Future scenario for the home aquarium.

A possible scenario for the evolution of the aquarium:

If we start by examining the constraints, I think the 4 biggest are the
purchase cost (people don't complain so much about the running costs),
the space (large footprint in prime real-estate in the house, and
difficult to move), the weight (we want bigger aquariums except for the
cost and the space it takes and eventually moving it), and finally the
maintenance (primarily cleaning algae off the front glass and water
changes). Does that sum it up adequately? Other possible constraints
are noise and water cooling (when needed).

If we look at the trends, despite the weight, cost & space, aquariums are
slowly getting larger, however this makes their best location to be
concrete (basement) away from prime viewing area (living room). Also
more money is being spent on them, and there are many more complex
features available (lighting, filtration, CO2, aquatic gardening going
more mainstream etc)

If a solution to the constraints existed, then the natural trend would
continue towards having larger & more complex aquariums, and I think I
have a solution ). I got the idea from a friend's home theatre system,
where one entire wall of the room was dedicated to the TV projection.

The aquarium becomes a large moulded tub sitting in a corner of the
basement, with an underwater camera controlled by joystick from the
living room (controlling x, y, z and focus).

1. Cost goes down (no glass, no manufacturing assembly, reduced shipping
cost (lightweight and stackable)).
2. Space is less critical, physically located in low-use area of the
house, 'beamed' to living room wall (also frees space upstairs for other
things).
3. Moving is relatively easy, drain and throw in the back of a van (not
fragile).
4. Weight is a non-issue (no floor reinforcement needed on concrete
floor).
5. Algae maintenance? (no glass to clean algae off of, camera could be
raised from water when not in use). Perhaps wipe the lens cover
periodically.
6. Filter maintenance (simplified as components do not need to be hidden
away).
7. Water changes (with external pumps/filters and less restriction on the
placement of supply/drain piping, water changes could be greatly
simplified, draining from below the gravel (gravel-vacuum) and refilling
through filter return lines).
8. Operation (filter/fan noise non-issue, cooling should be non-issue)
9. A bonus would be that the observed fish behaviour would be much more
natural (and interesting).

Problems
1) Feeding, unlike pond owners, aquarists like to watch the fish eat.
I'm assuming this will be an acceptable adaptation, evidenced by pond
folks always feeding from a top view.

2) Other tank maintenance (trimming plants, arranging rocks, driftwood
etc).
This is potentially the biggest constraint. I wouldn't want to hang
upside down in the middle of a tub to re-arrange the stuff inside. This
would be partly addressed by the tub being moulded into shapes, so much
of it would not be movable (tiers for planting, plugs for pushing
driftwood into, caves, rockwork etc might even be incorporated into the
mould). Another method would be to have a camera feed locally to a small
monitor. This would be acceptable, though a bit of a nuisance (though
I've worked on large tanks where I had to get out whenever I wanted to
see what I'd done, so a monitor would've been handy to have). A monitor
would also address the feeding issue (providing a side view on the
action).

Please note that I'm not selling this concept. I'm just putting
circumstances and emerging technology together in a particular
application. This will never replace the small counter tanks, only the
big 55g+ community tanks in our living rooms (which could now become
400-500g circular pre-moulded tubs). If nothing else, it would be
interesting to put 2 or 3 cameras in there, and have the inside of your
tub-aquarium projected on to 2 or 3 walls simultaneously.

could be very kewl )
--
www.NetMax.tk

On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 22:22:45 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:

A possible scenario for the evolution of the aquarium:

If we start by examining the constraints, I think the 4 biggest are the
purchase cost (people don't complain so much about the running costs),
the space (large footprint in prime real-estate in the house, and
difficult to move), the weight (we want bigger aquariums except for the
cost and the space it takes and eventually moving it), and finally the
maintenance (primarily cleaning algae off the front glass and water
changes). Does that sum it up adequately? Other possible constraints
are noise and water cooling (when needed).

If we look at the trends, despite the weight, cost & space, aquariums are
slowly getting larger, however this makes their best location to be
concrete (basement) away from prime viewing area (living room). Also
more money is being spent on them, and there are many more complex
features available (lighting, filtration, CO2, aquatic gardening going
more mainstream etc)

If a solution to the constraints existed, then the natural trend would
continue towards having larger & more complex aquariums, and I think I
have a solution ). I got the idea from a friend's home theatre system,
where one entire wall of the room was dedicated to the TV projection.

The aquarium becomes a large moulded tub sitting in a corner of the
basement, with an underwater camera controlled by joystick from the
living room (controlling x, y, z and focus).

