Idiot proof DIY in-line oxygenator

[DevinB]

So I was interested in getting a sochting oxygenator for my ten gallon tank to see if it would raise baby survival rates in my taiwan bees. However every time I had the extra money to spend they were also out of stock, and I didnt like the idea of having a tube filled with peroxide on the inside of my tank to possibly leak and cause a shrimp exodus.

 

So I started doing some good old redneck engineering mixed with some chemistry and with common products almost all aquarium keepers would have on hand I came up with my game plan.

 

(See picture 1. Not included in picture is a simply tea bottle and bottle of household hydrogen peroxide I didnt notice I had knocked over.)

 

This is going to be built into my sunsun canister filter. Items needed for my install: filter inlet tube and elbow, plastic filter strainer that came with sunsun, cheap slip over prefilter sponge, length of airline tube, 15 ml syringe with tip for IV hose I had laying around (you can use larger or smaller depending on tank size but I decided to start with 15 ml to see how long it will last), bottle tall enough to fit syringe inside with plunger pulled out fully, slip shot (sinkers) from tackle box ( make sure there is a warning on the label that says contains lead), super glue and or water proof sealant to make sure joints are air tight ( I went with superglue to make it quicker for this demo), 2 small zip ties to hold things in place.( in this case 1 black to match prefilter sponge and 1 clear to match airline tube and intake tube) 

 

 (Picture 2)

 Make a hole in the bottom center of the intake strainer and prefilter sponge slightly smaller than outer diameter of airline tube for a snug fit.

 

(Picture 3)

Feed airline hose up through the bottom of prefilter sponge and then through the hole in the strainer. Then attach strainer to intake tube making sure the airline hose protrudes into the actual intake tube at least slightly. Pull prefilter sponge into place over the strainer and use zip tie to hold the collar of the sponge very tightly to the intake tube so no shrimp babies can crawl into your filter strainer. Make sure the airline tubing is not inside this zip tie. Adjust airline tube so it isnt kinked, but bent to go up the back side of filter intake tube and use other zip tie to hold in place, making sure you dont close off airflow by pulling it too tight.

 

(Picture 4)

 

Pull plunger out of syringe, add in lead split shots, this is the catalyst for the peroxide. ( I started with 2 medium sized, the more lead inside the more pure oxygen will be made and the sooner between refilling with peroxide) Put plunger back in syringe and push out as much air as it will let you. Put syringe tip into peroxide and draw in as much peroxide as you can, notice there will be a small gap of free space inside for oxygen to collect.

 

(Picture 5)

 

Make a hole in the lid of the plastic bottle slightly smaller than your air line tube and press the airline tube through from top to bottom, press end of airline tubing onto end of syringe. Use super glue or sealant around the hole on both sides of the bottle lid so it is leak proof. Put syringe inside the bottle and secure lid. Place bottle below tank level

 

 Start up filter and your good to go.

With this set up I get 1 bubble per 5 seconds of pure oxygen fed inline into my can filter.

 

Now you no longer have a ticking time bomb of peroxide sitting inside your tank, with the syringe inside a water proofed container, if pressure builds too high from a kinked line or something the plunger will get pushed out of the syringe instead of bleaching your shrimps with peroxide it will be contained within a bottle. If somehow the tube set in-line makes a syphon before you notice, instead of all of your tank water leaking on your floor and ruining your house. At most you get a bottle full of water lost ( in this case only 20 oz) 

 

Happy shrimping, I will use different sized syringes and less and more lead at some point and update on results but for my ten gallon this set up is running perfectly right now. 

 

All in all this cost me not one red cent as it was made from junk drawer contents and a recycled bottle and around 3 minutes of time  ( years of interest in chemistry and diy projects not included)

[DevinB]

Dont mind the clear background, and the extremely noticeable filter inlet/ outlet tubes.. This picture shows how easy it is to hide this entire set up, you cant even tell anything besides a pre filter has been added other than you can see inside the inlet tube a bubble of pure oxygen being released. Notice that baby shrimp checking my handy work like a union leader? He approves