
AQUARIUM CONSTRUCTION, TOOLS AND APPLIANCES 

Dippinc or Lirtinc Tuse. With this handy tool objectionable 
substances may be removed from the aquarium. The best form is a chemist’s 
pipette or % inch glass tubing at least 6 inches longer than the depth of 
the water, having the lower end protected by a rubber gasket to prevent 
fracture or scratching of the aquarium glass. In use the upper end 1s 
closed with the fingers and the tube directed over the object, when the 
removal of the fingers causes an inrush of the water by atomospheric 
pressure, carrying with it the substances to be removed. Then the upper 
end is again closed with the fingers and the tube raised to the surface of 
the water, the lower end is closed by the fingers and the tube and its con- 
tents removed. 
StpHon. A very useful accessory is a siphoning tube of 3g inch 
rubber house, that of red rubber being usually of the best quality, more 
durable and not so likely to kink or lose its cylindrical form. <A piece of 
glass tubing of smaller diameter than the hose, inserted at the end, will 
prevent the sucking in of pebbles that may clog the tube; but the best 
device is a glass calcium tube larger in diameter than the hose and having 
a bulb to arrest any particles and check their entrance into the hose. To 
remove these particles the hose is pinched to stop the flow of water and 
the pebbles, snails, or whatever else may have been sucked in, will fall out 
of the bulb. Another device at the other end will serve to avoid getting 
water into the mouth in creating the necessary suction. This consists of 
a glass tube with a branching side to which a piece of small hose is attached, 
which when taken into the mouth and the lower end of the tube closed 
with the finger, in drawing up the water the finger will feel it before it 
ascends the small tube to the mouth. Unpleasant involuntary swallows 
are thereby avoided. 
THERMOMETER. A thermometer is indispensable for the culture and 
maintenance of the goldfish. For the aquarium, floating thermometers 
are to be recommended, dairy thermometers answering the purpose, are 
the cheapest and most readily to be had. ‘The bulb should reach to the 
centre of the water to indicate the mean temperature, as that of the surface 
is usually warmer. A little tin foil above the bulb will cause it to float 
upright. 
Asprrators. A fountain syringe with which to aerate the water is 
not absolutely necessary, but if at hand will be frequently used, as it may 
obviate the frequent change of water in aquaria that are not properly con- 
ditioned or balanced, and may greatly relieve the fishes in hot weather. 
An ordinary rubber air bulb and a short piece of hose will suffice, but a 
garden sprinkler at the end will cause a finer division of the air particles 
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