Thanks for posting this. I needed a way to get the solids out of my aquaponics filter tank without removing the water. I am making one of these on a little larger scale. Great instructional vid. Jim
Thank you very much for sharing your GREAT idea! I live in Italy and I was having a really hard time finding something even near this concept! So thanks again! Great job!
it might get clogged with sand quickly, higher tube doesnt mean more suction, the amount of air flow as it relates to the inside diameter of the pipe is what gives you more suction, the height is determined by your water depth, as the airlift can't create much head height above your water line
Hey! an alien used one of those on me and man was that some probing I got!!! the gurgling noises were very therapuetic for me! Best cleaning i've had..never felt better!
It's like a "Dust Buster" for the tank! Hell Yea! Kinda looks like an "Electric Broom" of sorts. Maybe a 12v DC motor, old vacum cleaner compressor fan, barrel or phono jack for power cord. Would a 2 ported pump joined to 1 line make more bubbles=more lift? I haven't ever liked most "gravel vacs" or such- because of price and the short tube most have. Your model solves that. NO WET HANDS MESS.
VERY impressive. personally I have sand, but I still want to try this. lol. but just a general question, does a higher uplift tube give you more suction?
Hey dude, love the idea, was going to try and build it myself. Just unsure what fitting you used to go from the 1/2" to the chamber inside (the bit you drilled all the holes in). I can see how the rest was put together, just not sure on that. Any chance you could elaborate? Or even a link or image of the pieces individually would be AWESOME.
you'll need to add more air lines to restore suction but you can add a pipe that's bigger around to filter out the grime fro the gravel. I wounder how it would work if you put a vacuum on the handle end instead of using an airlift system?
hi. thanx for the nice upgrade on the diy device. i wanna know the model or power of the pumps you are using. my pump is not as strong (sb548a , has 3.5Lpa, pulls about 4 gallons per hour on max power at depth of 12 inches.) and maybe thats why its suction is much low.
Hey Budy _ Thanks For The New Version :) I Make One It's Power Full But :( Its Not The Same Design Because I Did Find PVC Chamber :) Any Ways Thanks For The Idea :P I am ALWAYS WATING FOR YOUR NEW VIDEOS AND TRICKS :D So Good Luck Budy
2 Questions.....If i made this, and instead of a flat bottom on the suction end, if I made like teeth or a claw almost so the tip of the pvc looks like a flork, do you think that would give it more ability to get into sand or gravel and suck up the dirt? Also does the length of the tube under the chamber have anything to do with suction? If the air goes up a longer tube would that give more suction? And im alittle confused on the parts you use to connect to either sides of the end caps....do you haveto drill holes for the 1/2 inch adapter and the 1.5 inch reducer? Thanks!!
this would only work well on a bare bottom tank, suction strength is dependent on how much air lifts up the tube, the only hole i drilled and epoxy-ed in place was the 1/2" adapter i believe
you put an incredible amount of thought into this thing(and way better than the prototype hhahaha). Its awesome! looks cool too(i especially liked the little diagram you made for us... I lold). Now i just have to try and make one to be used on sand
So made mine today. Instead of bubbles i had a HoB sitting around i took the pump out of that. also I put the filter media in the intake pipe before my pump sands not that much of an issue(i will suck a tiny bit up) and the poop/food just sticks to the filter. I didnt get a chance to see the true ability of this thing because my tank is pretty pristine(just 4 khuli loaches at the moment who are quite clean). works alright with sand would work even better with gravel i can imagine(i think yours would probably be fine i gravel as well). Had to tweak it 3 times. anyway here it is. imgur.com/qxLpP1b
***** ME too!! lol Sand especially! The Hubs and I have been trying to figure something out as well! I only got as far as realizing that the air pump would be a must but what to use that is small enough to stop the sand but large enough to let the "stuff' go through? So...I'm thinking we need more suction? Since the stool and such will mulch up & go through. Maybe siphoned through something like panty hose? IDK? I just know the vacs on the market leave much to be desired. Good luck!
sometimes you just want to clean up the bottom of the tank. as the video shows, you can do that in about 1 minute or less. it means you can even do this daily. whereas with a water change, it will take more time and you really don't want to do it daily, especially if you have multiple tanks . you can still do it weekly or bi-weekly, but it means al this stuff sits there until that time. so the idea of this vacuuming tube is that you'll probably use it daily to clean the bottom gunk, and then there will be a time weekly where you do the water change and grab anything from the bottom as well.
