Tidal system

[Lotushana]

Hi everybody!
I'm trying to build an aquarium with a daily tidal current. My aim is to have a low-cost, easy-to-find materials for the setup. Practically, I have two tanks, an aquarium and a water reservoir tank linked by a siphon. The aquarium is linked to an air pump, which pushes the water through the siphon in the reservoir.
My question is:
Is it possible to let the water flow from the reservoir into the aquarium without any water pump? The initial principle was to create depression in the aquarium so that the water is sucked in, but I've seen that if the air pump is still on when the tide is low, the air is escaping through the siphon so avoiding depression. Is is so possible to link some sort of valve to the siphon, or is there any other possibility?

Thank you for your help

 

[Nils]

Very cool project! I've wondered about how to do this, and I just looked it up on Youtube and found this cool video.

Doesn't really tell you step by step but it does show that it is possible with an air pump. I like the idea, is this for a brackish tank?

 

[Lotushana]

Yes, it is a brackish tank
My problem is that I decided to have the two tanks one next to the other, but water does not automatically go into the aquarium once the air pump is off... maybe I should change setup and have one tank into the other. But any suggestion with my setup is welcome!