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Tide simulation, looking for thoughts.

Nont

Nont

Member
Joined
14 Dec 2021
Messages
284
Location
Thailand
Hi everyone,

I’m looking to recreate the daily tide cycle in my aquarium, to mimic the salt flat habitats where plants are subjected to flooding on a daily basis during high tides.

I have 2 ideas as follows:

The first one is to use two separate tanks. The inlet will be a matten filter like lift tube, powered by an air pump to slowly drain water out. The water will then be returned using a water pump. Both pumps will be on separate timers. However, I'm having trouble finding a water pump with a slow enough flow and for this to work properly.

The second idea is to use a single aquarium with a glass divider to separate the sides. There would be 2 air-powered lift tubes, one for the outlet and one for the inlet. This would allow the water to flow from one side to the other with a presumably similar flow rate.

My apologies for the terrible drawings, but I hope they help to illustrate my ideas. 😖
I'm open to more ideas, suggestions, critiques and feedback on these designs.

IMG_1487.jpeg
 
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I've seen them done for mudskippers; might be worth a google for inspiration.

Have you looked at auto top ups? They tend to be smaller pumps/pipework. I guess if you used a timer to turn it on, it would then refill to the marked line in the aquarium. That would also be more accurate than running the pump for a set period. Have to check if cutting power to it would lose the settings. Your container will need to hold more than you return to the tank so you don't run the pump dry. I wonder if you could run both ways, autotop up in each tank and then run alternately so they refill each other on scedule. Then ... add a third one to run in the middle actually autotopping up the reservoir to account for evaporation 😂

Wifi controlled return pumps are a thing in the reef hobby, but I'm not sure how low they go.
 
Tell us more about your vision for the whole here, livestock plans etc. Looking forward to hearing all about it!
My insane mind immediately jumps to trying to raise one in some way porous box mechanically out of another containing the water. Certainly not a rational approach, but could lead to some great side quests and one unique result!
Finding the right type of pump makes more sense. A peristaltic would give you a nice slow even flow. What time period do you want to drain/fill over and what size tank are we talking about?
 
I wonder if you can convert the slow motors of a dosing pump to help achieve the goal here? They seem pretty slow and you just need a slow in and out on a timer to create that.

Just an idea, not a very well formed one I must admit!
 
I think a sump layout would be best.
The two tank system may draw too much attention to the system, detracting from appreciating the plants in a natural tidal environment.

If going for the sump layout, have you considered letting a sump overflow be restricted with its valve to let water slowly drain down to the bottom tank with gravity. The refill to the top tank via peristaltic pump is a great idea. You may need multiple pump heads and to soundproof them as they are fairly loud. Hiding them behind the sump may help.

Sounds like a really fun project!
 
You could divide a long tank in two down the middle and have two habitats, one being at high tide while the other was at low tide and vice versa...
 
Maf 2500 said:
You could divide a long tank in two down the middle and have two habitats, one being at high tide while the other was at low tide and vice versa...
Click to expand...

Yes, if you put a 'land' mass in the centre to cover the divider and just had the divider at the high tide mark rather than to the top of the tank, you could potentially make it quite subtle.
 
I have been tempted to do a tidal tank for a while now, and looked into it a bit. The "best" solution would probably be a sump, be it either below, overhead, or behind. One pump feeding the main tank (if you use a sump below), and then a standpipe overflow from there back into the sump, the pipe can then have a couple of holes drilled further down to slowly drop the water level once the pump turns off, or have the pump outflow below the water level so that the hose acts as a siphon when the pump is off. The other option that might work (although I'm a bit dubious) if you want to have just a single tank, is to have an airtight container firmly glued to the bottom of the tank, with a small hole near the base, and an airline connected to the top. When you want high tide, just turn on the air pump to force the water out, then turn it off to let the container fill. You can't use a non-return valve on the airline though, it has to let air escape, so if you go down this route make sure to place the pump well above the tank.
 
IMG_2913.jpeg

Tyko_N air displacement idea is pretty sick. Somthing with an acrylic fake base and little box for an airstone could be pretty cool. It’s hard to draw on a phone but this is what I’m thinking.
 
Little said:
Tyko_N air displacement idea is pretty sick
Click to expand...
Yes, it would be great if it worked, no idea if a normal air pump is strong enough though. You could make it pretty simple, like this:
1728827810758.png
For best effect you want the opening to let water in the lowest spot, and the airline to end as close to the top as possible (to let all the air escape). You could then even add some biomedia to the container and use it for extra filer volume.
 
Thanks for so many thoughts!

This biotope idea was inspired by Cryptocoryne ciliata var. ciliata brackish or possibly saltwater habitat in southern Thailand. The plant was growing on land the first time I was there, the second time it was inundated, sadly, I didn’t take any pictures of the latter.

I discovered a research paper on constructing a tide simulator for Spartina using an auto doser. However, I find it hard to imagine because I have never used an auto doser before and being a non native english speaker. https://bioone.org/journals/applica...-Tidal-Simulator-for/10.3732/apps.1400058.pdf
Tyko_N said:
top. When you want high tide, just turn on the air pump to force the water out, then turn it off to let the container fill. You can't use a non-return valve on the airline though, it has to let air escape, so if you go down this route make sure to place the pump well above the tank.
Click to expand...
Tyko_N said:
Yes, it would be great if it worked, no idea if a normal air pump is strong enough though. You could make it pretty simple, like this:
View attachment 223213
For best effect you want the opening to let water in the lowest spot, and the airline to end as close to the top as possible (to let all the air escape). You could then even add some biomedia to the container and use it for extra filer volume.
Click to expand...
Coolest idea yet, how small do you think the opening would be?
 

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richardcunliffe said:
A peristaltic would give you a nice slow even flow. What time period do you want to drain/fill over and what size tank are we talking about?
Click to expand...
Around 6 hours, 2 drains and 2 fills a day. Tank size would be 36-45cm the smaller would be better to experiment.
 
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