The exact opposite. When air gets into the tube it allows the water to drain and suck air up. When the water level rises the water covers th hole and the water cant suck air in, a vacuum.
Put a hole in a container that can become air tight. The hole should be the same size as the tube and a tight fit is good. Use silicon or similar “glue” to seal around the hole.
I had a similar idea for my biocube al, there’s a space in the lid on the back where you could fit something rectangular, it would be totally concealed inside the hood, and you’d only see it when it’s open…
that’s an idea…I was thinking about emptying out an icepack like you would stick in a lunch box and using that…but I Dunno how hard it’ll be the get those chemicals out
So let me get this straight. You have a jar above your tank with water that is air tight and put a tubing line into the tank. Then make a small hole where you want the water level to be in the tank. When the water level drops below that hole, air gets into the line and thus drains water out into the tank, then when the water level is raised above the hole, the vacuum starts again and the water stops flowing from the jar into the tank, until next time. If that is how it works, that’s awesome!!! Great idea! Simple yet effective, especially on nanos! I am so worried about hooking up my JBJ ATO, I’ve heard so many stories of ATO failing.
I had an idea about bb…why not paint the bottom of the tank a reflective color? Silver, or white? or put a mirror under the tank? Would it make any difference?
Really my purpose for using CC was mainly to let shrooms attach to, the reflectivity was just a side bonus. I still havent decided what I’m going to do for that part of it yet, but I got all of the stuff to plumb it which is what I have been working on.
Plumbing is almost done. I have most of the stuff I need, just need 3 clamps for the flexible hose and to put it all together. Well, that and to find an outlet where I can plug it in. That might be the hardest part…
Ok, well I hit a minor snag. When I was putting on the drain line I cracked the glass by the bulkhead. I sealed it with silicone and it doesnt leak, but I’m not sure if I’m going to use it or not. It will only have about 1-2 gallons of water pressing on it, but im not sure if I want to take the chance, which sucks because that will put off the whole thing since im broke and cant afford to replace the tank or plumbing stuff untill I get a paycheck in 2 weeks. Suggestions? I may end up scraping the whole project for a while… not sure.
P.S. Anyone know where to get small scrap pieces of acrylic for cheap/free that I could use to practice making stuff with? I am thinking about making an acrylic frag tank so that I dont have to worry about it cracking next time.
Damn dude that sucks. I can’t tell you how many tanks I’ve cracked over the years. I’d say it’s a bit too risky to play with. The crack could easily spread later on down the line and cause bigger problems. Heck I had one tank crack open on a side that wasn’t drilled into one day randomly and start shooting water onto brand new carpet. Random stuff is bound to happen with out any warning so when I get a warning like a crack I steer clear.
Not sure where you can pick up free acrylic, but Rob supposedly found a cheap source so I’d talk with him. Ken has a good bit of experience working with acrylic. Actually his frag tank he made out of the stuff.
Hope you don’t decide to scrap the project, but I can completely understand if the money isn’t there. Perhaps you could sell off some other used equipment and some frags to come up with the cash you need?
Anyone who comes down to the oct meeting can see one of these in action. I made one for Keleigh’s 15g tank that works like a charm with only spare parts from around the fish closet. A scrap of PVC, one bulkhead I had laying around, one PVC fitting, a 4" piece of flex tubing and a soda bottle is all it took.
We drilled a hole in the canopy of the 15g with an old hole saw that I used to use for my 1" bulkheads. In there I put an old bulkhead that had a small piece of PVC glued in the tank side, which is pointed up. I cut that piece down to what will fit in a fitting. Then we took a 1" female slip to female threaded adapter… which you can screw a 20oz. soda bottle cap into the threaded side. First we drilled a hole of the correct size in the cap, and siliconed in the piece of flex tubing. Once that had set up you screw the bottle cap with tubing into the fitting so that the tubing comes out of the slip side. Then you simply put the cap/fitting on a 20oz. bottle of RO and adjust the lenght of the flex tubing to where you want the water level to be. Put the fitting/bottle on the piece of pipe sticking out the bulkhead and TA-DA. A 1.30$ ato for a nano.
I know this method wont work for some who dont have a hood, but it worked great for us.
Well, I decided to go with the long shallow sterlite platic tote. I have it set up now, just waiting to go back to NY this weekend to pick up the lights that I have there. After that it will simply be a matter of getting the right bulbs (ordering monday… unless a LFS has T8 actinics and 10k bulbs in stock) and I’ll be in buisness. Going to use a powerhead or two for flow and do waterchanges every week or so when I change water out of the 90 I’ll use some of the water that I take out to do a small waterchange on this tank. It will be fairly simple, but thats less things that can go wrong. The only thing im working on now is trying to figure out an ATO for it, since im guessing the increased surface area will result in increased evaporation. Worst case senario, I have to top it off each day… which wouldnt be the end of the world because then I would be checking it every day… less chance of some problem going unnoticed.
I’ll throw up some pictures tonight or monday with pictures… I know my explanation is pretty confusing. It really is simple but I dont make it sound that way.
We could work the details and any discounts but I wanted to gauge interest and needs. We would like to have 4 Group buys a year and may join up with some neighboring clubs to have a joint group buy. Vote what you would be most interested in. (January)
