# is this possible? and what do you think of the idea?



## swiftless_fire (Jul 11, 2009)

I want to have...maybe a 90 gallon or somewhere around there custom tank that i will build. It wont come anytime soon but here is my idea.

ill make it more length wise then tall wise and the width will be really long as well.
Then ill put sand in the tank (or rocks but fake sand would look better than fake rocks) and ill create an inclined plain towards the middle of the tank all the way across the width of the tank. So in the end there will be a divider of sand that breaks the top of the water making two sections of water for fish...one side will have freshwater peacful fish and the other side will have freshwater aggresive fish.

The sand will be for small crabs that need some land.

Does this sound like a cool idea? and is it possible?


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## JIM (May 27, 2009)

*Sounds like a great idea if you can figure out how to do it, i like the idea of tanks being wide, and long. Makes for more surface area, which provides better gas exchange, and a more oxygen rich enviornment for your fish. Keep us updated on your progress. Dreams and Plans are the things that keep us getting up in the morning *


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## swiftless_fire (Jul 11, 2009)

thanks for the encouragment. And i so plan on making this tank happen even if i only get it working when im 80 years old. haha. i saw some crabs yesterday and i just loved them but i would get bored if they were the only things in my tank and then my sister mentioned something sort of like my idea so i just improved it a little and i love the idea.


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## swiftless_fire (Jul 11, 2009)

yeah ill probably use gravel...it will stay better. i might also put like a level of gravel...then on top once it starts falling ill put a flat rock and then continue adding gravel on top of that...sort of making shelves to help support it all ya know.


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

coolest, most unique idea ever. The thing is that you cant put crabs in the tank. Crabs are best left by themselves, because they will find almost every moving fish a food. If you have a crab only tank, then you must make it escape-proof. The crabs need a place of land to rest on, and they are great escape artists.

Also, how tall is the tank?


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## swiftless_fire (Jul 11, 2009)

im not sure how tall i would make it...that just depends on when i make it. It would be pretty tall though so the fish in the whole idea would be happy. but not as tall as it will be wide and long.

So if not crabs...what's a good land/water creature to put in instead?


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## dylantheheeler (Jul 8, 2009)

i think that shrimp would be cool for the bottom of this tank, i had some crabs for my 55 gallon, and one of them caught my silver molly, and lets just say, it was pretty nasty!
also, frogs...lol


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

A few things to consider:

1.) The majority of the weight will be in the middle. Make sure that you have extra support there.

2.) If the fish are tropical and they are divided like this you may need seperate heaters and filters on each side. You would essentially be doubling your equipment, but loosing actual water volume due to the slopes.

Cool idea though. Hope you figure it out.


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## bikerider (Mar 12, 2009)

as someone else said the sand will not stay in the middle and extra support is a must. You may be able to make a hollow clay mountain of sorts to allow water to circulate better, maybe dump sand on it before it dries to give the look you want. you will have to work out all the semantics of keeping the weight down making it look good.


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## ladyonyx (Apr 20, 2009)

Neat idea! I love fiddler crabs and would really like to do a brackish tank in a similar way to what you're describing. Maybe some archer fish, red scats, bumblebee gobies, ghost shrimp and then the crabs.


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

I like that idea although it may be challenging. 

Im a SW freak and I have always wanted to do a large tank with a sand area along the back and some mangroves growing on it and into the first few inches of water and simulate the edge of a SW marsh as if your a diver below surface looking into the beach. I have always though such a tank would look unique and so natrual. 

I have always been a big fan of wide, long, shallow tanks for the same reasons Jim mentioned!


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

I love this idea. So much so that I started my own thread about it. Now it is not quite the same set up as yours, but pretty close. 

http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/terraruim-idea-4836.html


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Unless you can defy gravity a sand dune in the middle will never work. Ive attempted it on a few tanks and given up after an hour of cursing the tank to the bitter end. Unless you have a premade form in there and the sand or rocks glued to it, the force of gravity and the water pressure itself will not allow such an idea to truly exist. If you are making the tank then it would be easy to incorporate into the build. Gravity is the only enemy.


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## Reef_Wrecked (Oct 21, 2009)

Sounds cool GL


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

JIM said:


> *Sounds like a great idea if you can figure out how to do it, i like the idea of tanks being wide, and long. Makes for more surface area, which provides better gas exchange, and a more oxygen rich enviornment for your fish. Keep us updated on your progress. Dreams and Plans are the things that keep us getting up in the morning *


Dont forget the Co2 absorption will more then likely be greater then O2 absorption. O2 absorption happens when the surface is broken....


oops talkin to a ghost.


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