Help With Corner Tank

[eduller]

Thanks!!!
 
Got the ruffled swords yesterday and did a rescape. Changed the focal point. I like it a lot better now, but still not quite right. I've vowed to let it sit for at least 3 weeks to see what grows well or if anything isn't getting the right light, etc. 
 
I'm also now thinking since I invested so much into these plants, maybe I should get CO2. From what I've been reading, the tank is really too big for DIY. I know nothing about it though. Maybe that will be my project while the plants grow in.
 

 

[KrazyKuhli]

Like the path in the middle, looks good.

 

[attibones]

I'm really digging this. Where'd you get the plants? As far as I'm aware, it is totally cool to link to shops and such, just not to forums.
 
Do you think you could do a video or a step-by-step guide on how you made the background? I'm absolutely in love with it. Would you also mind telling me roughly how much a background like that cost you for supplies?

 

[EllieJellyEllie]

You absolutely need more then 10 bettas for that tank. You NEED at least 25, you really have to crowd them. And if you add in stages it needs to be rescaped each time.
 
Be prepared for ripped fins, fights, and maybe even deaths. If your fish dont work out (chances are 50/50 that it will/wont) then you need to have homes lined up for them. Wildbetta had 3 sororities before she was confident ir would work out. She lost a few girls. Eaglesaquarium and Gizaroo2 have had luck and theirs have worked out though.

Also, sororities cant really have scapes, they just need plants everywhere. Tall up the front, back, middle sides, etc. And short everywhere as well.
 
I would say your tank is more suited for community at this stage. And Im sure you dont want to rescape.

You're tank looks good so far. I really like that background with the ledges you have. Did you make it yourself or buy it? (I've been looking for one) (Sorry if you said something about it and I didn't read it

)
 
 
I don't think you'd need 30-40 females in a tank that size. I think 10 would do just fine, each could have it's own territory, and with all those plants there would be plenty of hiding places. You could probably add a shoal or two of schooling fish too.
I've had a Sorority before, 10 females in a 20 gal with a school of corries. And everyone did fine. In the later years when the girls started to die off (Due to age, I had said tank for 4 years) I took out the remaining 4 and added them to my 30 gal and they generally left each other alone - except at meal time, but that's to be expected. 
That's just my opinion though, others may see it as a necessity, it depends on the experiences they've had, because really, all Betta's have different personalities. 

 
 
You made a few mistakes I just want to correct here, and please remember Im not being rude at all
 
Females dont make territories, which is the reason sororities work with females, and why males cant live together even in large tanks is they make territories and dont let anything near them.
 
They need to be crowded, if they arent they will fight. To.keep fighting down at meal time you make a feeding line of pellets across the tank.
 
Sororities generally do best with a species tank, and just maybe a school of bottom dwellers like sterbai cories (these are the best for bettas), kuhli loaches, or a small pleco. They can also be with shrimp and snails.

 

[eduller]

I got the plants from 3 different sources. I'll link them!
 

• http/www.tricker.com - hands down my favorite place to get plants from. Find the "Aquarium Store" link on the right side of the page. They don't have the hugest variety of plants, but the plants I did get from them arrived in excellent shape and in HUGE bunches. From there I got anacharis, water sprite, ludwigia, wisteria, aponogeton crispus, and joshua plant (which I think is just a variety of bacopa?).
• http/www.bobstropicalplants.com - they have a much larger variety and good prices (though I haven't found anything to beat Tricker's prices). I ordered a nice big amazon sword from them a few months ago which came in good shape. Then just recently I ordered their 10 assorted anubias pack which came with a nice selection from big to small and I also ordered the 10 crypt pack. All arrived in nice shape.
• Then an ebay seller who was recommended to me by several others. manuelpino2012. I ordered 6 medium sized ruffled swords which came in wonderful shape and are nice and large.

