Need You Opinion In Diy Tank

[argoma]

Hi everyone,
 
So i earlier said i would be getting a 10 gallon tank for christmas but i probably am not getting it anymore so i came up with some ideas and i want your opinion about them.
I'm thinking of making myself a tank with acrylic. Would end up with an acrylic tank, i read they are clearer than glass tanks and also less heavy. I would glue the "walls" with silicon or something, my dad would help me build it.
The problem here is that i have two choices. I can either build a 7 gallon tank or a 9 gallon tank.
The 7 gallon tank would be sitting in the same place where my 2,5 gallon is right now, it would have more of a cubic shape and wouldnt have a lid, just maybe an acrylic thing over to prevent him from jumping. Everything very well done with heater and filter and light, maybe some live plants and tank mates.
The 9 gallon would be in my shelf over my desk and would be rather long. It would be 65cm long as the 7 gallon would be 37cm long. The 9 gallon wouldn't be as wide as the 7 gallon. The problem with this option is with the water changes and cleaning. Since it's one of those shelves that have a top as well, it would be sort of a lid for the tank but this way i wouldnt be able to clean it and put in a filter, heater and light unless i opened a whole on top of the shelf. It would look much prettier and edgy than the other as it would look like it was inside the shelf. Tho it has more cons than pros. Also dont know if the shelf would be able to handle the weight of the 9 gallons.
So for matter of fact this is all placed in my room.
Now, i know it would be better for him and for his future tank mates to make the 9 gallon, i would also be unable of handling the tank. I would open the whole on the top of the shelf but still, i would have to get myself on a chair to be able to put my arm inside of it to clean algae, vacuum the gravel and do water changes.
The 7 gallon has no cons except for the size that could be bigger. I could make it a little taller tho, it's 25cm tall for the 7 gallon. Could be 30 and would become 8,5 gallon. But maybe 30cm tall is too much since betta dont like to swim too much to get air.
Still want your opinion. Which would be a better choice according to the pros and cons of each?

 

[lepackt]

First if there is a betta a tall tank is OK if you have plants at the top for him to hide in, also if you have a filter he would no NEED to go to the surface for air but would probably stay close to the top anyways. So tall is perfectly fine.
Second you would not give the fish enough light in the shelf if there is a boated over it. As for not having room for a filter balloon bellied mollies would go well with him. Hope this helps!! I'll try and answer other questions if u have them

 

[Blondielovesfish]

A tall tank can be okay, though, for ease of maintenance and space, I would go for the 7G.
That way, you can have a filter and everything else needed. Just make sure that you do have a lid.
 
What are you thinking for other tank mates?
Balloon Mollies are NOT suitable for either of your tanks, they need at least 30 gallons and strong filtration because they are messy fish.

 

[argoma]

A tall tank can be okay, though, for ease of maintenance and space, I would go for the 7G.
That way, you can have a filter and everything else needed. Just make sure that you do have a lid.
 
What are you thinking for other tank mates?
Balloon Mollies are NOT suitable for either of your tanks, they need at least 30 gallons and strong filtration because they are messy fish.

 
I was thinking of neon tetras. I wanted guppy but the betta may not get allong with them. Neon tetras and some snails?
I'm getting a snail this next week for his 2,5 gallon, have some questions about that, can you help me with that?

 

[Wildbetta]

First if there is a betta a tall tank is OK if you have plants at the top for him to hide in, also if you have a filter he would no NEED to go to the surface for air but would probably stay close to the top anyways. So tall is perfectly fine.
Second you would not give the fish enough light in the shelf if there is a boated over it. As for not having room for a filter balloon bellied mollies would go well with him. Hope this helps!! I'll try and answer other questions if u have them

Unfortunately you are wrong on most of your information.  A tall tank is ok but bettas do prefer shallower water which does make it easier for them to get air.  Even with a filter the betta has to be able to get to the surface air otherwise he will drown.  Lighting is not vitally important for the fish.  They need enough natural light for the day/night schedule but other than that it is only necessary to have a light for live plants or to see into the tank on occasion.  
Balloon mollys are not good for smaller tanks and would most definitely need a filter.
 
OP --  I suggest the smaller of the two tanks and only keep your betta and maybe a snail in the tank.  You need to be able to work in the tank and keep it clean so the bigger tank although it is bigger is not the best pick.

