Aquarium inside your cruiser.

[Tim francis]

I’m not planning on leaving Hawaii for around five years. So it would just be a local temporary five year thing.

[alctel]

Love the idea but I can see it going hilariously wrong at some point

[alctel]

Also livewell pumps pull a fair bit of power I believe

[Tim francis]

I haven’t looked at pumps but I’m thinking there’s got to be a mini pump somewhere.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by Tortuga's Lie

Although it sounds like a cool idea, I think in practice it would be more of a pain than it's worth. I can also imagine that if you have any gravel in the bottom, it would get sloshed around when underway and create a cloud of silt which could kill the fish.

Nope, you keep it filled up in to the chimney and it will neither slosh or stir up the bottom.

The biggest problem is getting things in and out of it through the small hole.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Tortuga's Lie

Although it sounds like a cool idea, I think in practice it would be more of a pain than it's worth. I can also imagine that if you have any gravel in the bottom, it would get sloshed around when underway and create a cloud of silt which could kill the fish.

Used to be into aquariums back in college. You actually want to stir up the waste in the gravel occasionally so it can be sucked into the filter and removed.

While a neat idea, in practice on a small cruising boat, fish likely wouldn't last long. Keep in mind, live wells only need the fish to survive...at most...for a few days so it's not really comparable. Plus salt water tanks are much more difficult to keep up. It's not simply put some salt water from the ocean in the tank and all will be well.

[Puddleduck]

Collection of wild marine ornamental animals for aquariums weather for trade or personal ‘use’ has been a bit of a hot topic in Hawaii for some time. I’d first check with your local authorities if you’re unsure where you stand, ignorance ain’t much of a defence. Just saying!

Apart from access to salt water there are a few other husbandry requirements you might want to read up on depending on what you want to keep. There’s loads of info available. Just type in the species your interested in and ‘captive care’ into a search engine should get the ball rolling. Eg Apolemichthys arcuatus https://www.saltwaterfish.com/produc...d-angel-hawaii

Re: pump size 10 X tank volume turnover per hour is a general rule (allowing for head pressure and pipe work friction loss). With a sealed tank there’s not much gas exchange so 15-20 X turnover is prob best but depends what you wanna keep? If I was you I’d go for something like a jellyfish Kreisel. Prob get away with a little recirc pump and a bucket of fresh seawater a couple of times a day so no external pumps. Plus they look cool and no one gives a 5hite about jelly welfare anyway!

[Puddleduck]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Sent it out to the rig and on my next visit noted that it had been installed in the recreation room and contained some beautiful fish and a couple of small octopus.

On another visit I noticed it had no sea life and on asking the steward what had happened to them and had they all died.

The answer was "No senor, all gone to England."

When I finally found someone to tell me what was going on it eventuated that one of my British supervisors was a tropical fish collector who had a small fish trap and kept his catch in the tank whilst waiting to go on his rotation leave. The medical oxygen use was his oxygenation of the plastic bags he hand carried in his brief case for the flight back to London.

They died!!!

Who in their right minds would risk smuggling live fish through airport customs in their briefcase? Who even has a briefcase?

[Puddleduck]

Originally Posted by sailormed

The captain had build a transport business of tropical fish and had a very large open aquarium in the equipment bay. The braking had resulted in all the water and fish being thrown out of the aquarium.

The investigation into higher fuelburn for that captain had also come to a conclusion.
What happened to that captain is anybodys guess. It was not in the story.

Fish double bagged in sealed polythene bags and packed in Polystyrene boxes is the normal transport method. Makes you wander what kind of people they allow to fly planes!

[Gene Neill]

Originally Posted by Tim francis

I’ve had this pretty crazy oddball idea for a while.
In theory, on my mooring in Maui offshore in clean Bluewater, I could have a water tight acrylic tank with a small pump pumping water in and water drain out. Think of it similar to a livewell tank with filters at the intake thru hull line or a 90 off an existing thru hull. An internal filter inside the tank before the outtake. I know the pros would be that it could be a fun project. The cons would be sinking your boat. Maybe a cylinder. Maybe rectangular.
I’m just wondering if something like this already exists. I guess you could have your intake come in over the side of your boat and the drain go thru your sink drain? I’m sure I’ll never do it but just a boredom idea. Maybe a million dollar idea.

As a former reef aquarium enthusiast of many years, I can't help but like the idea. There would be some challenges to overcome, but it could definitely be done. You might do a search/pose the same question at reefcentral.com.


There would be a fair amount of power draw with the circulation pump(s) running 24/7. Saltwater aquariums need a butt load of flow. And check your local laws on critter collection. I seem to recall Hawaii being a wee bit strict about that.

[Tim francis]

I’m getting back to my aquarium project. I’m thinking acrylic top with a vent tube going up. Tap all my fittings and start pumping. It can have a zig zag air vent off the sealed top to prevent sloshing. I can add and subtract whatever I want when I want easily. I found a huge ammunition shell at mohukooniki rock off Molokai Hawaii that was bombed at the beginning of ww2. It woukd stay epoxied to the bottom and would be a great home for eels etc. the huge 30 lb ammunition shell is hidden still underwater.

Once I’m done with the project I’ll post it on my YouTube channel

[bstreep]

I'm a lifelong reefkeeper. I mean, 50 years, anyway. When I was in 7th grade, I went to work for our local aquarium store. Eventually it became the 2nd largest store in the US. I worked there through college. We currently have a 215g reef tank installed between our dining room and our master bedroom.

I've thought MANY times about this, and I've thought through the process. Basically, you would have it stocked only when anchored out.

I'd put in an acrylic tank, and I'd seal the top (removable for cleaning), except for a small access for feeding. You would need no filtration - you are getting a constant clean water supply. You would only need a small pressure pump, to supply water and oxygen to the tank. Pretty simple.

Something like this would work: https://www.amazon.com/bayite-BYT-7A...618341&sr=8-10

[Tim francis]

Yea, see now people are coming around.

It’s doable.

Once again, it woukd be a steady flow of ocean water in and out with a sealed acrilic top with the vent hole going up.

Not much sediment ever. Just keep live rock and bug chunks. It coukd run 24 7 with no amp draw issues for me. I’m never in a slip or bad water.

I simply buy a 40 dollar clown fish or have fun catching, learning, watching the fish or eel or urchin for a little while and letting them go.

The drain woukd go under the kitchen sink.

It’s brilliant in my eyes. Even after failure

[Manateeman]

The Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole Massachusetts hold a large collection of marine life in aquariums both large and small. Some tanks can be viewed by the public, others are for research within a building with limited access.
Scientist noticed what appeared to be an attempt to disrupt the research. Fish in tank A were switched to tank B and the B fish moved into tank C which was filled but contained no fish. The scientist stationed guards outside the building. The next morning, the fish were scrambled again. The tanks had simple toggle locks .
All the fish were ok, just moved. People were questioned. Finally a camera was installed and the prankster was apprehended.
A very bored octopus had learned how to open the top of his tank. He would take walks along the top of other tanks which were plexiglass. The toggle locks were no problem and he never killed anything in the tanks.
This is an absolutely true story.
The manatees usually charge several beers for consultant work like this but since you clearly love marine science, they did it no charge.
Obviously, keeping an octopus in an aquarium on a vessel might be entertaining...for the octopus.
Happy trails to you.
Captain Mark and his manatee crew who would never eat an octopus.