What a lovely spot!
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What a lovely spot!
reminds me of natural pools - that use natural filtration instead of chlorine. They are amazing and more cost effective and healthy than a regular pool.
also, did no one see my other post? I'm still wondering why tanks even use chlorine.
Kill bugs, teeny tiny bugs.
salt water.
There are bugs that thrive very well in salt water.
Vibrio vulnificus, for example.
Natural filtration systems can only be used in extensive spaces (our garden would already be too small to have a little natural pool).
If a tank is filled with fresh water before use, a normal filter (no chlorine) should be ok though, unless your tapwater is at doubt.
Would it be too costly just to buy the shell of a fibre glass swimming pool? You know like one where you have installed in a hole in a ground, but instead of that, you just buy the pool and tote it around on the back of a truck?
Or a really big inflatable pool like this? Scroll down to 2nd pic, that seems deep enough?
http://www.alibaba.com/product-detai...510221571.html
One problem I see with transporting a tank or pool to a gig: until you get there, you never know what kind of water will be available to fill the thing. The water could be icy cold from a hose, or from a municipal supply filled with chemicals, or from a well that may or may not have been tested for pathogens, etc. And you would have to scrupulously disinfect it after every use. I have battled every aquarium parasite and bacteria under the sun, in both fresh and salt water. Some of these pathogens need nothing more than a slightly moist and warm environment to grow. They often attach to algae/mold colonies, which can create a film on an aquarium/pool surface in a matter of hours. I'm not saying it's too dangerous to ever use a portable tank or pool, but you would have to be prepared for more than a little upkeep in order to be safe.
^Even more than filling it, I've often wondered how you dispose of the water after? I don't think you can just dump several hundred gallons of chlorinated water on the ground...
For me (living in Los Angeles) pretty much all the water is regular tap water. I wouldn't sweat any parasites or bacteria mostly because I've drank tap water my whole life, I'm fine, and it's not like I'm a real mermaid breathing the water in. I wouldn't chlorinate it either. Chlorine is hard on the eyes and tail and skin you know? Id rather have plain old water. If it's in a tank
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The problem with that as a solution is that those shells are not designed to be free standing. They rely on being put into the ground to give them support against the pressure of the water.Quote:
Originally Posted by ireneho
having actually been in a mertank....I now understand why they are 1) so exspensive and 2)hard to build. a pool shell would not hold up to the pressure youre going to be putting on it. Frankly, I'm going to look around for large aquariums, and sealife transports. a shark transport tank with a large window would probably work.
Its such an interesting topic to a rec mer like me. I hope you can a find a solution soon, so that we can all see you swimming it in!
I know the thread is kind of old, but did anyone end up trying that little see-through kiddie pool?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E7810D...oding=UTF8&me=
I'm booked for a Halloween event, and we're trying to figure out if there's any way to do a tank. We were thinking of just dressing up a dunk tank, covering the dunk target with a painted sheet hawking a "captive mermaid", but that inflatable tank could be another option on offer if it actually works.
I would dress up a dunk tank...it's already built to withstand the water pressure and abuse.
I looked into one of those pools for the Maker Faire next month and A: You have to have it on perfectly level ground; B: they are...delicate...; C: One errant/casual leaner can collapse the side and all that water goes rushing out.
nope nope nope :no-no:
True - I didn't think about leaners. Alright, dunk tank it is!
Aside from building one (or having one custom built), dunk tanks have been my number one option as well.
anyone know where to find bigger dunk tanks that aren't the usual thin rectangle ones? or short ones? let's say... one to fit a rather wide fluke? and have enough space to at least sit on the bottom completely? or do one full turn around in it?
I keep reading dunk tank as "drunk tank" and all I can picture is an over indulged mermaid locked up till she's sobered out, haha!
https://slm-assets3.secondlife.com/a...jpg?1277167786
Level water is the number one issue with tanks/pool/water carriers in general. Putting a water cooler on an out of level surface doesn't cause much issue. Putting a 60 gallon aquarium on an out of level surface, and the issues start building.
Let's do some hypothetical math
a 5' wide x 5' high x 8' long tank, filled to only 4' high (to allow for mermaid) : holds almost 1,200 gallons of water
Fresh water weighs roughly 8lbs/gallon , so that becomes 9,600 pounds of water
We assume that weight is equally distributed, which provided the ground is level, it will be. However, in a faire or party environment, lets assume your tank isn't on a level, concrete, surface that can hold 9,600 pounds... most likely your tank will be on dirt or turf. Dirt and turf that probably will gradually sink under that weight... start to get the idea? Even if you are able to set up on a patio, what happens when the travertine pavers can't handle that amount of PSI?
There is a reason that a well made fish tank isn't cheap. There's also a very good reason that a tank over 40 gallons starts to come with warnings about level surfaces with adequate engineering for weight. In other words, the home made mermaid tank sounds like an awesome idea, but, at some point, a magnificent failure is most likely going to occur.
I don't mean to rain on people's parades here... I just worry about safety. Not just of mers, but the kids around, should catastrophic failure occur.
I'm glad you bring that up, Stellar Lee! We have pretty much established in the past that you should only be making mermaid tanks if you know what you're doing. I think an altered dunk tank or something similar would be much more safe, cheap, and doable.
it isn't even the tank itself that is as much of an issue as you don't know what that tank is going to be sitting on. Dunk tanks and huge water barrels work great because the PSI is generally so much lower! A tank that has a stand and legs that needs to be moved around from venue to venue can quickly spell disaster, simply because there is an issue with the unknown surface.
