Aquarium's Evolution

"Liz" wrote in message
oups.com...
Do you have a situation where the water parameters must be monitored?

Yes, I'm a newbie who made the mistake of doing what the people at the
fish store told me, and so I've got to keep an eye on things daily
until the cycle is done (ammonia just hit 0 today! hooray! Nitrite
will follow soon, I'm sure (I added Bio-Spira on Monday, after learning
about it and how to properly apply it)).

Congrats on the zero NH3. I've watched many people do jigs for this one.

But you're right, of course - I'm looking at it backwards, reactively
instead of proactively. It's quite clear that you've got a lot of
experience - to which I gratefully yield.

I'll resist temptations to buy an 8-channel pipetter (shouldn't be hard
at $300+) and continue reading 'til I don't feel the need for one. :-)

Well, I'm very happy if I've influenced you in something which saved you
money. I don't usually have *that* effect on people ;~).

Ammonia & nitrite are the first test kits to collect dust and expire from
lack of use or necessity. Depending on your source water and your
application (fish-load), your testing requirements might be quite
minimal. There are many folks here who are very qualified to advise you,
but I suspect that you'll want to get past your nitrite spike first. The
bad news is that NO2 spikes are longer than NH3, but I've heard very good
things about Bio-Spira. I hope that you can keep us advised on your
progress.
--
www.NetMax.tk


Thanks,

Liz

NetMax wrote:

Yes, I'm a newbie who made the mistake of doing what the people at the
fish store told me, and so I've got to keep an eye on things daily
until the cycle is done (ammonia just hit 0 today! hooray! Nitrite
will follow soon, I'm sure (I added Bio-Spira on Monday, after learning
about it and how to properly apply it)).

Congrats on the zero NH3. I've watched many people do jigs for this one.

snip

... The
bad news is that NO2 spikes are longer than NH3, but I've heard very good
things about Bio-Spira. I hope that you can keep us advised on your
progress.

Well, a week after ammonia hit 0, I added another packet of Bio-Spira
(to help deal with my impatience g), 6 days after that, nitrite was
zero.

I now have all the fishies I intend for this tank - 6 neon tetras (one
is Scout, the others are too similar to distinguish), 5 harlequin
rasboras (Ras, Bo, Ra, Junior** and John Doe), and 2 otos (Oto and
Inky g, added Friday). Things are going well - test results so far
indicate the filters and my water change routine (~25%/week) are
working for this load. I never saw a secondary ammonia or nitrite
mini-spike and the water changes are keeping nitrate under ~15ppm.
Now to figure out how to keep Oto and Inky's brown-algae garden
growing! g

**Junior seems to have a few scales (3, from what I can tell, 2 on one
side, 1 on the other) that look like silver glitter (you know, the
little shiny squares children use to make a mess everywhere, er,
decorate stuff). Any idea what that might be? I'll try to take a
picture if I can get it - it's kinda hard, he's pretty active. He
came this way from the fish store - didn't notice until I got him in
the tank (light has to hit right). I'm not real worried as he seems
fine, just curious.

Thanks everyone for your comments on this group - whether to me or not
- they've been very helpful getting my first-ever tank up and running.

Liz

PS: I decided not to quarantine the new fishes, based on another
thread, and I have to say I do like the fish shop where I've been
getting fishies - I know it's probably too early to be sure, but these
guys have had no signs of disease or illness at all - everyone seems
healthy, normal and active. knock, knock

NetMax wrote:
"Liz" wrote in message
oups.com...

NetMax,

I like your thinking. Here are some random thoughts:


Now there's a scary thought, someone who likes my thinking ;~).


You mention the Eclipse tanks that have everything in the hood (in and
under is more accurate as the filter is just under the hood, not
actually a part of it). I have a 6g of these and I have to say, the
fact that the hood as a unit doesn't have a hinge at the back so that I
can open it up and get at the water (there's a trap door for the filter
which also works well for feeding) is a royal pain! If I want to do a
water change or need to trim a plant or something, I have to get my
husband to come and hold the hood. (There's a power cord coming out of
it, and a clever little cable router, which keeps me from taking the
hood entirely off and putting it elsewhere. Likely I'll pull the hood
power wire out of the cable organizer eventually so I can do things
without my husband holding the hood for me!)


