How to Build Your Own Aquarium Bucket Skimmer

What you'll need:


Electric drill with bit
1 3-inch tub washer
Hose clamps
Hang-on specimen container
1 2-inch hole saw
2 siphon tubes
1 1/2-inch wide pipe
1 1/2-inch couplings
Hose to connect with pipe
Screen
Glue (optional)
Pump

A bucket skimmer is a piece of equipment used by aquarium owners to help keep fish tanks clean. Its main purpose is to remove protein deposits, or fish excrement. Skimmers help prevent algae growth and help keep fish tank water clean and healthy. A variety of commercially produced skimmers is available, but you can save money by constructing your own from inexpensive parts.

Drill a hole in the bottom of the specimen container. The hole should be close to the edge of the container, but with enough room to attach the couplings and to be able to turn them comfortably.

Place the washer at the bottom of the container. Attach the two couplings with the female coupling on top or inside the specimen box. If you are concerned about leakage, glue everything in place.

Hang the container on the side of the tank. Make a marking on the container where you want the water level to be. Place a section of pipe in the coupling inside the container, and mark it 1/4 inch below your water level mark.

Remove the pipe from the container, and cut it at the mark. Place it back inside the container. Hold off on gluing the pipe in place until you are sure it will not need any adjustments.

Pour water into the specimen container to the marked water line. Remove air from siphon tubes and place one in the top of the container and one in the bottom with their opposite ends going into the tank. Place a screen over the end of the siphon coming from the tank to prevent accidentally picking up fish. If you have the return siphon under the water line drill a small hole in it just under the water level to prevent siphoning through this line in case of a power outage.

Remember: Make sure to regularly change your sump's filter to keep the water clean.

Colonial America Lesson and Craft: Decorated Chest

The thirteen colonies were populated by people who left their homes and came to the new world for different reasons. Many came for religious freedom, others came seeking new opportunities. All had to leave behind their old homes and take a long and often dangerous ocean voyage to reach their new home. They were limited in what possessions they could bring with them on the journey. Many brought with them large wooden chests containing souvenirs from the Old World. Have children consider the different colonists who traveled to America. What do they suppose these early settlers would have packed in their chests?

Students can craft their own version of a colonial chest using a shoe box or other sturdy box. Paint over the box using a brown or tan colored paint. Then have students decorate their boxes using colored paints. Examine books that show Colonial motifs or traditional Pennsylvania Dutch designs for inspiration. After the boxes are created, ask students what items they might bring with them if they were leaving their home to start a new life in a land far away.