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Well, due to some rather unfortunate events, I found myself suddenly with an empty 38 gallon tank. In an effort to try something a little different, I opted to create a river tank.

What exactly is a River Tank?

So, with that in mind, I adapted it to my purposes, and, for posterity's sake, I took pictures whenever I remembered.

It does not hold water yet as the silicone needs time to set, and the pictures are all crappy and glare-filled, but, heck, I'm proud of it anyway.

My River Tank in Progress

I'm planning to secure some Java Fern to the driftwood, and probably some sort of background plant. Also, I am planning to change the background to black.

Enjoy.

Joe Potato


Edit: Links

[span class="edited"][Edited by Joe Potato 2004-08-08 23:26][/span]

[font color="#000080"]for a river tank with huge water current,
you will need some very hardy plants that can with stand the current
java ferns and anubias are good

Thank you.

Joe Potato

Get some Hillstream Loaches, they do great in river tanks

It looks nice, Spuddy

I was planning on Hillstreams, white clouds, and Harlequins.

Joe Potato

How many hillstreams were you thinking of getting? If you have enough light, maybe 1-2 WPG, (for algae) you could easily get 3 or 4 of them

You know what other fish would enjoy a nice river current, a false siamese algae eater! Not a flying fox, not a SAE, the one that looks a little like both. Mine sits head down in the water rush from my huge air stone, and swims in front of the output from the filter, looks like he isnt even moving. A fish definetly built for river conditions.
One of these would be happy in that tank, and would get along good with all your other fish.


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Did you make that filtration system yourself? Brilliant idea!

That looks like an awesome idea but what about cleaning it.
If the tubes get clogged you would have to tear every thing up just to get to all the tubing.
If that becomes a problem, could you then run it with the tubes running along the top, maybe inside a DIY canopy where it is out of site, yet easy to get to?

I've actually decided to now pass on the harlequins and just get a bigger school of white clouds, probably around 15 or so.

That looks like an awesome idea but what about cleaning it.

Well, only the sponges should require just an occasional light rinse to remove the big matter caught in the pores. The pipes should never get clogged as nothing larger than a grain of sand should ever enter them. Of course, in the event it does get clogged, it will be a bit of a bear to unclog, but I think I could figure something out.

could you then run it with the tubes running along the top, maybe inside a DIY canopy where it is out of site, yet easy to get to?

The only problem I could see with this is that the intakes on the powerheads are on the bottom. By turning the powerheads upside down, it could affect the flow. I'm sure it could be made to work, but I really didn't even think of it at the time. New project!

Did you make that filtration system yourself? Brilliant idea!

Thank you. . Yes, I built it, but I didn't design it. I'm not nearly innovative enough to do that. The design is in the first link I provided in my first post.

I have currently added some Java Fern (attached to the driftwood) and some Corkscrew Val, but my lighting system needs a big upgrade, so next paycheck is devoted to that.

Well, I'll keep you all updated. Thank you for your responses.

Joe Potato

After thinking about this a while, why use the tubes at all? If your power heads flow down one direction, it will hit the glass and flow back. You could direct the flow where it comes back the sides of the glass.

After thinking about this a while, why use the tubes at all? If your power heads flow down one direction, it will hit the glass and flow back.

Well, the point was so that the tank was entirely uni-directional, just like a river or stream; to have the water bounce off the far wall and come back would defeat the purpose of even attempting to simulate a stream.

By the way, I'm getting the new lighting system today, so updated pics soon!

Joe Potato

Well, as promised, updated tank pics.

The new light is a 72 watt compact flourescent, so it is nearly 2 WPG.

The plants in the background are Corkscrew Val and Jungle Val, and there is some Java Fern attached to the driftwood.

There are currently 7 white clouds in there for cycling, and I dosed with NIC, and the cycle is coming along swimmingly, so to speak.

My further plans are to add another 8 or 9 white clouds, and 4 or 5 hillstream loaches, and probably more plants.

Even though the water looks cloudy, it isn't. My digital camera is actually a digital camcorder, so the still picture quality is far from the best.

Joe Potato


Edit: Trying link again...

[span class="edited"][Edited by Joe Potato 2004-08-21 10:06][/span]

The only thing you have to do is hide those sponges!

Yeah, that's what I am trying to figure out right now. I have another piece of grey slate, but that looks weird because to cover the sponges it has to be put vertically. I'm think of just planting one of the larger Jungle Vals in front of them.

Any other suggestions for hiding the sponges would be appreciated.

Joe Potato