This Italian tank I mentioned had a plastic hinge along the back and the
entire canopy lifted backwards and was held in place with a rod (just
like the hood of a car, when they stopped using springs). I don't know
if I could do the same thing, as there are portions which could not be
angled, but I'm very conscious of obstructions to working on my tank. I
like to build large full length structures for my tanks and even a
crossbrace is a nuisance. I'm currently building a removable stainless
steel crossbrace for my 120g.


In other words, I think things should be designed such that one person
can do things without needing four hands! And I think it's important
to be able to get the lid off - whether it's for adding/removing a
fish, moving decorations around, or whatever.


Agreed. I'm independant the same way. Something wrong if it takes more
than 2 hands to do it.


I also agree with what's been said about price - you're gonna be
hitting the high-end market - at least initially. A lot of goodies get
left at the store by those who can afford the necessaries, but not the
conveniences. Unless the hood (or system, I don't know that it all has
to be in/under the hood) is modular (as was already suggested) so that
folks could get the part(s) they wanted and not pay for what they don't
want / can't afford, the price is gonna be pretty high.


I don't have a profit motive right now. If I could cover my costs, I
would be very happy. Of course if the income from other projects dries
up, that will change everything, but I don't see this as generating much
profit, so if I get poor, I'll be doing something else in my retirement
years anyways.


I recently answered a survey and made comments to a group of college
students who, for an engineering project, were trying to automate
absolutely everything that could be automated around a tank. (I don't
think they're gonna go for my idea of having the system automatically
monitor (accurately, not those visual color indicators) ammonia,
nitrite and nitrate - cuz I think the system would have to include a
GC/LC/MS (or something) for that. g)

Here's a link to the thread:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums...ad.php?t=60324

(I'm ParadoxLiz over there.)


I'm NetMax there, at least if I stop lurking ;~). Actually I have to
limit where I post or I will really need a life (probably too late
anyways). It's actually a quite regular occurance, that an engineering
class gets assigned a project like automating some aspect of aquaria
(convenient fixed environment to play with), but the designs are all
rooted in engineering capabilities instead of animal husbandry.

For example, they would find a way to detect NH levels rather than build
a system which would make NH detection superfulous, such as a a thin
layer of water above the lights acting as an algae scrubber. It would be
very difficult to ever have NH in a system which had an order of
magnitude more NH processing power than your bioload could generate.
Root cause analysis would result in a solution to prevent the problem
while the engineers were interfacing the NH detection circuitry to a
sending unit to do something ;~).


I like the concept - automate all the work - let machines do it and
when they run into a problem they can't fix, let them call you. But
there are a lot of people who like to get under the hood (home auto
mechanics analogy seems appropriate, or people who build their own
computers from scratch rather than buying it already put together) and
do everything themselves - modular might get them to buy some stuff
anyway. I also wonder if a system like this wouldn't actually turn the
users off toward fishies over time - kinda like having someone else
feed, water, walk, pick up after the dog - what's left after that?
You've got no time and emotion invested in your little fishies, so why
would you care about them - you may as well go down to the Chinese
place and watch their fishies for a while... g


While I would not argue this point, it's the magnitude which is affected,
and the way your efforts get re-directed. I watch my 66g as much as
always, but lights, feeders and much of the maintenance is automated. I
find that my energy gets redirected, admitedly sometimes to non-aquaria,
but also to wanting to learn more about some aspect, or making further
improvements. If I compare this to my other hobby (motorcycles), there
was a feeling that the true nature of the sport was being ruined by
fairings, stereo systems, heated seats and handlegrips, tent trailers,
floorboards, cruise control, volume control, self-adjusting shock
absorbers and electric starters (no more kickstarter). The sport is
still alive, albeit somewhat changed, and consumers have the option as to
what level of convenience and comfort they want to dial in when they make
their purchase.

