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DIY: Aquarium Check Valves

An aquarium serves as a source of relaxation and adds beauty to the ambiance inside your home. A small air pump feeds air containing oxygen into the aquarium through a small plastic tube connected to an air stone set inside the aquarium, but water tends to back-flow into the tube and damage the air pump if the pump is set lower than the aquarium water level. Back-flow is a dangerous event that can drain the aquarium of water, but the situation can be prevented by installing a check valve. Knowing the importance of a check valve, and how to install one can save your aquarium and your fishes from ruin.

Things You'll Need

Air pump
Air hose
Scissors
Aquarium aerator (air stones)

Instructions

- 1
  Hold the check valve and look for the small arrow marked along the side of the check valve to know the direction of air flow. Read the manufacturer's instructions to know how to determine the direction of air flow if there is no marking on the valve. Note carefully which end is the inlet side and which end is the outlet side.
- 2
  Measure the length of air hose needed to run from the air pump to the bottom of the aquarium, then cut the air hose. Plug one end of the air hose to the air pump, then plug the other end of the hose to the aquarium aerator. Check both ends to make sure that each connection is tight.
- 3
  Cut the air hose a little bit lower than the bottom of the aquarium. Hold the hose running from the air pump and plug its end onto the air inlet side of the check valve. Hold the hose running from the aerator and plug its end onto the outlet side of the check valve.
- 4
  Drop the aerator to the bottom of the aquarium and turn on the air pump. Observe the connections on both sides of the check valve to detect any air leak. Turn off the air pump and observe if water will fill the hose above the water level. Water rising above the existing water level when the pump is off is indicative of a leaking check valve.
- 5
  Unplug the air hose from each end of the check valve, trim the end of each hose by about an inch, then replug the hoses if a leak is detected.

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