YouTube - FISH TANK

I came across this tank on YouTube and while I understand how the water would stay in the upper tank normally, I don't understand how it stays in the tank with the airstone in use. I can't think of any physics process by which that air would be removed, and the lack of air is all that keeps the water up there. It's a neat idea...

Speaking of crazy, yet cool aquarium ideas... how's this one?
It's Knuttz - Home Aquarium

I can't find it at the moment, but I found the site. Apparently they have the filter inlet on one tank and outlet on the other, and because of a system like this's tendency to retain an even level on both ends, this creates a current through the tube - genius! But it also must have cost a fortune in materials, and a world of patience... and a lot of guts.

Michael

I'm not sure, ask on the You tube comments section.
Seems like the top must be sealed, but with the air stone, not sure how that's done. Check valve might do it.

I've seen large Tube Hamster trail fish tanks, tube was a bit more $$$, but easier to work with.

I do not like them.
Tacky and obtrusive. But that's me.......some folks love tacky
Some think my taste might be tacky




Regards,
Tom Barr

i cant work it out either lol

the second one i can see, cos both ends are under the water.. i love this one stunning idea

Yea, I looked through the comments and many people raised the question, though the person with the tank only responded to a couple and seemed to completely miss the point of the question. Many people don't understand why the water would stay in it at all, so that distracts from the people who get that, but don't see how it doesn't fail due to the air stone.

The habi-trail in the restaurant is pretty cool, but I don't think it would be worth the time and expense. Doing it with actual hamster tubes would be silly I think. I agree though that it would be easy to do it and have it be corny. Plus, you would need to have two tanks with water qualities and fish species you would want to mix. Typically we select our fish populations according to our goals for the tank, this would get them all mixed up! :-)

That said, I could see some sort of sculpture type arrangement where maybe several aquariums cascade from one to the next and the fish could go with the water to the next aquarium. Of course there would need to be a way for the water, and presumably the fish to get back to the top aquarium. And if that mechanism failed, you would be in big trouble! The YouTube tank provided a unique design in a relatively simple system. It would still be a problem if it were all released into the main tank I imagine, but we're talking a failure of a silicone tank seal then. You could easily use powerheads to circulate the water air free.

Oh well.. I'm approaching half a dozen tanks totaling over 500 gallons, that's plenty! (I say that now, but... )

Michael

If I had to design it I''d use an air pump with the intake taken from the top of the tank and then pump it back in at the bottom. Air out = air in so as long as the top of the tank is sealed then the water level will stay constant, even during a power outage.

James

I think the top tank has a bottom, which sticks a couple of inches below the water level in the bottom tank. I watched and didn't see any fish go from the bottom tank to the top or vice versa. And the air bubbler is clearly in the top tank, not the bottom tank. Most gimmicks like this have an obvious easy "secret" as to how they work. Notice that if the top tank doesn't have a bottom, what holds up the fake plants in it? It looks nice, but maintenance on it has to be a royal pain.

I came to the same conclusion as James, put the air pump in the upper sealed section which would be under a pressure less than atmospheric due to the pull of the water column, and recycle the air in the water column.

One of the things I find interesting, and I believe common, between the two tanks is how they were filled in the first place. There are only 2 ways I can figure to fill these things:
1. Pull a vacuum at the highest point (a very strong vacuum to lift the water column) while feeding water into the lower tanks to make up for the water going into the upper ones.
2. Cap the upper tank end(s) under the lower tank water lines, fill the upper tanks with water, cap the filler hole and remove the capped ends under the water line. This is the more likely method. If this is the method, then cleaning would just be a matter of sealing the bottom, opening the top and wiping the glass. Detrius would just fall into the lower tank during normal running so cleaning the upper section should just amount to algae etc. Probably not as much of a nightmare as it looks, and the "wow" factor definitely helps offset the trouble of cleaning in a conversation piece like that.
Aaron

I seen at least one fish go from the top tank to the bottom. It looks to me like the top tank has a half bottom to it.

The airstone drawing from the air inside the tank makes sense, but most air pumps I've seen don't draw air from a hose.

To fill the inverted tank you could put a tube up inside it and vacuum the air out. This will draw water up into it. As long as air isn't allowed in, it shouldn't let the water out. I wonder if the structural requirements of holding the water in that way differs at all from holding the water in the traditional arrangement. It would be a vacuum type stress, rather than pressing outward.

The pipe one would have worked the same way, but much greater vacuum would be required. Plus you would have to have lots of water available to add to the tank as it is sucked up. If the seal were to become breached by the water level dropping below the tube, it would let air in and water out... probably not in a good way!

Michael

I think I have the answer your looking for. http://www.aquatichouse.com/Pumps_fi...rioairpump.asp