When I worked in the trade, I'd approach prospective customers who would
be gawking at the tanks, and ask if they needed help. Frequently I was
told, that they would love to have a tank, "but they are too much work".
Aquariums will never be effortless (no matter what we automate), but I
think we have a good way to go before a better balance is achieved.


Anywho, I think there's a market, I'm not sure how big it is, I'd like
something that does all the tedious stuff for me (but that would have
to include testing the water, which I find the biggest pain (last night
I was on Fisher Scientific's web site pricing multi-channel pipetters
and looking for one that would measure milliliters instead of
microliters... g)). I also think there are some concerns, issues,
whatever you call thems that should be carefully considered.


The requirement to test a water parameter is directly related to that
water parameter changing or being expected to change. It's quite
possible to effortlessly manage a home aquarium for many years without
having to do any water tests. Do you have a situation where the water
parameters must be monitored?


FWIW,

Liz


Thanks for the feedback!
I agree I am an expert at nothing but have intrest in many things that
is why my projects are always hobby based and get more responce than
sone college undergrad whow should now what gets no responce but people
whow have degrease respond to me althugh I don't always know what they
are talking about

On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 00:35:36 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:

I'm going to make a prediction that the next major leap in aquarium
design will be the canopy. I've watched technologies evolve, filters,
filter media, heaters, lighting technologies, feeding systems and water
parameter related equipment. Occasionally some of these technologies
have imbedded themselves into the canopy. For example, 8 years ago, an
Italian aquarium manufacturer had an auto-feeder built into a canopy with
T6 fluorescent lighting. They were a little ahead of their time.
Marineland has a line of tanks with their filters built into the canopy,
and the design has persisted, even with many drawbacks.

The canopy of the future will resemble what we have today, but will be
much bigger, possibly 8 to 12" thick. It will incorporate things like:

1. Filter system
- integrated biowheel, and sponge media which would be serviced through a
hatch in the canopy.
- backwash capability into overflows (see para. 7. below)

2. Storage
- nets, test kits etc

3. Heater
- why use precious aquarium real-estate for an unsightly heater

4. Food storage
- empty/mix all your dried fish foods, pellets, flakes, freeze-dried etc
into a compartment which is sealed when the hatch is closed.
- there is a screw-type feeder with rubber blades (to keep humidity away
from the food) operated/programmed from a keypad (integrated into the
canopy)
- level indicator (proximity switch) provides visual indicator of low
food levels (ie: by reversing light operation to get your attention)
- filters would automatically turn off for 10 minutes during feeding

5. Light System
- staged lighting, programmed from same keypad
- dawn/dusk lights, small halogen making a spot light effect, with
ripples shadowing the substrate, used to transition to/from nightfall and
daylight main lighting
- main lights (two CF groups, morning 1/2 on, mid-day all on, and evening
1/2 on again)
- programmed variability (cloudy periods) to reduce algae (currently done
with timers set to 1 hour off)
- twilight lighting (typically red or actinic) not programmed, set
manually, for those bottle of wine by the fire late evenings.

6. Ventilation & Cooling
- all that lighting will require that the ballasts are in a separate
vented area (separate from the air under the canopy)
- stainless steel tubing (with cooling fins) replaces conventional hoses,
allowing atmospheric cooling using a small fan triggered by a
thermocouple.

7. Water/Atmospheric control
- pH regulated through CO2 injected inside canopy (or skip to next item)
- low pH amber/tannic appearance through black-water concentrate pellets,
or processed/compressed leaf pellets
- kH regulated through baking soda pellets
- continuous monitoring of conductivity (TDS control)
- plumbed directly into home's DWV and cold water supply line (for
continuous water changes through a drip system)
- thermocouple (replaces thermometer), to activate dynamic cooling
(para.6) and reduce lighting to cool as required. (heater's thermocouple
would be a separate unit in-line with heating elements).
- backwash cycle which would pulse water in through the gravel, trapping
mulm in screens located near overflow pipes

8. Power distribution
- plug the canopy in and all peripherals connect to canopy's integrated
GFI protected power bar.

9. Water Purification option
- clear plastic bell fits on top of canopy (semi-integrated), housing
various bog/terrestrial plants whose roots would strip out any remaining
NO3 from non-planted tanks (silk plants would make a come back, but some
people will always want real plants).

