AQUARIUM CONSTRUCTION, TOOLS AND APPLIANCES 



Dipping or Lifting Tube. 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 is 

 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. 



Siphon. A very useful accessory is a siphoning tube of 3^ 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. 



Aspirators. 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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