What To Do About My Divided Setup

[trojannemo]

well i only intended to keep 2 guys in my setup, so after countless tries (and thanks to the very helpful people here!) i ended up with this:

it's still a work in progress in terms of the plants and decor (want to get drift wood for the white side, rock for the black side + other plants), but i'm pretty happy with the division.

my original idea was to house some shrimp or a crayfish in the middle partition, not a betta as I learned on here how strong currents stress them out.
then i saw this guy at PetCo:

and being the first time I saw halfmoon bettas in person, I just couldn't resist.

so now i have the blue guy you see on the tank picture (that being Zephyr) in the middle partition. I have the same mesh material that I made my dividers from on top of his partition so there is no risk of either betta jumping to the middle partition. I also have raised the water level to the maximum so as to lower the "waterfall" effect and the current. finally, i stuffed the filter with filter cotton as I normally do, just a lot more.

it's a 20G bio-wheel filter however, and it's still putting out a very strong current I think. while Zephyr doesn't seem really bothered so far (been there for 1 entire day) I know this is not a final solution.
here's my problem:
1) i dont want to get rid of this filter. it's a great filter, expensive AND I bought it only to use on this tank.
2) if i were to get rid of it, i thought of using individual sponge (i.e. disposable) filters in each partition, but that would look ugly and not be as effective in terms of filtration as my current filter, plus that's $15 a month on filters! is there a better alternative to this scenario?
3) i dont want to get rid of Zephyr
4) i dont have anyone to give Zephyr to anyways!
5) i dont have space in my house to put another bowl/tank. parents already got a betta in their room. sister doesnt want one. already have a turtle tank in the living room and I have a 38G and this 10G BOTH in my room...and my friends unfortunately are not fish-lovers so they're not interested.

so taking all of those things into account, what's my best plan of action?

 

[Amunet]

You can take some of that extra mesh you have left over to reduce the flow of the water coming out.
This is what I rigged up for my own filter in my 10gal tank. It reduced the current to practically nothing, but still allows the water to flow out np.

All I did was take some of the stuff I had cut off when I was sizing it... stuffed one end in to the filter in front of the filter bag, then curved it under the back of the little water flow part and wedged it between the filter and the tank lid so it stays in place. So it makes a cupping kinda action.

 

[Mr. Convict]

Like amunet said, kill the current.

There's a guide in the pinned topic "frequently asked questions" in the betta section. look for current killing.

Also, I'm no expert, but that bettas looks more like a delta/super delta than an HM to me.. Or maybe its just because he isn't flaring?

 

[trojannemo]

Also, I'm no expert, but that bettas looks more like a delta/super delta than an HM to me.. Or maybe its just because he isn't flaring?

neither am i. at the store it was labeled as a HM. i wasn't sure either, then i asked here and a couple of people said he's a HM. right now he's barely 3 months or so. he's 0.5" in length (body only) - very very young. he's younger than my other 3 males and smaller in size. this is a picture of him flaring now:

so i've been told he'll be a full HM when he finishes developing. then again, this is my first Delta and/or HM betta so it's out of my knowledge

 

[azulfire24]

looks hm to me, and as for the killing the flow, my sister dose the same thing as the mesh, she just uses a extra filer pad and lays it down the water flows out easy

 

[Mr. Convict]

Oh now i see, it really was because he wasn't flaring.

He's an HM. Great coloring too!

Nice find

 

[constantine03]

I take small (20oz.) coke bottles, and cut the top and bottom off. Then I cut down the spot where the label was. Where the label is, I tape it on the top of the filter, then manipulate the plastic so it curls under to output. This way, the water flows to the back of the tank, and out the sides...cheap and easy. Also, I take some of the black filter sponges and loosely wrap around my intakes so the betta's fins can't get sucked up into it and rip. Good luck.