I'm sticking with the kiddie pool and drunk tank. ;)
I know this thread is old now, but I was wondering if anyone had seen anything swim worthy out there? Does anyone do gigs in an inflatable portable above ground pool? Like a pool about three feet deep? That way you could still swim and interact with people but they could come up to the sides and see you.
With Mermaid Riia we have done and are doing gigs in portable, 12 000 litre pool :) It actually is pretty cool but needs a lot of work with putting it together and filling etc.
Here's a photo from last summer's gig :)
Nerissa that looks great! Does that seem to work pretty good and be stable enough not to collapse if people lean on it?
In the $100-$300 dollar range, Walmart has easy set up pools. Then the only problem is figuring out how to fill and drain it at the event. Much cheaper and easier to transport than an acrylic tank! I imagine with the steel frame, people leaning on the sides wouldn't be a problem.
http://www.walmart.com/browse/toys/u...sort=price_low
Well, it actually shouldn't last people leaning on it, it said so in the manual. However, the fence weren't pretty good at that event so kids were leaning on it, and the water was actually so damn cold that we needed to get up on the edges every now and then :D And it held up great :) ( we won't do it like that again though :D better fence and warmer water are the way )
Hey I'm not sure if anyone posted this but I found this online, might be a cheaper way to make a tank.
http://www.jonolavsakvarium.com/eng_...200litres.html
I know someone found a portable pool with clear plastic walls that would be a great alternative in my opinion, I just can't remember the website where they were sold.
More I saw a maxi bucket with a clear glass that some mermaids are using and it looks really perfect for travelling the only problem is that you can't transport it easily as it is rigid
I just look back now at how young and mer-naïve I was when I posted this thread.
Raina you should have just chucked me in my head with your fluke. Silly me posting this.
SO many dreams, so young LOL. Now im an old jaded mer happy with just getting in a pool ;) ......
It is really cool though, just to see where the 'tank game' has gone.
From Eric having the only tank around to Raven getting his tank, and now Renaissance festivals everywhere are getting them, The Dive Bar opened, Melissa has the trailer tank, more and more clear sided pools are being built (lookin at you Jaguar stadium), the Fringe Festival tank, Moon Mermaids, Hyli's tanks, Nerissa's pool, The Real Mermaids tank show......they're everywhere now!!!!!!
Just a few years and the pro-mermaid game has exploded. It's so wonderful to see!
Hello mers! :)
So I found this the other day: http://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/aquosis_water_tanks
What do you think about it? They are made of PVC covered polyester and seem to be able to hold the water. And they are portable and don't have cheap plastic framework.
Do you think one could cut out a piece and replace it with industrial clear PVC sheets or similar? What glue to use or how to stick it together again?
I found a video of Raina in a dunk tank and I must say that it seems waaay to small (especially with a large fluke) if you use it just as a "pool" without all the dunking :)
Something like that might be really cool with a little step stool or bridge so kids can see you in the water, if I remember correctly Dive Bar did an event with something similar to that where they were in a large pool and the kids could climb up and see them.
I don't think replacing any part of that will work though, you'll ruin the structural integrity of the product by trying to remove a portion and then replace it.
Like this!!! ^^^Quote:
Originally Posted by Merenneito Nerissa
wow, that looks great! I will definitely do that if I can't find a similar transparent pool (I still think of a tank substitution to interact with people through the 'glass', too). I just seem to find inflatable family pools that are transparent, but not really high or clear enough (is one meter too low?).
Sorry to write in here again, but I just found the thing i was looking for: http://www.kingsjumpingcastles.co.za/dunktanke.html
Those are custom-made collapsible dunk tanks. The size like it is here is about $590, but I requested a quote for a custom one of 3m x 3m x 2,5m with larger window and windows on all sides.
I think it would be also cheaper with just the "tank". I could really dress it up nicely, depending on event (how about a victorian one?) plus maybe a great light on the bottom for the evenings? I thought about a filter, too, so that the water stays clear? I've got an event coming up next summer, where I will be probably in a tank for about 3 or 4 weeks (not constantly :))
Poking in again to see if after all these years if people have any thoughts on types of water to fill these tanks with? <3
Water. Straight out of the tap. Heated, if possible.
If tanks were easy to build and maintain and transport, don't you think there would be tons of them and all their subsequent discussions? Not trying to sound mean, but if you've ever watched any of those aquarium builder shows, or know anything about acrylic construction, you'd know that first and foremost (aside from safety), tanks to swim in are going to cost trends of thousands of dollars. Especially a tank to transport. Most Merfolk I know aren't exactly swimming in the big bucks.
I WISH I could afford a nice swimming tank! I would use it all the time, and when i couldn't, I'd hire it out. But to be honest, it's a big empty box that you keep throwing money into.
I work in a number of tanks. I'm surprised more of us don't actually.
But tap water is really the worst. It often has higher chlorine than a pool. Salt water is ideal and of course my favorite. I'm just surprised there isn't more talk on the subject of maybe travel conversion kits or how to make exsisting tanks better.
Not sure what area you're in but most private pools have a recommended level of 1.5-3 ppm chlorine. Public pools up to 5 ppm. Tap water I've tested in different parts of the North East contains about .03 ppm chlorine. I'm genuinely interested in where the levels of chlorine are higher in tap water.Quote:
Originally Posted by maybe mermaid mika
Side note: pools with salt generators are still chlorine pools, the chlorine in them is just made via chemical reaction from running over the metal plates of the salt cell and getting zapped. I agree though, Oceans or lakes are where its at!
You're not going to be living in a tank, a few hours in tap water might not be ideal but it's not gonna kill you.
Besides, there's no talk about tanks because nobody has one except the one in question.