11/26/2004: Fish highway

xoxoxoBruce points to this gent, http://www.fishighway.com, who has constructed an elaborate, well, fish highway between his two aquariums.



Yes there's water in it and yes the fish do swim through it! I can't imagine how heavy the whole thing must be - you'd want it anchored really well, because I doubt homeowner's insurance would cover the unique disaster that might happen... but in any case, it's a really unique and lively design project, very cool.

Anyone else have Habitrails as a kid?

Uh...wow. This makes me feel really bad that I haven't managed to find the time to get the tank in the living room cleaned up.

Shouldn't this have qualified for the WTF thread?

How depressing, the fish really start to think they are getting somewhere.

And they ARE! Being a pet of humans is surely amongst the best of all possible lives for an animal. I'd wager most fish in aquariums outlive their wild peers by many years, and with less trauma and better care. Why some fish'll get custom floats built if their own flotation method fails.

(and here we go, wheeee)

I hate to be the "doubting Thomas" here, but I'm convinced that this concept is physically impossible. There is no way (that I can figure) to keep the water, which weighs about 8 lbs per gallon, from draining back into the tanks. The only way this could be done is to have the entire project sealed and airtight. The pressure from the water above, along with the gravitational force would certainly burst the tanks below.
If the system was airtight, how would you aerate the water?
In the second image, it looks like the fish is at a "dead end". By the presence of condensation in the downward sloping part of the "hiway", it is evident that the water has been removed. I'm no physist, but does anyone else smell a rat here? If this project IS operable, I'd love to understand HOW it operates.

<EM>> I'm convinced that this concept is physically impossible</EM>

Follow the link in the original post and read the FAQ. Then if you're still unconvinced, check yer Physics 101 textbook. The principles behind it are quite sound.

That's not condensation, it's air bubbles

OK........ my bad. I didn't research the link first. Pretty cool, actually. To someone who doesn't know you have to admit: this looks like it wouldn't work. I think I'll stick to art............

very badly worded but if you think about it in terms of this implimentation it makes sense. Clearly, it works.

I think that the picture of the one that just has one oversized goldfish in it is kind of sad (I don't know fish. It's fish shaped and it's orangey, so it's a goldfish).

Of course, that guy could have had many fish when he started, and this little fishie just ate well.

Uh...wow. This makes me feel really bad that I haven't managed to find the time to get the tank in the living room cleaned up.

I hated cleaning the fish tank I had. Even monitoring pH levels, introducing those little skum-eating snails, and doing everything I could, the tanks only take a couple of days to start getting gross. I'd hate to have to be the one to disassemble and clean this highway contraption. Damn cool, though...

Cleaning note from the FAQ: Algea is removed using cleaning magnets for acrylic tanks.

What is an algea magnet?

That's the special school where the parents in the algae subculture send their kids for better educations.

I bet it's like when you used to put one kitchen magnet under the table, and move one on top of the table like "magic". The one on the inside of the tank, obviously, does the scrubbing, so no need for disassembly.

If that sucker cracks there would be a serious flood as the bridge probably holds damn near as much water as the tanks.

What can be happier than eating and not being eaten?

I imagine that they would need to suck the air from the highest pint of the highway occasionally. Gasses dissolve in the water will gradually come out of solution and form bubbles at the top of the highway, and the fish will also carry bubbles into the highway, and so eventually there would be a build-up of air in the highway.

I like how they pump water through a separate pipe from one tank to the other, and it flows back through the highway. That's a big syphon!

Put me in captivity for long enough, and I may begin to enjoy it too.....Yes please just slide the book under the door and leave me a 20 spot for pizza. Is that Zen-like or no?

Surely the water would syphon from one tank to the other unless they were exactly the same height. it would have to be sealed to prevent this....

Aha! he has the tanks connected with a hose! Nice work!

Another interesting aquarium set up, this one in an office. Looks like a relaxing place to work if you ask me!