Show All Items A feat so amazing you would think it's impossible. Even more amazing, it's easy and cheap. This gorgeous waterfall actually isn't water at all, it's sand. Using the same principles of physics that make bubble filters and Alex Andon's Desktop Jellyfish Tank work, this feature uses air bubbles to push water up a pipe to the top of the aquarium, creating a sort of vacuum to carry sand up to the top. This project will only take a few hours to put together (depending on how much experimenting you do) and most aquarium hobbyists will have some of the parts lying around. I completed this project for under $50.Step 1: MaterialsShow All ItemsMaterials:A tank (obviously) Under $20 at thrift stores.Length of 1" PVC pipe about the height of your tank. ~$42 elbow joints ~$2An air pump (I used a Whisper 60 for this 10 gallon tank) $30Air tubing ~$21 air stone ~$2A bag of sand (A fine grain, but too fine and it will cloud your tank. I got mine from Fred Meyer. White looks the most like water) ~$5Rocks for a natural look Free- $20A plastic water catcher tray ~$2Tools:DrillScissorsStep 2: Assemble the PumpShow All ItemsFirst, cut your PVC pipe to length, about 3 inches shorter than the height of your tank to allow room for the elbows.

For my standard 10 gallon tank, this was about 8 1/4" (21 cm).Now drill a hole in the top of one of the elbows, the size of the air tube. Then thread the tubing into it. This will be the top of the pump. Fit this onto the pipe, making sure that the air tube goes all the way through to the other end.Attach the air stone to the end of the tubing, and fit the other elbow onto this end. The air stone should be at the bottom of the pipe (see pictures for details).This is now a completed pump. Just attach the air tube to your air pump and submerge it underwater, so that the top half of the top elbow is out of the water. You should see that the water starts to flow.UPDATE: The current may cause sand to shoot out of the pipe and spread throughout your tank. To fix this, I took a piece of fiberglass mesh screen, and glued it around the opening of the pipe so that it makes a U shape in front of the pipe. This blocks the sand very well. I used just a dab of aquarium grade silicone on either side of the pipe and wrapped a strip of the mesh around it.

Sorry if this sounds confusing, see the last two pictures for better detail.mini fish tank singaporeStep 3: Collection BasinShow All ItemsThe sand has to go somewhere, and there are many ways you could do this, but here is my solution.fish tank sump lightsCut about a third of the water tray around the edge (if you're putting the waterfall in the middle of the tank, cut it in half), leaving about 2 inches of plastic around the base. fish tank pump problemsPlace this in the corner of the tank as shown in picture 2. buying a used fish tankNow place rocks around the edge to hold it in place as shown in picture 3.Now you have a nice place for the sand to gather to be collected again by the pump.4ft fish tank for sale dorset

Place the pump in the corner and fill the area with sand (Pic 3 and 4).fish tank for sale on olxThis is when I took the time to fill the aquarium to test it out (Pic 5).Step 4: Stacking RocksShow All ItemsI placed a couple of small river rocks in the sand on either side of the pump to provide a stable base to start stacking rocks on. The rocks I used was some basalt I had lying around. Whatever you can get your hands on should work, so long as they're somewhat square. Stack them all the way up to the outtake. Sorry I don't have any pics of me doing this. But you're very clever. You can do this.Show All ItemsAdd some gravel to the rest of the tank. I chose to go with brown pea gravel, but anything will do. Make sure to make it deep enough to cover the plastic tray. Aquariums are art, so you may do whatever your heart desires with yours.I put some Java Fern in between the rocks as you can see in the picture, and on the other side of the tank I banked up the gravel and put in a few more pieces of basalt, as you can see in the video in step 1.

Other plants I used are Staurogyne Repens, Water Wisteria, Amazon Sword, Willow Moss, and Cyprus Helferi.That's it. Step 6: Tips and TricksShow All ItemsCheck out the pictures above for inspirationAlso check out these videos:Some additional things you might try:You might be able to hide your heater and filter behind the rocks if they are small enough.//id/Aquarium-Backgroun...White sand looks the most natural, but you might also use colored sand for a visually striking waterfall. Florescent sand under a blacklight light can make your waterfall GLOW!Use another pipe to make a wider fall (Pic 4).Try using an elbow with a wider mouth at the bottom for increased flow.If you liked this project, please vote for it in the Aquarium Contest.Are you planning to enjoy a delicious Guinness or Harp beer this St. Patrick’s Day?  Then be prepared to swallow bits of dead fish (seriously!). I am currently sitting in Chicago as the river is dyed green for what I once believed was my rightful Birthday…

Just as I was once surprised to learn that I would not be getting presents on this day, I am now surprised to find that dead fish play a critical step in the process of making Guinness, my favorite Irish beer. Fish swim bladders are a transparent internal fish organ that helps maintain buoyancy.  These organs are dried and ground into a fine powder called isinglass.  During the clarifying process (or fining process) of alcohol production, something is needed to get the suspended and cloudy bits out of suspension.  Isinglass is a readily available byproduct from fish processing facilities, and is excellent at flocculating together extremely fine suspended particles (bits of yeast, malt, and barley) for separation from the liquid.  The flocculant is discarded, but small bits of fish do still remain in the beer. Isinglass has Dutch origins, and comes from the word huizenblaas, literally meaning sturgeon (huizen) bladder (blaas).  More recently, as sturgeon populations decline, isinglass is made from cod and carp species.

Guinness officially states: “We do use isinglass, a byproduct of the fishing industry, for fining all Guinness brewed beers.  We accept that some minor traces of isinglass may subsequently remain in the finished product.  To date, we have not found any alternative that is as effective and as environmentally friendly as isinglass.” Not all alcohol distillers, vintners, and brewers use isinglass to clarify their concoctions.  In fact, synthetic gelatins are more often used than animal based products; however, just as the ingredients used to dye the Chicago River green are kept secret, ingredients used to make beer are also a close guarded secret.  Therefore, it is often difficult to easily understand when isinglass is used as a clarifying agent in alcohol production, causing potential vegetarian and allergen concerns. A website was developed to help folks, particularly vegans, determine which beers, wines, and alcohols were made using fish swim bladders.  A quick filter to only include beverages made in Ireland demonstrates that isinglass is still a popular clarifying agent in that country, whereas countries outside of the United Kingdom mostly use synthetic clarifying products.