11/26/2004: Fish highway

Undertoad · 11-26-2004, 07:05 PM

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?

Elspode · 11-26-2004, 07:58 PM

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?

flippant · 11-26-2004, 09:03 PM

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

Undertoad · 11-26-2004, 09:54 PM

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)

Beestie · 11-26-2004, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flippant

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

Nyet. Fish do Zen better than humans.

capnhowdy · 11-27-2004, 09:55 AM

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.

mrputter · 11-27-2004, 10:06 AM

<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.

Undertoad · 11-27-2004, 10:13 AM

That's not condensation, it's air bubbles

capnhowdy · 11-27-2004, 10:24 AM

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............

YellowBolt · 11-27-2004, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Why doesn't the water spill out of the highway?
The highway tube is completely sealed except for the openings at each end which are submerged below the tank water levels. Like a large drinking straw, when the air is sucked out of the tube the water rises inside it and will stay there unless you let the air back in.

Looks like we need a lesson on basic pressure laws...

jaguar · 11-27-2004, 11:34 AM

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

wolf · 11-27-2004, 11:44 AM

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.

Kitsune · 11-27-2004, 04:50 PM

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?

wolf · 11-27-2004, 04:56 PM

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

dasviper · 11-27-2004, 05:15 PM

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.

11-26-2004, 07:05 PM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	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?

11-26-2004, 07:58 PM	#2
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	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? __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

11-26-2004, 09:03 PM	#3
flippant shameless....so stop trying so hard....-me Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Colorado location* Posts: 215	How depressing, the fish really start to think they are getting somewhere. __________________ - I know we won't meet again in the season of blossoms, And I won't sit quietly by drunk in my chamber- YU HSUAN- CHI Ninth Century, CHANG' AN

11-27-2004, 09:55 AM	#6
capnhowdy Blatantly Homosapien Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 6,200	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. __________________ Please type slowly. I can't read very fast............... and no holy water, please.

11-27-2004, 10:06 AM	#7
mrputter Superior Inhabitant Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 71	<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. Last edited by mrputter; 11-27-2004 at 10:06 AM. Reason: formatting

11-26-2004, 09:54 PM	#4
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	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)

11-27-2004, 10:13 AM	#8
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	That's not condensation, it's air bubbles

11-27-2004, 10:24 AM	#9
capnhowdy Blatantly Homosapien Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 6,200	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............ __________________ Please type slowly. I can't read very fast............... and no holy water, please.

11-27-2004, 11:34 AM	#11
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	very badly worded but if you think about it in terms of this implimentation it makes sense. Clearly, it works. __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

11-27-2004, 11:44 AM	#12
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	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. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

11-27-2004, 04:50 PM	#13
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	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?

11-27-2004, 04:56 PM	#14
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	That's the special school where the parents in the algae subculture send their kids for better educations.

11-27-2004, 05:15 PM	#15
dasviper Belt Conveyor Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Hanover, NH, USA Posts: 67	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.

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