1. Cost goes down (no glass, no manufacturing assembly, reduced shipping
cost (lightweight and stackable)).
2. Space is less critical, physically located in low-use area of the
house, 'beamed' to living room wall (also frees space upstairs for other
things).
3. Moving is relatively easy, drain and throw in the back of a van (not
fragile).
4. Weight is a non-issue (no floor reinforcement needed on concrete
floor).
5. Algae maintenance? (no glass to clean algae off of, camera could be
raised from water when not in use). Perhaps wipe the lens cover
periodically.
6. Filter maintenance (simplified as components do not need to be hidden
away).
7. Water changes (with external pumps/filters and less restriction on the
placement of supply/drain piping, water changes could be greatly
simplified, draining from below the gravel (gravel-vacuum) and refilling
through filter return lines).
8. Operation (filter/fan noise non-issue, cooling should be non-issue)
9. A bonus would be that the observed fish behaviour would be much more
natural (and interesting).

Problems
1) Feeding, unlike pond owners, aquarists like to watch the fish eat.
I'm assuming this will be an acceptable adaptation, evidenced by pond
folks always feeding from a top view.

2) Other tank maintenance (trimming plants, arranging rocks, driftwood
etc).
This is potentially the biggest constraint. I wouldn't want to hang
upside down in the middle of a tub to re-arrange the stuff inside. This
would be partly addressed by the tub being moulded into shapes, so much
of it would not be movable (tiers for planting, plugs for pushing
driftwood into, caves, rockwork etc might even be incorporated into the
mould). Another method would be to have a camera feed locally to a small
monitor. This would be acceptable, though a bit of a nuisance (though
I've worked on large tanks where I had to get out whenever I wanted to
see what I'd done, so a monitor would've been handy to have). A monitor
would also address the feeding issue (providing a side view on the
action).

Please note that I'm not selling this concept. I'm just putting
circumstances and emerging technology together in a particular
application. This will never replace the small counter tanks, only the
big 55g+ community tanks in our living rooms (which could now become
400-500g circular pre-moulded tubs). If nothing else, it would be
interesting to put 2 or 3 cameras in there, and have the inside of your
tub-aquarium projected on to 2 or 3 walls simultaneously.

could be very kewl )


Then, why have a personal aquarium, a community aquarium could
suffice. Maybe one connected to the net, so people all over the world
could enjoy it.

then someone could come up with the idea of having a small instence of
an aquarium in your very own living room, and start the whole thing
over.

Besides, I don't have a basement.

"Charles" wrote in message
...
then someone could come up with the idea of having a small instence of
an aquarium in your very own living room, and start the whole thing
over.

Besides, I don't have a basement.
=========================
Neither do we. Few people I know have basements here because of the rock so
close to the surface. And seeing something like a movie is a not like
actually viewing the fish through a piece of glass in front of you.
--

Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
NEW PAGE: Aquariums:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastada...ium-Page4.html
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"Charles" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 22:22:45 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:

A possible scenario for the evolution of the aquarium:

If we start by examining the constraints, I think the 4 biggest are the
purchase cost (people don't complain so much about the running costs),
the space (large footprint in prime real-estate in the house, and
difficult to move), the weight (we want bigger aquariums except for the
cost and the space it takes and eventually moving it), and finally the
maintenance (primarily cleaning algae off the front glass and water
changes). Does that sum it up adequately? Other possible constraints
are noise and water cooling (when needed).

If we look at the trends, despite the weight, cost & space, aquariums are
slowly getting larger, however this makes their best location to be
concrete (basement) away from prime viewing area (living room). Also
more money is being spent on them, and there are many more complex
features available (lighting, filtration, CO2, aquatic gardening going
more mainstream etc)

If a solution to the constraints existed, then the natural trend would
continue towards having larger & more complex aquariums, and I think I
have a solution ). I got the idea from a friend's home theatre system,
where one entire wall of the room was dedicated to the TV projection.

The aquarium becomes a large moulded tub sitting in a corner of the
basement, with an underwater camera controlled by joystick from the
living room (controlling x, y, z and focus).

1. Cost goes down (no glass, no manufacturing assembly, reduced shipping
cost (lightweight and stackable)).
2. Space is less critical, physically located in low-use area of the
house, 'beamed' to living room wall (also frees space upstairs for other
things).
3. Moving is relatively easy, drain and throw in the back of a van (not
fragile).
4. Weight is a non-issue (no floor reinforcement needed on concrete
floor).
5. Algae maintenance? (no glass to clean algae off of, camera could be
raised from water when not in use). Perhaps wipe the lens cover
periodically.
6. Filter maintenance (simplified as components do not need to be hidden
away).
7. Water changes (with external pumps/filters and less restriction on the
placement of supply/drain piping, water changes could be greatly
simplified, draining from below the gravel (gravel-vacuum) and refilling
through filter return lines).
8. Operation (filter/fan noise non-issue, cooling should be non-issue)
9. A bonus would be that the observed fish behaviour would be much more
natural (and interesting).

