GrahamC Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Has anyone converted an air bubbler into a vacuum pump? I want to recirculate the air at the top of a bottomless aquarium so that I draw it from the top, and rebubble it back at the bottom to create a closed circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zayne Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 i think i know what you mean and you can buy them, they are call aqua-lifter pumps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Has anyone converted an air bubbler into a vacuum pump? I want to recirculate the air at the top of a bottomless aquarium so that I draw it from the top, and rebubble it back at the bottom to create a closed circuit. That's not a vacuum pump, that's just a regular air pump. Tear the pump apart and see if you can easily jury rig it so you can connect a hose to the intake and run that to the top of the tank. Otherwise if you have enough room you could just throw the pump itself in the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted November 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 I bought a lunch box from payless plastics and encased the whole pump, and wires etc and ran an inlet pipe to the box from the top of the aquarium, but unfortunately I can't get air tightness .. so much for air tight lunch boxes! I think I'll see if I can use a glass jar that they use for preserving and penetrate the disposable lid. Putting the whole pump inside the air space of the aquarium would spoil the aesthetics somewhat The air at the top of the aquarium would be under negative pressure so those little bubblers may not have enough grunt to overcome it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted November 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 I pulled apart the air pump I was playing with and it just seems to have a vibrating diaphragm which is compressed and released with an electromagnet. So, it draws air from no specific location. I could seal the whole pump with hot glue and drill in an inlet hose for the suction side of things .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 I pulled apart the air pump I was playing with and it just seems to have a vibrating diaphragm which is compressed and released with an electromagnet. So, it draws air from no specific location. I could seal the whole pump with hot glue and drill in an inlet hose for the suction side of things .... I don't know about your specific one, but the ones I've taken apart(IIRC, I haven't used one in 4-5 years) have a little reed valve under the diaphragm that the air is drawn through. Might be able to seal a small bit of hose around that valve with hot glue or similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted November 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 I'm doing my experiments in a 20L tank I bought off TM last week, and since the air at top is supporting 20Kg of water, then I suspect now that the air pump has no way of sucking any air out to bubble. Since the aim ultimately is oxygenation, I am now thinking I should just get an underwater filter and direct the outflow to the air space to agitate the water surface. That way I don't expose myself to any air leaks which might cause catastrophic failure of the 'vacuum' resulting in water everywhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Being new to these things, I hadn't realised that there are power filters with venturi ports for bubbling the water. This seems to be an ideal solution. I can put the air inlet at the top of the tank above the water line, and below the sealed airtight lid. The filter then goes at the bottom, and bubbles the air back into the water column in a closed circuit so that the water level should not drop. And if water gets into the air hose, it won't matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 but if the air gap at the top is a vacuum with little air, and your trying to oxygenate the water, what happens when all the oxygen in the air gap is used up? then you would just be pumping nitrogen and other unhelpful gasses around? Have you got any photos of your setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 i wonder how hot the air will get if it is a closed circuit and how that will affect the water temp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted January 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Water has much more latent capacity than air so I think it will just keep the air at the same temperature as the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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