# tidal aquraium



## bigcountry10 (Sep 24, 2011)

I'm starting this thread because I have been thinking about it for a while now. A aquarium that is completely independent of electricity (except maybe a heater) but there's answers to that to. I have had multiple ideas but all have failed due to a horrible limiter known as physics. But the key is to use physics not break the rules of it. 

My first idea was to have two tanks with two equalizing siphons, my thought was that one would fill the other and then the other would fill the first but that was a dumb idea because they just equalize out then the siphon stops.

My next idea was to drill a hole through the bottom of a tank then have a pipe that just goes down then up and right back into the top of the tank ( I though the weight of the water would cause enough pressure to push the water through ... it doesn't) . This doesn't work either, the water just reaches the same height in the pipe as it is in the tank then it stops because the air pressure is equal on both sides of the pipe. 

Then I was sitting here doodling some new tank filter designs when it hit me, the way you could get a continuous siphon. I call it tidal filtration because the aquarium water level would constantly be lowering and rising but this could be very minimal if done correctly as little as an inch or two. I'm not going to post any schematics just yet, just because i want to refine the idea and make sure it works keep an eye out for a YouTube clip coming soon.


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## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

I think the idea would be awesome but I have my concerns. Your siphon idea is almost synonymous with perpetual motion. I think if it is tuned just right, it may last a while but there are too many forces acting upon the motion of the water to sustain continuous motion so you would have to keep an eye on the flow of things and adjust as needed. I still think that the system could work but it would need to be designed with very close perameters and be reset from time to time.


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## bigcountry10 (Sep 24, 2011)

The idea I had wont work ( it was thought up under the influence of about 6 cups of espresso, which i never even drink coffee) the idea was to have three seperate tanks each one with an equlizing siphone from one to the other. the first tank would have the highest water level, the second the lowest and the third inbetween. There would be oneway umbrella valves in each siphone so that tank three would not be able to run into tank two, but tank two could run into tank three, and so on. but this just dosent work because tank one and two just fill two balance and they both just end up the same height as tank 3.


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## Stinky (Jun 18, 2009)

If it's not electricity you'll still need some form of energy to power it. Maybe a windup mechanism like an old clock. If it was me I'd sooner go with one of those little solar panel kits to power the whole thing, then just optimize the efficiency of everything.


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## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

if this is what you want to do you should study the physics of perpetual motion and base your tank off of it.


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## Meshuggahn (Jul 31, 2011)

What you are trying to do is physically impossible. There needs to be a power source to keep the water flowing. It can be electric or mechanical though. Some one suggested a wind up motor, this would work great. Or (getting crazy here) you could use your multi-level tank idea if the tank stands allowed the tank to easily be raised and lowered. If every morning you were able to make the lowest (and fullest) tank become the highest tank it would drain. Rinse, repeat, ???, profit.


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## jasonmk1j (Jun 19, 2012)

What if the tanks were on some kind of see-saw mechanism, that would allow them to raise and lower accorning to the volume of water inside, just a thought


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## jasonmk1j (Jun 19, 2012)

hmmm, If a tank were to gradually lower into another tank as it filled, the other tanks water level would also rise, perhaps this forse could be trasferred to another tank and so on... this subject has really got me thinking


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## Hawk1018 (Apr 12, 2012)

you might could use the heater to create a current and then try and direct the current....cause doesn't warm water rise the same way air does?...although I am not sure how hot it would be...


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## jasonmk1j (Jun 19, 2012)

If your prime goal is to get off the grid you could always knock up a Bendini Motor

555 HARD DRIVE MOTOR - YouTube

I've been gathering bits to build mine for a while now but never really had any final use planned for it, an aquarium could actually be perfect, just need to find a way to silence the thing, I'm thinking computer case lined with sound deadening material of some sort.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

Since I used to keep a brakish water tank, I had thought of using a tide many times. Nowhere in my mind did I think it would work/w no power however.
Brakish water "estuaries" are the most likely place to notice a tide. That is what my tank looked like but no tide. Didn't know how I would conceal it but
had the plan still. A box(glass) with two sides missing would fit in the middle but against the back. I didn't intend for this to raise the "tide" but about two 
inches. For a 29 gallon the box would be about 15" long. It would be about five inches from front to back and six inches tall. But...the front would not
come all the way to the bottom by about one inch. Separate timers would pump air/w different directional discharge spigots. One of the air pumps would
be attached to the top of the box. When that timer came on air would fill the compartment up forcing the air out into the 
tank and walla high tide. When that pump went on the air would exit in a direction that would produce a counter clockwise current. The other pump
would be off at that time. When the "high tide" pump went off, the air would run out from the tide box allowing the water back in..."low tide". The other
pump would come on at that time with the water exiting the other spigot making the water run in a clockwise current. Never had the nerve to do it.
Had enough sense to know that this rig would put quite a bit of stress on any tank when the "tide" was up. I'll try it one day when my rich uncle gets
out of the poor house and I can have a custom made tank/w double thick glass all around.
Never give up your dream...


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