Problems
1) Feeding, unlike pond owners, aquarists like to watch the fish eat.
I'm assuming this will be an acceptable adaptation, evidenced by pond
folks always feeding from a top view.

2) Other tank maintenance (trimming plants, arranging rocks, driftwood
etc).
This is potentially the biggest constraint. I wouldn't want to hang
upside down in the middle of a tub to re-arrange the stuff inside. This
would be partly addressed by the tub being moulded into shapes, so much
of it would not be movable (tiers for planting, plugs for pushing
driftwood into, caves, rockwork etc might even be incorporated into the
mould). Another method would be to have a camera feed locally to a small
monitor. This would be acceptable, though a bit of a nuisance (though
I've worked on large tanks where I had to get out whenever I wanted to
see what I'd done, so a monitor would've been handy to have). A monitor
would also address the feeding issue (providing a side view on the
action).

Please note that I'm not selling this concept. I'm just putting
circumstances and emerging technology together in a particular
application. This will never replace the small counter tanks, only the
big 55g+ community tanks in our living rooms (which could now become
400-500g circular pre-moulded tubs). If nothing else, it would be
interesting to put 2 or 3 cameras in there, and have the inside of your
tub-aquarium projected on to 2 or 3 walls simultaneously.

could be very kewl )


Then, why have a personal aquarium, a community aquarium could
suffice. Maybe one connected to the net, so people all over the world
could enjoy it.

then someone could come up with the idea of having a small instence of
an aquarium in your very own living room, and start the whole thing
over.

Besides, I don't have a basement.

Right on.

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 03:45:16 GMT, Charles
wrote:

On Sun, 15 Jan 2006 22:22:45 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:

A possible scenario for the evolution of the aquarium:

If we start by examining the constraints, I think the 4 biggest are the
purchase cost (people don't complain so much about the running costs),
the space (large footprint in prime real-estate in the house, and
difficult to move), the weight (we want bigger aquariums except for the
cost and the space it takes and eventually moving it), and finally the
maintenance (primarily cleaning algae off the front glass and water
changes). Does that sum it up adequately? Other possible constraints
are noise and water cooling (when needed).

If we look at the trends, despite the weight, cost & space, aquariums are
slowly getting larger, however this makes their best location to be
concrete (basement) away from prime viewing area (living room). Also
more money is being spent on them, and there are many more complex
features available (lighting, filtration, CO2, aquatic gardening going
more mainstream etc)

If a solution to the constraints existed, then the natural trend would
continue towards having larger & more complex aquariums, and I think I
have a solution ). I got the idea from a friend's home theatre system,
where one entire wall of the room was dedicated to the TV projection.

The aquarium becomes a large moulded tub sitting in a corner of the
basement, with an underwater camera controlled by joystick from the
living room (controlling x, y, z and focus).

1. Cost goes down (no glass, no manufacturing assembly, reduced shipping
cost (lightweight and stackable)).
2. Space is less critical, physically located in low-use area of the
house, 'beamed' to living room wall (also frees space upstairs for other
things).
3. Moving is relatively easy, drain and throw in the back of a van (not
fragile).
4. Weight is a non-issue (no floor reinforcement needed on concrete
floor).
5. Algae maintenance? (no glass to clean algae off of, camera could be
raised from water when not in use). Perhaps wipe the lens cover
periodically.
6. Filter maintenance (simplified as components do not need to be hidden
away).
7. Water changes (with external pumps/filters and less restriction on the
placement of supply/drain piping, water changes could be greatly
simplified, draining from below the gravel (gravel-vacuum) and refilling
through filter return lines).
8. Operation (filter/fan noise non-issue, cooling should be non-issue)
9. A bonus would be that the observed fish behaviour would be much more
natural (and interesting).

Problems
1) Feeding, unlike pond owners, aquarists like to watch the fish eat.
I'm assuming this will be an acceptable adaptation, evidenced by pond
folks always feeding from a top view.

2) Other tank maintenance (trimming plants, arranging rocks, driftwood
etc).
This is potentially the biggest constraint. I wouldn't want to hang
upside down in the middle of a tub to re-arrange the stuff inside. This
would be partly addressed by the tub being moulded into shapes, so much
of it would not be movable (tiers for planting, plugs for pushing
driftwood into, caves, rockwork etc might even be incorporated into the
mould). Another method would be to have a camera feed locally to a small
monitor. This would be acceptable, though a bit of a nuisance (though
I've worked on large tanks where I had to get out whenever I wanted to
see what I'd done, so a monitor would've been handy to have). A monitor
would also address the feeding issue (providing a side view on the
action).