10. Live Food option
- habitat section in canopy for growing small creatures (ie: white worms
in earth, feeding off decay from mechanical filtration stage, or mysis
shrimp hatchery etc). Hatchery occupants will randomly 'escape' into
main tank to be eaten.


Did I miss anything? Today, this equipment & electronics exist
separately, much of it in high volume consumer goods, except for:
a) the canopy itself (fairly straightforward mould with several options
and expansion panels to include odd sized aquarium dimensions).
b) the canopy horizontal filter (plastic moulds) utilizing twin
(redundancy) generic powerheads
c) the controller and fairly straightforward programming
d) integration of all the components

Alone, I could prototype this in about 6 years (it is that easy), so a
group of people could probably get one into pre-production testing in 12
months, and into production, 6 months after that.

The question is, would it sell. Would you buy one? Is it complete,
anything missing?


I think one of the biggest thing about putting filter system in the
conopy is the heat from the lighting system. Also, electricty and
water dose not like each other. There is a chance of short there if
something going wrong. The makers maybe liable in that case. Killing
the fish is one thing, killing the person care for the fish will be a
big liability. Even if you put the cooling system in the canopy that
solve the heating problem, you will have to deal with the addiditonal
noise created by the cooling system.

"fish lover" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 00:35:36 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:

I'm going to make a prediction that the next major leap in aquarium
design will be the canopy. I've watched technologies evolve, filters,
filter media, heaters, lighting technologies, feeding systems and water
parameter related equipment. Occasionally some of these technologies
have imbedded themselves into the canopy. For example, 8 years ago, an
Italian aquarium manufacturer had an auto-feeder built into a canopy
with
T6 fluorescent lighting. They were a little ahead of their time.
Marineland has a line of tanks with their filters built into the
canopy,
and the design has persisted, even with many drawbacks.

The canopy of the future will resemble what we have today, but will be
much bigger, possibly 8 to 12" thick. It will incorporate things like:

1. Filter system
- integrated biowheel, and sponge media which would be serviced through
a
hatch in the canopy.
- backwash capability into overflows (see para. 7. below)

snip

5. Light System
- staged lighting, programmed from same keypad
- dawn/dusk lights, small halogen making a spot light effect, with
ripples shadowing the substrate, used to transition to/from nightfall
and
daylight main lighting
- main lights (two CF groups, morning 1/2 on, mid-day all on, and
evening
1/2 on again)
- programmed variability (cloudy periods) to reduce algae (currently
done
with timers set to 1 hour off)
- twilight lighting (typically red or actinic) not programmed, set
manually, for those bottle of wine by the fire late evenings.

6. Ventilation & Cooling
- all that lighting will require that the ballasts are in a separate
vented area (separate from the air under the canopy)
- stainless steel tubing (with cooling fins) replaces conventional
hoses,
allowing atmospheric cooling using a small fan triggered by a
thermocouple.

snip


I think one of the biggest thing about putting filter system in the
conopy is the heat from the lighting system. Also, electricty and
water dose not like each other. There is a chance of short there if
something going wrong. The makers maybe liable in that case. Killing
the fish is one thing, killing the person care for the fish will be a
big liability. Even if you put the cooling system in the canopy that
solve the heating problem, you will have to deal with the addiditonal
noise created by the cooling system.

Agreed, conventional fans would not waterproof inexpensively. The canopy
would need to exhaust its heat through a conventional chimney effect,
with low side air intakes and an exhaust at the top rear of the canopy.
Thanks fish lover, that gets rid of another annoying failure-prone
noise-generating moving part.

The filter's pump would be a conventional powerhead, so there is no
hazard there (underwater rated).

