above water clear spheres

[laroid]

I need help to design and build an above water clear sphere to better view my fish that doesn't cost a bunch.

 

[morewater]

Easy. Cut the bottom out of a bucket or bin and replace it with clear acrylic or Plexiglas. Use marine silicone to seal it. If you don't mind strange looks from your neighbors and getting your hair wet, get a mask and snorkel (although it's hard to drink a gin & tonic with your head underwater).

I have many times needed to use SCUBA gear to inspect bottom drains, but most of the time the mask and snorkel do the job. Kinda sucks in April and late October, but in the summer I likes to swim wit da fishes.

 

[Lisak1]

Are you wanting a sphere that your fish will swim up in to? There are youtube videos that demonstrate all kinds of ideas for that - everything from a fish bowl to an aquarium can be turned upside down and filled with water for fish to swim inside of if you can figure out some kind of stand to support it in your pond.

Two problems - 1. not all fish WILL swim inside of a dome. And 2. the glass tends to grow algae rather quickly so it will have to be cleaned frequently if you want to be able to see your fish.

So why do you feel you "need" one of these?

 

[Timothy]

The first time I saw one of those I was enthralled! I thought it was super-trick to have the fish swimming above the pond's surface, which it is, but the reality is you have to be prepared for quite a bit of hassle. I agree with what's been said above in that Youtube would have the best tutorials on the subject.
I think it would be amazing to have an inverted aquarium at the edge of my pond where the fish could swim at say, table height and come and go at will, but thinking it through I know I am too lazy for that kind of an attraction.
This is not intended to discourage you, and we would love to follow your progress through the building stages! Were I to attempt this I'd also include lights that would illuminate the area at night giving the illusion of the project floating above the pond.
The distractions for me would be....as Lisak1 mentioned, the algae would build up quickly because of the sun, not to mention the water temperature which may be a hindrance to the fish. Maintaining a vacuum on a volume sufficient to make the "bubble" size worth the effort may be problematic. If this is to be permanent some method would have to be devised to allow water to circulate through so the water didn't get stagnant - this may aid in lessening the algae and temperature rise, but it would have to be engineered so that no air whatsoever could collect in the top thus compromising your vacuum and water-holding capabilities.
What size had you envisioned? Please show us your progress! We don't mean to dampen your enthusiasm for something out of the ordinary and are willing to help if we can.

 

[MitchM]

Spam ^

Note from admin: This post refers to a post which has now been removed.

 

[Becky]

Spam ^

Ta for the heads-up @MitchM, I've removed the post and banned the user

Just so I don't miss things like this in future, please hit the report button if you spot any spam

 

[Timothy]

Spam ^

Mitch, help me out here... I know I was out of the loop for a while, but since Becky took out the "spamer" it would appear I'm the culprit. As anyone can see I can't even spell "Spame".
I'll trade you a "Like" for an "edit"!

 

[Becky]

Mitch, help me out here... I know I was out of the loop for a while, but since Becky took out the "spamer" it would appear I'm the culprit. As anyone can see I can't even spell "Spame".
I'll trade you a "Like" for an "edit"!

I've done that for you

 

[Timothy]

Thank you Becky!

 

[davidmeher]

i thought it was a cute idea, too, to see smaller fish swimming above pond level. cute . . . until my large glass (4-gallon) bowl broke. then furiously removing glass-shards before they punctured liner. never again.