Open top aquarium construction (Update: Final pics!)

themann42 · #1 (**permalink**) 02-06-2006, 04:10 PM

this isn't exactly a vivarium but this seems to be the place for all the photography so here's what i have.

i don't know if any of you have seen something like this, but i saw something similar at a local fish store and decided to try and build one. if you look at the fourth picture it's easiest to tell what's going on. the aquarium is filled with water to the top as well as the plastic tub underneath. you pump water from the tub up into the center of the aquarium and water spills over the edges, catches the water and drains back into the tub.

the one at the store had a nice even flow of water covering all four sides of the tank, and the water flows so smoothly that you can look right through the sides and top like glass. there's no waves or ripples from filters or anything, it's really sweet looking. with mine however, i don't have a pump that pumps enough water to cover all four sides nicely, only portions of each side. so right now i'm in the process of shaving the front side a bit lower, so all the water spills over just the one side to keep it nice and even looking.

when it's finished i'll have white marine sand fill the bottom and rocks will be stacked in the middle that pile up over the water surface. it makes a perfect enclosure for a few small fish and crabs. it's nice because the crabs can crawl out of the water and just kinda chill out in your room, but not escape because they can only get up in the middle. hope you like it.

defaced · #2 (**permalink**) 02-06-2006, 05:51 PM

One of those ideas that just makes me smile. That's so cool. I really want to see what it looks like when it's finished.

Auhsoj27 · #3 (**permalink**) 02-06-2006, 08:01 PM

Was obtaining a strong enough pump not an option? For as much work as your putting into this, I'd imagine you aren't trying to simply cut that corner, so I'm curious why you compromised there... Did you decide that only having one face of the tank spilling water would be easier to control?

I've seen tanks like this at the pet shops too, and they captured my attention as well... Very cool idea.

themann42 · #4 (**permalink**) 02-07-2006, 05:38 PM

Auhsoj27:
the pump i have is 600gph. of course getting a more powerful pump is possible, with the extra expense, which for such a powerful pump could be quite a lot (my plan was for this to be a relatively cheap project for me to experiment with and have fun).

also size is an issue, because i tried to make this thing small enough to sit on a table top, instead of making an entire stand just for the aquarium (again more expenses). all i have to store water and put the pump in is a little plastic tub, along with a heater and filter.

all i did was shave the front side a bit lower (about 1/16") so the water all flows over the one edge. it still looks really nice because it looks intentional, instead of just partially flowing over 2 or 3 sides. if i ever wanted to upgrade to a larger pump/stand, i could just shave the rest of the edges down to the same height.

i'll probably post some updated pics tonight or tomorrow, it should be finished by this weekend.

kyle1745 · #5 (**permalink**) 02-07-2006, 11:54 PM

Neat, do you plan to put anything in it?

themann42 · #6 (**permalink**) 02-08-2006, 01:17 AM

yes. i am going to put a couple of small crabs in it, along with 3 cherry barbs. just something to make it active. also i think it will be neat to have the crabs sitting on top of the rock, practically in the middle of my room

here's a couple of newer images. sorry they're pretty bad quality though, and on top of that the water's really foggy. once the sand, a few small plants, and animals are in there it should look much nicer. at least from the pics you can see how the water flows over the surface and down the front edge nice as smooth and you can right in without an ripples in the way.

beeswaxx · #7 (**permalink**) 02-08-2006, 01:56 AM

Cool. I might have to try this one day...
Is it very noisy?
Looks good!

themann42 · #8 (**permalink**) 02-09-2006, 12:41 AM

nope. the front face of the stand is removable to get inside. when that's on you can barely hear it.

JoshKaptur · #9 (**permalink**) 02-09-2006, 11:58 AM

I'm worried about the crabs going over the edges... the barbs too.

Ghazanfar Ghori · #10 (**permalink**) 02-09-2006, 12:23 PM

Did you cut the acrylic yourself? What glue/bonding agent did you
use to put this together? Very cool - I'd been thinking about
doing something like this for a planted cube tank and a lookdown
reef - never worked with acrylic though.