Introduction: A Beautiful Way to Change Your Betta's Water

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About: I've been coming to Instructables for years, but I only recently made an account. I love to build things, especially Aquariums. I love living things, and helping things come to life.

You love your betta, but changing its water can be difficult and time consuming, especially if you have live plants that you have to replant every time. There is a easier way. The overflow method. Simply add more water to the tank and let the old water spill out.

Then let's take it a step further and surround your betta's home with beautiful plants, and use the overflow to water them. Here's how I did it.

Step 1: Supplies

  • A betta tank (obviously). This method might not fit with every tank, but for my betta's lovely round bowl it's perfect

  • A plastic catch tray (the kind you put under potted plants) larger than your tank is around, and big enough to plant your plants. For me, that was 12 inches

  • Soil

  • Plants (duh)

  • Some small stones for accents (optional)

Step 2: Gather Plants

I simply gathered plants that were available in my backyard. You'll want to choose small plants that will do well with occasional flooding. I live in the Pacific Northwest, where rain was invented, so these are not at all hard to come by. In fact they're everywhere.

Gather some mosses and small stones for in front of your tank, nothing tall enough to obscure your view. Then I chose a few taller groundcover plants to go on either side of the tank. Make sure you aren't collecting weeds.

Alternatively you could buy plants, a good idea if you live somewhere that's very dry.

Step 3: Set Up

Place your betta bowl on the catch tray, close to the back, but not so close that water will spill over the side. Fill the catch tray with soil until it is just under the lip of the tray. Pat it down a bit, then arrange your stones. Then fill in the areas in between the stones with a variety of mosses, and the rest of your plants.

Sorry I have no pictures. I made it before I thought to do an instructable on it, but I think you're smart enough to figure it out. I believe in you.

Step 4: You're Done!

You now don't have to go through the hassle of weekly water changes. Just overfill your tank to water the plants.

Make sure to put your hand in the tank afterward to lower the water level a bit, as betta's are known for jumping out of their tanks. Enjoy your new beautiful moss garden/betta bowl.

Step 5: One Last Thing...

I know my betta is in an unheated, unfiltered tank. The room I keep him in is consistently 73 degrees, and as bettas are labyrinth fish, they do not need, nor do they like currents. This project makes a filter doubly unnecessary because it makes it very easy to do water changes every week.

If you're thinking about commenting on how I treat my fish, don't. He's perfectly healthy, and very active.