Polluted tank build?

I though that it would be super cool to make a polluted build (safe for fish, obviously). Has anyone ever used glass soda bottles, chipped bowls/cups, or other items that one would find in a creek by a city creek or lake?

 

I though that it would be super cool to make a polluted build (safe for fish, obviously). Has anyone ever used glass soda bottles, chipped bowls/cups, or other items that one would find in a creek by a city creek or lake?

That's a interesting concept, imo very few fish would look good in that setup probably natives depending on location. Make sure there's no sharp glass on metals and nothing that will potentially leach chemicals. I don't think you ment this but don't go pulling trash out local systems and adding it to your aquarium make it yourself

 

If you do this, add a marimo moss ball inside a minI garbage can and name it Oscar.

I think it could be an interesting concept. Fish who like caves would probably enjoy the scape.

 

This would work great as a blackwater idea. I may just build one like it one day. I'm dreaming now lol.
I imagine a stocking of Cardinals, various rasbora and the gnarliest looking loach you can find. One of the craziest looking wild betta you can find as a faux scary predator. Sparsely lit up with very focused small, multiple low/moderate narrow beam spot lights.

Using colored broken glass bottles and table Ware chunks. It's too bad tin cans would leech but you could dent them, paint them rusty, and then coat them in epoxy to seal them.

If you use the glass, get an "Emery sponge" and just round the edges off, you wouldn't be able to tell they are round/safe with the right lighting.

This is a beautiful idea.

 

What looks good and doesn’t is very personal. This isn't my type of build but I could definitely get on board with this and it could be done very neatly.
I agree just make sure there is no sharp glass and I’d watch porous pottery. Porous pottery could hold then later leach chemicals. Just make sure anything you harvest is clean from good waters. Most importantly post pictures and it could be a neat scientific experiment either way. You could say look how the pollution looks or you could say look how the fish adapt to their environment.
I think cichlids would do great with this type of tank. How large will the tank be?

 

It’d be a ten gal

Glass would be soda bottles and all of the sharp glass would be dug into the substrate, which I want to be sand. The only problem is that my sand is white, and I’m not too sure where to get black or darker sand.

If you do this, add a marimo moss ball inside a minI garbage can and name it Oscar.

I think it could be an interesting concept. Fish who like caves would probably enjoy the scape.

That’s a great idea, and even if I can’t get this tank set up, I’m going to use this in my main tank

 

Glass would be soda bottles and all of the sharp glass would be dug into the substrate, which I want to be sand. The only problem is that my sand is white, and I’m not too sure where to get black or darker sand.

Black sand can be bought at your LFS, Petco, or on line.

 

Okay, thanks. What could I use as sealant for the garbage? Also, I can’t remember or see who said it, but I would be creating the trash, not dumpster diving for it lol.

 

Okay, thanks. What could I use as sealant for the garbage? Also, I can’t remember or see who said it, but I would be creating the trash, not dumpster diving for it lol.

If you’re creating it I think you’ll be fine. If you want to err on the side of caution I’d get some epoxy and paint it on the surfaces. Epoxy is completely inert and will harm nothing.

 

Okay, thanks. What’s not glass, or I don’t know how/ what it’s made with, I’ll coat it in epoxy. Now all I need is permission to set up another tank

 

Okay, thanks. What’s not glass, or I don’t know how/ what it’s made with, I’ll coat it in epoxy. Now all I need is permission to set up another tank

That might be the harder part!!
ues glass is inert and on use coating that in epoxy.

 

Looks like there is a Tractor Supply in Pahrump. They have Black Diamond blasting sand for $8 per 50lb bag.

 

Have you considered GloFish?

 

Have you considered GloFish?

Now that’s just fantastic. If you do it you’ll need to find some toxic sludge barrels or teenage mutant ninja turtles.

 

Now that’s just fantastic. If you do it you’ll need to find some toxic sludge barrels or teenage mutant ninja turtles.

Imagine this one with focused blacklight minI spotlights. It would be the coolest 1980s early 90's childhood throwback build ever.

