Tide Simulator?

i think ive seen containers like the one you have but a tad bit taller. Walmart also sells some bigger containers for like 30 bucks ( can hold 40gallons or so). I dont know if thats completely out of budget.

 

As for a larger container, I don't recall if you mentioned what you were using. If it's a plastic farm store tub, IIRC the next 2 sizes are the same dimensions, but deeper. Depending on the exact brand, I believe they should be 12 & 18g, or 15 & 20g.

 

Well the bus tub was going to be 6.5 gallons - 20" L X 15" wide X 5" deep. I kind of want something bigger in all dimensions - but not too deep - maybe 7-12" if I can get the L x W to be bigger too.

 

I'll check out those RubberMade containers at Walmart; those might be a good option - could those be spray painted? I want it to be black.

 

not sure.. but i believe they come in different colors, so maybe you could find one in black.

 

11.3g bus tub - 17 X 22 X 7 inches - $8.

Rubbermaid 3351-92 17" x 22" x 7" Bus Tub, Bus Box (FG335192)

I'm not sure exactly how big I want to go with this tank.

 

I like the enthusiasm behind this concept. However, I'm not quite sure I understand why you would want to do it? On such a small scale it doesn't seem like it would be that interesting to see.

That being said this is how I would do it. I'd try to go simple. A powerhead to pump water out of the tank and into a container below (probably a bucket) and then a return pump in the container to pump the water back in.

You could have this done using a basic timer but it would work much better if you had it hooked up to a controller to get exact seconds. Good luck!

 

Why? Just to have some thing interesting and different. I like coming up with new ideas. I've got lots of them, and I am constantly finding new ones. It's the arty/design side of me. lol.

I want to keep it relatively small, but I want to have it big enough that I can have some livestock in it.

For now, coral will not be in the tank, as to keep costs down. I may add coral later. Right now this is what I am thinking for livestock.

Brittle star

Sea hare

Rock-boring urchin

pair of Coral banded shrimp

Electric orange hermit crab

Miscellaneous dwarf hermit crabs

Swimming crab

Nerite snails

Fire worm

Spaghetti worm

Feather duster/coco worm

 

sounds good!;D

 

I definitely see the merit for this tank. You could get some odd animals that emerge at low tide when its safe to travel (G. chiragra mantis shrimp for example ) and actually see them.

but I also have some concern about the smell as well. Might not be too bad but if it is you can just use it as a lagoon and keep the lower bulk head for easy water changes.