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[christehchris]

Congratulations! You have arrived at the tropical island of Alemire, population 0, and most importantly stone population 0. Whether it's fishing you're after or the breeze of the cool salt-water sea, or the blasting aquifiers... *sigh*.

I'm gonna get to the point. I need fresh water (I'm guessing you can't live off booze), an area to farm, and STONE. No more sand. (note: what I did not screenshot is the large 1 z-level up area (very very large) that has lots of trees and soil for irrigating, but no rock)

Anyone have any ideas on how to survive?

[Iosyn]

Dig out a cistern connected to the sea and stick a powered pump in it. Voila, instant dwarven desalinasation.

Also dig out under the sea. There will be stone there, but it's going to be pretty deep. Alternatively, just dig straight down. I'd only expect 5-10 Zs of soil before reaching stone. use the soil layers as underground farms and stockpiles, then have dormitories and workshops in the stone layers.

[christehchris]

I'm not exactly sure how to make a cistern or pump, but I have struck soil and plump helmet production is going well.

[crekit]

I don't think you can make mechanisms without rock or metal, can you? You can break the aquifers easily if you have pumps.

[malvado]

Even though this seems like an island, you will still get immigrants and I think you will even ocassionally get those pesky invaders.
It can be quite messy without metal and an difficult aquifer to punch through.

If you are an beginner with little experience I'd say you should be prepared for some pain here

[Blizzlord]

An easy way to breach aquifers using only wood.

Possibly the best way to breach an aquifer altogether.

[crekit]

BTW no you don't need water unless you have injured dwarves.

But without water, -any- injury will be fatal.

[christehchris]

I have found *some* stone, and have made a few mechanisms and saved the rest. I also got my first wave of immigrants. The only question that remains, is how do I make a cistern?

[Iceflame]

Just dig out a cave.

[oven_baked]

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:Reservoir

Stagnant water must be cleaned and salt water (from an ocean or saltwater lake) must be desalinated: both tasks are performed by a screw pump, and the easiest way to keep the clean water contained is in a reservoir. This also applies to cold or freezing maps, where water may only be available part of the year (or never at all), and hot or scorching maps, where water may evaporate over time. A secured 20x25x1 underground reservoir can last for many years without needing to be refilled.

My advice;Burst though the aquifer and then once your underground you can dig out a proper reservoir and fill it from the aquifer above it! You will also have access to stone which you can turn into crafts and trade away for everything you need.

Be careful with water pressure though.

[Valtam]

If you're sharing the island with a goblin tower or something similar, then only you'll have trouble dealing with it. In any other case, it might be a pleasant haven for your dwarves to develop their skills. Titans will not come when you reach the wealth mark, but FBs can and will get to your fortress once you breach the caverns.

Remember that if your desalinisated water gets into contact with a bare minimum of salt water, the entire cistern might get spoiled and you'll have to pump it all over from scratch. You might also help yourself with the aquifers to create artificial waterfalls and hidric industries, with a bit of planning and imagination you can pierce and aquifer (warning, this might be 7/7 FUN!) and send the flow to end into another aquifer, ensuring that it will generate a river-like, endless flow of water.

[Iosyn]

My bad, forgot you didn't have stone for mechanisms. Nice to hear you found some.

Now if you're going to have the pump accessable to a dwarf you won't need to power it, but you can create a system to provide power for the pump. Enormous screws, pipe section, mechanisms and a water wheel in the aqueduct connected to a gear assembly (make sure to build that first, or else the water wheel will probably deconstruct once it's finished building.

[Patchy]

If you already have a mechanism, you can just stick a well on the ocean or any body of salt water. Your dwarves will happily drink/use any water from a well.

[Di]

But without water, -any- injury will be fatal.

Not quite, obviously, those who need only dressing will get back to a normal life even before they get thirsty, but, more important, if you don't designate hospital dwarves will brave even broken legs and will switch to resting mode only if they've got somewhere around whole body damaged to red.

[Triaxx2]

Making a Cistern is fairly simple. I presume you embarked with picks? Okay, count the third tile away from the ocean, and use channel to descend one Z. Then mine as large a hole you want. Use channel to punch holes for wells. One is enough if all you need it for is the hospital.

Then construct a pump on the two squares between the channeled one and the ocean. Then turn on Start Pumping Manually.