 

Imagine this one with focused blacklight minI spotlights. It would be the coolest 1980s early 90's childhood throwback build ever.

You must be old like me if the 80’s and 90’s thrill you!

 

Interesting. So not miniature toxic waster barrels with nuclear symbols and a bunch of glow fish in black water.
Well ceramic is "usually" safe.

I wanted to do a "kitchen sink" build with a dish rack full of dishes, tiled bottom, and such. I ran out of tanks and motivation, so that idea died like the doll house build.

 

You must be old like me if the 80’s and 90’s thrill you!

Best not to call ourselves old, it may make those with more years than ourselves wonder if we have perspective. We're just starting to get a little seasoned, that's all.

 

The only thing about glo fish is that I wanted to do a betta, and maybe some adfs or cherry shrimp. Also I’ve halfway convinced my girlfriend to let me set this tank up, so hopefully there’ll be some cool pictures soon

Also, plant suggestions? I want it recognizable that this “was once a natural stream” but is now polluted. I have java moss that I want to put in, and I could put some amazon sword easily, but the latter is too vibrant I think

 

Try to get your hands on some sußwassertang! It's natural, kinda gross looking, and walks that line between "clean plant" and"possible alien lifeform" that just might be what you're looking for! It kinda reminds me of extra large mould—perfect for a polluted setup!

Also, I think if this tank isn't overrun with snails, you might be doing it wrong, but that's just my two cents.

Dang it. Now I want a fun Ninja Turtles pollution tank!

 

Ok, so I’ve never seen your plant before, and couldn’t find it on amazon, so after some research I’ll see if my not so local LFS can order some. I think the snails would be cool too, I just don’t want to have to buy them lol. Maybe I can ask my friend if he has any snail problems

Also my favorite part about this tank is how cheap it actually is, I plan on using basic hood lights, at least for now, a ten I already have or maybe a 20 long, and a filter I have. Rocks are easy to get, substrate everyone has, the only things I can’t get too easily is driftwood and plants

 

It's also known as susswassertang or subwassertang. Most people who have at least two (non-nerite) snails have extras! Check your local classifieds (in my neck of the woods is KijijI and Facebook marketplace) for someone who has a hundred in their tank and see how many you can get for a dollar or two.

 

I can easily get a few mystery snails, as I’m breeding some right now, but they just get big and have a huge bio load

 

The only thing about glo fish is that I wanted to do a betta, and maybe some adfs or cherry shrimp. Also I’ve halfway convinced my girlfriend to let me set this tank up, so hopefully there’ll be some cool pictures soon

That will cost a bit and involve some trial and error.
When I was looking at that work my geneticist said that a mercury injector would run me ~500$, then there is a few hundred more for the CRISPR setup.
The thing about your betta selection is that they put eggs in a convenient place and when you return eggs to the tank they will stuff them back in the nest and care for them. Your odds are also better as you want betta when I wanted to do shrimp.

 

That will cost a bit and involve some trial and error.
When I was looking at that work my geneticist said that a mercury injector would run me ~500$, then there is a few hundred more for the CRISPR setup.
The thing about your betta selection is that they put eggs in a convenient place and when you return eggs to the tank they will stuff them back in the nest and care for them. Your odds are also better as you want betta when I wanted to do shrimp.

I’m sorry I didn’t follow much in that post. Why would I need a Mercury injector? And what eggs do you mean, the snails maybe?

 

I’m sorry I didn’t follow much in that post. Why would I need a Mercury injector? And what eggs do you mean, the snails maybe?

To make glo bettas you would have to gene edit them. The mercury injector is how you do the insert. That is how my geneticist explained it. She works with fungus or mold not fish but she said that is how I would do the edit.
Grab eggs, inject your edit, hope for the best.

 

To make glo bettas you would have to gene edit them. The mercury injector is how you do the insert. That is how my geneticist explained it. She works with fungus or mold not fish but she said that is how I would do the edit.
Grab eggs, inject your edit, hope for the best.

