How to Use Gang Valves in an Aquarium

Whether it's a sunken pirate ship or a curtain of bubbles, air-powered features can be an entertaining and decorative addition to any fish aquarium. If you have multiple bubbling decorations in your tank, use a gang valve to power them all. This piece of equipment is easy to install and use, and will cut down on clutter around the aquarium by splitting the output of one air pump into many outlets.

Things You'll Need

  • Gang valve
  • Measuring tape
  • Scissors
  • Aquarium air line tubing
  • Check valve
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Instructions

    • 1

      Attach the base of the gang valve to the outside rim of the aquarium. Most gang valves will have a clip built-in for this purpose.

    • 2

      Measure the length between the aquarium's air pump and the gang valve. Cut a piece of flexible air line tubing to reach between these two features. Ensure you cut enough of the tubing so that it will have some slack.

    • 3

      Attach the air line tubing from the air pump to the inlet pipe of the gang valve. The tubing will slip over these valves.

    • 4

      Cut through the center of the air line tubing between the air pump and the gang valve. Slip a check valve between the halves of tubing, splicing them back together. Ensure the check valve is facing the correct direction so that air will flow from the pump to the gang valve. The check valve will have a directional arrow telling you which way it should go. This feature will protect the pump from water siphoning back into it.

    • 5

      Measure the lengths needed from the gang valve to the air-powered features. Cut the needed lengths in the air line tubing, adding some extra length for slack. Attach the tubing to the outlet pipes of the gang valve and the aquarium features.

    • 6

      Use the gang valve's dials to control how much air flows through each outlet tubing. The more air flowing, the more bubbles it will produce.