 
I actually have been meaning to write up a journal of making the 3D background, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I spent $10 on the styrofoam, $10 on aquarium silicone, $12 on a quart of drylok latex, $8 on a bottle of buff colored quikrete tint, and a couple bucks on box cutters from the dollar store for a total of about $40, give or take. It took me about 4 hours of total work to make it, not including the drying time in between each coat of Drylok and then the 72 hour cure time of the aquarium sealant. The styrofoam was just a 6 pack of 2x4 foot insulation sheets from Home Depot. The Dyrlok is latex based.
 

1. I spent approximately 2 weeks looking at backgrounds online, obsessing, and conceptualizing what I wanted it to look like.
2. I made a cardboard box template of the area of the tank I wanted the background to cover, using a box I already had - I'm sure it was a fish supply shipment box from Amazon
3. Cut the styrofoam to the rough shape using a box cutter. I made this in two pieces, one for the left and one for the right sides of the tank. Then I shaped the edges so there were no square areas to make it look kind of like weathered rock. I found the cheap $1 store box cutters that have the 1 long blade that you break off as it wears down to work best. That way I could extend the blade out a few inches and use it as kind of a saw.  I also dug some grooves and cracks, indentations into the entire thing so it wouldn't look just like a flat rectangle and more like weathered rock.
4. Cut the little outcroppings and ledges, making sure the back part was flat so it would glue easily to the background with no gaps, then I glued them on with aquarium silicone.
5. Did 1 coat of plain Drylok, making sure to get all the edges but not the back, let dry for 24 hours.
6. Did 1 coat of darkly tinted Drylok (tinted with quikrete tint), let dry for 24 hours.
7. Did 1 sponged on coat of lighter tinted Drylok, let dry for 24 hours.
8. Hated the look of the sponged coat, so did a complete coat of the lighter Drylok, let dry for 24 hours.
9. Got a paper plate, mixed 4 stages of Drylok from very dark almost mahogany to just a shade lighter than the full coat. Used an old beat-up paint brush and just dry brushed all the colors over it. So I dipped the brush in the paint, scrubbed most of it off on a plain brown paper bag, and then just randomly passed the brush lightly over the whole thing in random spots. I used a finer brush to paint some of the darkest color into the cracks I carved to give them more depth.
10. Let the whole thing dry for 48 hours until there was absolutely no Drylok smell.
11. Spread aquarium silicone over the back, making sure to get a good bead along each edge to create a seal so nothing will get trapped behind. Put it carefully in the tank about 3 inches from the bottom to leave room for the substrate. I let it dry for 72 hours until there was no vinegary smell left. Filled up the tank!

I have confirmed that Drylok once cured is completely safe in the aquarium. However, just because I'm paranoid, I ran carbon AND purigen in the filter for a week. It's still fishless cycling, so I haven't added any fish yet. But the background didn't alter the pH or anything like the concrete ones do. I did end up using the entire quart of Drylok, so if you're doing a larger project I would buy a full gallon from the start. But I only used 2 of the sheets of styrofoam. I used both of the 2 small tubes of aquarium silicone - they were the DAP brand from Home Depot @ $5 each.
 
p.s. I have decided not to do a sorority after all, so I'm not going to have to do any waiting for plants to grow in. My friend needs a new home for a few honey gouramis, so I'm going to take them off her hands when the tank is done cycling instead of the sorority.

 

[nortonmad213]

just a sidenote from personal experience. make sure that there are no holes in the pots else they will find a way in.
and i agree with ellie.
i am running a 170l with 20 females and i want to go to 30 if not more so definatly more than ten

 

[eduller]

I plugged up all the holes with aquarium stones glued in!!
 
And I ended up not doing a sorority after all. I have a happy little peaceful community with my 3 lovely dwarf gouramis and friends
 

 

[daizeUK]

You need to do a planted journal

 

[eduller]

Maybe I will! It would be a good way to keep track of what changes/scaping I liked and worked and what doesn't.
 
I just did a big trim as well, and somehow it still looks like one of those documentaries where they show you what it would look like if all the humans died and nature took over.

 

[daizeUK]

Lol!  I want to see that