# 55 Gallon divided into 5 sections for Betta boys!



## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

So I have decided to go ahead & turn my spare 55 into a big tank for my males. One day there might be 6, but for now, it is only 5. I am not moving Kenji out of his 90gal unless the Angelfish get to him. And if they don't, I can buy a new male for the 55! Valor is moving out of the section in the 20gal long sorority tank, this will give the girls more room & me more room to add 2-4 new ladies!

Kyle Jr, Valor, Amai, Lemon & Flame will each have about 10 gallons! 

I have made a pre-filter/screen for the intake of my 110 Aquaclear, since I know the suction will be far too strong for them. This gives about an inch & a half of space on all sides from the intake. I will put in the 20-30gal turtle filter on the left side, the AC is on the middle right. Hopefully for the summer the 150watt heater will be fine, I will toss in my other small heater in the Fall. 

I took a few setup pics, had to make my own filter media, kinda ghetto, but the fish don't care unless it doesn't work!

Anyone else have a bigger-than-normal tank for their Betta?
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What do you guys think? I will be taking pics of the filter media later on. Betta may go in tomorrow or I will wait longer. I'm not sure if I should cycle it with that filter or just add the other filter too & keep up w/c until things even out. The second 10gal does not have a filter, that's why it's always getting cloudy, but the fish do well. 

 
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This is the 20 gallon long. Right side is Valor's section.









Here are (L to R) Amai, Kyle Jr, Flame & Lemon's current tanks.









On the ground with an inch of water. Yes, that is the garden hose coming through the front window. 









This is the intake covering. I used two Betta cup lids, 2in of craft mesh & rubber bands to hold it together. In time, I will have to swap out the bands, but it should hold great for at least 3-5 months. 









Here are a few shots of the tank filling up & last pic is full with flash to show intake & background. It will be planted with sand, but I think I will keep the background, it's kinda nice. I am hoping to get 2 bags of sand and make it a good, deep sand bed. I am aiming for 4in, but I'm sure it will end up only 3.


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## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

WOW! That's really impressive! =]


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## Little Marlin (Jul 4, 2010)

*Cool*

love it :-D


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## frogipoi (Jul 3, 2010)

Great! One divider is smaller than the others... Bettas can jump!


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## jmtriro01 (Jun 22, 2010)

nice! im hoping to divide my tank soon.


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## NIB BETTA (Apr 21, 2010)

Check out Neelie's post, it should be very helpful. I am going to divide a 50 gallon long tank this week. I will be using black acrylic dividers to avoid stressing out my fish. 

What are the dimensions of your tank?


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## jmtriro01 (Jun 22, 2010)

@ NIB BETTA - i have a 10gal tank. this is what i can manage for now with my time. i think i've read that post before. by the way, what is that acrylic divider that you mentioned? is it just like a plastic mesh that i am planning to use?


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

frogipoi said:


> Great! One divider is smaller than the others... Bettas can jump!


Yea I know, It's not done yet.


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

My tank? Basic 55gal.


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

Got new pics! Enjoy.

So here is the filter, craft mesh, curtain, towel, 2 rough rocks & 1 A size Marineland filter pad. 









Here are the two 10's, I rinsed them out. Not sure what I want to do with them. I may fill them with water and leave them be. 









And here are two pics, top with Betta in their cups & bottom with them free in their new homes!


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)




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## NIB BETTA (Apr 21, 2010)

jelmeraguirre said:


> @ NIB BETTA - i have a 10gal tank. this is what i can manage for now with my time. i think i've read that post before. by the way, what is that acrylic divider that you mentioned? is it just like a plastic mesh that i am planning to use?


It's kind of hard to tell in these pics, but here are two of my tanks.
This is my ten gallon divided three ways.








Here is my 20 gallon long tank.








This is the best pic I could find showing an acrylic wall. The downfall is you have to drill enough slots or holes to have a decent flow of water.


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## NIB BETTA (Apr 21, 2010)

Secuono,

I would secure the dividers. I have read a few horror stories of betta's getting out of their sections to attack their neighbors. I can't tell from the pics, where is your filter placed?


