Jump to content

DIY Betta Barracks


SamH

Recommended Posts

Hello all. Once again ( :roll: ) I have decided I want to have a go at building my own Betta barracks. Not a permanent home for them but something until they're sold. Here's a pic:

BarracksPlan2.jpg

Firstly, water is pumped from the sump up to a pipe above the top row of tanks. The pipe has drip regulators (Q.1) that control the flow and direct water into the containers. The water then overflows the container into the pipe and down into the next container. The same happens to the next container until the water reaches the sump where it is heated, filtered and sent back up to the top.

Q.1. Can we get drip regulators in NZL? Where from?

Q.2. How do I calculate how much flow I'll need?

Q.3. What is the best pipe to use for plumbing?

That's all I can think of for now!

All advice appreciated thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMO,

You'd be betta (snigger) off by using 3 sumps, 3 pumps and do each level/tier seperately to avoid transmission of diseases, and also, the fish at the bottom of the bank would be getting the already 3rd hand water from above, probably not a great environment unless you have some substantial turnover....

Use drip trays to collect and pipe the water back to the respective sumps. sumps could be smaller, as would pumps.

Use irrigation piping or the like, I don't think that the particular type of tube you use is going to be of major concern if you flush the system well.

Also, you could use gang valves to regulate your waterflow to each compartment.

Calculating your flow, with individual banks is easier, you can calculate how much actual flow your getting by looking at how much is coming back through your drip tray tubing (place a measuring jug on the end and see how full it gets in 10? 20? 30?seconds, then calculate out),

Or, For deciding what pumps etc you want...Calculate the volume for each compartment multiply by the number in a tier, then by the factor of turnover you want

Just some ideas to throw around...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i wouldnt really worry about diseases aslong as the fish your putting in there are ones that your breed or ones that you have already quranteened. you could have the setup like this:

barracks.jpg

where at the end of each green arrow is your drip emitter on the end of 4-6mm pipe (airhose size) instead of having a run of 15mm pipe above each row

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would just put them all in a drain pipe and have them all draining and one end.. Goto the warehouse and buy a roll of the black irrigation piping and you can also buy little adjustable plastic valves that screw straight into it, they are cheap as you just punch a whole where you want one and screw it in then your away. That way it wouldn't be much work to have fresh water going into each tank and that is probably the best option anyway.

This is how most people with big fishrooms have their air plumbed in and it works really well but works the same with water :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You've probably spent ages searching the net but heres a link for you to look at

http://z7.invisionfree.com/BettaBreeder ... getnewpost

If you can afford and are able to do it I would recommend that you don't have the overflow drip into the containers below. The other thing I would be careful with is how strong the pump is as it will require careful calculation to get the right feed rate going.

See if you can visit some peoples set ups and see how they deal with multiple tanks on one system as theirs are just a larger version of what you want to do.

Good luck - I'll be watching your progress with great interest. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mind you i did see a tank that was divided up for bettas at spangelas place when i was last there, imagine a shallow tank with a hole drilled in each end, and the whole thing divided up for the fighters. think it was about 4x12 compartments. and there was a small gap at the bottom of each divider. and the idea was that you just hook a canister filter up to the holes and away you go.

what do you mean by that p44?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the boy is away for a while :lol:

Hear that people? BOY as in MALE, not female :roll:

I'm back now, thank you for all the response and feedback. I've been thinking about this a lot and separate drainage for each row sounds best. I've recently got a photo and two videos of the two biggest fry, will upload soon. That is a very good link ADodge :hail: but I'm trying to avoid gutters if possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMG_5511.jpg

IMG_5515.jpg

The second one is the largest fry visible. Am I right in thinking it's cellophane at this stage? They're about 5 weeks old I think, perhaps a bit more. A bit off topic but if the video uploads, I'll post a link. I think they need to be separated soon as the largest one is picking on the smaller ones a bit, hence the need for these barracks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Third post in a row :oops:

BarracksPlan3.jpg

Would it be better to use an overflow pipe drilled from the bottom or one at the back? The only difference I can see if simpler plumbing and more prone to leaks if drilled through the bottom. Thoughts?

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i would go with a bottom drilled hole. reason being that it can make it easier to clean. aslong as the join between the pipe and the box was secure with a strong sealant then there would be no leaks. and have it so that the box drain pipe fits inside the racking drain pipe. and the pipe in the box will help to serve as cover for the fish

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...