Okay, I understand now. I wasn’t going to try to make a glo betta, we were talking about two different types of fish. FungI are so under appreciated, I’m working on becoming a mycologist myself

Okay so I’ve got a few questions on stocking.

I know I want a betta, probably a half moon but if there’s another pretty one I might get that.

If I use the ten gal we would:
1 betta
3 adfs
??? Cherry shrimp
??? Snails
4-8 Pygmy cories

if I get a 20 longI would use the above and add,
4 KuhlI loaches ( if compatible with shrimp and adfs)
4 Mickey Mouse platies ( mine are about to breed so...)
A few smaller tetras, not sure which kind

Could I do danios or skirt tetras for the schooling fish?

 

Okay, I understand now. I wasn’t going to try to make a glo betta, we were talking about two different types of fish. FungI are so under appreciated, I’m working on becoming a mycologist myself

I was going to try for my senior thesis... but the glofish company is coming out with them this year apparently and I don’t want to risk getting in trouble ;-;

Okay so I’ve got a few questions on stocking.

I know I want a betta, probably a half moon but if there’s another pretty one I might get that.

If I use the ten gal we would:
1 betta
3 adfs
??? Cherry shrimp
??? Snails
4-8 Pygmy cories

if I get a 20 longI would use the above and add,
4 KuhlI loaches ( if compatible with shrimp and adfs)
4 Mickey Mouse platies ( mine are about to breed so...)
A few smaller tetras, not sure which kind

Could I do danios or skirt tetras for the schooling fish?

If you wanted both a betta and a schooling fish you could look into wild bettas - some of them look a little more alien-y and mine (so far) are super tolerant of their tank mates.


(Also, if I had to suggest a plant, red root floaters may be cool, you can kinda see them in the pic)

I do think if you do Danios or tetras as a schooling fish, the glofish version would look cool and “toxic”.
Glass catfish or other see-through fish would be cool too
With the mystery snails, did you consider doing like horned nerite snails? Those could look weird and cool
(Also note, I did not check compatibility on anything I suggested here, you just got me thinking lol)

edit: if you go with the 20 long, you could do albino corys, I think, that’d look cool too! My LFS keeps the in the tanks with the glofish, which ends up looking pretty cool

 

My only problem with nerites is that they won’t breed, which I want to happen. I’m not really going for a toxic looking tank, just like and overpass where people would throw their trash in without thinking. That bettas beautiful, what did you pay for him? I’m pretty limited on my fish options because I have no LFS, don’t feel comfortable shipping fish, so that leaves me at the mercy of the chain stores. Albino cories would be cool, I didn’t even consider them. What kind of plants do you have with your betta? You’re right, they look a lot like what I’m looking for.

I was looking at veil tail and crown bettas since they’re $9 cheaper, have a better coloration, and some have a tail like the half moons.

 

My only problem with nerites is that they won’t breed, which I want to happen. I’m not really going for a toxic looking tank, just like and overpass where people would throw their trash in without thinking. That bettas beautiful, what did you pay for him? I’m pretty limited on my fish options because I have no LFS, don’t feel comfortable shipping fish, so that leaves me at the mercy of the chain stores. Albino cories would be cool, I didn’t even consider them. What kind of plants do you have with your betta? You’re right, they look a lot like what I’m looking for.

I got him for $55 and the seller (Franks Bettas) sent me videos and let me pick out the exact one I wanted. I was nervous about shipping too, but in the end everything went fine and the seller was super helpful. Plus he does a lot of conservation work which I think is awesome
He’s in a tank with red root floaters, red ludwigia repens, Anubias, and some plant with a red stem I forget the name of

As for the nerite snails, yeah, fair enough lol if you want ones that breed maybe ramshorn? Pretty sure they have a lower bio load than mystery, and they come in a variety of colors, and they’re very efficient despite being
As for polluted vs toxic, I see what you mean now! I guess I was reading others comments and got mixed up, my bad I love your idea (though maybe now I’ll have to do a ”toxic tank” lol)

I was looking at veil tail and crown bettas since they’re $9 cheaper, have a better coloration, and some have a tail like the half moons.

