Open Bottom Aquarium
 

Hello. I am in the works right now of building an open bottom aquarium for myself or possibly for sale. Is there anyone that has experience or interest in these concept tanks?

Won't the water fall out?

no it gets trapped in there. Once the tank is displaced with water it will stay there unless something can take its place. Being that the tank is a sealed chamber it stays suspended in the tank. Its the same science behind the old upside down cup in the kitchen sink. Fill the sink and turn a cup sideways till it is full of water. Then turn it upside down and pull the cup. Presto the water is suspended in the glass. Same idea here.

Do you have any links or pics of this idea? I

I dont displace the tank that way though obviously. Be a lot of weight. Ive seen people use an air hose and suck the air out while water in the lower tank replaces the air. I have a special pump to do it though. Ive had a quick set up going for a month now. I just wanted to try this idea out before I ordered the glass for the upper tank. The lower tank and cabinet have been built already

Wouldn't fish swimming out the bottom. Or how do you suspend rock and coral

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5InNVJ_Ythc
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...%3DkIx0IJNtf5s

I've seen this before but don't think it'll work we'll with saltwater. You won't be able to run a sump or skimmer. The bottom tank is gonna be too shallow for a hang in back skimmer

Plus you'll need a very accurate ato top off. If air gets into the top tank you'll have a major flood

Seems like an interesting concept, the only thing I'm confused about is how you would remove the air pocket?

Simple as sticking airline tubing up there and sucking?

yes they would swim in and out of the bottom and as for coral you can just build up your rock if you like. I see it being set up as an all fish aquarium though. Right now I have some live rock and coral in my set up but you dont really see it until you look down the upper tank. It is a very unusual look in person. Its almost like there is another dimension to the tank. Dont really know how to explain that part of it

actually I am running a sump with mine right works the same as any other tank. As for the big mess im not to sure how that would ever happen. Other than the upper or lower tank breaking. Be the same mess if a regular tank broke. But lets just say there was no sump and as the water evaporates the level would drop in the lower tank reaching the brim of the upper aquarium. Thats where you think you lose your hydrostatic pressure and the upper tank would dump its water volume making a mess?? It doesnt though. What happens (cause i tested this out) the upper tank does a big burp or gulp if you will for air until the water rises in the lower tank, goes above the brim and then stops. Its all really quite simple and fool proof.

You could run a sump and skimmer anything really. In all reality you could have a 24" depth normal tank with a 4ft tall tank coming out of the middle. Neat idea I remember looking at one a couple years ago and wanted to do it but forgot over time lol

What's your plan? Size? Shape?

I would like to see pics of what you have now!:biggrin:

*actually i am running a sump with mine right now, works the same as any other tank***

I saw that just a slow typer lol

Right now its a total of about 110 gallons without the sump but thats with a tank that i just had laying around for the upper tank to try it out. All I have to do now it order glass for the upper tank and finish a bit of the cabinetry work. All said and done it will be pretty close to 150 gallons total but you will see about 90 gallons of tank. But when you lift the lids to the lower tank you see the rest of the set up. Its basically going to look like a regular aquarium stand but the tank will look like a glass box with fish trapped inside. Also makes it a 360 degree tank. Great for behind a couch or in the middle of a show room or office.

Really neat idea. You could have a look down and tall column AIO

my lower tank is 9 inches deep. The upper tank will be about 30 leaving 20 inches of viewing area with the lids for the bottom. Which shouldnt be bad considering there are no obstructions and viewing area on the top. Right now my cats love laying on top of the tank looking down at the fish

........

Cool
 

You gotta post some pictures . It sounds so cool dangerous cool .:twised:

open bottom
 

.....

So why wouldn't you expand on the idea behind the fluval edge tank? This just looks like a really inconvenient way of doing the same thing.

with the fluval edge you have to keep up on water evaporation. if you dont you will always have a water level line showing. Along with the pump and heaters in view. This concept gives you a 360 view plus top view of your tank with no pumps, heaters or cords blocking your view. With what i have set up now i would have to have about 20 gallons of water to evaporate before the water level in the upper tank would change. And with a sump it will never change unless you really neglect your tank. The only piece of equipment that will be seen in the tank will be the light which i will be hanging from the ceiling. Its wont be for everybody I know that for sure but the whole concept is very neat and attractive to look at from all angles. It has also proven to be quite a conversation piece for everyone that comes over. Dont get me wrong i will never not have a traditional tank for one reason only. I cant see the bottom of this tank without the lids open which in a reef tank is the most exciting part for me. As for the fluval edge..... without an automatic top off i just see it being a pain

I don't see the appeal. Seems like a Maintenance nightmare. What about oxygen exchange and beneficial evap in hotter months?

I personally don't even think it looks good. It looks messy where it meets the cabinet. Just my opinion of course. I prefer traditional set up where all my cords are hidden by the cabinet or behind the tank out of view.

