river tank idea

[nuvolari]

The other day I was just thinking about the old riverloaches that seem to be arriving in australia and also after seeing some of the photos of there environment and white water and rocky waterfalls.

I have come up with an idea that might work and or might not! need help on what people think of the idea.

The basic concept is to split an tank into three parts (realy only two).
Having two open areas like the river tanks that we have all created now thanx to the infomation by those pioneering few.

Two open areas at each side and in the middle of the tank as the deviding force creating a very fast rocky rapids with alot of water movement and white water.

Here are three images that i just put togeather quickly so there a bit crap.


used the cardboard for the test hack and a two foot aquarium to see if it looks right!



The reason for the powerhead and filter in the first compartment on the right is so that there would not have a dead spot which you would surely get otherwise.



I just not to sure on the exact water turn over pump that would be needed. I know that this would only work on a 4 foot tank (orlarger) due to the amount of rocks you would want to use.

Hope you guys like it and any feedback would be nice. Need to feel its right before I try it.

[Martin Thoene]

Hi nuvolari, welcome to LOL.

When you talk about pioneeering people with "River tanks" do you mean those compartmentalized types of tank that often have some land area for amphibians or plants? It seems from your idea you might be going on a tangent from that.

I love to see people's ideas like this, but I have to comment that your design (if I'm interpreting it right) will not give you quite the effect you are looking for.

The powerhead and powerhead pump are just creating turbulance within the first chamber. Flow over the rocky area is solely dependant on the inlet and outlet from the main filter. To get a 'white'water' effect through the 'rapids' you would need a filter of huge turnover. The area of your tank which has a unidirectional flow will only be the rapids are. The first chamber will have a tumbling, confused flow as the pumps work against one another. The second chamber will have relatively calmer water due to not having the concentrated high pressure outlets of the two powerheads.

All that superstructure will make for a very clutttered and not particularly aesthetic looking tank IMO.

All Balitorids have high oxygen requirements and are used to water travelling primarily in one direction. They have behavioural traits based on that flow and you will not see true behaviour in an aquarium that does not provide such.

Which was why in late '98 I designed the River-Tank manifold.....



, now used all over the world to keep these fish. Simple, effective (not perfect) and cheap to make. All the tubing goes under the substrate so it's unobtrusive and the whole tank has strong flow, so the fish are happy. You can create 'dead spots' with rockwork and other decor, so fish have quiet areas to rest, yet there is still water movement to prevent stagnation.

See it in this article:

http://www.loaches.com/hillstream_loaches.html

The use of big pumps is required which has a by-product of inducing heat-sink into the water. Controlling the heat buildup can be a problem.

Martin.

[nuvolari]

hi martin.

Well Iam not so new to these forums i used to have the name nivola but forgot the password and changed email accounts so I thought i might aswell just set up a new online name.

well the idea of the power head was to move the water around from the bottom so that it would join the flow over the "rapids" thus giving the loaches the feel of a full force river and the riverback quietside.

the filter I was thinking of using was say capable of 5000litres an hour. It is a koi pond filter that some of the Pleco guys use well on the 8 foot tanks. They have huge bio loadings and can deal with it quiet well from what I have been told.

At the moment I have built a river tank in that same vien as your diagram and find that the smiths like it but I just want to see if I can shift it up agear. (got five males and a female)

What is the idea temp for all of these hillstream loaches? being an australian we do have some troubles with temp. It can changefrom 26degrees C to 30 in a day andthey seem happy at this temp.

I will post some update pics of the river tank soon it has evolved rapidly.

[LES..]

I have been smitten by the hillstream bug but i'm not going to expand my collection beyond the p. cheni i have now until i have a proper habitat for them.

As it is always nice to dream this is what i'm planning:


This is based around a 4'x1.5'1.5' tank with some insane flow figures. I'm planning to get a pair of 2" holes drilled for the out flow and two 1.5" return holes. Initially i will cross link the out flow and run one pump which will leave the option of throwing in another pump if more flow is required without a full tear down. I'm not sure if it will be an FX5 i use in the end, it is total over kill for the size of the tank but there will be an external filter of some description there. Keeping the pumps outside the tank should keep the temperature down, as insurance the 4' tank provides enough space to hide a chiller under it. This will add a fan to keep the pump and external filter cool.

I'm looking for a very fast flow over the algae farm which will be constructed from slate slabs backfilled with polystyrene blocks. Air stones will be buried under the cascade of pebbles leading to the deep area which will have a sand base with larger stones and bogwood.

Plants (if they survive) will be Java ferns, Java moss and if i can keep it propperly teathered some hornwort which i hope will look nice strung out across the surface. More suggestions would be welcome!

I have no idea what i'll be able to use as a dither fish, probably danos.

[LES..]

the filter I was thinking of using was say capable of 5000litres an hour. It is a koi pond filter that some of the Pleco guys use well on the 8 foot tanks. They have huge bio loadings and can deal with it quiet well from what I have been told.

I would be interested to hear more about your experiences this type of filter. I was initially looking into using a presurised pond filter on my river tank plans but was advised to stay well away from this type if used inside by the LFS. Reasons given were noise and a tendancy to leak. I can appreciate that in a garden setting these two factors are not as important so manufacurers can skimp on the seals and put in cheeper pumps but without expensive experimentation (preferably not on an expensive wool carpet!) i can't check for my self.

I would hate to suspect that this fish shop was just feeding me a line as they have been very good in the past. They were pushing the Fluval FX5 fairly hard but then i did go in stating i was looking at a river tank which needed lots of flow. At 2,500 lph the FX5 has that, top marks to the LFS in identifying my needs even if it comes at a price! I should point them at Martin's manifold design for future reference though ;-)

[nuvolari]

les i like the idea you have there! That was what I started thinking of when I came up with this idea. the only problem was the lost tank space.

Here is a link to the tank where the koi filter is used! Look at the photos and you willl be amazed.

http://www.plecofanatics.com/gallery/sh ... puser=3172

I got a spare 4 footer and spare glass so I might start the project soon if I can get a glass cutter of any type first. Then I will just try it and see the flow rates and go from there. Setting up a pond so i will use that filter and pump first!!!!