# Realistic dream tank!!!



## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

OK... bear with me... people are always asking what others dream tanks would be, and some people answer realistically, while others just blurt out non-sence answers like Lake Malawi...

Now, that got me thinking... why can't we have lake malawi, just scaled down some... ok, alot...

has anyone else ever thought of this, or even know anyone to have done this...

for me, this IS probably only going to be a dream, but i am bored at work right now, so i am starting to toy with the idea, and trying to come up with some scale to use, and how big i would actually want this to be...

some specs on lake malawi: 343 miles long, 50 miles wide at it's widest point, and over 2300 feet deep at it's deepest point...

i am thinking that i would have to have 2 scale factors for the tank... one for the lake outline, and another one for the depth factor...

i am just thinking aloud, and typing it while i go, so again, bear with me...

i was thinking about maybe doing an outdoor pond, but i live in ohio, and winter months get kinda cold... so, could i do some kind of "pond" inside in basement, or in a grand enterance of a foyer... this is why i am saying a dream tank for me... i have no grand entrance to my house now... ****, i can barely fit a 90 gallon in my house now 

what size would be best??? 10ft long... then my width would be around 2.5-3ft... 
sounds like that might be suitable...

again, i am just throwing stuff out here... wondering what others think about the idea...
thanks...

i do have a pretty good pic of lake malawi, and a decent topography of the lake, not the greatest, so if anyone knows of a link to a good detailed topo map, let me know, so i can use that one instead...

ok enough for now... 
thanks


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

I happen to know where just a few miles southwest of Cleveland there is an old Civilian Conservation Core stone quarry that has not operated since the Depression. There are some residences built among the quarry pits. Some of the pits are rectangular and could be covered with a medium to large greenhouse. They are already partially filled with groundwater and of course filled with rockwork. Once you owned one and had it covered, the sun would do part of the heating. Buy one of those homes next to the pit you think most practical to convert into a mini-Malawi, and choose the inhabitants wisely because what ever you pick may be flooding the cichlid market for years.


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

I like my aquariums to be part of the living space. When all is said and done I want to sit back and enjoy watching the fish. I have a great room in my basement that is approx 30x15. I would love to make an plywood aquarium that is an L shape in those dimensions lengthwise, about 2 feet high and deep, built into the wall. It would sure beat my built in 150! I'd have to do something about the wall that has the projector screen on it, I don't know if the fish would be blinded or turn to couch potatoes, but neither is that appealing. :lol:


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I've had a similar dream project running around in my mind as well, but Lake Tanganyika. We Clevelanders must have the same disease. :lol:

I was figuring it'd take at least a 12x6x6 tank to work in just about every biotope that you might find in the lake. Surge, rocky (some steep, some sloping), intermediate, sandy, muddy bottoms, planted shallow rivermouth, deep shell beds, scattered shells and open water. I may be forgetting one. Maybe it'd take more than a 12x6x6.  Then pick one good representative for each. I'd go for greater numbers of fewer species. I think it makes for a better display.

Anyway, why a miniature version of the exact topography? Why not work in a slice of each biotope?

Another thought would be to go with a curved front aquarium sort of like a reverse bow front that would give a 180 degree view and help to provide line of sight breaks.

Of course if we had that much money, we'd pay someone to maintain it. :thumb: We'd just design 'em.


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

i guess it wouldn't have to be an exact replica of the lake... it's not like my fish have ever been to there natural habitat, i just thought it would be really cool to have a mini replica of the lake... if, and i mean IF this ever comes to life, i think i would try to replicate it as much as possible... obviously, it would be impossible to house all the species in the mini malawi, but i would just house the ones i really like...

it is hard for me to try and come up scale for the tank because i am not in the house i would be in if i actually decide to do this, so i am having trouble figuring out how big i would want to make it, stuff like that...

i just wanted to get peoples opinions on this subject, or if anyone has done this, or seen it done.


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## xalow (May 10, 2007)

As someone who has literally suggested lake Malawi I always find it hard to decide what species to choose from because there are so many different choices. The idea of a replicating the lake is really intriguing though.

Instead of trying to recreate a smaller version of the lake, I think it would be quite feasible to try a biotype with a twist. You could recreate the rocky slopes that Mbuna live on by having a really long tank with rocks sloping all the way to the top and then down to another point on the tank. Then for the rest of the tank you could have it be an open water area designed for Haps. Who knows you might even be able to get a predator-prey relationship going on where a small population of large Haps would feed off of the Mbuna fry. This would require an extremely large tank though but a smaller tank could have a similar situation but obviously be supplemented with food.

In Barlow's book on cichlids there is a section that has a chart with how much each of a few selected species of Mbuna occur at a certain depth, you could use that to pick out a few species that would naturally be around the same area in the water column.


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

I think it would be cool to literally have a hallway dedicated to the lake. On one side i'd like to have half the lake, and the other side of the hall the other half. Im sure this makes little to no sense so i'll do a quick drawing on here.

