Siphon for carbonating water - operating principle, how to choose according to characteristics, manufacturer and cost. Homemade siphon - a convenient solution for a home aquarium

The collateral is regular care behind him. Fish, like all other living beings, leave behind waste products, so cleaning the bottom is a mandatory procedure. In addition to the filter, there are many special devices, but you can make one simple one yourself. From our article you will learn how to make a siphon with your own hands. The process will not take much time, and the materials will cost mere pennies.

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What is a siphon?

This device operates on the principle of a conventional pump and is designed to pump liquid from one reservoir to another. In our case, a homemade siphon for an aquarium, along with water, will suck up dirt from the bottom surface. Its main part is the suction tube.

The siphon is used as follows: one end of the tube is lowered into the aquarium, and the other end into a bucket below the bottom level. All you have to do is draw water into the tube and the process will begin. As soon as you collect all the garbage (about a third of the volume of water will go with it), let it settle and pour clean water back using the same principle. You can learn more about the operation of such a device from the video from DIY CAM.

Overview of species

A siphon for an aquarium with your own hands is an extremely simple device, but its factory analogues may be somewhat more intricate. Let's consider several options.

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We make it ourselves

To keep your aquarium clean, you don’t have to buy an expensive device. Now you will learn how to make a siphon for an aquarium, and what you will need for this. First let's look at a few important points. First, it is better to use a transparent hose to visually monitor the suction of debris. Secondly, the diameter of the hose must be such that debris can be sucked in without problems and does not clog it. Strongly large diameter on the contrary, it will speed up absorption, which is also not very good.

Materials and tools

A piece of silicone tube;
plastic bottle 0.5 l;
silicone sealant.

Step-by-step instruction

Cutting it off top part bottles, approximately 3 cm.
We make a hole in the cork that matches the diameter of the silicone tube.
We insert the tube and fix it with sealant. Let it dry.
In this simple way you will get your own homemade cleaning device. Who knows, maybe the next one will be a siphon for carbonating water with your own hands, but for now, start cleaning the aquarium.

Photo gallery

Video “The principle of operation of aquarium siphons”

In the video from the PAR channel you will see short review siphons. Perhaps this video will help you choose suitable model or will prompt you to decide to make the device yourself.

Content home aquarium- This exciting activity, allowing you to relieve stress after a working day and get aesthetic pleasure from the sight of healthy inhabitants of the aquarium. To care for a home aquarium, owners of this beauty have to acquire special aquarium equipment. To create comfortable living conditions for the inhabitants of the aquarium, you need to periodically clean it, change the water and, of course, clean the soil of the aquarium from accumulated silt and fish waste products. Since manually replacing water and cleaning the soil in an aquarium is quite difficult and is very stressful for the fish, many experts in the field of aquariums recommend using a siphon for aquariums.

Not many novice aquarium owners know how to use this unit. The bulk of siphons consists of a hose, a glass nozzle with a filter, a pump or a faucet-clamp and an additional container for dirty water; however, there are also more “tricky” devices. If it is not possible to buy a ready-made siphon in a store, there are several options for making a siphon for an aquarium with your own hands. If we are talking about the simplest version of a siphon with a faucet, you can install it with two clamps. simple methods. In the first case, the end of the hose with a glass nozzle is placed in the ground, and the second end of the hose is placed in a container to drain dirty water and the air is sucked out. Thus, the water will begin to flow, sucking up silt and water by gravity. The air from the free end of the hoses must be sucked out very carefully, as you may accidentally swallow dirty water. Not many novice aquarium owners know how to use this unit. The bulk of siphons consists of a hose, a glass nozzle with a filter, a pump or a faucet-clamp and an additional container for dirty water; however, there are also more “tricky” devices. If it is not possible to buy a ready-made siphon in a store, there are several options for making a siphon for an aquarium with your own hands. If we are talking about the simplest version of a siphon with a faucet - a clamp, you can install it using two fairly simple methods. In the first case, the end of the hose with a glass nozzle is placed in the ground, and the second end of the hose is placed in a container to drain dirty water and the air is sucked out. Thus, the water will begin to flow, sucking up silt and water by gravity. The air from the free end of the hose must be sucked out very carefully, as you may accidentally swallow dirty water.

