Hi all,
Just wanted to show off my Gumball machine (inspired) betta bowl. I always wanted to make my own but the DIY projects found on the net used bowls that were way too small and had no filtration.
The bowl itself holds around 12 litres. It has 3 holes drilled into the bottom so that the tubes can be hidden (to an extent). I did this so that they don't have to come through the top. Makes for a better look.
Lives plants help maintain water quality - I have duckweed, java fern, java moss and anubias nana which is attached to the terracotta urn. Cool little cave but betta doesn't use it much.
This unit sits on top of 2 wooden boxes used as a stand and stacked lengthways. These boxes hides the wires, tubes and sump. The side of the box has a switch for the light.
Below, you can see the filtration pipes, the top one sends water to the sump below and has a pre filter to stop the duckweek and betta's fins from getting sucked in.
The lower one is the return pipe that sends back clean and heated water.
In case of power failure, the water will be drained back down into the sump but the water level won't go any lower than the top of the return tube. Hopefully lil' betta isn't anywhere near this pipe if the power goes out.
You can also see how I integrated the light into the actual gumball machine itself.
Pic of the air stone popping out of the black sand.. lil' betta doesn't mind it and helps with bad surface film from building up.
Top view showing betta, duckweed and reflection of light. The light was just an LED strip glued in a circular arrangement.
Pic of the sump (actually just a bin) that sits inside the bottom box - Water enters the cylinder container that has filtration media (bio sponge, carbon and filter wool). The water then flows through the bottom of the container where it is heated and returned via the pump. Sump holds an additional 15 litres which increases overall water volume.
More java moss and duckweed to help absorb nitrates. They seem to be doing OK in a low light environment.
In future, I'm thinking of using Indian Almond leaves inside the sump to darken the water a little and help with disease.
I love this tank and I'm really proud of it.. Lil' betta loves it too :)
let me know what you think. Hope this will inspire you to make your own!
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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