I don't make beer so I guess I'll make an aquarium instead.

The pharmaceutical company, where I've been working for the last week, had this sitting outside by the recycle dumpster.

It originally held sterilized water for mixing with the drug they make. Moving it during the shutdown, they chipped one of the nipples on the bottom.

I'm not a beer drinker so I'm thinking about turning it into an aquarium. It's 12 gallons, which will be perfect for a small aquarium and with the nipples in the bottom, I won't have to run air lines through the top. I'll probably take a LED bulb and make a stopper to sit in the top. The only problem will be cleaning it. That might be a little tricky through a 2.5" hole.

My vote is for this:

Don't put a stopper in it, the fish need to breathe.

In reply to Lesley:

I'll be running a bubbler into one of the nipples on the bottom with a lift tube of some sort for a under gravel filter. That should supply plenty of air. The stopper/light arrangement will be vented to keep it from bouncing off the ceiling.

Getting the undergravel filter in place through the neck might be difficult....check craft stores for flexible plastic mesh...I think it is normally used for latch-hook crafts. You might be able to use that to make a raised UG platform that could be rolled up to be inserted into the bottle.

Alternately, sponge filter or canister filter.

In reply to JoeyM:

Something like that with a finer screen on top to keep the gravel off the bottom. I'll have to do some digging.

I also thought about using this.

It's a standard lighting grid that I know is fish safe. That would mean laying the thing down in strips. Might be a little tricky and I would still need some kind of screen to lay on top to keep the gravel off the bottom.

World's greatest betta fish aquarium?

Where do you order one of those?

What about an ecosphere or biosphere? Create, seal, no maintenance? (In theory)

http://cdn.makezine.com/make/wp_aquanaut.pdf

-Rob

In reply to DoctorBlade:

I'm not sure. I have three of them. Two are Pyrex that I picked up at an antique store for $30 and this one. I would think that any place that sole beer making supplies would have them.

In reply to rob_lewis:

Oohhh, Bookmarked! I might have to pull the change out of one of the others.

Silly question. How you plan on feeding the fish with the top plugged?

The top will just be sitting on the aquarium. Lift, feed, replace. It will mostly be for lighting and to keep the dust out. Pumping air in the bottom of a sealed, 12 gallon, glass jar, that is full of water, would be a bad thing.

On the biosphere you don't have to feed them if you set it up right. Everything it ever needs goes in the tank. Cycle of life thing and all Just add sunshine.

plastic "canvas" mesh for latch hook http://www.everythingplasticcanvas.com/plastic-canvas-mrl-y2.aspx?k2=c260

That just might work. I'll have to run by a craft store and take a look at it.