Stream in a twenty gallon?

[SludgeMunkey]

Here is some rough sketches you can use for ideas on the airstone method. I feel it is superior to the filter pump or fountain pump method as you do not have to destroy your creation when the pump dies. Another advantage to this system is there is very little risk to eggs or larvae if they end up in it. With water pumps you could loose small animals to the intake and impeller.

I like to put the ponds in the front right corner since I am right handed (easier to clean!) and it allows you a view of what is going on below the water surface. this build type brovides a nice slow floww. With some clever positioning of the rocks, you can even achieve the full on babbling brook effect.

To clean this system, a bottle brush is used to scrub the pipe out once in a while and a soft plastic bristled scrubber keeps the stream bed gunk free. This is why you do NOT glue the river rocks down over the openings, you just fish them out and replace them when cleaning is done.



Make sure you do have a bit of a slope from the head of the stream to the pond or you end up with a really pretty bubbling swamp effect instead. It does not have to be much, but aim for about a 1/4 inch drop for every 3 inches in length.



I prefer the drilled hole version. a clear rubber hose sticking up out of the stream head looks silly to me.

On a final note- you MUST use an airline check valve with this build or have the air pump situated above the water line.

Pardon my handwriting, I killed too many pots of Navy Style Coffee at work last night...

(My wife was looking over the shoulder as I was posting this...all she could say was "No more new projects until you finish the half dozen unfinished ones! Guess I have to get more critters to go in them...)