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(94 votes) Published: May 02, 2009 9:54 p.m. In 3 Favorites Lists Viewed 943 times
Is a Happy Tank.
Cleaning the bottom of your fish tank or bowl is very important. I used to have a vacuum for my larger tank. It worked great, but it\\’s long gone. I had it back in the nineties. However, I do remember how it worked. I now have baby fish in a 2 gallon tank. A vacuum that large would probably be very difficult to use in a tank that small and be a risk to the li\\’l fry. So, I decided to make my own smaller, gentler vac.
Looked Similar to This:
It functions by using the rising bubbles from an air pump to lift water through a filter bag.
More Like Some Sort of Penis Pump...
But pay no mind to that. o.O It works perfectly for my needs. If you have baby fish or a small tank that you need to clean, you can make your own vacuum and save some money while keeping the scale of the vacuum in proportion to your tank.
Anyway, on with the show.
Knife (or appropriate drill and bit)
Skewer (or pencil)
Scissors
Thin-walled plastic tube (I used a candy container)
Air pump
Air valve
3/8 vinyl tubing
Fish tank air line
Filter floss or cartridge element
Start by cleaning out and carving two holes in the bottom of the candy container:
When done, they should look like this:
Now thread your air line through the larger hole, like so:
Next, slip the 3/8 tubing over the air line, and into the candy container:
Pull the air line back so it\\’s recessed about an inch within the 3/4 tube:
Then pull it all into the container:
Time to cut some filter. Cut enough to completely block the container\\’s opening when wrapped around the 3/8 tube...
...wrap it and stuff it in with the skewer/pencil:
This is what it should look like so far:
Cut a couple inches off the other end of the air line:
Use that short piece to connect the valve to the pump, and connect the vacuum to the valve like this:
That\\’s it! To use it, simply plug in the pump and prod the gravel with the piece of 3/8 tube. The crap will get sucked up with the bubbles into the chamber above the filter floss and become trapped. The water will flow through the floss, back into the tank. The air will escape through the small vent in the top.
Here\\’s a video of mine in action:
(Note: There was nothing but the buzzing of the pump in the video, so I overdubbed it. The new audio has nothing to do with the vacuum.)
Thanks for reading, and as always, please comment. If you have any questions, ask away.
BTW, this can also be set up as a makeshift filter. Just put a couple tablespoons of activated carbon in the area above the floss and prop the whole thing up in a corner.
May 03, 2009 7:42 am - Depends. I rinsed the filter element after using it, and it should be fine to reuse next time. I suppose, if your tank is very dirty, you may have to clean it half way through using it. But it’d have to be really dirty.
As for the noise, it’s just as loud as the pump. Rather quiet, unless you record a video with the camera right next to the pump. :-P
Thanks for the great ratings, guys.
On a side note, some people use a siphon instead of a vacuum. I used to do that, but it’s messy, and takes longer to set up than simply plugging in this vacuum. I think this will save me 10 minutes a week! :-D
May 04, 2009 1:46 am - On an unrelated note, what ever happened to that video camera set up thing you were planning on doing about a year ago so people could control the camera via the internet and look at your fish.
May 04, 2009 5:00 am - Holy crap, I can’t believe you remember that.
My ISP won’t allow servers. I might be able to get around it, but I haven’t figured out how yet. Perhaps if I use a home security camera type of Java applet or something. I dunno. I don’t want to just do it and wind up having to pay for a commercial connection or lose my connection altogether. :-(
I think I’ll give my ISP a call and see what kind of loopholes I can find.
May 06, 2009 8:48 am - Dodge, 5* again, as always! Good egg, never seen anything like it before, totally original. I know it could be very helpful for people with fish (where the fuck is Alle these days??) Nicely laid out, and the music video is awesome, lol. Good work!
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