Betta set-up conundrums

[Sandpiper]

I've loved fish since I was a kid but only recently decided to venture into caring for some on my own. I've been doing a lot of research over the past couple of months, but obviously nothing beats personal experience.

I finally decided to get a betta (once my tank is all set up) and possibly some other tankmates. I got an Eclipse System 6-gallon tank. I haven't done anything with it yet (other than make sure all the parts were there), due to feeling a little overwhelmed. I've now read considerable information on bettas, some of which is contradictory. Hence my feelings of frustration. My primary goal is to keep my fish healthy and happy. I also want live plants, and I want them to be healthy and happy. Anyway, I have a number of concerns. I'll just post two of them for now:

1) The Biowheel -- I've heard that this has two drawbacks: a) that it sucks too much CO2 out of the tank, which starves the plants; b) it creates too much water agitation for the betta.

If these are true, what do I do about these issues?

2) I've read some people don't like the Eclipse systems and prefer Mini Bow for their betta. A 6-gallon is the largest tank I can have right now, but I'd be willing to get a Mini Bow 5-gallon if people really thought that brand to be superior.

Thanks very much!

 

[Lotus]

I have a 5g hex tank for my betta that has a biowheel, and it has a nice low current for him. I think it depends on the type of biowheel setup. The biowheel itself doesn't really create extra current, it all depends on the strength of the filter itself.

The biowheel/CO2 issue is only a problem if you are using a system to inject CO2 into your tank.

Hopefully someone with either an Eclipse 6 or MiniBow 5 will let you know how their betta likes it.

 

[colesea]

My betta lived a good long life (4 maybe 5 years) in an Eclipse six without any problems *shrug* at least, so far as he didn't tell me there were any.

The biowheel doesn't disturb the surface of the water any more than any other regular filter down-spout does. If you remove the biowheel from the filter, you'll still get the same surface aggitation as you get with it on there.

Okay, I just checked it out. You do get slightly more aggitation with the biowheel in the filter than not in the filter, but the difference is negligable when talking about how it affects a betta.

The only difference between the mini-bow and the Eclipse six is the type of filter system, and some people just prefer the cheap Whispers than the nice biowheels. Again, it all pretty much depends on how much you want to spend. I like the biowheels, and I like the style of the Eclipse six (mini-bows in hot neon colors never really appealed to me). To each their own.

But if you eventually plan to do live plants, you may have to remove the biowheel from the filter for the reasons Lotus explained.
~~Colesea

 

[Toyman321]

I recently helped a friend set up an eclipse-6.

I had heard a lot of negatives about the tank due to the lack of lighting but I have to tell ya, I was impressed with the tank. Very nice tank, I'd take it over a mini bow any day.

We did have the simmilar problem with the current, our high tech solution: top up the tank. When the tank was filled all the way up it wasnt nearly as bad, definitly suitable for a beta.

As for the lighting and plants, the lights are definitly OK for some low-light plants, she has some lower light plant trimmings our of my tank in her eclipse and they have been fine.... definitly not growing as fast, but they are healthy.

Also with your beta dont forget the heater.

Good luck and congrats on your first tank!

 

[revfred]

Very nice choice. I have bettas and plants (low-light and also floating plants) and they do fine. The current created by the bio-wheel is, as mentioned, rather gentle and the addition of floating plants dampens the water flow even more. You have the makings of a very attractive set-up.

 

[Sandpiper]

Thanks to all of you for the info! I feel better now.

I was wondering, is there an archive section on this forum or perhaps a section storing articles for beginners like myself? I ask because I hate to ask questions that may have already been asked a kazillion times. Also, Colesea mentioned that there must be info here on making ordinary things (beach pebbles, wood, ceramic stuff, etc,) safe for your aquarium, but I haven't been able to find it.

Thanks again!

 

[Toyman321]

Here's the link to articles:

http://www.myfishtank.net/articles.php

To get things "tank safe" you can clean them with amonia (it will get cycled) and you can boil them. You need to make sure that the material that the new decoration is made of is tank safe though.

 

[Sandpiper]

Toyman321,
Thanks for the link to the articles! I guess I just haven't discovered all the ins and outs of this forum yet ... sort of like a fish exploring a new tank.

Anyway, thanks again for all the suggestions and reassurance. I'm going to stick with the Eclipse System 6. I know some folks think you shouldn't start out with anything less than a 10-gallon, but I just don't have the space right now. However, I must admit, I'm already trying to figure out how to rearrange my living room. But for now, I'll start with the 6-gallon.

I have another question -- about decorations: OK, I know you have to be careful with bettas due to their fragile fins. Are polyresin (plastic) decorations not an option? What if it has no jagged edges and feels soft? All of you veteran betta keepers, what do you use for decorations? A natural look is fine with me. I'd love to have something like an arch and also a cave-like space for my betta. There are plenty such things made out of plastic, but I don't know how to create them out of natural materials. This may sound like I'm being lazy or unimaginative, but really, it's more a matter of being inexperienced and having some anxiety over creating a nice living space for my fish. Anyway, I'd be happy with a nice piece of wood and some rocks as long as I could create some sort of cave.

Thanks for your patience in helping me!

 

[Violet]

You can also get a seven gallon bow, just like the mini bow, but is black instead of funky colours.

 

[tramca]

My tank has fines black gravel , and I bought some small black curved piping from my DIY shop. They hide in there and you cant see the pipe as it's the same colour as the gravel. Each section of the tank has it's own java fern. Simple, but nice looking.

 

[mudwoman]

I've just got some plain old granite rocks from the backyard (carefully cleaned) and lots of plants. I didn't intentionally make any caves for my betta, but he's like a cat and squeezes into all sorts of unlikely places. As for plants, I've got pretty low light and I manage to support marbled vals (taking over the tank), anubias nana, cryptocorne wendtii, and some sort of dwarf sword. Good luck!