Since not everyone will like this installation method, the question arises of how to install the siphon differently. It is not difficult to understand how to install a siphon safely for humans, however, the installation process itself is more technically complex. You need to place the entire siphon in the aquarium so that the entire tube is filled with water, then the end of the siphon with a nozzle - a glass - is left in the water, and the other end is clamped with a finger so that the water does not flow out. It is pulled out of the aquarium and placed in a vessel to collect dirty water. There are certain subtleties how to use the siphon. It is necessary that the vessel is below the aquarium, then you can release the end of the hose pinched with your finger.

The water will begin to flow by gravity into the container. To stop the flow of water simply, just turn off the stopcock. If the siphon has a pump, this simplifies the task of installing the siphon. The siphon is placed in the ground with a nozzle, and the free end is installed in a container to receive dirty water. Next, the air is pumped out using a pump and the hose is filled with water. In addition, siphons with an electric pump running and a blower running on batteries or accumulators are sold on the market. Assembling this type of siphon is difficult for many novice aquarists, as it is difficult to assemble a siphon for a sink, so to assemble and install such a siphon you need to follow the instructions that come with the siphon.

Regardless of whether you are an experienced aquarist or a beginner, an aquarium siphon must be present in your arsenal of care products for your pond.

Why is it necessary to siphon aquarium soil?

During the life of fish and other inhabitants of your aquarium, the bottom of the aquarium gradually becomes clogged with settling debris: particles of fish food, feces and other dirt. This phenomenon cannot be ignored: the contaminated soil may soon turn sour, and the container will become saturated with toxic nitrites and ammonia, which is why its inhabitants may simply die. If the aquarium apocalypse is not yet part of your plans, you will have to start cleaning the soil from accumulated debris. This process is called siphoning and the device used for this purpose is called an aquarium siphon.

The principle of operation of an aquarium siphon

It is best to explain how a siphon for cleaning an aquarium works using the example itself. simple option, which you can do yourself. Essentially this flexible hose with a transparent bell at the end. As an extension, you can use a glass with a hole in the bottom, a funnel for pouring liquids into bottles, or something similar. The main thing is that it is made of transparent material. The free end of the hose opposite the expansion is called the drain. The length of the hose, the height and width of the socket depend on the area and height of the container, we will talk about this a little later.

Before using the aquarium siphon, it must be brought into working condition.

1. The siphon is filled with water.

To do this, the tube of the device along with the socket is lowered inside the container and wait until water fills its cavity, displacing all the air from it. If this method is inconvenient due to small sizes reservoir, the apparatus is filled with a stream of water from the tap, pouring it from the expansion side and clamping the drain end of the hose.

2. Start the siphon.

To do this, the siphon for cleaning the aquarium soil, filled in one way or another, must be under water. Now you need to unfold the bell with the wide side down, quickly remove the drain of the device from the water, clamped with your fingers, and lower it into a previously prepared container. Now the drain can be released. A prerequisite: the end of the hose removed from the artificial reservoir must be below the surface of the water. If done correctly, you will have a sort of gravity pump that will begin to pump out the water.

You can run a siphon even more in a simple way, which is well known to those who have at least once stolen gasoline from the tank of a neighbor's car... Hmm... :) The device is not filled with water, its socket is placed in water, the free end of the hose is lowered below the water level in the tank and the air is sucked out of it until until the water begins to flow by gravity. This method requires a certain skill: if the hose is not released from your mouth in time, you can drink dirty water with all the microflora it contains, dirt and everything else that you are going to clean the soil from.

3. Siphon process

When the operation of a homemade siphon for an aquarium is established, the hose should be lowered into the ground to the cleaning depth. If there is no soil at the bottom of the aquarium, you can clean the entire thickness of the soil; otherwise, perform surface cleaning so as not to damage the roots of the plants.

What happens when the siphon intake sinks into the ground? Now the water from the container is pumped out through its thickness, carrying with it the particles of debris and dirt contained in it. Through the transparent walls of the intake you will see seething soil and a cloudy cloud drawn into the siphon hose. As soon as the cloud disappears and the water under the intake becomes clear again, you can move on to the next section of the bottom.

