CEMENT AQUARIA 



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could be improved upon, so several aquaria were constructed, 

 all on different lines, from cement, some of which contained about 

 18 inches of water, others even more, and some only 9 inches. 

 Two were made of brick, lined with cement, with only the over- 

 head light, while the others all had side light, in varying degrees. 

 This gives us a variety of conditions as regards depth of water 

 and illumination for growing different plants. 



The aquarium shown in figure 1 is 12 feet long, 28 inches wide 

 and 8f feet high, and is made of cement and angle iron. It is 

 in four different sections, the upper part being divided into three 

 sections and is about 5 feet from the floor. The bottom of 

 these three sections is reinforced with Ij inch iron tubing. The 

 main part consists of one large tank, and while the glass in the 

 front extends only about half-way to the bottom, the illumina- 

 tion is excellent. The upper three sections are about 4 feet 

 wide each, and contain about 9 inches of water. 



After being cast in cement, the aquarium, including the back 

 (see fig. 1), was covered with small pudding stone to give it a 

 nistic appearance. Peat was placed in the little chinks left for 

 the purpose, and in these we grow small vines, ferns, etc., which 

 are watered by a constant drip from several perforated block 

 tin pipes, allowing the water to trickle slowly down over the 

 stone. 



Figure 2 shows horizontal and vertical sections of an aquarium 

 not illustrated in this article, but built on the same principle. 

 This is 8 feet long,' 14 inches wide, and contains 16 inches of 

 water. It was built almost entirely by student labor and cost 

 about $12. 



All these aquaria were first cast in frames, and three coats 

 of cement were used. A is about 4 inches thick and made of 

 one part cement and 2 parts sand; L, a thin coat about j inch 

 thick, made of half cement and half sand. This lining coat of 

 cement was colored with lampblack, making a better background 

 than the light cement. Angle and "T" irons, in some cases 

 anchored more firmly to the cement by means of wires, are 

 imbedded in the cement to afford support for the glass. There 

 is a space about | inch wide and f inch deep at the bottom, 



THE PLANT WORLD, VOL. 1(3, NO. 10, October, 1013 



