Betta Fish Forum banner

10 gal divided help/advice

1K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Vizja13 
#1 ·
Currently I have two bettas, each in their own 2.5 gal tanks with heaters. While I was home for the xmas holiday my dad found my old 10 gal tank in the attic. After much scrubbing and adding bleach to clean it, I would love to use it for my two darlings via a divided tank.

I found a few links for DIY dividers, just curious about a few things;

-> does anyone have any filter recommendations? I know p-much nothing about filter systems and setups...

-> how often should the water be changed? I heard a FULL cleaning should be done once a month, how much water should be changed weekly?

I had asked a blog about the gravel vacuum and heard some horror stories of it regarding bettas and was suggested to use a turkey baster to clean out the yuckies every week. Plus with my ghost shrimp I really don't have much poo hanging around, and I was worried about them when it came to the gravel vacuum.

I plan to take it to Petco after a day of water sitting in it to get the water tested...

Ah one last, do I have to cycle the tank? I'm really not interested in that sort of thing tbh...seems a bit complex for me.

Any advice would be great; thanks!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Ok where to start one please spend the 5-10 bucks and do not diy a divider and trust me i would prob diy myself but now is just not the best time so that 1 second a aquean Hang on back or even 2 10 gallon rated spong filters on either side would be just fine 25 precent water change 1 a week U MUST CYCLE buy safe start and let it sit for 2 days u will not need to vac gravle and a glass hood with light or u could get a hood w/light built in all in all thats what i need try to aim of opaque divider so they arent stressed soo ull be like me 20 10 gallons in my room 0.o
 
#8 ·
If I can find a divider that is actually that cheap; I have friends who have done DIY dividers with no problem for years and tons of other ppl so I'm not actually worried.

Yeah guess I have some more reading to do about cycling seeing as how I can't escape it at this rate hah.

Sorry but please can you use proper punctuation next time this was just very difficult to read and understand without periods and commas and such.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I have never had a problem with gravel vacuums, What I recommend doing (if you have a gravel vacuum) is I take the fish out and put them in a cup with warm water (Lukewarm is what you should aim for) while I use the gravel vacuum and then when I'm though using the gravel vacuum I will add them back in.

I'm not sure it is a good idea to use a tank that has been scrubbed with bleach, because usually if you clean your tank with any kind of soap It can kill them. But don't stress, if you clean your tank with white distilled vinegar and then rise it thoroughly after cleaning it and let it sit for 24 hours it SHOULD be fine, this is what I did for my 10 gallon tank it had been used for lizards (little sister loved to get them from back yard and keep them for a few days in there then release them). But don't do this if your tank is already scrubbed with bleach..... Well, you CAN but I'm not sure if it would overpower the bleach. But with the whole bleach thing you probably could still use it for your Betta's this is just what I think would happen Just because bleach seems very powerful. Good luck with your new tank!:-D
 
#6 ·
Thanks, I figured if I did get the gravel vacuum that would be the best idea, to take them out just in case.

It's going on three weeks since I cleaned the tank - I cleaned it with bleach, then rinsed it and then cleaned it again the next day. I'll probably clean it once more and then, again, fill it with water for a few days and take a cup sample to Petco for them to test it. I think it should be more than fine; I really didn't want to NOT bleach clean it given it's been sitting in an attic for years-

Thanks very much :)
 
#9 · (Edited)
For peace of mind, do double dividers, with the filter in the middle. This way if one of the boys jumps his divider, he'll be in the compartment with the filter and still blocked by the second divider. As far as filtration, a sponge filter is the best type for bettas because it produces no current and cannot suck fins into an intake and shred them. You'll need to buy an adjustable air pump, check valve, and airline tubing to go along with it. Let me know if you need suggestions/links to specific products.

I don't feel that store-bought dividers are any better than DIY dividers personally. There is always a risk of a boy squeezing over/under one, so the double divider plan is the best option.

There are some gravel vacs with grates available on the market which make it impossible to suck up fish. Or you can siphon with just plain airline tubing, although this takes a LONG time (it takes me 20 minutes to siphon out old tank water and siphon in new water for my 10 gal nursery tank with airline tubing).
 
#11 ·
Definitely use the DIY, I bought a divider and it failed the first night I had it...nearly lost one of the fish. DIY is easy, looks a lot better, and quite frankly, is cheaper.

I use a Whisper 10 filter in mine, the side across from it gets a bit of a protein buildup, but I have a voracious bubblenester (probably comes from having a female in the other half...) so he keeps it stirred up pretty well. When he doesn't I just disturb the surface by hand.

I'm no expert on water changes, and have a completely different bioload, so I'm not the one to ask on that :) Just putting in my two cents from my divided 10.
 
#12 ·
I've had my 10g divided for a couple of years and this is the best set up I've found. The filter and heater are between the dividers. I did have one of the guys get between the dividers but the current was too strong for him to get out the other side so I avoided a fight there.

I have a whisper filter in there and it does fine. I do 30-50% water change weekly, but I only have real plants in there so they help a lot. My gravel vac broke but I mainly used it to siphon water. I did once suck up my half moon. He survived just fine for several months after, but I was really sick about it.

I've never tried to make a divider so I can't speak to how they work
 

Attachments

#13 ·
Uhm, Marvelous, can I just say that I freaking love you? Spiderman plus that amazing tank background...just asdfghjkl. Two of my four bettas are named after Marvel characters; Cap (Captain America) and Alexei (Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian)

That was soooo off topic...sorry
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top