The heater could be a conventional submersible heater, or it would be
something similar if I was inclined to drag this through a UL-CSA
underwriter's approval.

For lights, hopefully something like the sealed T8(?) fluorescent lights
which use no barrier between them and the water (one less thing to clean
calcium deposits off of), but in a CF configuration. I think similar
enough applications already exist to be able to use one or modify it
slightly.
--
www.NetMax.tk

On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 20:43:27 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:

"fish lover" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 00:35:36 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:

I'm going to make a prediction that the next major leap in aquarium
design will be the canopy. I've watched technologies evolve, filters,
filter media, heaters, lighting technologies, feeding systems and water
parameter related equipment. Occasionally some of these technologies
have imbedded themselves into the canopy. For example, 8 years ago, an
Italian aquarium manufacturer had an auto-feeder built into a canopy
with
T6 fluorescent lighting. They were a little ahead of their time.
Marineland has a line of tanks with their filters built into the
canopy,
and the design has persisted, even with many drawbacks.

The canopy of the future will resemble what we have today, but will be
much bigger, possibly 8 to 12" thick. It will incorporate things like:

1. Filter system
- integrated biowheel, and sponge media which would be serviced through
a
hatch in the canopy.
- backwash capability into overflows (see para. 7. below)

snip

5. Light System
- staged lighting, programmed from same keypad
- dawn/dusk lights, small halogen making a spot light effect, with
ripples shadowing the substrate, used to transition to/from nightfall
and
daylight main lighting
- main lights (two CF groups, morning 1/2 on, mid-day all on, and
evening
1/2 on again)
- programmed variability (cloudy periods) to reduce algae (currently
done
with timers set to 1 hour off)
- twilight lighting (typically red or actinic) not programmed, set
manually, for those bottle of wine by the fire late evenings.

6. Ventilation & Cooling
- all that lighting will require that the ballasts are in a separate
vented area (separate from the air under the canopy)
- stainless steel tubing (with cooling fins) replaces conventional
hoses,
allowing atmospheric cooling using a small fan triggered by a
thermocouple.

snip


I think one of the biggest thing about putting filter system in the
conopy is the heat from the lighting system. Also, electricty and
water dose not like each other. There is a chance of short there if
something going wrong. The makers maybe liable in that case. Killing
the fish is one thing, killing the person care for the fish will be a
big liability. Even if you put the cooling system in the canopy that
solve the heating problem, you will have to deal with the addiditonal
noise created by the cooling system.

Agreed, conventional fans would not waterproof inexpensively. The canopy
would need to exhaust its heat through a conventional chimney effect,
with low side air intakes and an exhaust at the top rear of the canopy.
Thanks fish lover, that gets rid of another annoying failure-prone
noise-generating moving part.

The filter's pump would be a conventional powerhead, so there is no
hazard there (underwater rated).

The heater could be a conventional submersible heater, or it would be
something similar if I was inclined to drag this through a UL-CSA
underwriter's approval.

For lights, hopefully something like the sealed T8(?) fluorescent lights
which use no barrier between them and the water (one less thing to clean
calcium deposits off of), but in a CF configuration. I think similar
enough applications already exist to be able to use one or modify it
slightly.


Few more things I can think of may help:
1. I would prefer to have the intake/return water pipes built into the
canopy. I hate to cut all kind of holes into my tank cover to fit in
the pipes.
2. As for the filter system, I would like to have something allows
easy change of media without stopping the filter system. That's one of
the things I hate about the cannister filter system. Also, you may
want to leave the filter media exposed to air so a pro ling power
outage will not kill all your good bacterias. I'm worred one of these
days my cannister filter systems will be dead after an hour or so of
power outage.
3. Since you are building the system anyway, you may want to add some
of the monitor devices such as digital temputure display (I just
bought one on ebay for $5 plus S&H). Really neat thing.
4. Your idea of having a small storage area for fish food and things
like that is eally good. I keep my fish food on top of my tank and
they just don't look good. Too much storage may not needed. Just a
small area to keep the dry food and things.
5. One thing you may want to keep in mind is to reduce any possible
sudden noise from all the moving parts of the canopy. Some fish are
sensitive to that. If you open a door to reach soemthing in the canopy
and it ratles, that may not be good for the fish. Adding a soft pad to
some of the doors may be a good idea. Slide doors or open from the
sides maybe better than the doors that open up and down.