I made one of these today and it does not work at all. The air in the tubes isn't going deep enough to the tip, the pump pressure is obviously not high enough. I have used a HOBBY Double Air Pump 400 (Flow Rate: 2 x 3.0 liters / min) but it doesn't suck. Maybe it's because my aquarium is so deep (60 cm, equals 24")!? I have also a airbrush compressor here and tomorrow i will try with more air pressure. We'll see... :-)
UPDATE: It works with the airbrush compressor quite well! But because here in Germany we have only bigger tubes in the hardware stores, my vac has the size of a rocket launcher (100 cm / 1 yd). ;-). The opening is 3,5 cm / 1.4" wide... ;-) I will try to build a smaller version, in which i try to use tubes for electrical installation.
i dont know anything about "plastic welding" and ive joined over a thousand pieces of plastics and pvc in20years but i do know welding is the process of joining 2pieces of METAL by heating them with a torch or thru elecrodes!ive done it over half my lifetime but i understand why yall are calling it welding because its a joining process. but you fail to realize theres no heat being applied and the pieces arent metal! just because everyone refers to it as welding doesnt mean it is it just means they dont know what the fuck their talking about as they glue or cement two pieces of plastic together! i think thats the term yall want to use CEMENT it sounds a little more technical then glue lol now you guys can feel a little smarter then all the dumbasses since you know the facts!! if you dont believe me just google the definition of dumbasses lol i mean welding of course or do something outta the norm and educate yourself rather then letting society tell you right from wrong!!!ONE LOVE!!!
Adam Stansel Well as you suggested i did look up the definition of "Weld".... Weld: cause to combine and form a harmonious or effective whole..... Interesting. Now I HAVE ... WELDED... Acrylic sheets together.... Which MELTS(as youve mentioned) And as it cools the two ends become one... Who's the dumbass though....
Ingenious ! You have given me an idea for making an old skool air lift filter which they just don't make anymore. Thanks !
Thanks for posting this. I needed a way to get the solids out of my aquaponics filter tank without removing the water. I am making one of these on a little larger scale. Great instructional vid.
Jim
Thank you for sharing this video 😀⭐
You are brilliant! Do you still have your tanks in 2022?❤️🇦🇺
Good one, hope that works well with gravel or sand as well. Good way to clean the waste without touching water. :)
Thank you very much for sharing your GREAT idea! I live in Italy and I was having a really hard time finding something even near this concept! So thanks again! Great job!
This is what i was looking for 🎉
That was awesome. I am going to build one!
This is gonna make my life sooo much easier, and I'm definitely gonna build it!!! Thank you for this!!!
+DJ D4RKS1D3 I have a V3 wand built which works even better, i'm releasing the video on wednesday
Great vacuum for breeder tanks!
this is an excellent diy project! i have to build one for myself.
Looks really cool! I am going to try making this, thanks for sharing !!!
it might get clogged with sand quickly, higher tube doesnt mean more suction, the amount of air flow as it relates to the inside diameter of the pipe is what gives you more suction, the height is determined by your water depth, as the airlift can't create much head height above your water line
more air means more lift! glad you like it
holy shit this looks so much better then siphons and the vacs they sell, thanks for this I am going to attempt to make something like it
glad it could help, i'd love to see a video of your version! thanks
sick!! Gonna try to make one for my 10G but size it down. Awesome vids!
this is awesome!!! i could use this in my hot tube
Great idea! Fair play. Thumbs up. I think it would be to big for my tank... But gets me thinking about making one and thats what you want. ;-)
@Greg I like this idea a lot. I see the video is very old now. Just wondering if you made other versions of this in the years after. Thanks!
Im about to make one in a hr or so
What a great idea for my pond
Excellent DIY!
Hey! an alien used one of those on me and man was that some probing I got!!! the gurgling noises were very therapuetic for me! Best cleaning i've had..never felt better!
Very nice biuld, I'll try it........ thanks for the tip.
It's like a "Dust Buster" for the tank! Hell Yea! Kinda looks like an "Electric Broom" of sorts. Maybe a 12v DC motor, old vacum cleaner compressor fan, barrel or phono jack for power cord. Would a 2 ported pump joined to 1 line make more bubbles=more lift? I haven't ever liked most "gravel vacs" or such- because of price and the short tube most have. Your model solves that. NO WET HANDS MESS.
grats dude looks nice and does the job!
VERY impressive. personally I have sand, but I still want to try this. lol. but just a general question, does a higher uplift tube give you more suction?
so mechanical filtration vac? i love it!
Hey dude, love the idea, was going to try and build it myself. Just unsure what fitting you used to go from the 1/2" to the chamber inside (the bit you drilled all the holes in).
I can see how the rest was put together, just not sure on that. Any chance you could elaborate? Or even a link or image of the pieces individually would be AWESOME.
you'll need to add more air lines to restore suction but you can add a pipe that's bigger around to filter out the grime fro the gravel. I wounder how it would work if you put a vacuum on the handle end instead of using an airlift system?
hi. thanx for the nice upgrade on the diy device. i wanna know the model or power of the pumps you are using. my pump is not as strong (sb548a , has 3.5Lpa, pulls about 4 gallons per hour on max power at depth of 12 inches.) and maybe thats why its suction is much low.
Have you ever thought of using large river rocks on the bottom? not that it really needs it though.
Hey Budy _ Thanks For The New Version :) I Make One It's Power Full But :( Its Not The Same Design Because I Did Find PVC Chamber :) Any Ways Thanks For The Idea :P I am ALWAYS WATING FOR YOUR NEW VIDEOS AND TRICKS :D So Good Luck Budy
Hi Greg thanks for making a magnificent Vac , Can u give step by step idea of making this please
hi Greg great idea can you tell me what dimensions i would need for a 1000litre tank Regards Rod
Whisper model 60 with 2 air outlets for 60 gallon tanks
great idea
Very innovative. I like it.
