WATER BRIDGE!!

[endparenthesis]

Why do you need the pump? The water would stay there once it was in the tube... but I guess getting it into the tube in the first place is the hard part. Is that what you need it for?

If the tube were short enough maybe you could just dunk it into one tank, cover the end to keep the water in, and put it in the other tank sans pump.

 

[myenigmaself]

I'm filling the tube with style I got a vacuum pump to suck the air out of the tube. The most work initially, but the easiest in the long run. That way I can also let water out of the tube gradually.

 

[Jae1525]

You should light the tube with a cold cathode!
You could turn all the lights out, get wasted and watch the fish swim through!!!

 

[myenigmaself]

haha, that sounds like my kind of idea! I've tried my first wet-run. I still have a few things I need to work out. Notably a good way to secure it to the tanks and how to prevent my bedroom from getting soaked if the pipe should fail and flood my tanks. I need a spillway, but I'm not sure how big to make it, nor how to go about it. In any respect, I've filled the tube about 7/8 full. It seems to be holding very well. The fish are a bit skiddish and haven't ventured above the water line as of yet, but give it time. They just need to get used to the idea. Here's a pic of how I've got it set up now!

(p.s. the pump still hasn't come in the mail, but I was able to simply suck all the air out of the tube. I've got super lungs!! )

 

[myenigmaself]

I woke up this morning and there was a Buenos Aires Tetra and a Goldfish in my Severum Tank. They're starting to use the bridge!! More pics to come

 

[chefkeith]

I have a water bridge on my tanks made out of 3" pvc. It's not quiet as elaborate as your set-up though. I used 45 degree elbows instead of 90 degree elbows also. The rim of the tanks support the weight of the bridge, but it's not nearly as heavy as your will be. To create the water tight vacuum, I just dunked my bridge into my large tank, letting all the air out, and sealed off one end with some wire and plastic. Then I just positioned the bridge between my 2 tanks, then removed the seal. I have a canister filter creating the flow between the tanks. I have the intake for the canister on one tank and have outtake on the other tank. The canister is rated at 350gph and the fish have no problem swimming through the water current in the bridge. I've had the bridge hooked up for 8 months now and have not had to disassemble it to clean it yet.

What I've learned is that some fish love the water-bridge and will use it all the time, while some fish don't even know what it is for and seem lost if they go through the bridge. For example, My clown Loaches love the bridge and have made it part of their daily lives, whilst most of my Tiger Barbs won't use it at all and if they do, they seem lost when they get to the other side.

myenigmaself -Goodluck with your project. It looks great so far. I'm sure some of your fish will love having the added freedom to move about.


The attachment is an old pic of my tanks when I 1st had the water-bridge hooked up. I have diy hoods on my tanks now.

 

[myenigmaself]

Very cool ck. I have caught two guppies in my bridge, and two other fish have switched tanks. I thought about 45 degree elbows, but when doing my calculations I figures out that they wouldn't fit in my tanks! Mine are too close together, and not long enough. In any respect, I like what you've done. As for the fill and flip aproach, mine's just too big. even if you ignore the fact that it would be super heavy, my bridge doesn't fit in anything I have. It doesn't even fit in my bathtub! That's why I went the approach I did. I hope my severum start using the bridge. They're the reason I built it. Thanks for the post

 

[Fuzzy]

wow thats awsome

 

[mwm]

Why was it sooo expensive $200 us! Wat was the price of the pump thing?

 

[myenigmaself]

Well, I'm an idiot. The pump I bought wasn't a pump in the traditional sense. It has no motor in it, and works off a pressurised air supply. I have no such supply, so I've scratched that idea. It's pretty easy to just such{edit : suck} the air out of the tube, so I've been doing that. I still haven't been able to seal it properly. I need to put it in a pool or something to see where the leak is coming from. I'll upload some more pics of my guppies in the tube this weekend

mwm - Most of the price was in the actual pvc. 6" clear pvc is like $19/ft, and I got 5'.

 

[musichead707]

That looks awesome i hope everything works out ok. I cant wait to see when it is done.

 

[maddskillz]

nice

 

[yungnhopless562]

question: how does the water stay in the tubes? blonde question probably

 

[jflowers]

The science is explained earlier in the thread. Basically its water pressure, same as if you submerse a bottle in water till it fills up, then turn it upside down and slowly raise it out of the water, the water stays in the bottle untill you take the bottle completly clear of the water.

Jon

 

[Paradise_Gourami]

thats an awesome idea, wish i could do that