Hey, maybe one of these days I can buy one from you!

Good luck.

"fish lover" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 20:43:27 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:

"fish lover" wrote in message
. ..
On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 00:35:36 -0500, "NetMax"
wrote:
snip

Few more things I can think of may help:
1. I would prefer to have the intake/return water pipes built into the
canopy. I hate to cut all kind of holes into my tank cover to fit in
the pipes.

Agreed. as the filter and pump is integrated into the canopy, there
should be no cut-outs or visible plumbing to see.

2. As for the filter system, I would like to have something allows
easy change of media without stopping the filter system. That's one of
the things I hate about the cannister filter system. Also, you may
want to leave the filter media exposed to air so a pro ling power
outage will not kill all your good bacterias. I'm worred one of these
days my cannister filter systems will be dead after an hour or so of
power outage.

I don't understand why they don't build canister filters out of clear
plastic. They have been doing this for years with many HOBs. I like and
dislike the filter media on the Eclipse. It's great that you see it and
can change it without turning the pump off (or am I thinking of the Hagen
mini-tanks?), but gravity-fed water doesn't utilize filter media as
efficiently as force-fed. In itself, this can be a good thing, as the
detritus does not penetrate as deeply into the media, so it is less
likely to become clogged beyond repair, but it requires a significantly
greater surface area with different grades of filtering material (can't
have everything clog the surface of the first filter encountered). The
approach may be to filter the particulates down through several stages of
different densities of washable foam media, starting with a coarse open
cell and ending with a fine closed cell sponge. Engineering a good
design would be time consuming, (and take a lot of space) but the result
could be an extremely robust and user friendly system. Most of the
under-surface of the canopy's top could be dedicated to filtration mats,
easily accessible from above and exposed to air (some minimal ventialtion
with louvers opposite from the vents for the lighting ballasts). I would
be curious to see what powerpacks are economically available by the time
I do this. It might not be unreasonably to include a tiny dc powerhead
running off of a 12V lantern battery (perhaps making this powerhead the
only pump, and the battery on a continuous recharge circuit from the ac
mains?).

3. Since you are building the system anyway, you may want to add some
of the monitor devices such as digital temputure display (I just
bought one on ebay for $5 plus S&H). Really neat thing.

Definitely. This is a technology which will be less expensive and more
accurate than anything else soon. My inclination would be to have a
small readout, but a wide flat multi-colour LED which would remain green
for a set temperature range, turning yellow for anything slightly outside
that range, and red for anything else. Realistically, this is what we
need. In the trade, I rarely read thermometers (it would take too long
with over a hundred tanks). I would simply touch the glass as I walked
by for an approximate range.

4. Your idea of having a small storage area for fish food and things
like that is eally good. I keep my fish food on top of my tank and
they just don't look good. Too much storage may not needed. Just a
small area to keep the dry food and things.

This is something that has so far gotten mixed reviews. My concern is
that heat and humidity are the worst enemies of fish food, breaking down
the vitamins and promoting mold. If the food is not exposed, then I
would need to ensure the storage area did not get too warm. I might not
specifically design a storage area, but I would keep one in mind as there
is usually odd shaped cavities which could be utilized for storage with
little or no design compromises.

5. One thing you may want to keep in mind is to reduce any possible
sudden noise from all the moving parts of the canopy. Some fish are
sensitive to that. If you open a door to reach soemthing in the canopy
and it ratles, that may not be good for the fish. Adding a soft pad to
some of the doors may be a good idea. Slide doors or open from the
sides maybe better than the doors that open up and down.

You might be surprised to learn what an engineering challenge that can
actually be, with the tolerances of mass production. The $$$ that car
manufacturers put into finding the precise material, shape, reinforcing,
and sound that moving parts make is almost unbelievable, and this is not
just car doors, but down to the way the cup holder progressively pops up
and out like it was motorized.

