Bay7 Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Hi all, Seeking advice about how a Betta Barracks works. I'm looking at around four bays/barracks in one tank. I'm not too keen on trailing hoses and external sumps/pumps etc but would like those components hidden and out of sight, as well as the heater. Found this old post on another forum but found it very helpful. http://ausaqua.net/forum/index.php?s=9f ... =6448&st=0 It's the same type of thing that I want to do but seems a little too over-engineered with all of the plastic extras and hose connections. I'd also prefer it all to be made out of glass as one unit but it would be hard (very expensive??) to put the slots in the rear partition as he has?? Fi5HGuy has given me some advice and offered to show me how things work when I next visit, just wondering if anyone else has suggestions? I've seen some for sale where the rear partition goes from end-to-end as usual but has a 3mm gap all the way along at the bottom. How does that work?? Wouldnt the substrate cover that gap? I'm also not keen on DIY partitions with suckers and would like to buy a tank with the dividers in, as stated earlier. Sorry for all the Q's, but still very new to all of this and have not seen a Barracks set up before. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay7 Posted November 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 I'd also like to add that this will not be for storage or breeding etc. Its purely to home a few of my fish and a bay or two more for another Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 I'm actually getting a similar tank made by Greg, just confirming the dimensions. It goes a little something like this: The idea is that the water flows from the back of the tank into the filter (internal or external), then back into each compartment via the spray bar. From there, the water overflows into the back compartment and the cycle is complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay7 Posted November 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Hmmm, this is where I'm having 'brain-strain SamH........ I understand the cycle, but when the water comes back in via the spray bar, what stops it overflowing from the front or sides of the tank? Why would it over-flow to the back section (where the filter out-take is)? If the back section had slots cut in it, I could see how the water would return back to that section. Perhaps an end-view piccy may help my old 'grey-matter' understand :smln: Also, what would stop the fish jumping over to the back section too? Lastly, with a spray bar along the top, what type of lighting would you use? Soz for all the questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 I would think the level of the glass separator at the back would be slightly lower than the rest of the glass to allow water to flow over the top like an overflow system on a sump filtered tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calculator Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 And if you were worried abouyt the betta's jumping over you could put a grid/grill in the gap. As for the lighting I would think you could still have lights above the tank, the spray bar wouldn't block that much of the light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Ah yes, the separators between each compartment are slightly lower than the exterior glass panels. Then the back panel is even lower than those, making the water flow down the back. I feel this would work better than the usually gap at the bottom due to there being much higher flow. I'm yet to try it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron-Betta Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 back in the day I had a ten bay barrack made for me. Set up like the picture (sorry about my basic paint sketch) water flowed from the HOB filter at the back from one side of the divider to the other (sealed bottom and sides but 10mm shorter than the tank height to fit the HOB hanging on the back of the tank. The water flowed under each divider as there was a 3-4mm gap under each. The back panel of the display side (longest piece of glass down the centre of the tank) was coloured so that it hid the heater which sat in the rear area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Did any fish ever overflow or jump into the neighbouring compartment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron-Betta Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Oops, found some old pics of it and a smaller version No jumping as the whole top of the tank was flush and would be covered most of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 I see now! It's a bit bare for my liking but intelligent nonetheless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron-Betta Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 I had pebbles in the bottom of each as substrate but it was only a prototype for me at the time. It worked well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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