Betta only tanks - anyone have suggestions?

[webcricket]

Looks like my betta has recovered from pet store shock and has decided that the entire 10 gallon tank belongs to him and that the platies aren't welcome.

The betta is temporarily floating in a cup (with holes for circulation) in the 10 gallon - and I realize this is not ideal at all so I'm picking up new housing tomorrow after work and a breeder net for him to live in until the new tank is cycled. I'd love to let him have the 10 gallon to himself, but due to my stocking situation, and a new batch of gold platy fry due any day, I'll need the 10 gallon available as a grow out tank in the next few weeks.

I'm looking for something in the 3 to 5 gallon range that will house only this betta. I've heard pros and cons for the eclipse systems so I'm not sure how I feel about those. Does anyone here have experience with them (pictures would be great if you can post them)? They look nice but seem like they'd be a pain to do water changes on. Is there a place for you to run a heater and cord on these systems, or is the entire top enclosed?

I'd like to get just a plain old 3 or 5 gallon rectangular glass tank with a hood and throw in my own choice of filter and heater but it seems like you can't get small tanks anywhere but in a kit these days. :confused:

[dorkfish]

Have you tried petsmart for small tanks and nothing else? My local petsmart has 2.5s in right now. Personally. I would just go with another 10, mostly becuase 10s are the cheapest tank size available.

[webcricket]

As much as I'd like to go with a 10 - I'm in a living situation with limited space at the moment and really have no where I could put it. I can make room on my nightstand for a small tank and that's about it.

[TKOS]

An eclipse would be fine but probably more expensive than is needed for a basic betta setup. I would get a 5 gallon tank, an air pump driven sponge filter and a heater. A light can be as easy as a little 15 watt under counter shop light available at WalMart or most hardware stores for pretty cheap.

[Gena575]

I've got a 2.5 mini-bow that I really like. It houses a single betta and some MTS. I run the included whisper internal filter turned all the way down and a small heater. I did replace the incandescent light with a screw in cf from Walmart so I could grow some plants. My betta isn't bothered a bit by the small current the filter puts out and I'm not bothered with daily 100% water changes :) Despite what many others warned me about, it is staying cycled.

[Ms.Bubbles]

Where are you located? Maybe someone in your area can recommend a place.

For example, here in Toronto, Canada, Big Al's sell basic glass aquariums at very reasonable prices.

[webcricket]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I went hunting around today and found a bare bones 2 gallon hex with a lighted hood at Walmart. Then by some miracle of miracles Petsmart actually had the Whisper 3i internal filters in stock, so I grabbed one of those. No biological filtration on it but there is room for me to stick maybe some ceramic pieces down inside it. I'm still on the lookout for a small heater. I picked one up at Petco, but after opening it and reading through the information and warnings I'm a little leary of putting it in an acrylic tank. It's just a rectangular piece of molded plastic of some sort that heats with no temperature control. I'm going to have to check around online for something more suitable.