Rather than increasing the costs by running high tolerances and many
little parts, I'd try to take a more holistic approach with the design,
keeping it simply, relatively easy to assemble, less little plastic
do-dads to break, and use strips of urethane pads on two-sided tape (or
wedged into a groove) just as you have suggested. It should feel as
solid and professional as it looks, and works.

thanks for the feedback!
--
www.NetMax.tk

Hey, maybe one of these days I can buy one from you!

Good luck.

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Hash: SHA1

Bottom posted.



- --
You can find my public key at https://keyserver1.pgp.com
"NetMax" wrote in message
...
I'm going to make a prediction that the next major leap in aquarium

design will be the canopy. I've watched technologies evolve,
filters,
filter media, heaters, lighting technologies, feeding systems and
water
parameter related equipment. Occasionally some of these
technologies
have imbedded themselves into the canopy. For example, 8 years
ago, an
Italian aquarium manufacturer had an auto-feeder built into a
canopy with
T6 fluorescent lighting. They were a little ahead of their time.
Marineland has a line of tanks with their filters built into the
canopy,
and the design has persisted, even with many drawbacks.

The canopy of the future will resemble what we have today, but will
be
much bigger, possibly 8 to 12" thick. It will incorporate things
like:

1. Filter system
- integrated biowheel, and sponge media which would be serviced
through a
hatch in the canopy.
- backwash capability into overflows (see para. 7. below)

2. Storage
- nets, test kits etc

3. Heater
- why use precious aquarium real-estate for an unsightly heater

4. Food storage
- empty/mix all your dried fish foods, pellets, flakes,
freeze-dried etc
into a compartment which is sealed when the hatch is closed.
- there is a screw-type feeder with rubber blades (to keep humidity
away
from the food) operated/programmed from a keypad (integrated into
the
canopy)
- level indicator (proximity switch) provides visual indicator of
low
food levels (ie: by reversing light operation to get your
attention)
- filters would automatically turn off for 10 minutes during
feeding

5. Light System
- staged lighting, programmed from same keypad
- dawn/dusk lights, small halogen making a spot light effect, with

ripples shadowing the substrate, used to transition to/from
nightfall and
daylight main lighting
- main lights (two CF groups, morning 1/2 on, mid-day all on, and
evening
1/2 on again)
- programmed variability (cloudy periods) to reduce algae
(currently done
with timers set to 1 hour off)
- twilight lighting (typically red or actinic) not programmed, set

manually, for those bottle of wine by the fire late evenings.

6. Ventilation & Cooling
- all that lighting will require that the ballasts are in a
separate
vented area (separate from the air under the canopy)
- stainless steel tubing (with cooling fins) replaces conventional
hoses,
allowing atmospheric cooling using a small fan triggered by a
thermocouple.

7. Water/Atmospheric control
- pH regulated through CO2 injected inside canopy (or skip to next
item)
- low pH amber/tannic appearance through black-water concentrate
pellets,
or processed/compressed leaf pellets
- kH regulated through baking soda pellets
- continuous monitoring of conductivity (TDS control)
- plumbed directly into home's DWV and cold water supply line (for

continuous water changes through a drip system)
- thermocouple (replaces thermometer), to activate dynamic cooling

(para.6) and reduce lighting to cool as required. (heater's
thermocouple
would be a separate unit in-line with heating elements).
- backwash cycle which would pulse water in through the gravel,
trapping
mulm in screens located near overflow pipes

8. Power distribution
- plug the canopy in and all peripherals connect to canopy's
integrated
GFI protected power bar.

9. Water Purification option
- clear plastic bell fits on top of canopy (semi-integrated),
housing
various bog/terrestrial plants whose roots would strip out any
remaining
NO3 from non-planted tanks (silk plants would make a come back, but
some
people will always want real plants).

