TheBig053 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 With our vacation to Hawaii approaching quickly in 3 weeks, I need to get moving on setting up an ATO. I have decided on the AutoAqua Smart ATO Micro and will be ordering sometime in the next few days. The challenge now is finding a reservoir to hold the water and pump. I am using the bar in our dining room as the aquarium stand and storage in the bar cabinets below is limited due to glassware and liquor storage (priorities!). My thought was that maybe we could find a large decorative vase at some place like World Market or Home Goods with an opening large enough to fit the pump but also small enough to plug easily to prevent airborne debris (damn dirty dogs!) from getting in. My concern with this plan is the vase being made from, or containing, materials that are not safe for the aquarium. Is there anything specific that anyone is aware of that I need to look out for? Ideally this would be made from glass to prevent anything from leaching into the water, but it would need to be painted or stained, on the outside at least, so you can't see the pump inside. Is this just a horrible plan? Should I just bite the bullet and try to convince my wife to allow me to hi-jack more space in the bar to allow for an ugly tuperware reservoir in the cabinet below? I've already commandeered the hanging wine glass rack above the bar/tank to allow for the new light and prevent any potential falling/breaking wine glasses damaging the tank. Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I would use the bar space underneath. I use 2.5 gallon food grade buckets, they dont take up much space at all. Quote Link to comment
pal Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 If you want to go the vase route ,IM hydrofil has an external pump so only a tube would have to go in the vase. Quote Link to comment
Boggers Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 You want to stay away from Lead, but otherwise you are good with whatever. IF you go tubberware method, you can get a pretty good one cheap that is able to fit in a tight space and only displace a little bit. 2 Quote Link to comment
drgibby Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 1 hour ago, Boggers said: You want to stay away from Lead, but otherwise you are good with whatever. IF you go tubberware method, you can get a pretty good one cheap that is able to fit in a tight space and only displace a little bit. I agree with boggers they work great Quote Link to comment
holy carp Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 You might want to just use a 5 gallon bucket for vacation so you have the capacity (depending on how long you'll be in Hawaii), and then you can use something smaller while you're at home that can be more easily hidden. There are lots of space saver rectangular containers that can probably fit in the bar without displacing too much alcohol. 3 Quote Link to comment
TheBig053 Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 1 hour ago, holy carp said: You might want to just use a 5 gallon bucket for vacation so you have the capacity (depending on how long you'll be in Hawaii), and then you can use something smaller while you're at home that can be more easily hidden. There are lots of space saver rectangular containers that can probably fit in the bar without displacing too much alcohol. Funny you mention that. Shortly after posting this i thought to myself "why not just use a five gallon bucket while you're out of town and remove all doubt about having enough water and relying on my neighbor to refill the reservoir". Gonna be gone 8 days so five gallons should be more than enough. I'll leave instructions with my neighbor who is feeding the fish to refill just in case. Will work on a permanent solution when I get back. 3 Quote Link to comment
Boggers Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Cheap lid is plastic wrap with a ring of tape just under the lip of that 5 Gallon bucket to reduce the hair intake. 1 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.