Anybody remember seeing an overflowing tank at a recent conference??

[Mr James]

I can't remember where I saw it, but someone had posted pictures about one of the more recent conferences where they had displayed a tank that overflowed on purpose, all around the perimeter of the e tank. Zoiks, the was a long sentence!! Anyone know of this elusive tank?? Was is just a prop or is this possibly going to be the real deal. I wonder what the benefits would be other than no need for internal overflows?!?

 

[iCam]

They're not just prop tanks, you can buy them and some people do. But, in various ways the zero edge tanks are not the most "practical" tanks. If you keep snails, they'll just crawl over. I'm sure algae can grow on the outside of the tank as well. I would imagine there would be saltspray with water running down the side, even in that thin of a film.


I guess it really comes down to what type of tank you want it to be. They would probably make nice clam tanks for top viewing.

 

[Mr James]

They?? They who?? Got a link or a picture?? Where does it overflow to?? A sump with the bigger perimeter?? This whole thing intrigues me.

P.S. What is "poop with corn"?? Duh, just as I was typing this, I remembered my kids' diapers after a dinner with corn on the cob.

 

[iCam]

I am going to assume Les (Gawain1974) doesn't mind me posting this, if not, he can sue me

Here is a zero edge tank from IMAC:

I believe that water flows over the edges, down from holes in the stand to a sump or similar beneath the stand, and then is pumped back into the display through returns/ return pipes, hidden in this photo within the liverock.

 

[Mr James]

That is just SO COOL!!

 

[LBCBJ]

Awesome, talk about oxygenation! Who makes one of these?

 

[Avast Marine]

RAD! I need linky before I explode!!!!

 

[Ursus]

My LFS has a zero edge tank for holding frags and clams. Even has a powder blue tang in there with them. Really cool to be able to look down at clams. Doesn't seem to be messy to me, either that or he cleans it a lot

 

[bjonesjr1]

Thats pretty cool to have I think, but I wonder about maintence on this thing... It would be cool to see one up close & personal to check it out. Maybe at the 2006 conference...

 

[jdieck]

The main purpose is to keep items that are better seen from the top as the intention is to keep a mirror like surface. So clams are an ideal critter for this kind of setup as well as some acroporas which get the best coloring on the lighted surfaces.

http://www.asplashoflife.com/Classic.html
http://www.tropicalfishstore.com/Aquarium-ZeroEdge.htm

 

[RichConley]

IIRC, for the return, these things just have a pipe that comes up the middle of the tank, and releases water around an inch above the bottom. Theres a check valve to prevent backsiphoning. That worries the crap out of me.

 

[Loralie]

The problem with these tanks will be Evaporation. With not only the top of the tank being open there is also the entire sides of exposed water.......geez. I have to run my dehumidifier in the winter now because of my tanks....all of the exposed water makes me nervous. My son was at IMAC and he loved the tank, but the cleaning would be the pits. He siaqd it makes a wicked Clam tank. Easy to view them from the top

 

[redreef85]

Anyone have any first hand experience with these tanks?

 

[lighthouze08]

i saw a zero edge at a LFS store years ago and it looked great in person. The guy that's doing all the maintenance said it's a pain in the rear end to clean it and was ready to sell it off

 

[dogstar74]

Holy cow, thread necromancer. I seem to remember that they have fallen out of favor, the maintainance and the need for a check valve seemed to seal their fate.

 

[KafudaFish]

^ also if the tank is not perfectly level the water will not flow over all four sides equally.

 

[smcwhirt]

Here's the manufacturer website just in case anyone hasn't found it yet. http://zeroedgeaquarium.com/

 

[DXHippie]

There is a LFS in El Paso, TX that makes them out of acrylic in all sorts of sizes. He has been doing it for a little over a year now, and sells the complete system. Every time I go in there, it seems that they stay pretty clean on the outer walls where the water drains. The snails seem to climb up and over all the time, helping out, the only real cleaning I have seen is when he takes a finger to the upper edge to clear off debris that keeps water from traveling down an area of the side. If I remember, I will try to get some pictures of his to post. By the way, if you are in the area and wanted to check it out, the store is Aquarium Concept.

 

[Steve175]

One of my LFS is Washington DC has one for their clam display as well: very cool when viewing from the top. Not as cool IMO from the side.

 

[Mytola]

My local LFS here in Oslo, Norway actually set one of these up this week. Looks really good for clams and corals, but I wouldn't have one at home really.