niko

Art,

I don't know of any check valves that could be used for what you need.

I like Aaron's idea to use a solenoid. There are a lot of different models that I found on Google, including some that have plastic connections, but none seems to be sumbersible.

A solenoid poses a question about plumbing it and wiring it under the tank so there is nothing extra outside of the tank. It'd be simplest to find a submersible solenoid and wire the solenoid and the pump to one wire using a waterproof seal.

--Nikolay

Art_Giacosa

Yes, it gets too complicated. I'm going to try the hose route and see.

Ran into a stumbling block. I tried to glue the bottom powerhead connector using Weld-On 16. Sometimes it works to glue acrylic with other plastics. This time it didn't. A little pressure and the piece popped off.

I had no choice but to resort to the industrial strength stuff. I mixed up some Weld-on 40 and used plenty to glue the two pieces. Weld-on 40 is liquid acrylic and is used when you want to glue acrylic to plastics and PVC. Creates a very strong bond.

I will water test the pieces tomorrow and take some pics.

niko

Here's a picture of the Zero Edge tank:


So, no check valves, no solenoids, just a pipe sticking in the middle.
Elegant.

--Nikolay

chiahead

How about this check valve?

http://www.aquariumlandscapes.net/aq...alve-Check.cfm

I have access to these locally if you need 1 I can get you one. I am not sure if this would work for you though.

Dewmazz

Duh! I keep looking over Dr.FS supply catalogs all the time. I'm sure you could figure a way to fashion the powerhead around this!
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113833

Art_Giacosa

Chia,

Although that is one nice check valve, I'm not sure it is meant for water.

Dew,

1/2 inch is too large for this application. Needs to be much smaller.

stcyrwm

I'm really enjoying this thread. Thank you Art for posting all of this. I can't wait to see the finished project. One question I had was how much does this all cost aside from the tools? Can you order just one foot of the acrylic tube or is that cut off a larger piece?

I noticed in one of the links that they call the tank a "look down" tank. Is that because visibility is limited by water flowing over sides?

I have this now on my wish list of possible aquarium projects and came up with a couple other ideas/projects. Seems like one alternative to the tanks in links would be to do a wider base and do some cool emersed and floating plants, kind of an aquarium in a paludarium base. This would be a take off on the nano tank someone posted which had a base of terrestial ferns and mosses. Other idea I had was a waterfall tank where you just let the water pour out of the aquarium in one spot. You could even do a series of nanos pouring into each other like they do in fountains sometimes with the pump in the bottom tank flowing up to the top.

Thanks again for getting me excited about all of this. It's fun to dream.......

Bill

chiahead

the check valve I posted is for 1/4" airline tubing. At least thats what I use it for. It is supposed to last forever so I dont know whats inside it but it should be durable. Maybe its worth a test run???

christanto

can't wait to see the results! keep it up! =)

Dewmazz

Knowing your expertise for DIY projects, why not make your own check-valve?