Good luck. Dibs out.

with the fluval at least you can have rockwork and coral in the tank. this way it seems like everything is below in the lower tank anyways?

I'm not saying buy an fluval edge but expand on the idea. Make it bigger and add an overflow (many have done this). You could also center the overflow instead of having it at the back to allow for 360 viewing, run an extra dummy pipe in the overflow for cords. You're likely going to light the tank so it has a partial lid anyway and you can cover the overflow with rock. Another option is a zero edge tank. Either way you'll have access from the top with the same effect.

Pros:
open swim area
Unique conversational piece

Cons:
cleaning
Water changes unless done in sump
Coral viewing unless fowler
Coral placement and feeding
Leaky seal and flood
Removing air bubbles that may form on the higher level
Water movement in higher area may be difficult to achieve

It's a neat idea one I have mulled over for awhile myself although I'd try to have the lower portion more visible if possible and hide the plumbing differently. One thing I have learned if you think it can malfunction it will and this is why I didn't try building one. If you can get the water params right with the low flow style setup it may potentially be a good seahorse setup but feeding them would be difficult as well

Cool
 

Look's cool ! It just need some fish . You should grow a bunch of mangroves in the bottem tank .

you still have evaporation from the lower tank. I didnt just make a glass box fill it up and seal it up with no sides open. As for how it looks as i said this is just a partial set up like i said before. None of the space between the cabinet and the tank will be seen because there will be frosted glass lids. And yes I realize that you wont see the bottom of the tank there as i said before. I didnt want to show this until it was done 100% but i had a few requests so figured why not. I have built tanks before and to me it was like yup..... it is a tank just like every other one. As for your ideas sphelps I do agree with those tanks more or less the zero edge aquarium. I really like those but they can seem blurry when you look through them. Everyone has and opinion. If I had built a zero edge aquarium people would ask why not build one thats bigger or maybe smaller or why not do a traditional tank. There will always be someone that doesnt like it and feels it is there job to tell them that. You can trust me. I know of every kind of tank out there. .... But it has also been done before. I like to challenge myself and do something different. If no one ever did that we would still be in the stone age im afraid

water changes on this set up are easier than any other tank i have had. The water level is right at your hips in the lower tank. The air bubbles get sucked out by the lifter pump which also fills the tank. You can actually have an air stone running into the upper tank and the lifter pump taking it out. As for a leaky seal......... Isnt that a disaster in every application??????

thanks ram 3500 yes i have looked into those but i need to get this finished first.

Don't get me wrong I think it's neat I just couldn't justify trying it for myself and will be following along. And yes a leaky tank in most tanks is a bad thing full on shatter is be worst. But for a normal tank point of view with a leaky tank you can slow the leak and deal with the issue. With minimal damage. In your setup if you have an air leak on the upper area unless you have a sump to handle the extra water I fear it would drain that column fairly quickly.

Again I will be following along as I like the idea and just glad someone is giving it a try

Looks like a fun and interesting build.
I like it!

think any air bubbles that might collect would annoy the crap out of me

This sounds like a neat little project. Way to think outside of the box :-)

If there was ever a leak in the upper tank the water would drain into the lower tank and sump not my floor. And yes you are right about it taking on air which makes it really easy to patch. Use bubblegum if you want the vacuum created by the hole would make it stick. Plus the surface would be dry to silicone. Also. If it was a full break at least my live stock would be safe in my lower tank. And yes you are right about it leaking faster but I also have a window to work with before its on my floor. A leak is a leak. And a break is a break. Doesn't matter what you have and what shape upside down side ways.... It sucks period done so you can try and say your tank is better for a break or leaks if you like but its pointless to me. What's next? Earthquake? Cause I can sum that up to.... Probably sucks as well. If you can't think outside of the box then don't get out of it!!!

As fir the air bubbles in the top.... I have had some when I water change but I just use my lift pump and suck them out. Takes about 5 min. A person could plumb a line to the top to constantly pull the air out and even run an air stone but then you are running the risk of a loss in pressure of the upper tank. I've done it though. Looks really nice..... But risky. If the lift pump fails and the air stone continues to pump you are in for a world of hurt. You would have to have the air pump on a float for safety. Or you run tge lift pump on a loop. The air in sucks from the top it feeds to the air stone in a cycle. But not sure if that's good for the water. I'm still looking into it. If any one knows that I owe yoi beer

Sorry lockrookie. I ment to mention that You are right about the column draining faster because the air isn't viscous like water. You just have to hope you are there when it happens. Would be easy to spot though

Hey have you thought how a loss of gravity or a polar shift would affect your open bottom tank ? You know I'am just saying you never know it could happen. You would be laughing at all of us sheep .:lol:

Lol I'll sleep on that one. Better get the p.o. Physics book out things are getting interesting lol