I think a crown tail might be cool!


Here’s my orange guy in some tannin-filled water if you had any desire for a visual

 

Rams horns definitely have a smaller bioload, and I love their colors, but I don’t really know where to get them. I’m going to order a few of the plants you mentioned before, and hope I can find some with complaints about snails, or I’ll ask my neighbor if he’s had a problem with them. Thanks for the plants, I didn’t realize the red roots was the name of the plant lol. And happy to see that you understand what I mean by polluted, the others that posted in the thread were talking about what they would do, and happy to see that my idea has sparked off on so many people

 

Rams horns definitely have a smaller bioload, and I love their colors, but I don’t really know where to get them. I’m going to order a few of the plants you mentioned before, and hope I can find some with complaints about snails, or I’ll ask my neighbor if he’s had a problem with them. Thanks for the plants, I didn’t realize the red roots was the name of the plant lol. And happy to see that you understand what I mean by polluted, the others that posted in the thread were talking about what they would do, and happy to see that my idea has sparked off on so many people

This is where I got my red ludwigia - they were a bit small and some were green but oh well:

And this is where I got the red root floaters - I got a lot and they did come with a few pond snails! (Or bladder snails, I didn’t look too close)

I’m sure you could find someone with spare ramshorn though, like I said they’re kinda a pest snail too

 

Thanks. Pond snails could do but I like the look of rams better.

 

Thanks. Pond snails could do but I like the look of rams better.

I wish I had some snails for you. I’ve got 4 new blue ramshorn and 1 young red ramshorn (that may or may not be alive, he’s tiny and I haven’t seen him in a few weeks). But that’s it, I’m sure I’ll have some new snails soon enough but...

 

It’s fine, shipping would cost plenty or it would be very unlikely for the snails to make it alive to me. Thanks though...

Dewclaw83 started her own thread similar to this
Post-Apocalyptic Tank Build | Freshwater Aquarium Builds Forum | 438108, feel free to give pointers on both of our threads

I’ve decided to do a 20 long if I do this tank! I just typed it into aqua adviser, with

5 black KuhlI loaches
2 peppered corries
4albino cories
1 female veiltail betta
100 cherry shrimp
50 ramshorn snails

and it came back a 109% stocked, I’m assuming from the massive number of shrimp and snails. Those were just guesses at how many there would be, as they can breed out of those numbers, or below them. I would be running a 30 gal filter, a sponge filter (homemade), and have live plants, so I think that I can keep this tank healthy. The tank would be seeded from my 55 gal.

 

I’ve decided to do a 20 long if I do this tank! I just typed it into aqua adviser, with

5 black KuhlI loaches
2 peppered corries
4albino cories
1 female veiltail betta
100 cherry shrimp
50 ramshorn snails

and it came back a 109% stocked, I’m assuming from the massive number of shrimp and snails. Those were just guesses at how many there would be, as they can breed out of those numbers, or below them. I would be running a 30 gal filter, a sponge filter (homemade), and have live plants, so I think that I can keep this tank healthy. The tank would be seeded from my 55 gal.

Why’d you decide on a female rather than a male? And any idea what color you’re going to look for?
Also wish I could double check my stocking on Aqua advisor, but it’s not working for me :/

 

If you do this, don't forget to add tires!! If you find toy ones that kid safe to chew.....

Thank you OP! I've been wondering what to do with my 20 gallon high. It's my least favorite tank and because I've been justifiably unhappy with my slumlord (for 6 years), I'm going to get some legos and build a red brick building, build it with a tilt, bad roof..... imagination going wild! I feel much better about that tank now! Thank you again!!!!!

