How to Make an Air Manifold for an Aquarium

Air manifolds allow you to use one aquarium air pump to power several different air-driven devices, such as airstones. The manifold splits the incoming air into several outlets. The pressure on each of the lines depends on the resistance of the devices on the other outlets. If one device has very high resistance (such as a limewood aerator) and the other devices allow air to pass through easily, the high-resistance device may not work at all. Because of this, build your manifold with only a few connections and add more as you experiment with the devices.

Things You'll Need

  • Air pump
  • Airline tubing
  • Barbed T-joints
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Instructions

    • 1

      Connect a length of airline tubing to the end of the aquarium air pump. The pumps have a barbed connection that you can fit the airline tube over. Some air pumps have more than one connection and if that is the case, you can use one connection as a second line to the aquarium.

    • 2

      Fit a T-joint into the other end of the air line tubing so that the air will pass straight through it without bending. If you attach it so that the cross of the "T" is at the top, it will restrict the air and cause uneven pressure to the other joints.

    • 3

      Fit a small piece of airline tubing to the opposite end of the T-joint. The tubing should be about 1 inch long.

    • 4

      Fit another T-joint into the tubing. This will give you three total outlets for the air. You can repeat this process and add more T-joints but the pump may not be able to run all the devices.