Ratvan's Reefing 9to5 - Feeder shrimp Breeder?

[Ratvan]

Tidal Tank: Aka the Frankencube

 

Current Full Tank Shot:

 

Contest Entry Picture:

 

Equipment:

• Tank (5.5 gallons, 11" x 11" x 11")
• ATO Container (Tide Machine)
• Airstone for 40 Litre Tank
• ASTA 20 LED Marine

 

"Hardscape":

• Cycled Rock from Mantis Tank
• Cycled Sand from Mantis Tank
• Collection Rocks from Beach

 

Livestock:

• TBD

 

The Idea:

• Tidal Tank, along with actual tide action.

 

[Ratvan]

I suggest muting that video unless you like jazz or are Belgian 👍

[Ratvan]

So testing over the weekend the idea works, however the pump is extremely small and underpowered so takes roughly the best part of 2.5-3 hours to make the water rise a grand total of 2-3". I also discovered that I need more air line and also a non return valve for the top of the ATO container so that it doesnt piss water out like a fountain while the pump is on 👍 

[debbeach13]

Interesting. Good luck in the contest.

[empresto]

I'm really excited to see how this turns out!  It is a really neat concept.  Are there any specific inter-tidal creatures you're hoping to make happy with this?

[Ratvan]

35 minutes ago, empresto said:

I'm really excited to see how this turns out!  It is a really neat concept.  Are there any specific inter-tidal creatures you're hoping to make happy with this?

Thanks, i have my eye on a few different options, all depends if i can get this working and not firing water across the room 😂

[Ratvan]

So I think I have figured out how to get this to work, the only thing that I need to do now is to decide how to arrange the ATO container in the tank before I seal it off and silicone it to the bottom of the tank.

 

Option 1, would allow me to hide the container underneath a sandbed and rockwork.

 

Option 2, would allow the filtration to be visible and also allows the air exiting the tank to come out at a higher level meaning a lot less air bubbles and less splashing and potential overflowing

 

 

Below picture shows the total rise and fall of the "tidal filter"

 

Same but without my arm in the shot, holding down the ATO

[M. Tournesol]

I would take solution 1 but with the ATO container stick to the left and back glass (ie. not centered).
that would give you the possibility to hide it with rocks (mini cliff??), have a sand bed with a normal height (or two levels of sand bed like a drop-off tank), and see the inside in case of problems.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Nice! All the best for the contest! 😊👍

[A.m.P]

Huh, I wonder if you could cut a chunk of cheap acrylic to the dimensions of the tank, put some eggcrate vertically to bear weight, silicone it in above and below, and then have a false-bottom for the tide... Although that's basically exactly what you're already doing, but with more steps and work lol...

[Ratvan]

Well came home and have had to use the air pump and the heater from this project on my Betta tank as it was cold to the touch and the filter was not working at all, which leaves me with only the heater that i use for mixing my salt water so not overly keen on using that. I do have a very old and 50/50 faulty Tunze that potentially i could use for flow in this tank not sure. Will have to consider my options, if i do go ahead with this i do have cycled rock so at least there is that 

[Murphs_Reef]

I'm just going to stick to 1 tank and drinking / posting as my main hobbies...

[Ratvan]

So checked in the RSM stand at work and have found a "spare spare" 1500LPH/400GPH nonadjustable internal filter that could fit in the cube, Might have to abandon the tidal idea but keep the overall livestock theme (tidal tank) and just claim its a little deeper or always covered by the tide, will drag it home and do a quick fit test to see how things work..... or thinking about it see if i can drill the ATO container (i know it is not tempered glass) and try something similar but also different but something that I have always wanted to do, will mean that I need to find something suitable to use as a stand however......

 

TLDR: not giving up just yet

[M. Tournesol]

I you have not fear of flushing noise you could go with a carlson surge bucket.