2 Questions.....If i made this, and instead of a flat bottom on the suction end, if I made like teeth or a claw almost so the tip of the pvc looks like a flork, do you think that would give it more ability to get into sand or gravel and suck up the dirt? Also does the length of the tube under the chamber have anything to do with suction? If the air goes up a longer tube would that give more suction? And im alittle confused on the parts you use to connect to either sides of the end caps....do you haveto drill holes for the 1/2 inch adapter and the 1.5 inch reducer? Thanks!!
this would only work well on a bare bottom tank, suction strength is dependent on how much air lifts up the tube, the only hole i drilled and epoxy-ed in place was the 1/2" adapter i believe
so the adapter on the bottom? Is there anyway you could provide a parts list? Or possibly more about how each part is connected?
you put an incredible amount of thought into this thing(and way better than the prototype hhahaha). Its awesome! looks cool too(i especially liked the little diagram you made for us... I lold). Now i just have to try and make one to be used on sand
If you figure out how to make it work on substrate, let me know!
So made mine today. Instead of bubbles i had a HoB sitting around i took the pump out of that. also I put the filter media in the intake pipe before my pump sands not that much of an issue(i will suck a tiny bit up) and the poop/food just sticks to the filter. I didnt get a chance to see the true ability of this thing because my tank is pretty pristine(just 4 khuli loaches at the moment who are quite clean). works alright with sand would work even better with gravel i can imagine(i think yours would probably be fine i gravel as well). Had to tweak it 3 times. anyway here it is.
imgur.com/qxLpP1b
***** ME too!! lol Sand especially! The Hubs and I have been trying to figure something out as well! I only got as far as realizing that the air pump would be a must but what to use that is small enough to stop the sand but large enough to let the "stuff' go through? So...I'm thinking we need more suction? Since the stool and such will mulch up & go through. Maybe siphoned through something like panty hose? IDK? I just know the vacs on the market leave much to be desired. Good luck!
That’s cool but why not do a water change at the same time?
sometimes you just want to clean up the bottom of the tank. as the video shows, you can do that in about 1 minute or less. it means you can even do this daily.
whereas with a water change, it will take more time and you really don't want to do it daily, especially if you have multiple tanks . you can still do it weekly or bi-weekly, but it means al this stuff sits there until that time.
so the idea of this vacuuming tube is that you'll probably use it daily to clean the bottom gunk, and then there will be a time weekly where you do the water change and grab anything from the bottom as well.
what size air pump is that?
I made one of these today and it does not work at all. The air in the tubes isn't going deep enough to the tip, the pump pressure is obviously not high enough. I have used a HOBBY Double Air Pump 400 (Flow Rate: 2 x 3.0 liters / min) but it doesn't suck. Maybe it's because my aquarium is so deep (60 cm, equals 24")!?
I have also a airbrush compressor here and tomorrow i will try with more air pressure. We'll see... :-)
more air pressure may help, make sure the air and water have places to go as well
UPDATE: It works with the airbrush compressor quite well! But because here in Germany we have only bigger tubes in the hardware stores, my vac has the size of a rocket launcher (100 cm / 1 yd). ;-). The opening is 3,5 cm / 1.4" wide... ;-)
I will try to build a smaller version, in which i try to use tubes for electrical installation.
Will this work for an aquarium with a grave bottom?
probably not, gravel would clog it quickly
what is the psi on your airpump?
Hope it don't suck your fish up.
Cool
cool
génial
gravel
welded pvc????? when did they start making metal pvc?
Chemically welded (Pvc cement)
Bill Nelson you mean glued
Adam Stansel search "plastic welding" on wikipedia
i dont know anything about "plastic welding" and ive joined over a thousand pieces of plastics and pvc in20years but i do know welding is the process of joining 2pieces of METAL by heating them with a torch or thru elecrodes!ive done it over half my lifetime but i understand why yall are calling it welding because its a joining process. but you fail to realize theres no heat being applied and the pieces arent metal! just because everyone refers to it as welding doesnt mean it is it just means they dont know what the fuck their talking about as they glue or cement two pieces of plastic together! i think thats the term yall want to use CEMENT it sounds a little more technical then glue lol now you guys can feel a little smarter then all the dumbasses since you know the facts!! if you dont believe me just google the definition of dumbasses lol i mean welding of course or do something outta the norm and educate yourself rather then letting society tell you right from wrong!!!ONE LOVE!!!
Adam Stansel Well as you suggested i did look up the definition of "Weld".... Weld: cause to combine and form a harmonious or effective whole..... Interesting. Now I HAVE ... WELDED... Acrylic sheets together.... Which MELTS(as youve mentioned) And as it cools the two ends become one... Who's the dumbass though....
dude, the vac. is alright but your tank is so ugly ... but thnx for the project anyway .
your trolling could use some work.