fish tank window

[killdasoundboy]

i was wondering if instead of using a pain of glass to divide the control room from the vocal booth, i put a fish tank filled with water (no fish). i can get a free 20 gal. do u guys think sound would transmit through the tank?? i would build this into my wall, make a re enforced stand using 2x4's, seal the top of the tank, put 2 hoses, one for fill it, the other would act as a vent to let the air out as the water enters. put-up some dry wall and fill any gaps with liquid foam!

damn i think this would make a great weekend project! as soon as all this snow melts i'm going to do it.

ps: spell check would be a nice tool

[Thunder33]

Originally Posted by killdasoundboy

i was wondering if instead of using a pain of glass to divide the control room from the vocal booth, i put a fish tank filled with water (no fish). i can get a free 20 gal. do u guys think sound would transmit through the tank?? i would build this into my wall, make a re enforced stand using 2x4's, seal the top of the tank, put 2 hoses, one for fill it, the other would act as a vent to let the air out as the water enters. put-up some dry wall and fill any gaps with liquid foam!

damn i think this would make a great weekend project! as soon as all this snow melts i'm going to do it.

ps: spell check would be a nice tool

I would imagine that if you did NOT fill it with water, it would do a better job. I could explain why but it is late and I would rather just babble in the new rep point thread.

[mshilarious]

Dunno about the acoustics, but optically speaking you'll get refraction as light passes between different media. It could make it tricky to see the live room from different angles.

Also without fish, the water will need regular chlorination to stay clear. With fish, well then you need filters and access, which will harm the soundproofness. I shut off the filters in my tank when I'm recording, but ya gotta remember to turn 'em back on

[SonicClang]

All "sound through water" arguments aside, there's just no way you could properly seal around all sides of the tank. One thing people are always concerned about is condensation between panes of glass so they use cilica gel packets to soak up any humidity. A tank full of water would wreak havoc on everything in your studio.

Bottom line... it's not a good idea. If it were you'd see fish floating by in the control room window of every major studio.

[Velvet Elvis]

http://oceanvu.com/

This studio is one I bought some equipment from at one point. They are located in Miami and if you look at the plans, they actually DO have a fish tank in their control room... pretty cool.

Velvet

[SonicClang]

Very interesting. Well, at least someone with the money is doing it. But it must be a bitch to clean.

[emergencyexit]

Cool is one thing, but when it comes to something that would possibly harm workflow (if even possible) or would just become a distraction in general, I wouldn't have it around. I would rethink your decision

Ben