Spongebob Aquarium, Sandy's TreeDome

[ridewithme38]

Any suggestions? I've ordered an 8" dome and am going to pick up a 6" clear tube to use as the doorway...I'm sure i can order something that looks like the tree and grass online...

But where i'm torn is....How accurate do i need to make this for my 6yr old daughters tank? How much weight would be needed to sink a 8" dome filled with air? is that even plausible in a 29 gallon tank? Can i run an airline and make it an airfilled bubbler?

Has anyone else on here even submerged an airfilled ornament before?


The ChumBucket would have been soo much easier!

 

[Wy Renegade]

Just about anything can be done with enough time, thought and patience. This one however may be a real tickler. You could silicon or epoxy the dome onto a piece of "grass" covered slate or flagstone, which may give it enough weight to keep it down. Both the rock and the dome could be drilled, an airline inserted, and then siliconed around to create an airbubbler effect. Hiding the airline inside the dome would be a bit more difficult, unless you hide it inside the "tree". However, I can't think of anyway off the top of my head that you could get away with producing bubbles inside the dome without filling it with water.

 

[mfdrookie516]

What if you siliconed the thing to the bottom glass? That would keep it from floating up. I don't think having the dome itself bubble would be possible. If you ever needed to turn off the bubbler, water would get in.

 

[ridewithme38]

Interesting....i think i found a patent for what my idea was(I should really be working at work instead of googling this)

Aquarium having submerged dry display area - Drawing for Patent # 5313912 - PatentGenius

 

[Nomadu571]

Have you ever looked at "crabitats". I wanted one for along time but they don't ship to the UK only US. They are amazing, called underwater islands, and is pretty much the same idea;

Visit: http://www.crabhomes.com/product/1/4/Underwater_Island.html

This is the largest and has a mini waterfall for inside the dome. Others are available

 

[ridewithme38]

Have you ever looked at "crabitats". I wanted one for along time but they don't ship to the UK only US. They are amazing, called underwater islands, and is pretty much the same idea;

Visit: Crabs Habitat by Atlantis Underwater Islands - Underwater Island

This is the largest and has a mini waterfall for inside the dome. Others are available

Awesome! I may not order from there, but its HUGE that now i know this is a possiblity, i was worried about an average air pump having the 'pressure' needed to hold back the water, but that website seems to imply any airpump will work!!

THANK YOU!

Hmm, on second thought...something like this one
http://www.crabhomes.com/product/1/8/Underwater_Oasis.html May actually work...Now i'd just need to find an ornamental tree small enough!

 

[lilbenchy9192]

why does the dome need to be air tight?? it would be impossible fro u to have any living plant or anything in there. why not build it to look like its dry but have the door open so that the fish can go and see sandy from time to time

 

[ridewithme38]

Then Sandy would have to wear her spacesuit all the time! Why would she need a treedome if it wasn't a place she could get away from the spacesuit she always wears and relax in the comfort of cool clean air?

 

[jetajockey]

I did a sandys treedome with half of a plastic clear hamster ball siliconed to the large end of a 20oz water bottle. Needed some detail work, and it wasn't airtight, but it looked o.k. Ornaments of this nature really don't ever stay in my tanks long term so I didn't plan anything really detailed or permanent.

GEDC0288 - YouTube

 

[LyndaB]

OMG, that is the cutest thing!!!

 

[ridewithme38]

I did a sandys treedome with half of a plastic clear hamster ball siliconed to the large end of a 20oz water bottle. Needed some detail work, and it wasn't airtight, but it looked o.k. Ornaments of this nature really don't ever stay in my tanks long term so I didn't plan anything really detailed or permanent.

GEDC0288 - YouTube

Ok, that's awesome, did you use a half coconut shell for Patricks house? i had the same thought...the weather vane makes me nervous though, i didn't want one of my daughters fish loosing an eye, especially with having what seems like a mostly blind Black Moor bouncing around

Where'd you find the tree for inside the TreeDome?

 

[jetajockey]

Yup, it's a half coconut shell. I bought one of the premade ones from petsmart, the 'fiddler crab habitat' or whatever, but you could cut a coconut shell easy enough if you wanted. I made the weather vane out of yellow plastic from a tetra water conditioner bottle, not sure if the fish would hang up on it or not, but mine never did.

I made the tree by chipping off a small piece of driftwood and gluing it to a marimo moss ball.

 

[lilbenchy9192]

haha that does all look pretty cool

 

[rhardman]

Sandy's Treedome

I run a youtube channel and made a bikini bottom aquarium complete with Sandy's Treedome. Had many of the same problems you had in this thread but I finally worked. Slate on the bottom of the dome sunk it fine. Plenty of video footage here: https://youtu.be/vjpAOKepjYM