How to Make a Siphon Tube for Jellyfish Aquariums

By now you’re probably well acquainted with the silty material that accumulates at the bottom of your jellyfish tank. It often comes from uneaten jellyfish food, dust, algae or other particulate matter that might find its way into your system. This build up is perfectly normal and not harmful in small amounts, but it doesn’t make for pleasant decor! And you don’t want it to pile up too high, or you could run the risk of affecting your water quality.

The easiest way to deal with unwanted tank crud is to just suck it up! So here we’ll show you how to make a simple, narrow siphon tube specifically for tidying up your jellyfish tank.  Most siphon tubes on the market are for gravel vacuuming and have a 2″+ diameter.  That is much too big for jellyfish care!  You need a narrow siphon tube in order to work slowly around the jellyfish. You can find most of these parts at your local fish store or home improvement store.

What You’ll Need

---

– 1/4″-3/8″ (outer diameter) rigid plastic tubing (at least 2 feet for 10g EON, 3 feet for 20g 2UBE)

– flexible plastic tubing (at least 4 feet, maybe longer depending on how high off the ground your tank sits) to fit whichever size rigid tubing you find

– electrical tape (any color you like)

How-To

---

Step 1:

Join your rigid tubing to your flexible tubing to make the body of the siphon tube.

 

Step 2 (optional): 

If you’re working with a larger or taller tank, add an extra length of rigid tubing to the end of your siphon using a spare chunk of flexible tubing as a joint.

 

Step 3:

Wrap a couple inches of electrical tape around the very end of your rigid tubing so you can clearly see the end of the tube when you’re working. You don’t want to suck up your little jelly pals by mistake!

And voila! A siphon tube of your very own. Use it responsibly!

HINT: Once you have the siphon working, you can control the rate at which it removes water from the aquarium by simply pinching the flexible tubing.  You can also completely stop the flow of water in the same manner—just pinch or bend the flexible tubing.