[Ratvan]

12 minutes ago, M. Tournesol said:

I you have not fear of flushing noise you could go with a carlson surge bucket.

very very close to the plan, bell siphon surge tank. Roughly 35 seconds into video

 

 

[ａｗａｋｅｄॢ]

hmmm,,, the moment I saw Ur fireplace, I suddenly thought of this song for some reason,,,

 

 

sooooo out of blue~🤷🏻‍♀️

Good Luck~🙏🏻 btw,,,😊

 

[Ratvan]

22 minutes ago, ａｗａｋｅｄॢ said:

hmmm,,, the moment I saw Ur fireplace, I suddenly thought of this song for some reason,,,

 

 

sooooo out of blue~🤷🏻‍♀️

Good Luck~🙏🏻 btw,,,😊

 

Thanks it looks a lot better with the fire on, my phones camera hates it however  

[seabass]

I like the idea of a bell siphon.  I believe that I've seen one a couple of decades ago at one of my local stores.  They pumped water from the tank up into a reservoir with a bell siphon.  When full, the water would flush back into the display.  It created small a tidal effect, but also served as a primitive wave maker (well before they were very common).

[The Rainy Day Aquarium]

3 hours ago, Ratvan said:

very very close to the plan, bell siphon surge tank. Roughly 35 seconds into video

Ha, Pratical Engineering is a goto for me on late nights.

I've seen a lot of aquaponic systems use bell siphons and even a crusty old reefer here and there use them too like @seabass said (but I feel like you have to be a hardcore t5/metal halide kind of person and have a certain level of grumpiness to be able to harness the true power of the bell siphon).

[Ratvan]

16 minutes ago, seabass said:

I like the idea of a bell siphon.  I believe that I've seen one a couple of decades ago at one of my local stores.  They pumped water from the tank up into a reservoir with a bell siphon.  When full, the water would flush back into the display.  It created small a tidal effect, but also served as a primitive wave maker (well before they were very common).

Thanks, i had planned to do this on my Old School Pico, almost two years ago

3 minutes ago, Chowder's Reef said:

Ha, Pratical Engineering is a goto for me on late nights.

I've seen a lot of aquaponic systems use bell siphons and even a crusty old reefer here and there use them too like @seabass said (but I feel like you have to be a hardcore t5/metal halide kind of person and have a certain level of grumpiness to be able to harness the true power of the bell siphon).

 

 

Yeah i had one briefly on a very old Freshwater system, essentially growing Pothos in the "surge tank" as a very rudimentary filtration system, currently trying to steal suitable supplies from around the office and begging for a lift home with it all 🤣 

[The Rainy Day Aquarium]

12 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

currently trying to steal suitable supplies from around the office and begging for a lift home with it all 🤣 

I mean, normally I wouldn't condone stealing plumbing from underneath the bathroom sink in the office, but I mean hey, it's for the contest right? I'll send you a £ or two for a taxi home 😂

[Ratvan]

19 minutes ago, Chowder's Reef said:

I mean, normally I wouldn't condone stealing plumbing from underneath the bathroom sink in the office, but I mean hey, it's for the contest right? I'll send you a £ or two for a taxi home 😂

Stealing plumbing? Hell no, I am far more ambitious thief than that

 

The one at the front looks like a decent stand 

[Ratvan]

So not the final position for the tank but i am wondering how the temperature of the water will affect the cycle, i'm planning on trying a heaterless british temperate set up. The Rock has been in the Mantis tank and cycled since early july so has had plenty of time to gain some form of bacteria. I suspect that the cycle will continue but the bacterial growth will be a lot slower due to the temperature.  I have also been monitoring this tanks temperature and it ranges from 12c to 20c in my house currently (53.5f to 68f) 🤷‍♂️ lets see

 

[Ratvan]

Been running with no change in parameters for 5 days so decided on where i want the rock. Added light to show example of photoperiod. Will move on the weekend next to the Betta Tank and have a seaside trip planned for November/December for sand, stones and nems

 

[Ratvan]

Well i guess it serves me right for using spares, the Asta 20 LED crapped out on me tonight. Which leaves me with a glass cube rock and an ugly boxy pump.....

 

Interestingly not had any issues with water quality at roughly 15c/59F. I expected to experience something go wrong but seems not.