What If An Aquarium Was Left Outside...

[Bullrock74]

I was thinking about leaving a twenty gallon tank outside with just sand and water in it...no fish of course. I wonder if any plants would start to grow in it or would it just be a home for algae and mosquitos? Weird question I know, but what would happen?

 

[qwikimpss]

well, if it was in full sunlight then you'd probably just have a lot of green water, if it was in the shade then you'd get a lot of mosquito larvae.....a.k.a. LIVE FOOD.

 

[SamUK]

i dont think the plants would survive unless you carefully picked once that didnt mind the cold.



plus the amount of algae you would get would be crazy.


oh and if you had jus watched 101 more things removed from the human body like i did then youd be pretty damn scared of mosquitos

 

[Teelie]

It'd quickly fill up with whatever's in the air, including some plants, algae and definitely mosquito larvae. The mosquitoes are such a concern in some states and countries, it is actually illegal to do.

I did leave a container out with water for soaking wood but I dumped it every few days and it always had some kind of stuff and some mosquito larvae in it despite being partially covered.

 

[Bullrock74]

i dont think the plants would survive unless you carefully picked once that didnt mind the cold.



plus the amount of algae you would get would be crazy.


oh and if you had jus watched 101 more things removed from the human body like i did then youd be pretty damn scared of mosquitos

They can carry west nile virus, I know. I'm not interested in that at all!

 

[Teelie]

Actually, only females can carry it. Their larvae and males do not. So the larvae would in theory, be completely harmless and could be fed to your fish. The reality is you don't know what else is in the air, especially when it rains. There could be pollutants in the rainwater which could be dangerous.

 

[qwikimpss]

There is actually a PFK article that mentions rainwater I read in the Planted Tank section of the website and apparently the ammount of pollutants in rainwater are pretty close to nil so I don't think I'd be too worried about it as long as you don't pour any oil or gasoline in there!

I've never has a problem with mosquito larvae transferring any harmful pollutants (or if they have I've never noticed, the joy of regular water changes) and my fish have always greedily gobbled them up...they never stood a chance.

 

[Teelie]

The problem with rainwater and what I guess either PFK missed or left out is it largely depends on where you live. Acid rain is an excellent example of this. It can occur in places that don't have industrial pollutants in the air. Wind currents and a lot of other factors make for unpredictable changes in water quality.

Still, the larvae would be safe so long as your fish actually ate all of them. Otherwise you might end up with several of them in your house when they grow up.

 

[qwikimpss]

Very true Teelie. I don't think anyone would have a problem with larvae hatching out of their tanks tho, it takes them a few weeks to mature and, since they breathe air, they will definately be picked off by then!

 

[Teelie]

Eww, looks like someone's under maintained septic tank. Seriously though, it's probably got all kinds of lovely free-floating microorganisms that would be perfect for fry and filter eaters.

 

[jpedersen024]

Eww, looks like someone's under maintained septic tank. Seriously though, it's probably got all kinds of lovely free-floating microorganisms that would be perfect for fry and filter eaters.

Ok, ok..... I can't stand it anymore...
What kind of fish is that in your avatar?? I've never seen anything like it!

 

[Jules H-T]

What you will find growing/living in an abandoned tank will depend entirely on where you live- something you have not mentioned.

 

[Blade118]

My mate did that. Algea loved it. And now he has frogs living in there (No joke)

 

[Teelie]

Eww, looks like someone's under maintained septic tank. Seriously though, it's probably got all kinds of lovely free-floating microorganisms that would be perfect for fry and filter eaters.

Ok, ok..... I can't stand it anymore...
What kind of fish is that in your avatar?? I've never seen anything like it!

Longnose Hawkfish. which is a common species of saltwater fish. I see them all the time at shops that sell saltwater fish. It's on my list of saltwater fish I intend to keep once I do a reef setup.

 

[Bullrock74]

What you will find growing/living in an abandoned tank will depend entirely on where you live- something you have not mentioned.

I live in Columbia, South Carolina, USA...but, I see you are in the UK so I guess you can't really help me that much?