Puget Sound Biotope

[madmark285]

Cute little amphipods shall remain cute.

Great! I was worried about these little guys

This has not been resolved, so if it proves unattainable I may give up on the tidal wave idea. At the moment, a second tank (5 gallons) and pump are being considered.

To create a tidal wave, a Bell Siphon is what you need. In fact, everyone should have a spare bell siphon just in case . Skip to 2:15 in the video for the naughty part.

Water changes will be done by draining the holding tank (10 gallons), you are correct. Bio macaroni will be in the middle layer of the holding tank, with sponges and floss arranged in a basket that can be easily lifted for cleaning. This layers are going to be adjusted for ideal flow.

Oh, ok. The holding tank is a BFF (Big Fracking Filter).

The craziest idea of all is I am considering a suggestion by my Swedish mentor and pump ocean water to the house. Why not? ?

PVC pipe is quite cheap these days. Or just buy one of those big houseboat with no engines, plenty of salt water there.

 

[eatyourpeas]

Please bear in mind that I am a sucker for Rube Goldberg contraptions. ?

 

[Colin_T]

So, what I am playing with at the moment is whether I create a current by using the overflow concept (think little cheesy bamboo water fountain that tips when full, releasing the water). This has not been resolved, so if it proves unattainable I may give up on the tidal wave idea. At the moment, a second tank (5 gallons) and pump are being considered.

It's called a wave maker or wave dump. I made one years ago with a rectangular ice-cream bucket, a couple of round lids from a Chinese food container, some airline, plastic taps and a coverglass. It worked great as long as the waves only occurred 2 times a minute otherwise the tank would start to sway.

Basically I cut the icecream bucket down so it was a triangle that rocked on the edge/ corner.
I stuck the round Chinese food container lids on the ends of the ice-cream bucket so the whole thing could rock n roll freely.
I put a small lead weight on one side of the bucket so it leaned to one side when empty.
I had a small water pump in the tank and bled a bit of water off that with airline and a plastic tap. The airline hung above the plastic bucket and dripped into it. When the bucket filled up it spilled into the tank and created a wave.
The whole thing sat on a cover glass about 6 inches wide and was located at one end of the tank. It worked really well and you could see the sea anemones and fish getting washed one way then back again as the water got dumped in the tank.

I have seen people make them from glass too. One guy ran his off the outlet from a power filter. He simply tapped into the outlet hose and bled some off into his wave maker.

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The craziest idea of all is I am considering a suggestion by my Swedish mentor and pump ocean water to the house. Why not? ?

That depends on where you live and how close you are to the beach. There is a public aquarium in Perth called AQWA and it pumps water from the ocean into its tanks. If I was rich enough and lived close to the coast, I would pump water from the ocean into tanks too.

AQWA - The Aquarium of Western Australia

Every day is different at AQWA! From FREE school holidays activities to exclusive adult only evening events. An awesome underwater adventure awaits you at the Aquarium of Western Australia! Visit us today at Hillarys Boat Harbour. Phone (08) 9447 7500

www.aqwa.com.au

 

[madmark285]

I may give up on the tidal wave idea. At the moment, a second tank (5 gallons) and pump are being considered.

So the 5 gallon tank is a bucket dump system?

There is also something called a Carlson Surge Bucket, it can drain a 5 gallon bucket in under 10 seconds. It works on the same principle as a bell siphon.

Another one is the Borneman Surge Device, basic a toilet fill value in a 5 gallon bucket. Now if creative, using multiple fill value all connected to one float ball. That should drain fast.

Mark

 

[eatyourpeas]

So the 5 gallon tank is a bucket dump system?

Indeed.

Brilliant suggestions, thank you!

 

[madmark285]

Indeed.

EDIT: FYI, it is spring break here in western NY which means winter snow advisory. Yep, I have too much spare time this week.

Is this one of those "I going to make this work even if it kills me" project?

