Air Lift Drip Ring v4

thingiverse

Easy to make and far cheaper than the commercial variety, this DIY solution works seamlessly with a standard aquarium air pump. To assemble it, you will need the following materials: A 14" piece of 1/2" OD PVC pipe with a 45-degree slant cut at one end. Two pieces of clear vinyl hose - one measuring 14" in length and having a 3/8" ID and 1/2" OD, and another measuring 15" in length and having a 5/16" OD and 3/16" ID. One standard aquarium air pump. Six feet of air pump tubing. E6000 glue. To construct the drip ring, start by inserting the thin vinyl hose into the thick vinyl hose all the way down until there's about one-fourth inch left at the end. The end of the thin hose must be fully enclosed by the outer hose but positioned as close to the bottom of the bucket as possible. Next, feed the air pump hose into the wide hose at the top along with the thin hose and try to get it down inside a good quarter inch. To ensure even distribution, orient the thin vinyl hose and the air pump hose so that their natural curves point away from each other. You should have about one inch of thin tube and six feet of air pump hose sticking out of the top of your wide hose. Seal this end completely with E6000 glue and allow it to harden for 24 hours before using the drip ring. Once hardened, simply pop on the drip ring at the end of the thin vinyl tube and slide the entire wide hose assembly into the PVC pipe with the slanted end at the bottom.