Siphon parameters

Before you begin to study the issue: siphon, you should select the correct device parameters.

1. Height and width of the socket.

The main criterion when choosing the size of this part is ease of use. If you have a low tank, working in it with a long flare will be inconvenient. A small intake with a narrow neck is unlikely to appeal to owners of aquariums with large area bottom.

2. Diameter and length of the hose.

The performance of the siphon, that is, the intensity of the water flow that it will pump, depends on these parameters. If the hose is too thick and its drain is too low relative to the water level in the aquarium, the strong pressure will, in addition to dirt, pull soil particles into the apparatus. Therefore, the length and diameter of the siphon hose for a do-it-yourself aquarium should be selected based on the density of the soil. For heavy soils, the pressure should be strong, for light soils, on the contrary, weak.

Types of siphons

Of course, the achievements of engineering in the field of aquariums are not limited to the model we described. Modern companies involved in the development and production of equipment for aquariums produce many models, the design of which is improved by the following mechanisms and devices:

Electric pump

An electric siphon for an aquarium is capable of supplying water to any point, even if it is located above the water level in the aquarium. With such a device, you won’t have to mix up your fish and snails by crawling under a glass cube and be afraid of air getting into the cavity of the device. Battery-powered siphons for aquariums are especially convenient. Their main advantage is the ability battery life. Very relevant in cases where electric outlet located far from the aquarium.

Starting pump (bulb)

If you nevertheless decide to purchase a gravity siphon that does not have an electric drive, pay attention to models with a pear-shaped pump. With its help, it is very easy to pump air out of the cavity of the device without the risk of swallowing dirty water.

Important Details

Faucet on siphon drain.

Allows you to regulate the intensity of the water flow passing through the device. It is not very convenient to carry out a siphon without such a tap; you always have to pinch the drain with your finger or change its height.

Mesh in the fence.

Find and install such a grid on homemade device not so simple, which is why many aquarists prefer the purchased option. The mesh in the intake part of the hose prevents pebbles in the ground from being drawn into the apparatus and protects small-caliber inhabitants of the tank from the same fate. They would hardly like a high-speed descent through the device’s hose followed by a swim in dirty water.

Siphon drain filter.

The water pumped out during soil cleaning can be reused, only, of course, it must first be separated from the removed dirt. If you use simplest design siphon, this can only be done in one way: wait until the dirt settles at the bottom of the drain container. But if you bought a device that has a drain (usually a small cloth bag), then you immediately receive clean water suitable for reuse. The main thing to remember is: if the fish’s habitat has not been cleaned for a very long time, the pumped out water cannot be reused, even if a filter is installed on the drain of the device. Nitrites and ammonium salts contained in large quantities in the drained water will poison the tank environment and cause the death of all living organisms in it.

The most contaminated place in aquariums is the soil. The excrement of the inhabitants of the aquarium and the remains of food not eaten by the fish settle to the bottom and accumulate there. Naturally, your aquarium must be regularly cleaned of this fish waste. This will help you clean your aquarium soil efficiently and effectively. special device– siphon.

A siphon is a device for cleaning aquarium soil. It sucks out dirt, silt and fish excrement.

electric, they run on batteries;
mechanical.

Models may differ slightly from each other. The filter consists of a glass and a hose, so they are the same not only in composition, but also in the method of use. The filter must be lowered into the aquarium and installed vertically at the bottom. Silt, dirt, leftover food and excrement will eventually begin to flow by gravity into the glass, after which they flow down the hose and fall into the water container. When you see that the water flowing from the aquarium into the glass has become light and clean, move the siphon with your own hands to another contaminated area.

Standard mechanical siphon consists of a hose and a transparent plastic cylinder (glass) or funnel with a diameter of at least five centimeters. If the diameter of the glass is small and the aquarium is not high, then not only dirt will get into the siphon, but also stones that will fall into the hose. A prerequisite is that the siphon must be transparent so that you can move the device to another place in time when you notice that the glass is already filled with water. pure water. You can purchase an industrial siphon at any store for aquarium lovers. There are many companies that produce high-quality filters.

