Stream in a twenty gallon?

[JeffX]

I have a free twenty gallon and I was wondering if anyone has set-up a stream that would then feed into a pool? I may or may not do it, but I've been trying to think of the best way to set this up, and any helpful tips from anyone that has done this kind of setup. I really have no idea what I'd put in there either. I've been thinking about getting another tomato and moving my other tomato in with it after a quarantine period of course. However I'm not sure, and I'd be willing to to listen to anyone's ideas on what would work best in that kind of setup.

[John]

Johnny (Sludgemunkey) is the terrarium design guru - hopefully he'll see this. My own feeling is that 20 gallon tanks, at least the 20H type, are on the small side to be able to pull off the stream and the pool in the same tank. You could do the stream if you used a false bottom too.

[JeffX]

Mine is actually a twenty long, but hopefully he sees this thread. I'd really like to try this.

[John]

I think you can do it in that size, provided the pool is quite small. You will find it all a lot easier if you have a false bottom.

[SludgeMunkey]

A twenty long is the perfect size for a first attempt at such a build. In fact, I personally swear by the 20 long style tank.

The secret to such a build is the method chosen to power flow to the stream. I use two different methods. The first is what is pictured in my Bombina orientalis enclosure . The down side to this type is that you sacrifice floor space and quite a bit of volume to build up a proper looking water fall area.

The other type is a bit more work, but uses less space and provides a much gentler flow. For this type I run a length of 3/4 inch PVC pipe along the bottom of the tank under the substrate. From the source of the stream I attach a PVC elbow and a small section of the pipe cut to be just a bit higher than the substrate will be. Add your stream bed and your substrate, then add your water. To make it flow, simply put an airstone hooked up to a small aquarium pump in the outlet end and turn it on. The air flowing up will draw water through the pipe from the "pond' end.

Currently, I do not have any pictures to share of this build type, but I will sketch up what I am talking about and post it in this thread shortly.

Either way, choose your stream bed materials carefully. Great Stuff expanding foam is not the best choice, but it does work well. A method I have not used yet, but really like is to actually build the stream bed with river rock and aquarium silicone. My personal favorite is acrylic concrete, but this is a time consuming and somewhat pricey method and is definitely not for everyone.

This link will take you to a compilation of various vivaria builds folks have done over at caudata.org that a few of us have compiled together. Most of them show the complete build process, and quite a few of them incorporate running water in various forms.

I'm off to do up a few drawings and scan them in here for you...more later.

[SludgeMunkey]

Here is some rough sketches you can use for ideas on the airstone method. I feel it is superior to the filter pump or fountain pump method as you do not have to destroy your creation when the pump dies. Another advantage to this system is there is very little risk to eggs or larvae if they end up in it. With water pumps you could loose small animals to the intake and impeller.

I like to put the ponds in the front right corner since I am right handed (easier to clean!) and it allows you a view of what is going on below the water surface. this build type brovides a nice slow floww. With some clever positioning of the rocks, you can even achieve the full on babbling brook effect.

To clean this system, a bottle brush is used to scrub the pipe out once in a while and a soft plastic bristled scrubber keeps the stream bed gunk free. This is why you do NOT glue the river rocks down over the openings, you just fish them out and replace them when cleaning is done.



Make sure you do have a bit of a slope from the head of the stream to the pond or you end up with a really pretty bubbling swamp effect instead. It does not have to be much, but aim for about a 1/4 inch drop for every 3 inches in length.



I prefer the drilled hole version. a clear rubber hose sticking up out of the stream head looks silly to me.

On a final note- you MUST use an airline check valve with this build or have the air pump situated above the water line.

Pardon my handwriting, I killed too many pots of Navy Style Coffee at work last night...

(My wife was looking over the shoulder as I was posting this...all she could say was "No more new projects until you finish the half dozen unfinished ones! Guess I have to get more critters to go in them...)

[JeffX]

Thank you very much for the plans. That was exactly what I was looking for. I'll have to save those pictures once I get home so I can have them easily once I begin work on my tank.

[india7]

I have a 30 gallon tank and have a waterfall in it. I have a false bottom and a pump with a tube attached that shoots water up the side behind some cork bark. There's a little opening and a bunch of rocks that it flows onto, and into a pool. I've had it for a year, and a similar tank before that, and it's worked great. The only down side is the space it takes up....

[John]

Johnny, you are a wonder.

[SludgeMunkey]

Thank you very much for the plans. That was exactly what I was looking for. I'll have to save those pictures once I get home so I can have them easily once I begin work on my tank.

You are very welcome! Feel free to PM me or even better post more questions in this thread as you progress through the build. Better yet, post pictures as you progress! We all enjoy seeing folks builds.

Johnny, you are a wonder.

Nope, I just have way too much time on my hands on occasion. Well, that and I am a cheapskate. I feel it is always better to do it yourself with projects rather than buy some mass produced thing half a million other people own.