[Venutus1]

With all this talk about air circulation...
Here is a viv air exchange system I have been working on.
Have used it for 4 + months in 2 vivs and it has worked great for me.
I will probably use it now on every new viv I do.
Helps keep the front viv glass fog free.... if you point the air outlet at the front glass.
It runs 24/7.
It borrows from the old reef tank trick of making an air filter from a mason jar.
For optimum air purity, you probably should change up the carbon every 4-6 weeks. And use top grade activated carbon.
The pics should be self explanatory.
Depending on the size of the aquarium air pump used, they put out up to a cubic foot of air every 10 - 15 min. or so. You can do the computations on how big your viv is vs. air turnover.
Only real tip is that you have to sand and clean w/ alcohol the mason jar lid hole area before you epoxy in the airline connectors for good epoxy adhesion... otherwise they don't glue up too well. Outside of that, it's real cheap, easy and effective.
I found that it doesn't dry out the vivs much either!
Note photo that show the air pump and air filter jars stuck in a closet near my set-ups. Its is easy to hide and only uses about 6 watts.
I just ran the airline tubing to the tanks and into them down along the background to exit the air near the substrate facing the front glass.
The tubing is real easy to hide.
Enjoy. Todd

 

[LookinRound]

That's a neat idea. What would be the problem with using it without the filter? It seems the air in the tank is mixing with the air outside anyways, so why would having that extra filtering help?

 

[qiksilver5]

That's a neat idea. What would be the problem with using it without the filter? It seems the air in the tank is mixing with the air outside anyways, so why would having that extra filtering help?

Makes sense if you worry about VOC's etc in your air. Just an extra step. Not necessary, but interesting all the same.

 

[myersboy6]

I thought about doing the same thing with the extra bubbler i have laying around the house. all have to put it together now and make use of it! Great steps by step instructions! Thanks

 

[PeanutbuttER]

Do you have a computer-fan in-viv set-up as well by chance, and how does it compare? I've got a spare pump from a 10g sitting around as well...

 

[Venutus1]

Do you have a computer-fan in-viv set-up as well by chance, and how does it compare? I've got a spare pump from a 10g sitting around as well...

I have 3" computer fans blowing over the lighting above the tank.
But the top of the tank is about 80% covered in glass.
So some air I am sure deflects in, but not allot. Plus the fans go off night.
I don't have a mini fan in the vivs themselves.
I was going to do that if this didn't work out. But so far, this has been pretty darn good.

 

[Venutus1]

That's a neat idea. What would be the problem with using it without the filter? It seems the air in the tank is mixing with the air outside anyways, so why would having that extra filtering help?

Yea, it would work fine without the air filter.
But it was so easy to make, why not just do it I figured.
My tanks are around the house and not in a separate frog room...
so, even though I am paranoid and careful, there are still VOCs and everyday household chemicals etc. I would feel better knowing they are getting removed from the air.
I know a lot of reef tank folks including myself that use these rigs on things like skimmer air intakes, etc. with great results.
And like I said, it is an easy 20 min. rainy day project that costs very little.
Especially since aquarium air pumps are so easy to come by.
Plus, if you have a small air pump(s) and want more air flow, you can just "t" two small pumps together.

 

[Venutus1]

I just snapped this pic when the lights came on today...
You can see the front glass free of fog from where the Air Exchanger blows onto it.
(Note: the viv front vents are blocked over in all my set-ups.)

After the lights have been on for an hour or so... the front glass is about 90 - 95% free of condensation and stays pretty much that way all day.

Works good and doesn't over-dry, even though it's on 24/7.

 

[Venutus1]

Just an update on this because somebody was asking...

This aquarium air-pump set up has been going for almost a year and has proven very easy - & practically maintenance free!

I would recommend it for any small to mid-size viv.

Cheers!
Todd

 

[Judy S]

can you bring this thread back up and for idiots like me, explain again what you are doing? Looks really interesting, and pretty uncomplicated...

 

[hypostatic]

Not to be a downer, but I'd imagine that this wouldn't clean the air much more than a jar filled with moist cloth. If you really want to "clean" air you'd need to push it through some sort of micron filter. The carbon is so big in comparison, I'd imagine that the majority of the air just bounces off the carbon.

Oh, and the point of bringing up cloth vs carbon, is that carbon is much more expensive than using up some of socks or something, but it's probably just as effective.

 

[Judy S]

ouch......well hopefully there will be a clear answer as to why it was made the way he made it....

 

[Okapi]

He is talking about chemicals in the air, not dust. A sock might catch dust, but he is trying to catch VOCs. A sock wont bind Volatile organic compounds in the air. That is the point of his use of activated carbon. He is binding the molecules using a cheap and easy method that anyone can do.

 

[hypostatic]

AH, I guess to make the air smell better? Dry cloth won't trap those, but I don't imagine dry carbon would be much more effective. Both would have to be moist/wet to trap those sort of molecules. That being said, I'd imagine wet carbon would stay fresher than wet cloth for a longer amount of time.

If you REALLY want to "bind" those sorts of molecules, what you really need is some sort of ion exchange resin. Something like this:
Lewatit® Ion Exchange Resins – All-around Solutions for Chemical Processes | Sigma-Aldrich