Say this is the lake (i know its not the real shape)

___ 
/ l
__________l \_____
/ \
l l
l /
\__________________/

Humor me here

So that was the full lake, i think it would be sweet to split it
___
/ l
_____________ _________l \___
/ l h l \
l l a l l
l l l l /
\____________l l l______________/

I think that would be sweet. If you dont get what im trying to say please ask and i'll do something on paint. Its not the most practical thing but its pretty close to the lake


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

ok that didnt post right!?! :lol:

I'll try doing it on paint.

brb


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

This isnt working so i'll just keep my idea to myself


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## rwolff (Mar 13, 2007)

you didnt even give it a 2 min try.

anyway, i have been thinking this, but trying to replicate and scale the real lake is near impossible, it would take a lot of space meaning a very big tank, and ur eyes cant be everywhere at once. Like someone said, just work and combine 2 or maybe 3 biotopes.

i had an idea of a huge tank in the dining room, its a bathroom that is gonna be torn down and i thought, well this can be a huge tank, just one wall i have to tear down a bit make a frame, and then use some padding inside and have it made with acrilic or glass, id do prefer glass tho. but its still in idea fase and not yet a planning project fase.
i just thought it might suit the lake malawi bit, i put two rock walls and open space in between with just few small boulders or stones., Im dont know anything about the malawi cichlids, but of reading a bit id say this concept of 2 rock walls kinda similutates the edges and having a middle of a lake a little bit, and the walls would be completely housed by the cichlids, from top to bottom, i think. 








i have this idea without the rocks but with big tree trunks for a southamerican

ohh well, i dream big


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## dooo_36 (Jul 16, 2008)

BurgerKing said:


> This isnt working so i'll just keep my idea to myself


c'mon burger secrets don;t make friends

you know your hallway idea reminds me of a neat idea i had years ago, i might not be getting what your trying to get across but anyways what i had envisioned was to walk down a fairly wide hallway that sloped down and started to create like a beach where you started to walk into water, but to avoid the water you stepped on stones, well now that i think about it you really don;t need it to slope but anyways the hallway would essential be a pond and your stepping on stones that lead to a large terrarium type garden room. with like some exotic birds with a glass roof so you had plenty of light and in the middle of the room would be the island and pond all around you. with like a waterfall on one end anyways. i just had to share that.

hey burger if that paint isn;t working out for you, you want me to do it in a 3D rendering lol. :lol: and just as i post someone beats me to it 

anyways i don;t mean to get off subject.... so like how big of a tank you think it would require. cause i was thinking of doing a rocky cliff on one side of my tank to help with my ugj's and a mangrove root setup kind of centered, which i think will still allow for a very open water area. my tank is only 9' wide though so i don;t know if what you had in mind was bigger? having malawi species was also suggested to me cause i was looking for larger species of cichlids. anyways that was why i read this thread, its kind of in line with what i had in mind for my tank.


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

i was thinking about this a little more... i am not sure my idea would really work, i would want at least the front of the tank to be glass right??? how in heck would i be able to recreate all the curves and bends with glass/acrylic and still be able to view the tank without the tank looking blurry... it is just like the curved glass tanks they have out, if you look at it at a wrong angle it looks terrible... i am thinking you would need a pond to make this mini malawi work... it was just a thought that came to my mind, so maybe someone would have a fix for it...

i do like the biotype thought though, you would still need a BIG tank, but to have the rocky cliffs and rock caves in one area, open area in the middle, and maybe the shore on the end... have the tank slope so you have one end of the tank like 3 foot, and then slope it to nothing... kinda a neat thought... might be more practical too... here is a very crappy/quick sketch... you think this would work... where would you put the rocky habitat and the open waters at... the way i have it, or would you make like 3 shelves, and put rocky habitat on both sides of the open water...


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## rwolff (Mar 13, 2007)

im trying to understand if your sketch is a view from above or front. 
im am thinking from above, that way one rock fits to close to the glass, but then again, its prolly not the way you meant, the more i see it, the more confused i get. the waterflow kinda confuses me. and just dont know which side is the rock or water, lol, sorry.

but i kinda see ur point tho...just im not sure quiet what to say

honestly, i cant understand the sketch


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

my bad on the sketch... it is a side view... not even close to a scale, i just drew it up really quick... 
again, sorry


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## rwolff (Mar 13, 2007)

ahh i see, is ok, now i see it

yes, i would do that style too and in that fashion, it kinda has steps. So it gives a depth dimension towards to back. It would be nice to add a wave effect to the water too. then all the plants or sand can move with the water, and the fishes too.

the only thing i would do diff is the slope, i would do it narrower, or steeper u might say. have all the fish in the front and not on the rocks swimming behind each other. If it were an aquarium or have a glasfront for viewing, but if it were a pond, then its kinda okay already i guess


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

doo 36> that idea is crazy!!! that would be the sweetes room ever. I cant word what im trying to say. On either side of a hallway, There would be half of lake malawi (recreated malawi). So on your left there could be a mini western side of the lake and on the right would be the east. I know it would b impossible to recreat the lake exactly, but if you have two closets facing eachother in a hallway, my idea would work. I'll try paint again tomorrow, i missed a step while trying to upload it yesterday.


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

ya, this idea would def be a tank... probably would just do a square/rectangle glass front, and just hide the parts i don't need with either the stand, or something... i would imagine that it would be really expensive to have a glass place cut me a sheet of glass that would look like that... but, this is just all in my head, i haven't really thought it out, but maybe one day it might come to life...

i think it is a neat idea...


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