Snowman Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Check this out, this is quite freaky, never seen anything like it before Water Bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billaney Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 That looks so Cool and so easy !! Makes me want to try one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiuh Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 does that mean u only need one heater? YES! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 These were quite the rage in the late '60's.. but the commercial ones were just a single bow (half hoop) perspex tube around 50mm diam. They usually sat in a "hoodless" single tank, but a few I saw went from tank to tank. Saw some recently (can't rem where).. that had a "bridge" around 300mm diam, and that ran from tank to tank.. looked quite neat. Shiuh asked: does that mean u only need one heater? You still need heaters... as there is no "actual" flow of water in there. Once the tube is filled and the ends are below the surface, the water remains in there.. just like an upturned bottle of water will remain full.. as long as the opening is in the water... but the water inside can be well above the water level. BTW: Fighters getting confused in there would soon run out of surface air (non-existent) and perish. The old ones were a smooth hoop style with no sharp corners to navigate. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 No reason you couldn't make the water flow, run a pump pumping water from one tank to the other it'll flow back through the tunnel. You run the risk of bubbles building up in the tube which over a long time could suck. But that could be solved by putting a small hole at the highest point with an airhose running to a powerhead's venturi. It'll suck any air out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcookie Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Yeah I'd seen these too, back in the 90's. (Does that sound show-offy?) People were putting an airstone under them to encourage some sort of water flow - dunno if it worked or not. And make sure you use clear tubes - it pays to see whats in those tubes before they 'go off'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 You still need heaters... as there is no "actual" flow of water in there. Once the tube is filled and the ends are below the surface, the water remains in there.. just like an upturned bottle of water will remain full.. as long as the opening is in the water... but the water inside can be well above the water level. Bill. Does the water not stagnate up there? No. I pump water out of my one tank through an external canister filter and into the other tank. Gravity keeps the water level of the two tanks the same and there is constant motion of water through the tunnel. It also keeps the chemistry of the water in both tanks the same. If your filter pumps 2000 liters of water an hour; this is the volume of water that passes through the bridge every hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Any bubbles that form can be sucked out using a piece of airline as a syphon. Poke it thru to the bubble and suck it back out. I do that with one of my HOB filters when it gets an airlock in it. Clarrie Stead, deceased, X of the Levin A Soc., use to make tanks with a tunnel. A common base had two octagonal tanks built either end with the sides facing one another having a cross over tube of about 150 mm square. Look quite different. One of his favs, especially for auctions, was one built as a boat. I don't know how practical they were, but they were eye-catching, and must have taken a lot of time and patience building them. Mabe his widow Hoya, if she sees this, could give us a little run-down for her first posting, on this. Alan 104 ps. I don't think there can be many members who remember these now. mmmmm Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 It would work MV, but you are going to make it impossible to shift without a removable way of doing it. Just imagine if one broke. Half the other would be all over the floor. "Oh bugger the neighbours under our flat" In an EQ area also, if there was flexing between the tanks, woops. mmmmmmm I wouldn't; but your choice. Just have some mops and buckets ready. You could have the floor pre drilled as well. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Sounds cool to me - and I like the idea of the flexible bits at the end. I guess more knowledgeable people will be able to let you know if it could work. Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted September 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 From what i have read about tthe builder of this setup he uses a cannister filter intake in one tank and the outlet in the other tank creating a flow through the bridge so depending on tank size you could get away with one heater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monaro1 Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 thay work well as long as you dont get a restriction at one end. the lead tank will over flow if the restriction is big enough. the water flow is the same as your pump is flowing. i had a leaf block the inlet to the bridge about 5 years ago and ended up with 200lt on the floor,it didnt take long. it only blocked about half the tube look COOL just carnt get any blockage(even fish) dont know how his worked with crayfish living in it,must of evened out the flow with one in each end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshie Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Blockages will be reduced if using larger pipes. 110mm dia like he used would take a large "body" to block up, most leaves would get sucked through such a big hole too I'd imagine. If worried, get an extra hole drill for an emergency over flow in both tanks that was higher than the bottom of the bridge, connect the two overflows together so if something goes wrong the water will take an alternate route between tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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