A rather odd form or aquascaping...

[jaylach]

Some here may have guessed that I'm a bit of a computer geek. One might ask what being a computer geek has to do with aquascaping but some of us geeks do odd things. Actually, if any remember those old wood office desks that were 3 feet deep and 6 feet wide with the really tall drawer on the lerft side, I built a computer in that drawers.

Still what does that have to do with aquascaping???

I've never done this but it DOES intrigue me. The following three images are working computers and aquariums in the same housing.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

It is interesting to see, and the ingenuity and skill in computing required is impressive. I have a lot of questions about how and why they made them, like doesn't the heat affect the tank temp? And find out how they resolved the stumbling blocks they came across. That last photo, it took me a while to figure out which part was the floor of the aquarium... first glance I thought that part was the waterline, until I realised the fish were above it! Do you have a link to a blog or article from the people who made these, explaining how they created them by any chance? I'd like to read more about their process.

 

[jaylach]

It is interesting to see, and the ingenuity and skill in computing required is impressive. I have a lot of questions about how and why they made them, like doesn't the heat affect the tank temp? And find out how they resolved the stumbling blocks they came across. That last photo, it took me a while to figure out which part was the floor of the aquarium... first glance I thought that part was the waterline, until I realised the fish were above it! Do you have a link to a blog or article from the people who made these, explaining how they created them by any chance? I'd like to read more about their process.

Here are some things that could help you understand. In any of the cases it boils down to isolating the computer from the water. You can actually submerge a computer in mineral oil and it will run forever. There is actually a case where this has been done and the system has been running for decades but I doubt that fish would enjoy mineral oil.

This one does a pretty detailed build with the PC above the actual tank. The computer is actually on top of the tank but still of interest.

how to combine a computer and aquarium - Search

www.bing.com

While the above is sort of cheating as to not having the computer actually below water level it works the same as you just build an enclosure within the tank to hold the electronics.

Actually this type of setup will not drastically affect the aquarium temperature as long as the computer section has good air flow.

 

[Colin_T]

water and electricity, never a good mix, but still interesting to look at.

 

[jaylach]

water and electricity, never a good mix, but still interesting to look at.

That is the thing with these setups; water and electricity do not mix as the electronics are isolated.

Let's say I decided to do this. Probably never will but it does intrigue.

Tank size does not really matter but, whatever size, I'd go with a long tank. I would not put the computer in the center as that would require more seals. I'd put the computer compartment on one of the ends which would mean that I only need three vertical seals rather than 4 if in the center.

If you have ever built a tank from scratch as I'm fairly sure that you have you have to respect aquatic silicone. You just use plexiglass and silicone to build a a water proof section in the tank. You build the computer in that section.

Since I'd want the computer section to be as thin as possible I'd mount the computer power supply outside of the tank. I would also use a mother or main board that had built in video. Doing this would make it so that the thickness of the computer chamber would only be controlled by the computer's CPU cooler.

I don't know exactly how to diagram or anything but I'm absolutely sure that I could do this in a 20 gallon long with the resulting aquarium part being ~16-17 gallons.

 

[jaylach]

Oh, to add on to the above post you also have electricity in your tank if you have a heater. If the computer power supply is outside of the tank the maximum voltage an the output side of the power supply going in to the tank is only 12 volts versus the 110 volts going to the tank heater. Your filtration also probably is 110 volts. Bottom line is that a computer in the tank is likely less dangerous than the heater and filtration. In either case there is not really any danger if done properly.

 

[GaryE]

Somewhere in the house I have a book I bought when I was about 14 - a 1970s, super cool aquascaping book. I recall that the author was British and ran a high end aquarium store in London. His scapes were like those computers in tanks, although the tech wasn't quite there in that direction yet. Everything was geometric clear coloured plastics and ice cold looking cut glass. If you were a fish in one of his plantless, gravel free tanks you would have lived like a sci fi 1970s version of a space station. It was steampunk a few years before punk.

The best I could do after reading it would have been something like a prototype for Red Dwarf, so I stuck to my stream bottom set ups.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Looks like something that Tanked would do.....not overly impressed tbh (especially where jazzy lighting etc shares space with fish as is often the case with Tanked along with very dodgy stocking)

 

[jaylach]

Looks like something that Tanked would do.....not overly impressed tbh (especially where jazzy lighting etc shares space with fish as is often the case with Tanked along with very dodgy stocking)

Best video and pictures I could find while being in a bit of a hurry.

To do this you don't need the fancy computer lighting as the actual fish part of the tank can be setup anyway you want. The concept is really just an attention geter that serves no real purpose. Well, actually it can serve a purpose as the computer can supply heat to the tank and the tank can cool the computer. Also the tank could be totally powered through the USB ports on the computer.

While the concept intrigues me I will probably never do but it would make for a pretty cool setup on a desk with the tank and computer only taking up the desk surface of the tank.

 

[GaryE]

Fish choice would be difficult and the green nerdfish and the common purple geekfish don't get along. The IT department pleco tries to get everyone to turn things off and on again, and the Apple snails are really greedy. They don't like microsoftwater set ups.

 

[jaylach]

Fish choice would be difficult and the green nerdfish and the common purple geekfish don't get along. The IT department pleco tries to get everyone to turn things off and on again, and the Apple snails are really greedy. They don't like microsoftwater set ups.

That's funny!

A bit off topic but it is computer stuff. Have a smart TV with WebOS? Here is the pure thing and possibly the next generation of computer operating systems. It is a web based operating system written in Microsoft's Silver Light. It is a pretty full fledged on-line OS.

SilveOS.com - free to use internet operating system or webtop ⚡

www.silveos.com