Betta Sorority - Filtering Problem

[JBlacksmith]

I know the topic of betta sororities has been discussed on various forums ad nauseam. . . But I was hoping someone on here might have some advice!

How do you filter a heavily planted tank? I've added tons of plants (silk) and decorations to give each female plenty of hiding spots, but I'm concerned the water is no longer circulating properly. Has anybody else experienced this? If so, how do you fix it?

Any and all information is welcome!

 

[NickAu]

Has anybody else experienced this? If so, how do you fix it?

With great difficulty, I do not have a sorority tank I do however have heavily planted Betta tanks.

What sort of filter do you have? I have been playing around with a HOB and a sponge filter and might have a few ideas.

I modified one of these by adding a tube to the outlet, now the filter picks up water at one end of the tank and the outlet is almost at the opposite end.

Hers how it looks.

The outlet is just above the Crypts, you can see them moving in the current, You can just see the filter on the left side of the tank.

This is a HOB I modified for a 5 gallon cube, again the inlet is at the opposite end of the tank to the outlet.

The inlet is on the left hand side under the heater the outlet is on the right side of the tank.

With heavily planted Betta tanks you will always have dead spots.

 

[JBlacksmith]

With great difficulty, I do not have a sorority tank I do however have heavily planted Betta tanks.

What sort of filter do you have? I have been playing around with a HOB and a sponge filter and might have a few ideas.

I modified one of these by adding a tube to the outlet, now the filter picks up water at one end of the tank and the outlet is almost at the opposite end.

Wow! That's a pretty great looking tank you have there. Where did you get the materials for modification? Are they just regular tubes from a hardware store?

Right now I'm using a Top Fin 20 HOB (it's my quarantine tank). I've never had a tank this densely planted before, but at least the temperature is constant throughout.

 

[NickAu]

Yes the tubes are from a hardware store.

 

[StandbySetting]

There are some great power heads on the market at the moment that have high output but don't cause high pressure water movement, the displacement of water is much more spread out, I'm currently using a fluval cp3 in my 200 litre, it provides great water circulation without blowing the fish around, I wouldn't use one with any male bettas but females should be fine, my angel fish are unfazed by my CP3 and they're huge. They're relatively cheap too, you can never underestimate good water circulation when keeping plants.

I'm not sure of the volume of your tank but a cp1 should be adequate on anything up to 100l