10 replies to this topic

[9darlingcalvi]

My idea is to make a custom drop of aquarium from my 10 gallon and use plexiglass as the drop off material, I would put support pieces to keep the upper ledge stable. My though is about 13 inches of lower level and 7 inches of upper level, I thing 6.5 inch drop. I was thinking the top have some smaller rocks and no plants to emulate more close to shore and have the deeper part with larger rocks and then some coon tail as the only plant. I'll post the sketch for the tank later.  04C2B822-EE66-4B73-9E5D-CC8C4974ABE1-291-0000001BCC5950F4_tmp.png   59.79KB   12 downloads


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mattknepley]

I'd be interested to see if fishes consistently used it as they might use the drop-off in nature, or if they'd just adjust once they felt secure. Neat idea for sure.

[Matt DeLaVega]

I like it, but would probably get a larger tank, put on a safe stand, and build substrate up higher on 2/3's of the tank and very little substrate in the drop off area. Easier, safer, and less costly. A 55 or better a 75 could do it.

[9darlingcalvi]

Can't have a 55 in college or even a 75 and I'm thinking about having either Johnny or Iowa darters, maybe banded killis or sand shiners then maybe a mudminnow. Forgot to mention ghost shrimp just for fun.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[brackishdude]

Any tank with an L-shape is prone to  cracking if the two horizontal surfaces shift unevenly, and custom builds of the tank usually use steel for the stand for that reason. 

 

However, I think you are saying you intend to use an acrylic divider to split your tank into a shallow and deep end, which would be much safer. 

 

However, you lose a great deal of your tank volume, and such a deep sand bed on the shallow end can be prone to becoming hypoxic and putrid, though malaysian trumpet snails make great burrowers.

 

Consider using your Plexiglas in the horizontal position with a lip on the deep end side to hold in your substrate, while still having the volume beneath it available for swimming.

 

But maybe I misunderstand your proposition. Good luck, and post lots of pictures.

[9darlingcalvi]

The tank will have a box the will separate the shallow and deep end with a thin sand layer on the shallow side and a average layer on the deep side


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gzeiger]

I think Brackishdude is right - best to have two transparent glass or plexi supports parallel to the front and back wall supporting a floor above. That way there is volume below the shallows which is usable for fish and also for water quality control. Reducing a tank to 5 or 6 gallons is just too small a volume to manage the chemistry, and your fish will be very vulnerable to ammonia spiking.

 

I would recommend glass rather than plexi, as you'll find that cost-effective acrylic options aren't sturdy enough for the loads you're proposing. Small pieces of glass like that should be cheap enough that it isn't an issue. Alternately if the idea doesn't offend you it would probably be easy to do the whole thing in Lego.

[9darlingcalvi]

Here's the tank, now just thinking a couple Iowa or Johnny darters and 3 small shiners


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[9darlingcalvi]

Here's the tank, now just thinking a couple Iowa or Johnny darters and 3 small shiners


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ForTheHalibut]

Perhaps you could make the shallow substrate section part of your filtration system.  Instead of sand, fill the bank up with gravel.  Set up a sort of reverse under gravel filter underneath the gravel bank, with your filter outlet pumping water to the bottom of the deep gravel bed.  The water would flow through the gravel, bacteria surface area, yada yada etc.

This should resolve brackishdude's concern about anoxic substrate and wasted tank volume.

[9darlingcalvi]

The tank cracked, I put the warm tank on cool snow to dump out the water


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk