Beer Cans

[FishLover14]

I really woundly do it. It is a cool id i guess. But i just wouldnt bother even with acrylic theri s no telling what some drunk will do and i just wouldnt risk it.

JMHO

 

[cheezysquirrelz]

VERY BAD idea!!!!

If a fish gets stuck and dies in a bottle, there is no way of getting it out.

Also, how would you maintain the tank? If its built into the bar, how could you clean it?

Another thing, if its low to the ground, it would be hard to start a siphon when gravel vaccuming.

I wouldnt trust drunks either.

And I agree that beer cans DO in fact rust.

 

[Pacifico]

Maybe using beer bottles with labels that are stamped onto the bottle--like for instance Corona would work.

I actually tried this (six Corona bottles). After about two months, the labels, although printed on bottles, began to "flake" off. Before long, I had little slivers of paint floating around... I wouldn't suggest this.

 

[foma2000]

i say go for it. ide like to see some pictures. nobody really knows for shure weather it will work or not. nobody can tell if some drunk will get behind the bar or not. i think it would look awsom. and if something bad happens or fish just keep dying, you could always take out all the live stuff and replace it with fake decorations and bublers and such with crazy neon lights and make it a "water bar" insead of and aquarium bar. your just going to have to try it. and you could always drill holes in the bottom of the bottles.
or
you could drill a hole or two in the bottom of the bottle, fill it with sand, and boom, you have yourself a nitrate reducer

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

We used to hang beer on a fish stringer off the side of the boat, when we needed to free one up, we freed it up (so they were in there for a very long time) :? Never had one do bad things.

I've also found cans at the bottom of the lake that had been there for quite some time, no rust, AFAIK, rust requires oxygen, so it will rust at a slower rate underwater, then being pulled out..

Aluminum does not rust, but will dissolve/degrade. mind you, the timeframe for that to happen will likely out live your fish..

I have no scientific background so take it as you will, aluminum should not have any ill effects to water chemistry as long as you keep to regular water changes, if you neglect water changes then aluminum could build up in the tank, chemi-pure which removes most heavy metals might be an option aswell..

Most paint on beer cans is baked on, as such it will be on there long after the can is dissolving, it's a type of enamal, and I doubt it would cause any problems (and since it lasts for such a long time, it's doubtful it leeches anything.)

If you wanted to use an empty can, then you would have to pour boiling water through it.. perhaps bleach etc... then I'ld fill it 7/8 the way with sand and use Aquarium safe silicone to top it up, this will stop fish from going in and slicing themselves up...

Just my thoughts, and I might be wrong, but it's what makes sense from the little understanding I have of real world exp. (oh, and technically, PH would make a huge difference in the dissolving rate of the aluminum, the more acidic, the faster it dissolves, again, from my understanding...)

 

[foma2000]

i really like how this formum is now all about weather or not beer cans will disolve in salt water, (they will) and not other advice about putting a tank into a bar.

 

[BeerBotia]

Aluminum does oxidize in air and water.

However, the rate of corrosion is so slow that it's likely you'll move out, graduate, live your life, reincarnate as a fish in the bar tank, and still see little effect on the aluminum. You will however discover that vodka doesn't taste so good as a fish.

College drinking shinnanigans and a fish tank somehow seem incompatible. If you do press on with your plan, I'd get some hardy fish...like a carp.

 

[foma2000]

ok i think weve clearly stated the pros and cons to aluminium in the tank. now, can anyone think of any other ideas to help make this aquarium work. i can. and try not to just say dont do it. if he wants to we should help him.

 

[xray]

I tend to agree with those that say it would be ok. I agree that aluminum would slowly leech into water, but with pwc's it would be fine.
I would tell you to make sure it is secure and stable but I expect that since you are DIY-ing this you know that already. I would agree that you should have a way to lock the drunks out. That should be fairly easy to do.
As for the dead spots in the bottles you could drill a hole in the bottom and put an air hose to it. I also like the martini glass idea and the slate bar is cool too.
Go for it.

 

[frog girl]

Didn't mean to provide mis-info on the aluminum front. John Paul sounds like he has a lot more experience than I do (my degree is in biology not environmental science). Relative to rust which happens fast my understanding is that aluminum leaching is very slow but better safe than sorry.

About the mercury thing . . . if you have mercury in your tank then your fish would all be dead because that is highly toxic. Some researchers studying it have even been killed in lab accidents. I don't really know if it dissolves aluminum but run away fast from any tank with mercury in.

I have seen plastic beer parafenalia (misspelled??) but if you are going to argue about dissolving stuff then you have to worry about a whole new set of icky things that release toxins. Those PVC pipes for example (most types of plastics really). Styrofoam. The new copper pipes in your walls or worse the old ones that have lead in them. I could go on (the world is such a depressing place when you think about how much junk we put in it :| ).

If you want to be ultrasafe stop the college drinking parties and stick with glass and rock based ornaments.

 

[foma2000]

ok. sory frog girl. pvc pipe is perfectly fine for aquariums (something about it being inert?) and i didn't mean that mercury in the aquarium would break down the aluminium oxide, i was just wondering if i was corect that mercury does eat away at the aluminium oxide causing it to rust. its totaly off topic, so dont wory about it.

 

[frog girl]

Yes PVC is approved by the national science foundation for indoor plumbing. Unfortunately the scientific literature suggests that there may be a problem with it releasing toxins into the water. This release decreases as the PVC ages.

Here is a quote from the EPA web site. Its from a document where they describe why PVC should remain on the list of potential hazards to safe drinking water for humans.

There are numerous concerns about the occurrence and toxicological
significance of various species of organotins in drinking water. A
recent report indicates that unlike PVC systems, new CPVC systems have
the potential to contaminate drinking water with organotin compounds
for a longer period of time after installation (Forsyth and Jay 1997).
There has been a report concerning tributyltin contamination of
drinking water from PVC pipes, and tributyltin is of far more
toxicological significance than mono- and di-organotins (Sadiki et al,
1996). There is also concern about the recent reports of teratogenic
potential of dibutyltin (Ema et al, 1996). The Canadian Government is
concerned about organotin contamination of drinking water and has
launched a national survey.

www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/ccl_fr.html

The number of toxic or potentially toxic chemicals we & our fish are exposed to are very numerous. My point was that at some point you have to accept some level of risk & while noone wants to hurt their fish if they live with us they are also exposed to some things. This is why I got out of toxicology. At some level I feel I need to enjoy my life & not obsess excessively about all the things that are poisoning me. For humans it is worse because we have such long life spans & get to collect & store up some toxins along the way. For short lived animals it is not as bad.

 

[frog girl]

No offense intended or taken.

 

[mattrox]

Aluminum will not affect the water. Aluminum ions can be quite toxic, so why do they use them for beverages? The aluminum has a protective coating of aluminum oxide that is impervious to water and air.

I have even seen it quoted on a poster (in a state of the art marine aquarium facility) that drink cans don't break down in the ocean. It was all about how long certain pollution lasts.

I would be worried about sharp edges, but a bead of silicone could help protect that. If you hade fish that were bigger than any openings none would get trapped.

I saw a theme tank once with all different cory's in a "Junk Yard". they had toy plastic drink cans and bottles. Possibly for miniture models; dolls houses, train sets etc. But the coolest thing was potato chip and snack packets heated in the oven so they shrunk down to postage stamp size!

 

[wizfiz]

To the person who asked about maintaining the tank a few posts back, the back of the bar will have shelves and be open with plenty of room to open up the tank and move stuff around, clean, etc. The tank will be at waist/stomach level, so siphoning gravel and whatnot will not be a big chore.

And yes, I have pretty much decided that I am going to try to do this, so comments on how to make it even better are greatly appreciated. Does anyone think putting an unopened beer in the tank would be a terrible idea? That way there are no chances of sharp edges.. The potato chip bags shrunk down is also a great idea.