What is Reddit's opinion of ViaAqua 50-Watt Quartz Glass Submersible Heater with Built-In Thermostat?

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I have that tank, and my betta sure likes it. I don't really use the filter often, but you could install a little spraybar easily if you thought the flow was too harsh. In terms of heaters, I use this but any 50w would probably work. Good luck with your tank build!

Some bettas do fine with a filter like that and some don't. I have a sponge filter in my betta tanks, but previously used a Top Fin Power 10 (the recalled one actually) in a 10 for a different betta than the ones that I have now, and he didnt seem to mind it at all.

50 Watt ViaAqua. The price is right and I have had 0 issues. Adjustable and submersible.

I got all 3 of mine at PetSmart. Fish are delivered on Fridays, so that would probably be the best bet for getting a healthy one. Less time in the cup often helps, and they are sent in heavily treated water for stress and illness (although admittedly, it does in fact happen) If you have a LFS that is not a chain, that might be worth checking out.

He's gorgeous! And your tank is great. If I could make one suggestion, it would be to get a plant with large, flat leaves reaching to the top of the water so your boy can take a nap on them. Unless you already have something like that on the other side of the tank, of course.

I also found this through /r/all, so, once again, here's the betta info dump:

> Another betta picture hits /r/all! And no one else has already said it, so I guess it's my turn.

• Bettas are great pets, ESPECIALLY when housed correctly. That shitty tiny bowl at the pet store? Not a proper tank for a betta. Pet stores LIE TO YOU so people will keep buying shitty, tiny tanks and bettas when their current betta dies. It's not in their interest for you to be smart, do research, and invest in a decent setup, because then you'll have a healthy fish for several years and won't be spending money replacing everything.

• Bettas really do best in at least a 5-gallon tank, but 2.5 gallons is considered the minimum.

• Bettas are tropical fish. THEY MUST HAVE A HEATER. Problem is, heaters for tanks that small are notoriously fickle. You don't want fish soup, after all. I used this heater for my boys and their 5-gallon tanks.

• All fish tanks need a filter, otherwise you have to commit to changing AND treating 50%-100% of the water in the tank EVERY DAY. It's a pain, trust me.

• You MUST dechlorinate water before adding it to the tank, otherwise your fish will die. It'll be a bottle called dechlorinator or water conditioner.

• Get a water test kit. Don't bitch about it, just do it. It's kind of fun, actually. Test your water levels once or twice a week. If your fish get sick, this is the first thing /r/bettas and /r/aquariums will ask about. People will judge you if you don't have this already.

• Bettas are best kept as solitary fish. If you want to keep a betta in a tank with other fish, you'll need at least a 20-gallon tank and probably the advice of /r/aquriums for stocking.

• Yes, you or your friend has/had a betta that was playful and active for four years in a shitty, 3oz vase with a bamboo plant on top that you stuck in a cabinet and only fed once a week and never changed the water. I don't care. You were doing it wrong and you should feel bad. People get mad if you stick a dog in a closet, never let it out, and never clean up the shit that accumluates in there, but somehow if it's a fish it's ok. It's not. Fish aren't as smart as dogs, but they are still living creatures that deserve to be treated well.

• Yes, the pet stores keep bettas in cups and overstock their fishtanks, but those are temporary situations, and every morning I promise you they have to throw away a bunch of dead fish. Corporate doesn't care.

• While I'm here, goldfish are meant to grow up and be huge, gorgeous poop machines. They need a 30-gallon tank MINIMUM with appropriate filtration. Your goldfish died from a combination of suffocating in its own shit and internal organ failure from stunted growth. Sorry.

I’ve had good luck with this brand of heaters and they are quite cheap on amazon.

PS, don’t skip on heaters in your tanks! Your fish DO need them, especially bettafish!

Sorry for the delay, I was traveling.

I found a cheap, low watt version from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005440HLO

Keep it turned way down or the water gets too warm. Nice thing about this one is suctions cups keep it in place. Mine was about half the price at the time, says something either about the economy, the dollar, or Amazon. You choose.

You could probably just go into any pet store and get something off the shelf that would work nicely.

That tank looks great! I would recommend an adjustable heater over a preset one - I use this one .

Well if you do decide to upgrade then I'd grab a 10 gallon. Here is just the list I go through when I buy a tank along with prices. Gives you a bit of a better idea of what you would be paying.

Tank = 10 gallon, 10 dollars (plus tax the jerks) at petco.

Heater = 14.00 (rounding up because it's easier to add and I'm lazy)

Light = Either this one for 75.00 or this one for 44.00. First is medium/high light the second is low.

Substrate = Sand for 22.00 but I'm sure you can find it cheaper or aquasoil for 26.00 (note if you did go with ada you would need to do a water change daily to keep ammonia down and prime on days you were too busy).

Filter = 30

So a total is 155 with a high powered light or 124 with a cheaper light and aquasoil. Sand isn't much cheaper but like I said, you can find cheaper stuff.

Do partial changes about about 20% max weekly, for heater i recommenced this you also need a filter, cause it sounds like you don't have one.

Sponge filters These are cheap and work great if you plan to keep just 1 betta, i'm not sure what size your tank is so choose the right one.

Check this out

Damn :/ really? I was going to buy this one

Filter is that box you see inside the tank, this one: http://www.aquatlantis.com/index.php?id=23&tbl=registos&crct=1 (if it's not in english you can change the language in the top right corner)

Heater not really sure yet, but I think I'm going to buy this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005440HLO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER or something that has the same price...

> viaaqua heater

http://www.amazon.com/ViaAqua-50-Watt-Quartz-Submersible-Thermostat/dp/B005440HLO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463287941&sr=8-2&keywords=viaaqua+heater like this?

would a 50 be too much for my 5ish tank though?

That's just the tank, though - the filter, light, and heater are what's gonna eat up your budget.

Here's the heater I have for my 5-gallons, both going strong for two years now.

This is the filter I plan on getting for my 10-gallon although I am not sure how rough that current will be on a betta yet.

And this is the light I will get, but this is a really nice light for a low-tech (no injected co2), low-light planted tank. There are plenty of good, cheaper lights out there.