Has anyone built one of these before?

[fishfanatic2]

I highly doubt the fish would ever use something like that, at least not very frequently.

 

[Anonymous]

okay so... how the heck to you clean the algae when it builds up in the tubes?

It says on the site they use magnet cleaners, just like cleaning the tanks....

 

[Mihai]

Sure, but we all know that you can't clean all algae with the magnet.
Besides, I assume you either separate the highway into two parts (with water flowing in two different directions) or you use an extra pipe to get the water from one tank to the other. Alternatively you don't circulate the water and then it may run stale at the top...

M.

 

[Anonymous]

It says in the FAQ that you have a pump pumping water from one tank to the water and the highway will seek to equalize the levels in the tank....

 

[Rikko]

I thought about doing that with a couple of freshie tanks once but decided it'd just be too much work to make it stable. It's definitely a cute idea, though.

My understanding of the water flow is that the large tube is essentially your "overflow" and there is a separate pump/powerhead that is pulling water from one tank and sending it to the other through a hidden hose.

This really is just an overflow system - think of it as a slow-moving external HOB overflow box, only that much more terrifying!

I saw this link discussed on another reef board about a year back and one guy said he saw a mini-documentary of this guy's house where he ended up building his tank as an acrylic highway that ran through his whole house.. I always pictured something like furnace ducts mounted on the outside of the walls. Sounded amusing.

 

[DK]

All you need is enough sump capacity to handle ALL the water. I have often thought of doing the same thing but my display tanks aren't at the same level at the water surface.........siphon would mess that up pretty quickly.