[Grah the great]

I was thinking of taking two identically sized storage bins, cutting a hole in each ABOVE where the water line would be (the water line would be well below the top of either storage bin, about 8" deep), and keeping paradise fish. The idea is that the PF's would be able to use the storage bins as if they were one tank. My main worry is, would the storage bins be inclined to give out on the side with the hole?

 

[thelub]

I use a storage tote to fill with water when I'm doing water changes. I fill it up and use a pond pump to fill into the aquarium. When the tote is full, the sides definitely bulge.

Maybe a graphic of our idea would be helpful?

 

[Grah the great]

The above is an EXTREMELY crude representation of what I had in mind.

 

[thelub]

With water that low it shouldn't be too much pressure that it would cause the container to fail. Why do you want those gaps? Would an aqua bridge work? Do the paradise fish jump?

 

[Grah the great]

Yep, PF's jump...the idea is that they would jump from one container to the other via the hole. By the way, what is an aqua bridge, and where can I buy one?

 

[thelub]

This is the best example of one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkVriY7GrNE

*edit* but if they jump they probably won't use an aqua bridge

 

[Grah the great]

This is the best example of one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkVriY7GrNE

*edit* but if they jump they probably won't use an aqua bridge

Nice tank! Is there a specific reason why jumpers would not want to use an aqua bridge, though?

 

[thelub]

Because they jump? :hihi: I don't know much about fish that like jumping. They probably would use it until they get a hankering to....wait for it....jump

 

[Grah the great]

If I had an aqua bridge, I probably would not have to cut any holes in the storage bin to encourage jumping.

 

[CAPSLOK]

I'm curious why you wouldn't just get a larger storage bin, rather than trying to ensure that two cut bins hold up. I would be concerned with the top rim cut out so much - though if the water level is quite low it may not matter. Also most totes slightly taper towards the bottom, so the two sides won't likely sit flush to each other. Plus then you have to have two separate heaters/filters/bubblers/etc as you have two separate bodies of water. So I'm not sure why you wouldn't just use a single tote.

Also note that you have to be pretty careful with HOB filters on totes, sometimes things shift. An internal filter works better for that application.

 

[Grah the great]

Because there is no such thing as a five foot tote...basically, that's why. Thank you for the reminders, although I was already expecting to need multiple internal filters (heaters are mostly redundant when talking about paradise fish). Honestly, I mostly asked because I feared that the storage bins would be liable to giving out if I did this...if I just cut a hole UNDER the rim rather than taking out part of the rim, would that help?

 

[CAPSLOK]

if I just cut a hole UNDER the rim rather than taking out part of the rim, would that help?

IMO that would help with stability. If the water level is low enough it shouldn't matter anyways.

Are you planning to do anything to join the totes at the hole somehow? In thinking about it, using a piece of 1/2"-1" tubing, and cutting a slit lengthwise will give you something to slide onto the potentially sharp-edged opening and make the join look neater and easier on a fish should a fish land on one.

In order for the fish to use it with any sort of regularity, I suspect the water level would have to be up pretty close to the bottom of the cut.

Because there is no such thing as a five foot tote...basically, that's why.

I used to have 4-5' tote, used it to store the artificial christmas tree. But it may be harder to find one and certainly more expensive than 2 of the normal sized ones.