What are some random DIY things you have made?

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SpaceFish42

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I have noticed that when humans have a problem, they have a tendency to create tools out of whatever they find lying around. For example, I needed to take something out from an area in my aquarium that I couldn't quite reach, so I used a rubber band to tie a plastic spork to a stick. I still use it for many different aquarium-related things. What are some things you have created for your aquariums?
 
Only things I use regularly are
Water bottle stuffed with filter floss attached to a Powerhead for extra water polishing after I make a mess.

Diy sponge filters
Diy CFL plant light

I've also done diy sumps, spray bars, canister filters, gravel vacs, and a bunch of useless (but fun) crap



Jesse
 
Definitely interested to see what everyone has created; and maybe could include whether or not it was worth the effort and cost savings?

I use the power head with water bottle and filter floss. I use it as more of a vaccuum in my fry tank to clean up excess food and waste without sucking up fry. Rinse the floss well and you can get a couple uses out of it.

Very easy and effective. Already had everything so cost was $0

Mike
 
I use the power head with water bottle and filter floss. I use it as more of a vaccuum in my fry tank to clean up excess food and waste without sucking up fry. Rinse the floss well and you can get a couple uses out of it.


I'm definitely going to try that!
 
Random things:

12V power supply for four Current LED+ lights instead of using four bricks -- more efficient and likely will last longer as it has a fan if it gets too warm. This was an old PC power supply that would otherwise be thrown away. It also provides +5 for a Raspberri Pi computer to control the lighting.

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Put a Tee in one canister on each large tank, with ball valves, and a regular garden hose attachment on one end. Now I can pump water out in about 20 minutes (for a 220G taking out 80G) instead of siphoning for maybe an hour, plus much easier. In two others (45G and 30G) I just stick the side run of hose out a window and pump onto the grass.

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For spot treating algae, etc. in tanks without disturbing the water (filter off of course) - turkey marinating syringe (about $4, maybe less at a flea market) and a bit of stiff tubing, used a small bit of flexible water tube (like for an RODI) to join the two and then covered that with hot glue (slowly so as not to melt it). now I have a 3' long syringe I can reach anywhere in my big tank (or small also of course) without disturbing the water with my hands, and holds a good big dose.

Can also be used for removing waste in spots, e.g. in a fry tank you don't want to siphon for fear of getting, well, fry.

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I started with these intakes in a big tank, but later put them even in a small 30G as I really like them. They are standard PVC parts leading to a screw thread, then I buy a pond prefilter from Home Depot (a bit pricy at $10). It keeps big stuff and stock out of the filter, but is porous enough it does not load up quickly. Easy to clean, and you get a spare pre-filter media.

I now put one cross-ways (i.e. on a 45) near the bottom of each tank so when I use the Tee above to pump the tank down, I can pump it WAY down.

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Big tank largely hidden spray bars. I have three smallish filters (2xSunSun 404B and one Fluval 306) on a 220G tank instead of something huge, and I take each and feed it out via black-painted PVC along the edge, under the rim, and across at each support. While not exactly invisible, they are not readily seen when looking into the tank, yet they keep good aeration across the whole top (this is viewed from below toward the top of the tank when it was first being planted, no stock as of this shot).

i-Gdgmfhb-XL.jpg
 
Not directly for my tanks, but I was constantly breaking the test tubes for the API tests and was too cheap to buy a test tube rack. My husband took a 2' x 6' cedar deck board about 15" long and drilled 32 circular holes the diameter of the test tubes, 8 rows of 4 holes (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph are what I test for weekly). It's easy to fill the tubes and test all 8 tanks quickly without dropping any tubes.
 
I have a problem of starting projects and not finishing them:hide:...have a stand that has sat for a month just framed out and a co2 reactor waiting to be finished (need stand for installation). Think the only DIY I have finished is some "sponge" filters but I used a filter floss bag instead of a sponge.

Money and the fact that I have a stand has stopped me from finishing the stand and reactor. :banghead::banghead::hide:

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Made a Trash can filter for a koi pond.

It was a long time ago, the info is somewhere here but the trash ~55G can was new and only $3. at a Restore, the pieces of a bulk filter floss, a nerf ball, it floated on top to help keep the top up, about $10. worth of parts to connect it. A neighbor gave me a pond pump when he moved because he was going to build a big pond. I ended up with 2 formed liners over time, and can't remember how much but one I think was free and one was about $10.

I always had excellent water quality. Had some trial and error on getting it to work right. It was a fun experiment!
 
Looking to do DIY Co2 at some point in my 5.5 gallon once I get it set up. This isn't really related to fish keeping, but when doing water changes and stuff I take my laptop, cut a red solo cup in half, lay it per the speakers and it makes for really really good Guns N' Roses and Dire Straits :brows: Also for my phone I'll just put the speaker end in an empty toilet paper roll and magic speakers make ACDC and Lynyrd Skynyrd sound great. Oh yea and almost forgot about Van Halen. :rolleyes:
 
Well, I figured out how to create suction on a piece of airline tubing for drip acclimation without sucking water into your mouth... It's in a thread somewhere but you need a kid's medicine syringe thing and a dropper, stick the airline tubing on the tip of the syringe (should not be a needle, just one of those look alike things) and put dropper inside the open end of the syringe (remove plunger). Then squeeze dropper and whala, water!


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Ministry of Magic
 
http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/351/
I found this the other day, but I haven't tried it (yet...). Maybe it's time to get another tank.

Your standard DIY sponge filter will be more efficient. Film canisters are TINY, and will not leave much room for biomedia. People do air driven filters like those on a larger scale and they're fine however. I think Mebbid posted one he made recently.

Jesse
 
Not too DIY but very usefull is a cardboard tube from paper towel rolls used to store extra heaters. Fold the bottom in to hold tape or rubber band cord around the tube to help hold in place. Not to mention writing on the tube which brand and Watts is inside. Gotta love Sharpies too.
 
Not too DIY but very usefull is a cardboard tube from paper towel rolls used to store extra heaters. Fold the bottom in to hold tape or rubber band cord around the tube to help hold in place. Not to mention writing on the tube which brand and Watts is inside. Gotta love Sharpies too.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Totally amazing!!!!
 
Almost everything is DIY!
I built tanks, shelves, laminar flow rig, fish house (with help), plumbing work, electrics, airline rigs, lighting brackets etc. etc.
If I can build it. . . I did!
 
I have noticed that when humans have a problem, they have a tendency to create tools out of whatever they find lying around. For example, I needed to take something out from an area in my aquarium that I couldn't quite reach, so I used a rubber band to tie a plastic spork to a stick. I still use it for many different aquarium-related things. What are some things you have created for your aquariums?


I DIY my mechanical filter into low running sponge filters, DIY my sponge egg hatchery, as I found that eggs tend to catch a rot or fungus from the bottom, most used tool is syringe with airline tubing to suck eggs and fry for tank transportation


Peace and Success to your fishes from my iPhone
 
I don't do DIY but I use turkey basters for everything. They cost $2 and you can feed frozen food. Siphon waste, and use while qt a fish if you don't use drip method.

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