There are industrial siphons, in which there are no hoses. In such siphons, the cylinder (funnel) is replaced with dirt collectors, similar to a pocket or trap. Models equipped with an electric motor are also available for sale. The electric siphon runs on batteries. The principle of operation can be compared to a vacuum cleaner.

By the way, with it you won't need drain aquarium water. This vacuum cleaner sucks up water, the dirt remains in a pocket (trap), and the purified water is immediately returned to the aquarium. Often, similar models of vacuum cleaners are used to clean the soil in aquariums where too much silt and dirt accumulate on the bottom, but where frequent water changes are undesirable. For example, if you are growing certain types of cryptocorynes, you know that they need acidic old water.

Electric filter also very comfortable to use. Dirt, excrement and silt are retained in the pocket trap, and clean water passes through the nylon walls. With this filter you won't need to drain dirty water into a glass, and then filter it with a rag or gauze in case you need to maintain acidity in the aquarium. Electrical devices are also convenient because you don’t need to monitor drain hose who always tries to jump out of the bucket and get dirty dirty water everything around, because These siphons do not have a hose.

Thanks to the impeller-rotor, you can regulate the intensity of the water flow yourself. However, the electric siphon has not only advantages, but also disadvantages. Its main disadvantage is that it can only be used in aquariums in which the height of the water column does not exceed 50 cm, otherwise water will get into the battery compartment.

DIY siphon for an aquarium

If for some reason you do not have the opportunity to buy a siphon for your aquarium, do not despair. In this article we will tell you how you can make it at home. The main advantages of a homemade siphon are savings family budget and a minimum amount of time for its production.

To start need to prepare materials, which will be useful to us in our work:

empty plastic bottle with cap;
rigid hose (the length of the hose will depend on the volume of your aquarium);
stationery knife;
silicone for sealing.

At the first stage of work, we need to make a funnel from plastic bottle. To do this, cut the bottle in half, the neck will serve as a funnel. Main element Our vacuum cleaner for the aquarium is ready.

Funnel size, accordingly, the size of the bottle can be either large or small. Everything will depend on the size of your aquarium. For example, for small aquariums you can get by with a one and a half liter bottle.

To make your funnel suck more water from the bottom of the aquarium, you can make an uneven edge on the funnel. To do this, cut the bottle with an uneven cut, and zigzag or make jagged cuts. But if you choose this option, then you need to be extremely careful during the cleaning process of the aquarium. Any careless movement of yours can harm the fish.

After this, we move on to the next stage of work. IN plastic cover from our bottle make a hole. The diameter of the hole must be equal to the diameter of the hose. Ideally, the hose will not fit easily into the hole in the lid. In this case, you are guaranteed to be free from leaks.

Our siphon is almost ready. Insert the hose into the cover with inside. In the middle of the funnel there should be no more than 1.5-2 centimeters of hose length. The remaining length of the hose should be on the outside. If suddenly you cannot make a perfect hole for the hose in the lid, you can use regular silicone and seal the seam, this way you will get rid of water leaks. After the silicones have completely dried, your aquarium siphon is ready.

It is worth noting, however, if your aquarium is very densely planted with algae, in this case you don't need a filter. Only those areas of the soil that are free of vegetation need to be cleared. The frequency of cleaning depends on the number of inhabitants in the aquarium. After cleaning the bottom with a siphon, do not forget to add exactly as much water as you poured out.

A siphon is a simple hose with a pump and nozzle. With its help, part of the water in the aquarium is replaced and renewed, which is recommended to be done weekly to maintain optimal conditions habitat, usually this is no more than a quarter of the total volume. In addition, it serves to clean the soil from waste products, which is convenient to combine with water renewal - draining the water while cleaning the soil by moving the nozzle along the bottom of the aquarium. You can make a siphon yourself or buy it.

Step No. 1. Determine how much water to drain

Step #2: Make sure the hose is the right size

The siphon must be of sufficient length and have good flexibility so as not to bend at the most inopportune moment, blocking the water. The diameter of the tube should preferably be at least 1 cm. As a rule, the purchased siphon satisfies all the requirements.