10. Live Food option
- habitat section in canopy for growing small creatures (ie: white
worms
in earth, feeding off decay from mechanical filtration stage, or
mysis
shrimp hatchery etc). Hatchery occupants will randomly 'escape'
into
main tank to be eaten.


Did I miss anything? Today, this equipment & electronics exist
separately, much of it in high volume consumer goods, except for:
a) the canopy itself (fairly straightforward mould with several
options
and expansion panels to include odd sized aquarium dimensions).
b) the canopy horizontal filter (plastic moulds) utilizing twin
(redundancy) generic powerheads
c) the controller and fairly straightforward programming
d) integration of all the components

Alone, I could prototype this in about 6 years (it is that easy),
so a
group of people could probably get one into pre-production testing
in 12
months, and into production, 6 months after that.

The question is, would it sell. Would you buy one? Is it
complete,
anything missing?
--
www.NetMax.tk



I would definitely buy one when starting a new tank and if the price
was relatively reasonable (reasonable can extent to quite high for me
- - maybe $200-$400 usa dollars for a 120 gallon tank or larger). My 3
tanks are established so I wouldn't need to buy the whole shabang in
the case of a breakdown as likely only one component would need to be
replaced. Your idea would look awesome too compared to people having
cables, cords, tubes and pipes spewed out all over the place. You go
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"Daniel Morrow" wrote in message
...
"NetMax" wrote in message
...
snip

I would definitely buy one when starting a new tank and if the price
was relatively reasonable (reasonable can extent to quite high for me
- - maybe $200-$400 usa dollars for a 120 gallon tank or larger). My 3
tanks are established so I wouldn't need to buy the whole shabang in
the case of a breakdown as likely only one component would need to be
replaced. Your idea would look awesome too compared to people having
cables, cords, tubes and pipes spewed out all over the place. You go

Thanks! When I sold aquarium set-ups, I'd often get customers who
inherited a tank (just the glass), and they wanted to buy everything
else. I explained that there were 4 cost drivers, and the order (from
most expensive to least expensive, over the 1st year) was usually:

1. equipment (canopy, lights, filters etc)
2. decorations, plants, fish, and their maintenance (foods, water
treatment etc).
3. stand
4. tank (!)

Economically, you're usually much better off with existing equipment,
stands and fish, and just buying a tank, than doing the reverse, but
emotionally, people rarely buy a tank to put under that spare heater ;~),
so tanks drive the industry. I'd have to design the canopy for existing
tanks, for hobbyists who were being successful and wanted to take it to
another level.
--
www.NetMax.tk

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Hash: SHA1

Mid posted.

- --
You can find my public key at https://keyserver1.pgp.com
"NetMax" wrote in message
...
"Daniel Morrow" wrote in message
...
"NetMax" wrote in message
...
snip

I would definitely buy one when starting a new tank and if the
price
was relatively reasonable (reasonable can extent to quite high
for me
- - maybe $200-$400 usa dollars for a

That is $200-$400 usa dollars for the canopy alone, not the 120
gallon tank included (that would be nice but I am being realistic
here).

120 gallon tank or larger). My 3
tanks are established so I wouldn't need to buy the whole shabang
in
the case of a breakdown as likely only one component would need
to be
replaced. Your idea would look awesome too compared to people
having
cables, cords, tubes and pipes spewed out all over the place. You
go

Thanks!

You're welcome!

When I sold aquarium set-ups, I'd often get customers who
inherited a tank (just the glass), and they wanted to buy
everything
else. I explained that there were 4 cost drivers, and the order
(from
most expensive to least expensive, over the 1st year) was usually:

1. equipment (canopy, lights, filters etc)
2. decorations, plants, fish, and their maintenance (foods, water
treatment etc).
3. stand
4. tank (!)

Economically, you're usually much better off with existing
equipment,
stands and fish, and just buying a tank, than doing the reverse,
but
emotionally, people rarely buy a tank to put under that spare
heater ;~),
so tanks drive the industry. I'd have to design the canopy for
existing
tanks, for hobbyists who were being successful and wanted to take
it to
another level.
--
www.NetMax.tk

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