The Betta Garden 5 Gallon Aquaponics SystemSuper clean and crystal clear water!
Made for a single female or male betta. With the new Betta garden siphon you can expect:
432 flood and drain cycles per day!
Without ammoniac
No nitrites
No nitrates
No water change
The system takes care of itself and your Betta!
Answer the question on how long do betta fish live
The heater & water pump are mounted outside the aquarium and the lower oil pan sump for extra security and longer float. This configuration also lowers the noise level for your fish.
Just add about 1 cup of water a day depending on how thirsty the plants are!
Step 1: parts list
Some of these parts could probably be replaced with items you already have. An air stone is optional in the sump tank to help grow the front cup plants, but it’s not really necessary.
Almost any aquarium size from 1 gallon up could work for a Betta garden. I started with a 1 gallon container to see what a single Betta would like. After about 4 months everything is still going great and Betta is happy! I’m working on the 2.5 gallon tank version, then on to the 5 gallon tank. The aquarium must be able to be made out of plastic so that a hole can be drilled on the side about 1/2 of the top of the tank if you can drill through glass.
This is the best one gallon tank setup for a single fish because of its massive filtration system and by allowing the maximum swimming space used!
Main parts:
8.1 liter sump tank – lower blue container (Office Depot)
Black or Red Serving Tray (sitting on the tank sump) 13.5 “x 2” x 19 “(target)
1 Gallon Aqua Scene Aquarium (Pet Smart)
Two “Umber” trash cans from Target (again two 2 gallon grow beds)
70-GPH Well Pump (Home Depot)
1/2 “outside diameter clear tubing (a couple of inches long)
Cpvc pipe 1/2 “(about 2 feet)
Multiple Misc Cpvc and PVC adapters
25 watt water heater
Fluval Edge Foam Filter (Pet Smart)
Two 2 “net cups (optional additional 3” net cup)
White PVC Cap – 4 “x 2” to 1 Gallon Container (Home Depot)
1/2 “pvc – approx. 7” long (Fish Tank Output)
1/2 “90 degree water tight connector (Fish Tank Output)
1/2 “thread PVC coupler (Fish Tank Output)
Four green plants & a few lucky bamboo plants (Home Depot)
15 liters of Hydrocorne or other clay rocks – must be completely rinsed out before use!
1 bag of black river stones from Dollar Tree SKU #: 878529 or equivalent
A betta
Some other parts in the picture (5 front mini plants & clay rocks in the bottom pan) are optional and will become part of another instructable.
Step 2: the holes you 4 in the ground. Put in the pump & heater
Note: drilling holes in this type of plastic can be challenging at times. If you start with a drill that is too big, the plastic will crack every time. With 2-1 / 8 inch or 1 1/4 inch hole bits mentioned below, you gRadually work your way up to the pilot hole bit size from smaller drill bits. If possible, practice on replacement plastic parts.
Drill 4 holes in the black or red shell base. Print the “BG_Template file” on 11 “x 17” paper for the exact hole placement. Use a bit of 2-1 / 8 “for the three larger holes. Home Depot Model # 49-56-9626. Use a 1-¼” bit of Model # 49-56-9613 for the smaller hole.
The two corners are 2-1 / 8 “holes grow 2” cups. The smaller hole is for the siphon pipe. The back is centered 2-1 / 8 “, the hole for the plumbing cable and pump.
Bring the 70 GPH pump into the back of the tank sump. Route the power cord and out of the hole in the center back of the tray. Put the heater back into the sump tank and the power cord through the same hole.
OPTIONAL: You can also drill 3 holes for net cups if you want. Some of the pictures below have three net cup holes. This enables an additional system in front of the aquarium.
Step 3: install pump plumbing
See this video for the complete pump plumbing construction steps. Home Depot’s cpvc faucet is model # 102-223HN for $ 4.35, not $ 3.00 as mentioned in the video. The red 1/2 cpvc piece is 13.5 inches long:
The filter at the end is a Fluval Edge pre-filter sponge from Pet Smart (A1387).
The reason I ended up using a cpvc coupler is to help put the filter on. It makes the end piece thicker in the middle.
Use the little adapter that comes with the pump, look at the pump instructions and put it into full swing.
Step 4: grow three 7/8 inch holes in the beds, put more plumbing
NOTE: To get the exact hole size needed and without damaging the grow beds, use Home Depot Model # DSB1011 or equivalent drill bits. After tue
e first tip of the drill has stepped into the wax bed, take it over and slowly turn the drill by hand until the hole is finished.
Two holes in the first “Umbra wast basket” grow bed. These will grow 7/8 “holes. The first hole is 6” up from the bottom of the bed. This hole is for the water delivery pipe (as seen in the pictures) or the optional siphon. The second hole is growing 1 “up from the bottom of the bed.
The angles of the two 7/8 “holes just drilled in the first grow bed are about 120 degrees apart when viewed from the top. See the” Exact Angles “picture.
The third is drilled 7/8 “hole in bed # 2 inches growing up from below.
The Betta garden can run with or without the unique siphon.
NOT siphon configuration:
Just look at pictures and attach the cpvc parts for the non-siphon configuration. Here are more details with Home Depot model numbers:
This part goes on the inside of the top bucket hole: 1/2 in. CPVC CTS Slides X FPT Female Adapter Model # C4703
This part goes on the outside of the top bucket hole: 1/2 in. CPVC CTS chute X MPT male adapter Model # C4704
This piece connects the bucket along with 6.5 “Cpvc tubes to the sump tank: 1/2 in. CPVC 90 ° S X SPG Elbow Model # 52905
Oil pan tank cpvc piece: 6.5 inches from the 1/2 inch x 10 foot CPVC SDR11 Flowguard Gold Tube Model # CTS 12005-0600
1 these placed on both sides of each hole in the bucket: # 15 O-rings (pack of 10) model # 780005
The two lower holes connect the two beds to grow together so that the water level stays the same in both beds to grow.