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

In my last pic, first left section has a heater and little filter. On the right, 2nd section, is another heater and much larger HOB filter. That white thing mid way down is the intake. 

I have had Betta go over and munch on their neighbors. Lemon attacks Flame & Kyle Jr. got beat up by is next door buddy who has since passed away. All have healed long ago. But the only way for them to get through now is if I change out water and not watch the dividers or if the fish grew 20x in size. 

I have not silicon-ed them in place because I do not know if I will have to move my last male also. I would rather not, since this would make the sections quite narrow.


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## NIB BETTA (Apr 21, 2010)

secuono said:


> I have not silicon-ed them in place because I do not know if I will have to move my last male also. I would rather not, since this would make the sections quite narrow.



This is the dilemma I am facing with my 50 gallon. It is pretty deep, almost 18 inches, if I divide it into seven or eight sections, they will still have over 6.5 gallons of water. It's just that the viewing space will only be 6-7 inches.


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## jmtriro01 (Jun 22, 2010)

NIB BETTA said:


> It's kind of hard to tell in these pics, but here are two of my tanks.
> 
> 
> can you tell me the dimensions of your 10 gal tank? i feel like my 10gal is too short compared to yours. thank you!


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## NIB BETTA (Apr 21, 2010)

jelmeraguirre said:


> NIB BETTA said:
> 
> 
> > It's kind of hard to tell in these pics, but here are two of my tanks.
> ...


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## jmtriro01 (Jun 22, 2010)

NIB BETTA said:


> jelmeraguirre said:
> 
> 
> > It is 20l x 10w x 13h.
> ...


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

_*Gallons-size in Inches-empty weight-full weight
10 Leader- 20 1/4 x10 1/2 x12 9/16 - 11 - 111
10 Long - 24 1/4 x 8 1/2 x12 5/8 - 16 - 116
10 Gallon -24 1/4 x12 1/2 x12 3/4- 21- 170
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50 gallon is 36 7/8 x19 x19 5/8Inches. If you divide this tank into 8 sections, you will only have **4.5IN.
36IN long divided into 8 sections would make each only 4.5IN wide!*_


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## NIB BETTA (Apr 21, 2010)

I have a 50 gallon long. It's 48 long x 18 wide x 13 high.


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

Guess that would work then. But 6in is only as big as an average human hand, seems small. 
If you lived near me, you could buy my two 10gal divided 2 ways. But I don't think you are...


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

Hung the light 3-4in above the tank, might help keep the heat from saturating the tank. Planted the Dwarf Sag, 2 struggling Wisteria & a little Crypt. Also arranged the rocks against the front glass, gives more sand to the plants. Boys are exploring the plants.


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## frogipoi (Jul 3, 2010)

Cool! :yourock:


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

I am now waiting for the plants to grow and new plants to come in. So nothing will look different for 1-2 weeks.


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

Well, Lemon lost his noodle, had to toss him into the 20 gal with the 8-9 Platy.

























PhotoBucket went stupid & messed up the pic. But here's the filter. I got sick of the Bamboo in my way. 









Here is the 20gal Lemon lives in with his new buddies. 

































Here is what I did with the two 10 gallons. First tank has a root that I will turn into a tree in one of the Betta sections.


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## NIB BETTA (Apr 21, 2010)

What type of sponge filter are you using? Is there only one?


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

Who, me? There are no sponge filters, just HOB filters.


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## NIB BETTA (Apr 21, 2010)

Oh, I thought it was a sponge filter. What is a HOB filter?


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## Lion Mom (Jun 14, 2010)

HOB means Hang On Back


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

Yep.
Evened out the dividers & did another 15 gallon w/c since there's an odd dirt/green hue.


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## frogipoi (Jul 3, 2010)

lol Looks perfect


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## secuono (Jan 18, 2010)

Went back to 5 sections, moved Lemon to a new end with filter current. Should help chill him out. The Platy were eating his fins and he didn't care. Added mirror tiles to the 20gal on 2 sides. Pics tomorrow.


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