 

[argoma]

 

First if there is a betta a tall tank is OK if you have plants at the top for him to hide in, also if you have a filter he would no NEED to go to the surface for air but would probably stay close to the top anyways. So tall is perfectly fine.
Second you would not give the fish enough light in the shelf if there is a boated over it. As for not having room for a filter balloon bellied mollies would go well with him. Hope this helps!! I'll try and answer other questions if u have them

Unfortunately you are wrong on most of your information.  A tall tank is ok but bettas do prefer shallower water which does make it easier for them to get air.  Even with a filter the betta has to be able to get to the surface air otherwise he will drown.  Lighting is not vitally important for the fish.  They need enough natural light for the day/night schedule but other than that it is only necessary to have a light for live plants or to see into the tank on occasion.  
Balloon mollys are not good for smaller tanks and would most definitely need a filter.
 
OP --  I suggest the smaller of the two tanks and only keep your betta and maybe a snail in the tank.  You need to be able to work in the tank and keep it clean so the bigger tank although it is bigger is not the best pick.
 

 
Okay i will stick to the smaller one. but i still have two choices, make it 25cm tall or 30cm tall. If i make it 25cm tall it will be 7 gallon and if i make it 30cm tall it will be 8,5 gallon. Is it okay to make the 30cm tall or is it too tall?
 
Edit: the tank he is in now is 19cm tall.

 

[Wildbetta]

Either one will be fine.  It is all up to you. 30cm is perfectly fine for a betta.   I still do not believe that the tank will be big enough for any other fish to live with your betta though so my personal opinion would be to go with the one that will be 7G and get him a mystery snail for a tank mate.  

 

[argoma]

Either one will be fine.  It is all up to you. 30cm is perfectly fine for a betta.   I still do not believe that the tank will be big enough for any other fish to live with your betta though so my personal opinion would be to go with the one that will be 7G and get him a mystery snail for a tank mate.  

 
I will have to see if i make a 7 gallon or a 8,5 gallon, depends on how much acrylic my dad has in the basement.
I probably wont get tank mates other than snails, maybe try aquascaping and get so drift wood and live plants. I'll see about that and update on it once i've got everything planed and done.
Thank you for your help!

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Although they are small, Neon Tetras need a tank of at least 15G because they are active fish
 
I agree with WildBetta about having just your Betta with a Snail.
Don't know if they're available in Portugal, but you get a Nerite snail, they have some stunning snail patterns!
 
Make sure you do a journal when your tank is ready

 

[argoma]

Although they are small, Neon Tetras need a tank of at least 15G because they are active fish

 
I agree with WildBetta about having just your Betta with a Snail.
Don't know if they're available in Portugal, but you get a Nerite snail, they have some stunning snail patterns!
 
Make sure you do a journal when your tank is ready

 
What if i make a 16 gallon long? I only have to check on how much acrylic i have and i can easily do 16 instead of 8,5.
It would be less cubic and would be longer. With that i could keep more fish in the future, like guppy, molly and platy or even a sorority.
Would it be a good idea? How about mantaining it? What kind of filter and heater as well as plants?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Yeah, that could work, you could do something with the dimensions of like 70L x 30D x 30H (63 litres) or something similar, depending on how much room you have.
 
Heating and filtration would be similar, they would just have to be more powerful, so, instead of a 50W heater, you would need a 100W.
 
With the tank mates, are you sure your Betta would tolerate them? Some fish like Neons might be too fast for him and stress him out.
 
Another option you have is dividing the 16G, as I see you have recently got a new Betta. 

 

[argoma]

Yeah, that could work, you could do something with the dimensions of like 70L x 30D x 30H (63 litres) or something similar, depending on how much room you have.
 
Heating and filtration would be similar, they would just have to be more powerful, so, instead of a 50W heater, you would need a 100W.
 
With the tank mates, are you sure your Betta would tolerate them? Some fish like Neons might be too fast for him and stress him out.
 
Another option you have is dividing the 16G, as I see you have recently got a new Betta. 

 
He wouldnt tolerate tank mates at all, i was wrong about tank mates. I got him a snail yesterday and he's been picking on it ever since. Now he's not as stressed by the snail but he goes to check on it every now and then.
Yes i got a new betta which is most likely going to die because i'm a dumbass and bought a new fish without having conditions for him.
I dont really like the look of divided tanks tho... Would probably get only the betta in there and some snails and try (probably not) some tank mates.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

If he doesn't seem to like tank mates then I wouldn't risk it. 
Probably best to stick to the smaller tank, for easier maintenance etc.
 
Sorry to hear about your other Betta, hope he survives!

 

[argoma]

If he doesn't seem to like tank mates then I wouldn't risk it. 
Probably best to stick to the smaller tank, for easier maintenance etc.
 
Sorry to hear about your other Betta, hope he survives!

 
I'll see about that a little later because i have to check with my dad about the heater and filter cause he's buying that as well as plants.
I will keep you posted with the news. May start a journal later on.
Thanks!