Parts needed to connect the two grow beds:
2 x 1/2 “PVC end caps with lots of 1/8” holes drilled in them
2 x 1/2 “PVC pipes (approx. 2 inches long)
2 x 1/2 “water tight connectors, Home Depot model # 27621
2 x 1/2 “Cpvc adapters Model # C4703
One x 45 degree cpvc coupler model # C4706
2 x 1 “Cpvc straight pipe pieces
4 x # 15 O-Rings (pack of 10) Model # 780005 [one washer on each side of each grow bed]
Step 5: Optional siphon configuration
Siphon configuration
The unique Betta Garden Siphon consists of 20 parts and various size air hoses in those parts, plus has enough steps & information for a completely self-contained instructable. You can get a siphon kit here http://thebettagarden.com/parts—tools.html or use the non-siphon method.
Note: Without a siphon the water is continuously turned in the entire system as shown in the picture [green arrows = clean water / brown arrows = dirty water]. There are no flood and drain cycles and there will be “dead spots” in the grow beds causing nitrate concentrations to rise.
Water changes needed without the siphon and regular water tests should be done.
How the system cleans the water:
Fish tank waste containing ammonia flows into grow bed 1 as the first stage of biofiltration. Water from grow bed 1 flows into grow bed 2 as the second stage of biofiltration. Bacteria growing in the beds convert the fish waste to nitrates, which are used as fertilizers. The plants consume the nitrates and return clean water back to the sump tank. Grow cups 1 & 2 have plants consuming nitrates straight from the sump tank. The sump tank is pumping super clean water into the aquarium 24/7.
Step 6: adding the aquarium, plants, and water
In order to use the aquarium 1 gallon aqua scene we need to drill two holes and add the water outlet pipe using these parts:
1/2 “pvc – apron 4.5” long
1/2 “90 degree water tight connector
1/2 “threaded PVC coupler
End they put together:
Set the aquarium on the 4 “x 2” PVC cap. The water hose issue should now be over the correct grow bed.
Place two 10 “or larger leaf plants (after flushing them out of the ground) and a few lucky bamboo plants in the back two grow beds (roots starting 2” down from the tops of the grow beds) and fill the beds to grow up to about 1 “completely rinsed from above with expanded clay.
Place a layer of black river stones from Dollar Tree SKU #: 878529 on top of the expanded clay. This is required initially due to some of the expanded clay wanting to float. Over time, you can remove the black rocks, but they look pretty good and leave them in place.
Place two green plants in two cups to grow, add rocks to flushed clay and place them in the front 2-1 / 8 “holes.
Now put rocks or marbles or whatever you want in the bottom of the tank and start filling everything with water!
Fill the oil pan with 2 gallons of water. Fill the aquarium with a gallon of water. Fill each grow bed with about a gallon of water. Schl
pour the pump!
I suggest using the bottled spring water for more healthier fish.
Why bottled spring water?
Dissolved copper, lead, iron or zinc may be in your tap water and can be fatal to fish. Dissolved metals are created by the inside of pipelines that leach into the water over time. Chlorine and fluorine are also found in tap water and are bad for the fish. Leaving regular tap water to linger for 24 hours will remove chlorine, however, most water supply companies nationwide are switching to chloramine instead of chlorine. Tapping to expose to water won’t help remove chloramine, fluoride, or unwanted metals. There are products available that will remove dissolved metals, but they are chemicals too and could potentially be harmful to your fish. Some products have a chemical that will help burn or irritate the fish to help form their “slime coat”. Bettas are tough fish and tap water can handle it, but that doesn’t mean they feel good!
For large aquariums because of the cost you have no choice but to use tap water and some type of water purifier with expensive water filters.
With Betta Garden, it’s only $ 5 to get the whole system up and running with spring water!
It is also recommended to add National Geographic water maintenance tablets occasionally.
Step 7: water level & clean water quick test
Maintain control of the roots on the front two plants. If they are white as in the picture, the water is clean and healthy for your Betta!
The picture also shows the oil pan tank half full. The minimum water level is when the water begins to fall below the top of the pump. The maximum level is when the water hits the top line on the sump tank.
Plants are installed before the betta is added.
In the system with no plants grown there is never a period.
If you started with seeds, nitrogen levels would change constantly making water tests constant.
Step 8: add your new betta
After the system has been running with only plants for a day or two, get your fish!
Keep the fish in its tiny little store container first. Put the entire container in the Betta garden tank and let it float for about 25 minutes to let the water temperature equal out. During this time, keep taking a little water from the storage container through the top hole and put Betta Garden Water back into the storage container. A turkey baster is helpful in doing this.
After 25 minutes, slowly tilt the cup and let the fish slide easily into its new home!
Here are the first few months of a new Betta Garden Betta:
Notice how little flow there is during the system flood and drain cycle happen 432 times a day!
Side note: if you have a female betta and she is like in the video, she will need eggs about every 3-4 weeks. My Betta seems to have stuck an egg and later regrets eating so much. If you notice that your fish are eating eggs, don’t feed them for a day. When you feed your Betta Pellets he or she should only have about 6-10 pellets a day divided into two feedings (depending on the size of the fish). I recommend Hikari Betta organic gold granules. There should never be any leftover fish food after feeding (pellets / flakes / blood worms etc.). Use a small syringe such as the Briggs 650-4004-0121 Pear Syringe (2 ounce size) to clean up any left over food that is floating. This syringe is also good for sucking up oil on the water that is caused by fish feed. Use the Turkey Baster to pick up the food that is sinking!
Step 9: the end
Thank you for your interest in the Betta Garden!