 

There was a thread with this theme several months back. It got off topic some, but it might give you some ideas! Pollution Theme 3.5 Gallon | Freshwater Aquarium Builds 407910

 

Why’d you decide on a female rather than a male? And any idea what color you’re going to look for?
Also wish I could double check my stocking on Aqua advisor, but it’s not working for me :/

The females at my petsmart had better looking fins for what I want. I’m going to do a dirted, play sand cap, and the throw in coke bottles, epoxy coated cans,
Edit: just reread your question, it’s going to be a lighter, color filled scape, so I’m going to look for a darker colored betta. Why isn’t aqua-advisor working for you?

If you do this, don't forget to add tires!! If you find toy ones that kid safe to chew.....

Thanks to this post, now I have to find a bike tire,

[/QUOTE]

Thank you OP! I've been wondering what to do with my 20 gallon high. It's my least favorite tank and because I've been justifiably unhappy with my slumlord (for 6 years), I'm going to get some legos and build a red brick building, build it with a tilt, bad roof..... imagination going wild! I feel much better about that tank now! Thank you again!!!!!

[/QUOTE]

You’re welcome, lol. That sounds like a cool concept, Imagine having a whole city like that, and have a semI aggressive tank with the centerpiece being a rainbow shark! Dewclaw, you might want to do a backer or something like that, have a a city that’s torn apart.

There was a thread with this theme several months back. It got off topic some, but it might give you some ideas! Pollution Theme 3.5 Gallon | Freshwater Aquarium Builds 407910

Thanks, I’ll look into what they did.

 

The females at my petsmart had better looking fins for what I want. I’m going to do a dirted, play sand cap, and the throw in coke bottles, epoxy coated cans,
Edit: just reread your question, it’s going to be a lighter, color filled scape, so I’m going to look for a darker colored betta. Why isn’t aqua-advisor working for you?

Ooo I see! I really like the idea of a dark female in a tank like that, it’d be perfect!
Wish I could send you this female of mine lol:


her fins got nipped by my barbs, but it might kind of lend to your theme lol

And no idea why it’s not working. I haven’t been able to access it for forever and a half, it says the domain is for sale and the site is different

Thanks to this post, now I have to find a bike tire,

A bike tire would be funny! If you wanted smaller I feel like I’ve seen some dog. Toys with like minI tractor-tire looking pieces on them too. Not sure when or where though

Dewclaw, you might want to do a backer or something like that, have a a city that’s torn apart.

Ooo I like this idea.... I will definitely see if I can find a photo I like that could be printed at the right dimensions!

 

I just read a thread on the aqadvisor, they said similar things, but it started to work for them in a few days. As for the bike tire, I would use a deflated one. I also found out that plastics with 2pp or above can be used safely. Also if you tried to upload a picture of your betta it didn’t go through.

 

I just read a thread on the aqadvisor, they said similar things, but it started to work for them in a few days. As for the bike tire, I would use a deflated one. I also found out that plastics with 2pp or above can be used safely. Also if you tried to upload a picture of your betta it didn’t go through.

Yeah I’ve been waiting for it to start working again... it’s been a while though lol
And no idea about the picture, I can see it, oh well, it’s not crucial

 

No not really. What color(s) is she?

 

No not really. What color(s) is she?

Black with a reduced spread steel blue so she has a silvery sheen
I’ll try to post again:

 

It went through! She’s beautiful, and almost exactly what I’m looking for. That’s a veil tail, right?

 

It went through! She’s beautiful, and almost exactly what I’m looking for. That’s a veil tail, right?

Halfmoon, actually. Her fins got nipped by the barbs, but it almost makes it more song the lines of your tank’s theme lol
I have some fry from her, they’re too young for much at the moment though lol

 

You’re brave for breeding bettas lol. What do you do with all of the fry?

 

You’re brave for breeding bettas lol. What do you do with all of the fry?

They’re still growing ~3 months now

 

How many do you have?

 

I spent 15 years working for our state wildlife agency as a freshwater ecologist. What I saw in our rivers and streams I’d never put in a tank! But if you are a fan of used condoms and needles, I can give you a few collecting spots from our rivers. It’s sad what we do to our natural resources.