The tank is 15" deep, do you really want the downward force of the water with a bucket dump system? Trying to stay positive here but maybe a second opinion is needed, what does Fermat want?

One thing about the bucket surge system, they are cheap which mean you can add a couple buckets to create the chaotic turbulence found in shallow waters.

Question, what did you use for the holding tank.?

 

[madmark285]

One more idea for the tidal wave system.

I believe you are making a plywood tank so make a rectangular box (a drawer) with plywood but leave one side open. Have the drawer sloped up and apply the "cheesy bamboo water fountain" system, when filled with water the drawer tips just enough so the water come rushing out in a horizontal direction.

 

[eatyourpeas]

That depends on where you live and how close you are to the beach. There is a public aquarium in Perth called AQWA and it pumps water from the ocean into its tanks. If I was rich enough and lived close to the coast, I would pump water from the ocean into tanks too.

Yes, the Seattle Aquarium does exactly that and I have the filtration diagram for the whole facility. They have been essential to my understanding of how to work with the resources I have.

We do not have unicorns, fairies and mermaids though. Or seven deadly sins. Must be something in the water over there...

 

[eatyourpeas]

EDIT: FYI, it is spring break here in western NY which means winter snow advisory. Yep, I have too much spare time this week.

Well, I have been neglecting my Latin homework and restoration project, which is not good at all. I can't seem to have enough time for all the things I want to do!

Is this one of those "I going to make this work even if it kills me" project?

Not at all! The beauty of this project resides in the planning to prove that it can be done without spending a fortune. I can go get all the components but that will require a budget I am not willing to entertain. If at the end, all fails, I won't be heartbroken if it doesn't materialize. The learning process has been amazing already!

The tank is 15" deep, do you really want the downward force of the water with a bucket dump system? Trying to stay positive here but maybe a second opinion is needed, what does Fermat want?

Yes, it is shallow, I admit. There are lots fo rocks for anemones to attach and feel the water rush, as well as a more protected area for the grunter. Flow does not necessarily mean white water. Again, this is all adding variables to see if it works. Fermat is a clam and does not really talk to me. He seems happy when I feed the tank, but he'll most likely reside at the bottom of the calm part of the tank.

Question, what did you use for the holding tank.?

There is one 10-gallon and 2 five-gallon fermentation tanks. I like them because of the lids that screw close to provide a nice sealed vessel. This is a picture of the 10-gallon:

I believe you are making a plywood tank so make a rectangular box (a drawer) with plywood but leave one side open. Have the drawer sloped up and apply the "cheesy bamboo water fountain" system, when filled with water the drawer tips just enough so the water come rushing out in a horizontal direction.

That may prove to be a problem due to space. I do not have any leeway in the horizontal dimension. I will need to remove Opa (GF clock) and am not willing to do that.

 

[madmark285]

I am intrigued by these surge buckets. Instead of a sand waterfall, I can create Wokhulupirika Wakale , a sand geyser which erupts every 15 minutes or so.

 

[eatyourpeas]

I am intrigued by these surge buckets. Instead of a sand waterfall, I can create Wokhulupirika Wakale , a sand geyser which erupts every 15 minutes or so.

I can't wait to see the look in Mrs. Mad's face!

 

[madmark285]

I can't wait to see the look in Mrs. Mad's face!

So this is my evil plan.

Mrs Mad has no interest in aquariums but she did offer to buy me an aquarium screensaver program for our big TV, I thought that was very generous of her. Mrs Mad may be very mad when she discovers I now have 2 75 gallon tanks in my fish room but once the sand geyser erupts, I sure she will love my new Mbuna tank!

 

[eatyourpeas]

Quiet low tide evening... Went to see who was lurking in and near the water, beside coyotes.

 

[cdelly]

Quiet low tide evening... Went to see who was lurking in and near the water, besides coyotes.

View attachment 133646

the low tide can wait till them coyotes aint around

 

[eatyourpeas]

And we have new inhabitants!
Lorenzo is a Hemigrapsus oregonensis and really cute and feisty!