Has anyone ever thought of connecting several tanks via clear tubes like those hamster cages they have out now? I'd think it'd be pretty neat to see if it's possible, and if the fish notice that "hey, there's another world over there!"

They'd prolly have to be big tubes tho, since fish grow so fast....and to allow water circulation...

But still! The idea of having maybe 3 or 4 tanks with different set-ups! One with just bare gravel and a few "ruins," another thickly planted, yet another with cavernous rock formations....The list goes on...

I get all these ideas, but I never use them. Maybe someone else will one day

That wld be so cool! like giant RotaStack, filled with water!!

I think it might be dangerous, one leak and all the tanks drain to the point where the tubes are. Maybe if the tubes are near the top it wont matter as much.

I've seen some very cute aquarium setups using hamster tubing as decorations, but I'd definitely be worried about goldfish getting stuck in there!

And I have also seen tanks connected with glass tubing. VERY EXPENSIVE TANKS. Then I wonder how the heck they're able to keep the tubing parts clean, you have to be a contortionist to scrub algae out of it without a pleco!

it would be a great idea, but i would be afraid to drill a hole in my tank.

If you ever get a chance to visit one of the Aquarium Restaurants [we have one in Nashville] or a Rainforest Cafe, you can see marine aquariums set up with all kinds of tubes anf towers. Pretty cool!

I have tanks connected but the fish do not swim from tank to tank. I have my display tank [180 gal] on a stand and then a sump tank that is half the volume [90 gal] of that tank just as a holding tank for extra water volume. Water is pumped back and forth. WISH I had room for a really humongous tank or at least a huge sump, but I don't. This works well for five fish, though. Next year... POND!

There are actually tanks that connect like you say. Somewhere on the board members have posted pictures, where I am not sure.

Anyway, they are pretty cool, however to clean are not so nice.
Not to mention the water circulation is a pain in the tubes. Not to ideal for gf.

I've seen those type of tanks, they cost $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Then again if I could afford one of those monster tanks, I'm sure I'd be able to afford to have someone else clean it as well.

Interpet have just launched their Vivo Aquarium which is sort of similar but different to tube thing!



www.vivoworld.com

Its being marketed for goldfish, as all these small tanks tend to be (25l).

I think it looks pretty cool if a bit gimmicky with the whole digital care guide thing and its def. not going to be appropriate for housing goldies for any length of time imo.

I also had a look to see whats their asking for it, £79.99! Madness.

they have these on display in my lfs, they are tiny, and they have pics of three big fish in the pic!(that really gets my goat)

It's a cute idea but it needs to be bigger and better. At the moment the maze stuff just takes up room and gives them less space to swim i think.
(also, it's so blatently targeted at children, and they are going to want to fill it up with fish. makes me sad)

It apparently has electronic reminders to feed and clean the fish, which is good in theory, but i dont understand how it warns you to change the water, unless it has inbuilt amm, nitrite and nitrate monitoring system, but i have a feeling it's just an alarm that goes off once a week or whatever you set it to, to remind you to change the water. So really teaches nothing about the practicalities of keeping fish. just another gimic to get parents to part with their money, and kids to keep fish irresponsibly.


from the website:

"Vivo will comfortably accommodate 2-3 goldfish allowing them to grow up to 10cm in body length (excluding tail) - once your goldfish get bigger than this they will need a larger home.
Vivo tank dimensions for your reference:
25 Ltr tank (55x44x28cm)"

"Smelly water is a sign of water gone bad - and that's bad news for your fish. So if your Vivo starts to smell funny, run a Vivo Test straight away to check the quality of the water." I dont know what a vivo test is, it doesnt say on the website, but maybe i'm wrong and it does monitor the params??? that'd be cool. Still needs to be a bit bigger tho. it's the same size as a big critter keeper or 6gal tank. Still not right for 3 10cm goldfish!

Sorry for the rant but this tank annoys me in so many ways!!!

Ooh, it would be so great if there were electronic monitors for that stuff...

However, I'd hope it would be less than £80!!

I agree with everything you said about that tank Kat. My local pet superstore has one of these set up with a common goldfish in it. It looks very sad indeed in there There is just not enough swimming space for these active fish. I think if parents really wanted their children to learn good fishkeeping skills, they would spend some time researching the requirements of these fish before buying anything and then hopefully they would see how totally unsuitable this "tank" is. For £80 you can get a large basic tank and cover, a decent filter and maybe even an airpump. All this would help to provide a much better environment for a goldfish.

it's just a gimmic, and the whole electronic reminders and tests part makes me cringe

In the video on their site they have three really big single tail goldies in there.

And whats worse, the customisable 'mermaid castle' decor looks to basically make the tank entirely compartmentalised, giving them only a few inches of free space at all to swim in at any one time.

i just saw the viedo. it is a total gimmic when the kinda skip over the viedo making the fish look like they swim alot, when really they probally just sit there.

How on earth would you clean that thing!?

..I do give them credit for explaining the nitrogen cycle on their website though.

Its cute to look at, not sure I would put fish in it though , as cleaning would be impossible and there is no space to swim around!

Check this out!

http://www.bio-elite.com/waterbridge.htm

that looks cool

I downloaded the user guide from that website.

"twice a day: Its vivo food time! (Feed Fish alert)"
"every 4 weeks: 4 Week clean (Clean Tank alert)"
"evert 4 weeks: Add vivo care (water Treatment alert)"
"every 26 weeks: 26 Week clean (service Filter alert)"

i would do this, but one of my tanks has guppies and the other goldfish. also one tank is higher then the other, causing a syphoning effect that would over fill my 30 and flood my room.

Well. The food part makes sense, but the rest of it doesn't. I've started doing partial water changes once a week, and giving the whole tank a thorough cleaning every 3. Instead of just cleaning it once a week.

I'm not a fish buff, and even I know not to wait 4 weeks to clean the tank!

i guess i dont know how "vivo care" (water treatment) works. does it some how get rid of nitrates or something?

That is amazing! gotta love a DIY project!!!


I thought it was water conditioner (dechlor), but i'm not sure. i had a look at the tank again in my lfs, and i stand by my initial reaction, it's junk. it's tacky, unecessary, cramped, and offers bad/incomplete advice.

i was just wondering because it says to ad 22oz of vivo care every 4 weeks. i dont think it says anything about changing the water.

that is amazing! its deffanently better than cutting a hole the side of a tank and risking 2 nice tanks. its great. i think i want to buy that!

I almost want to get a big tube to go in a semicircle around the top of my current tank... just to see what the fish would do. @_@;

http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/enlarge.php/6330

Now THAT is a COOL fish tank!- But I wonder how the air gets into the water... might be the filter doing it.

Whoa, that does look too unbelievable. You still wouldn't be able to keep goldfish in there, it looks way too difficult to sufficiently filter.