin(tank) to the forth shelf,dril a hole in each of the bins on the side 2" down from the top and centre the holes,buy another bin and place it on the bottom shelf.buy some pvc pipe,fittings and food graded pvc glue.get 3 tank connectors the same size as the pipe and fit to the beta tanks,from the top tank run some pipework down and into the centre tank,then run pipework from the centre tank(from the tank connector) down and into the bottom beta tank.then run some pipe from the bottom beta tank down and into the new bottom tank.The bottom tank can now house all the heaters and any filter you want to add to you system then you will need a return pump and some hose.place the pump in the new bottom tank,connect the hose and run this up to the top tank.You now have your multi tank and sump setup.

 

[Jordyn]

Thank you so much for your reply, I appreciate it!
Will look into this ASAP, my bettas will appreciate it!

 

[maxwellag]

I dont know anything about beta's but if you build another shelf so you have 4 move your bottom bin(tank) to the forth shelf,dril a hole in each of the bins on the side 2" down from the top and centre the holes,buy another bin and place it on the bottom shelf.buy some pvc pipe,fittings and food graded pvc glue.get 3 tank connectors the same size as the pipe and fit to the beta tanks,from the top tank run some pipework down and into the centre tank,then run pipework from the centre tank(from the tank connector) down and into the bottom beta tank.then run some pipe from the bottom beta tank down and into the new bottom tank.The bottom tank can now house all the heaters and any filter you want to add to you system then you will need a return pump and some hose.place the pump in the new bottom tank,connect the hose and run this up to the top tank.You now have your multi tank and sump setup.

That would be SUPER cool! maybe add a little aquaponics at the top? I think they should use a fluval canister filter (105,205,305,405, or the same but 6s instead of 5s.) The bigger the filter they get now, the better it will be in the long run when they have even more fish (most likely bettas)