Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

What kind of glue did you use to install the air check valve? With the smaller two of my no holes venturi's I don't mind yanking them out and submerging them to keep things flowing but the one that is like two feet long to stretch accross a gap between the shelves, is really tricky to handle when full without dumping all over the place and needing to start again.

I've got plenty of those little check valves since every little aquarium air pump usually comes with one or two. I usually don't bother with them on the air pumps since I always make a point of hanging the air pumps higher than the aquarium. I've been wondering how to install the "suck" tube without loosing the integrity of the top pipe.

At first I just "rammed" the valve in place as it is conical,

But I found out that after a while there were very small leaks probably due to temperature differences with the sun on the valve and the tube being kept cool by the water.

So I had to suck frequently

Then I got tired of sucking

I assumed (and was almost sure) they were PVC, so I used PVC glue
that seems to have worked very well

3 months without any problems

Frank

Cool, thanks.

I suppose another option might be to drill the hole to hold a bit of the vinyl tubing and then ramming the valve into the vinyl in the hole might do for a more temporary seal but I think I would trust the glue more for this purpose.

might want to keep the check valve out of the sun, or keep it covered or something incase the UV makes the rubber brittle and leaky

And I have now installed the check valve/suck tubes on the three no holes overflows on the two aquarium.

Definitely nice not to have to remove the overflows in order to submerge them.

Just have to be careful when gluing the check valve in not to clog the little hole with glue.

Mine are inside so not in too much danger from sun but a bit of rag tied over them outside would probably take care care of them real well. I've found that my sediment filters on the house take much longer to clog up if I keep a bit of black rag tied over them to stop the algae growth.

Here are some quick photos of my three no holes over flows in place before I installed the suck valves.

I wonder what people will make of a term like suck valve? Is it anything like the suck nob on an audio console?

And now the pictures with the suck valves glued in and air sucked out of the tubes.

Now I just need something to get the taste of the PVC glue fumes that were trapped in the top tube out of my mouth. (no worries, I did not breath in the fumes, I emptied the air out only one mouth full at a time.)

I got a Mityvac hand pump from my boss for free, for bleeding brakes but never used it. A mityvac would be perfect for this task.

Indeed an excellent idea Frank, thanks for sharing it!

You sound like a president. "I smelled it but did not Inhale"
You could also use those valves they use on drip systems. I use them to adjust the air going to air stones.

Hum, that particular president got a lot done here while in office. We need another like him to get us out of debt again or we will be in real trouble over the next 4-8 years.

did any of the population ACTUALLY believe him when he said he did not inhale? lol

inhale or sniff?

We only have PM's and they don't do anything fun except how they run the country. and GST that was a hoot.

i think one of the pollies went to a strip club, but he didn't look