Please note that I'm not selling this concept. I'm just putting
circumstances and emerging technology together in a particular
application. This will never replace the small counter tanks, only the
big 55g+ community tanks in our living rooms (which could now become
400-500g circular pre-moulded tubs). If nothing else, it would be
interesting to put 2 or 3 cameras in there, and have the inside of your
tub-aquarium projected on to 2 or 3 walls simultaneously.

could be very kewl )


Then, why have a personal aquarium, a community aquarium could
suffice. Maybe one connected to the net, so people all over the world
could enjoy it.

search Google "fish web cam" It has been done for years already

dick


then someone could come up with the idea of having a small instence of
an aquarium in your very own living room, and start the whole thing
over.

Besides, I don't have a basement.

From: "NetMax"
Subject: Future scenario for the home aquarium.
Date: Sunday, January 15, 2006 9:22 PM

A possible scenario for the evolution of the aquarium:

=========== Brevity snip!

You have too much time on your hands. ;-) How about inventing some kind of
heater for betta bowls to sit on and be heated? You know, like a heat tape
that runs along the window sill, table or shelf with the bowls sitting on
them. I'll be your first customer.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
NEW PAGE: Aquariums:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastada...ium-Page4.html
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

You have too much time on your hands. ;-) How about inventing some kind of
heater for betta bowls to sit on and be heated? You know, like a heat tape
that runs along the window sill, table or shelf with the bowls sitting on
them. I'll be your first customer.

Take a 500 - 1500W space heater. Put a glass table over it. Put the
jars on there. Adjust the heater between 500 1000 and 1500W as
the season changes or get a thermostatically controlled one. That'll
heat a small room, too.

We do this with a lizard to keep it at the right temperature. I
must have arctic bettas because they don't mind the cold, the lizard
does though.

That'd probably work for a lot of jars. If you jsut had a few
I'd probably try to make something out of xmas lights, incandescent
ones. One per jar should be enough, jsut make a small base for each
and stuff the bulb inside it. Shim it with rock slices to regulate
the temperature if it's too warm.


--
Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org
Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home page: http://rs79.vrx.net
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net

"Richard Sexton" wrote in message
...
You have too much time on your hands. ;-) How about inventing some kind
of
heater for betta bowls to sit on and be heated? You know, like a heat
tape
that runs along the window sill, table or shelf with the bowls sitting on
them. I'll be your first customer.

Take a 500 - 1500W space heater. Put a glass table over it. Put the
jars on there. Adjust the heater between 500 1000 and 1500W as
the season changes or get a thermostatically controlled one. That'll
heat a small room, too.

It would be too expensive. Electricity isn't cheap anymore. Also, the
excess heat would be totally wasted. I want them where I can see and enjoy
them, like on the windowsill they're on now. And I don't really have any
room for a table in here.

We do this with a lizard to keep it at the right temperature. I
must have arctic bettas because they don't mind the cold, the lizard
does though.

My bettas are living at 70 to 74F in winter. A little warmer wouldn't hurt
them.

That'd probably work for a lot of jars. If you jsut had a few
I'd probably try to make something out of xmas lights, incandescent
ones. One per jar should be enough, jsut make a small base for each
and stuff the bulb inside it. Shim it with rock slices to regulate
the temperature if it's too warm.

Make a base for each bulb? What's a "base?" I would rather have something
like a heat-tape to sit the jars on than Jerry-rig something I may
electrocute them or myself with. :-) BTW, those small x-mas lights can
get pretty darn hot.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
NEW PAGE: Aquariums:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastada...ium-Page4.html
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

In article , Koi-lo Do Not Reply wrote:

"Richard Sexton" wrote in message
...
You have too much time on your hands. ;-) How about inventing some kind
of
heater for betta bowls to sit on and be heated? You know, like a heat
tape
that runs along the window sill, table or shelf with the bowls sitting on
them. I'll be your first customer.

Take a 500 - 1500W space heater. Put a glass table over it. Put the
jars on there. Adjust the heater between 500 1000 and 1500W as
the season changes or get a thermostatically controlled one. That'll
heat a small room, too.

It would be too expensive. Electricity isn't cheap anymore. Also, the
excess heat would be totally wasted. I want them where I can see and enjoy
them, like on the windowsill they're on now. And I don't really have any
room for a table in here.

That setup would do hundreds of jars. Scale down as required.

--
Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org
Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home page: http://rs79.vrx.net
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net

Koi-lo wrote:
How about inventing some
kind of heater for betta bowls to sit on and be heated? You know, like
a heat tape that runs along the window sill, table or shelf with the
bowls sitting on them. I'll be your first customer.

For christmas I got a beverage mug warmer. It doesn't really heat the
mug, it just maintains temperature. Are you thinking of something like
that? Granted, the setpoint of a coffee warmer is going to be much
hotter than that for a betta bowl, but a little tweaking by the
manufacturer should fix that.

Not the one I got, but gives you an idea:
http://www.brookstone.com/shop/produ...ct_code=236117