Homemade Aquarium Lighting & Filters

Aquarium animals continually pollute their water with metabolic waste. This organic material needs to be removed on an ongoing basis by using aquarium filters. Aquarium filters remove waste on three levels, these being mechanical, chemical and biological. The mechanical filter material within a filter catches the large pieces of decaying plants and uneaten food, while beneficial bacteria that colonize the biological filter material, convert toxic metabolic waste into less harmful products. Chemical filter materials attract and bind unwanted pollutants. Aquarium lighting provides the required conditions for plants and marine corals to photosynthesize.

Things You'll Need

  • Aquarium, 48 by 12 inches wide
  • Aquarium sump, 15 gal.
  • GenX-1500 volute submersible pump
  • 3 gal. plastic bottle
  • 1 inch barbed fitting
  • Small tube, 100 percent nontoxic silicone sealer
  • 3-inch long, 1 1/2-inch diameter plastic tubing
  • Kettle
  • Bowl
  • Sharp knife
  • Marker pen
  • Work surface
  • Fluorescent light unit
  • Two plastic leg glides
  • Two strips of 0.72-inch glass, 12 1/2 inches long by 3 inches wide
  • Emery paper
  • Small bottle of acetone
  • Clean cloth
  • Electrical timer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut through a 3-gal. plastic water bottle at its shoulder region. Discard the top of the bottle.

    • 2

      Attach the 1-inch barbed fitting to the GenX-1500 volute submersible pump, by pushing the barb into the exhaust nozzle of the pump.

    • 3

      Stand the 3-gal. bottle and GenX-1500 volute submersible pump on a level surface, facing and touching each other. Make a mark on the bottle, where the barbed fitting touches it.

    • 4

      Use a sharp blade to cut a 1-inch diameter hole, in the exact spot that the barbed fitting touched the bottle.

    • 5

      Place one end of the 3-inch long, 1 1/2-inch diameter plastic tubing into a bowl of boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and push firmly over the end of the 1-inch barbed fitting.

    • 6

      Push the opposite end of the 3-inch long, 1 1/2-inch diameter plastic tubing through the hole that you cut in the 3-gal. bottle.

    • 7

      Squeeze approximately one heaped teaspoon of nontoxic silicone sealer around the area and create a water tight seal, by spreading it around. Allow the silicone to cure for a full day.

    • 8

      Fill the bottle with filter material and place into the sump of the aquarium, with the open top of the bottle just above the water level in the sump. The sump is a reservoir that is normally placed below the aquarium and is connected to the aquarium via pipes.

    • 9

      Plug the submersible pump into a wall power source and switch on.

    • 10

      Sand the edges of both pieces of glass, using the emery paper.

    • 11

      Wipe away fingerprints, oil from the glass cutter and dust from the emery paper, with a clean cloth that has been dipped in acetone.

    • 12

      Squeeze a pea-sized amount of silicone sealer onto the bottom of the glass, exactly where it will touch the rim of the aquarium on the front, back and left side. Position the piece of glass, silicone side down, across the width of the aquarium, on the left hand side. Ensure that a length of 1/4-inch of glass sticks out over both the front pane and back pane of the aquarium.

    • 13

      Upturn the fluorescent light unit and place it carefully onto the work surface.

    • 14

      Slide the left hand side leg glide into place on the underside of the light unit.

    • 15

      Slide the right hand side leg glide into place on the underside of the light unit.

    • 16

      Turn the fluorescent light unit over and place its leg glides carefully onto the two strips of glass that are resting on the top of the aquarium.

    • 17

      Push the plug from the fluorescent light unit into the electrical timer and set the timer to run from 08:00 to 20:00.

    • 18

      Plug the electrical timer into a wall power point. Turn on the wall power point and switch on the light.