Stream current replicator gizmo

[DrLogik 0]

A few years ago I recall seeing a gizmo some fellow invented and was marketing that you could fill with water, turn on the little pump and it would replicate a stream in a small desktop tank to test flies. It was small and oblong-shaped; maybe 18" long and 8 or 10 inches high, and just a few inches wide? Anyone recall seeing that to? If you do, have any link(s) to it?

[Kimo 0]

Fly Tester



Kimo

[josephcsylvia 0]

Incase anyone wants to build this them self for cheap its essentially a bilge pump in a small fish tank! Probably make it for $20 from a flea market.

[DrLogik 0]

Bam!! That's the one! Wow, almost $300 bucks. Sheesh, I may hit the flea market as suggested....

[josephcsylvia 0]

Bam!! That's the one! Wow, almost $300 bucks. Sheesh, I may hit the flea market as suggested....

Yep just decide what size bilge pump you want the more output the more current. If you want a tube like in the tank above just epoxy some clear plastic tubing to the bottom and you saved tons of money!

[mikechell 0]

You could use a tank filter system to get the flow. I suppose there's a few ways to do this, without spending $300.00 for one.

[josephcsylvia 0]

Would a tank filter put out enough water mike? Im not a fish tank guy so I dont know but if it does that's even better because its already 110. Heck before I spent $300 I'd put my shop vac on reverse in the bath tub lol

[singletrack 0]

You don't even need a bilge pump. Any small water pump would work. Here is an example of how cheap a new small pump is.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=small+water+pumps&client=ms-android-verizon&sa=X&tbs=vw:l&tbm=shop&prmd=sivn&srpd=13682554477649286972&prds=num:1,of:1,epd:11844889350868348940,cid:10338188822563000895&ved=0ahUKEwiJyt-ksKjKAhUDLyYKHU9KArUQgjYIrwMwAg&ei=LBiXVomECoPemAHPlImoCw

 

Sorry about the lenght of the address but the pump was $8.99. Which is a small start to the $20 budget. I think the production tank shown is a ridiculous price. It is solely becuase they choose to do a custom plastic tank. They know the volume of purchasing is low and so your paying for there investment in mold tooling to make that tank. Every other part of it is just stock parts. Even there pump is just a stock pump.

[DrLogik 0]

I had an aquarium for years when I was younger. A small used 5 gallon aquarium can be had cheap...so can a filter pump at a garage sale or flea market as mentioned. Heck, that's how I got started as a kid. Clear hose is cheap to. I think for $20 bucks I could build one of these things as Joseph suggested. Put a rheostat on the pump to control the flow and presto!

 

Put a mirror under the glass bottom to look "up" at dries, add a chiller, some sand, plants, rocks, nymphs, get the water from the local stream and voila! A family room trout stream!!

 

I'll put it on my list right behind my 197 honey-do's...ROFL!

 

Thanks for jumping in folks!

 

Grant

[FlaFly 0]

I have several fountains in my yard and have tiny electric (110 V) pumps for them. They come in different sizes, based mainly on how much GPM you want to pump or how high you want the fountain to squirt. Don't remember what they cost, but I know I wouldn't have bought them if they were expensive, being the frugal guy that I am.

[WVUontheFLY 0]

If I were to make one, I would do so with a 20long aquarium and with a water circulation pump of 200-300gph. I need the length due to large musky streamers, also it would give you the extra room to create a curve to recirculate the water easier. If you have a petco near by they have a $/gallon sale and a tank will cost $20, put $10-20, silicone $5, and plexi sheet $15. So to make a nice one would cost about $75 and allow for larger flies than the existing $300 model

[mikechell 0]

Would a tank filter put out enough water mike? Im not a fish tank guy so I dont know but if it does that's even better because its already 110. Heck before I spent $300 I'd put my shop vac on reverse in the bath tub lol

Company call Fluval, makes tank filters that pump a lot of water through several layers of filter media. They aren't really "cheap", but they'd do several desirable things:

1) Filter the water, so you wouldn't need to change it when it got "dirty" or "aged".

2) Provide the water flow through a tube, rather than directly from a pump. That would allow you to aim the tube easier, and it would give you more room in the tank.

3) As stated, it's house power ... no need for a battery or 12 volt transformer.

4) As has also been stated ... it would allow you to actually put some fish in there and have an aquarium as well and a fly tester.

[cheech 0]

I decided to build one because I had an old aquarium sitting around...

 

Plexiglass can be had at any home depot for pennies on the dollar. You can also buy adhesive and a knife to cut it there.

 

The plexiglass is needed to make a "tunnel" to channel the current through, so I build a rectangular tunnel and glued it to the bottom of the aquarium. A small hook needs to be situated to the very front of the tunnel so you can feed your line through it to ensure the fly stays directly in front of the current. I thought the pump was going to be expensive, but I was wrong. I found these on amazon for under $9 each. My tunnel was a bit too wide (I should have bought a plexiglass tube, or made it in a square shape to maximize flow) so I bought two of these pumps and run them side by side.

 

The most important thing is to get the right adhesive... I tried several, and this is by far the best, especially if you are fixing a plexiglass tunnel to a glass tank...

 

 

Anyway, if you can find a used tank, it will cost you about $35 or so to build a fully functional tank. We will be doing a full build tutorial on flyfishfood.

[JacksonK 0]

Cheech please post that tutorial soon. I'd love to give this a go as a winter project. Can't afford the real thing now and would rather customize it anyway. Looking forward to it. Filling the old bathtub is too annoying and with the amount of streamers I've been tying a $35 tester would be rad.

[mikechell 0]

I am sure, like any "home made" project, there's numerous ways to build the same thing.

Here's a tank build that you can use as a basis for your own designs.

 

http://www.speypages.com/speyclave/95-hooks-feathers-floss/57571-fly-test-tank-construction.html