# DIY Budget Egg Tumbler



## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

Here is the material list along with the prices for each item. I bought enough material to build at least 10 tumblers so some of the items were bought in bulk.

_(2) Westinghouse Clear Polycarbonate 48" T-8 Lamp Guard : $2.56 ($0.16/item*)
(1) Origin Point Fiberglass Screening 36"X84" : $3.90 ($0.01/item**)
(1) 50' Clear Vinyl Airline Tubing : $3.50 ($0.07/item***)
(1) 1" PVC 90 Degree Elbow (10 Pack): $2.99 ($0.29/item)
(2) 1 1/2" Clear Suction Cups (9 Pack) : $2.00 ($0.11/item)
(10) 1" PVC Threaded Coupling : $4.80 ($0.48/item)
(1) Black Zipties/Cable Ties (100 Pack) : $3.00 ($0.03/item)
(10) Lee's 2-Way Control Valve : $4.50 ($0.45/item)
(3) Hagen Elite 1" Air Stones (4 Pack) : $2.85 ($0.24/item)_

* 48" tube cut into 6" sections.
** 36"X84" sheet cut into 3"X3" sections.
*** 50' tubing cut into 12" sections.

The price per tumbler is less than $2.00. My tumbler design is meant to be inexpensive, easy to build, and easily repaired. It's no fun trying to find specialty replacement parts.

The tools needed for making these are.

_Utility Knife/Box Cutter
Scissors (optional)
Drill w/ bits_

Here is the step-by-step for building the tumbler.
_1. Cut one (1) 6" length of clear polycarbonate tubing per tumbler using the utility knife.
2. Cut three (3) 3"X3" squares of fiberglass screening per tumbler using the utility knife or scissors.
3. Cut one (1) 12" length of clear vinyl airline per tumbler using the utility knife or scissors.
4. Place the clear polycarbonate into one end of the 1" 90 degree elbow until it fits snug. The tubing should not fall out on its own
5. Drill two (2) holes into the 1" elbow: one (1) hole on the outter straight (through the polycarbonate tubing too) for suction cup, and one (1) hole on the outter elbow for the airline. Be sure to drill the holes slightly smaller in diameter than the suction cup head and airline diameter. The suction cup head and airline are supposed to fit snuggly into the holes so that they stay in place.
6. Seperate the 1" elbow and polycarbonate tubing from each other. Set the polycarbonate tubing aside for now.
7. Place one (1) 3"X3" square of fiberglass screen over the end of the 1" elbow opposite of where you drilled the suction cup hole.
8. Ziptie the fiberglass screen into place. Carefully trim off any excess ziptie and fiberglass screen that is hanging off using the utility knife or scissors.
9. Feed the 12" clear vinyl airline through the airline hole in the 1" elbow. Place an airstone on the end inside the elbow, and a 2-way control valve on the opposite end outside of the elbow. Set the 1" elbow aside for now.
10. Place one (1) 3"X3" square of fiberglass screen over the end of the polycarbonate tubing, opposite of the end with the suction cup hole.
11. Place one (1) 1" coupling into the polycarbonate tubing, pushing the fiberglass screen into the tubing. Push the coupling and fiberglass screen in until the end of the coupling is flush with the end of the tubing. The coupling and screen should be snug in the tubing. Carefully trim off any fiberglass screen that is hanging out using the utility knife or scissors.
12. Place one (1) 3"X3" square of fiberglass screen over the end of the polycarbonate tubing, covering the 1" coupling.
13. Ziptie the fiberglass screen into place. Carefully trim off any excess ziptie and fiberglass screen that is hanging off using the utility knife or scissors.
14. Place the polycarbonate tubing back into the 1" elbow, aligning the holes. Place one (1) suction cup into the hole.
15. VoilÃƒÂ , you're done!_


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## Aulonocara_Freak (May 19, 2011)

Nice, I like it. Simple but effective.


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## iwade4fish (Jan 5, 2009)

Awesome, Brian. Thanks for taking the time to document it, I always rush through and forget. :thumb:


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Good looking stuff! This is a really dumb question, especially since I've tumbled fry before, but when building a tumbler do you want the air pressure to build up and then release causing a sort of jolt in the fry or do you just want the gentle current the air brings?


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## sapir7 (Apr 21, 2010)

You just want them to lightly be moving at a steady pace no jolting. I like the design! On thing I would change from personal experience and might not happen too often but when my fry first started developing eyes they would get stuck in the mesh with the bigger holes, that's when I started using something finer like the brine shrimp nets. this happened with enantiopus Kilesa fry which are fairly small and might not happen with other species. Just giving you a heads up man and good luck :thumb:


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

sapir7 said:


> when my fry first started developing eyes they would get stuck in the mesh with the bigger holes, that's when I started using something finer like the brine shrimp nets.


This isn't something I had thought of - I assumed that if the egg sat on the mesh just fine that there would be no issues later on in development.  I will definitely keep watch for this and post changes if it does occur. Thanks! :thumb:


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## Aulonocara_Freak (May 19, 2011)

Why'd you use an elbow and not an end cap?


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## jeffmo78 (Dec 5, 2006)

Great thread! Though it does remind me of my more wild high school days. :lol:


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

Aulonocara_Freak said:


> Why'd you use an elbow and not an end cap?


For the most part I was trying to simulate how the tops of UGF work. The airwould go up and out to the side while the airline dropped straight down. The elbow was also one of the few piece of PVC that fit on the polycarbonate tightly. It was later on that I found the threaded coupler - so you could easily substitute out pieces.


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## Aulonocara_Freak (May 19, 2011)

oh ok!  Thank's!


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Would something like this be too much flow?

http://www.youtube.com/user/dlopes123#p ... En-l9k1TcA


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## dielikemoviestars (Oct 23, 2007)

The King Crabb said:


> Would something like this be too much flow?
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/user/dlopes123#p ... En-l9k1TcA


That is really, really cool looking. Makes me want a glass of wine and caviar.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

:lol: That was my thought too! But without the wine... Or caviar... :lol:

Not my design by the way, it belongs to a member on here with the name Diogo Lopes (the guy with the amazing Saulosi tank).


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

That looks like excessive flow to me but if it works, all the more power to 'em.


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## iwade4fish (Jan 5, 2009)

http://s479.photobucket.com/albums/rr15 ... SCN4023.mp
Vid of what's working for me. IMO, all that 'tumbling' is over rated, just have good, warm, and clean moving water.

This is working for me. No tumbling at all. Cyno HaiReef in top container, Ps. Minutus in bottom. Tried it out with known hybrid-holding mom, and every egg survived. Now I rubberband some filter floss over the top, works killer, for me. 5gal w/small sponge filter.

run what you brung.


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## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

I can't access your video, iwade4fish, without a private album password .

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


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## Aulonocara_Freak (May 19, 2011)

Rick_Lindsey said:


> I can't access your video, iwade4fish, without a private album password .
> 
> -Rick (the armchair aquarist)


Same for me!


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

I can't access it either.


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## iwade4fish (Jan 5, 2009)

Fixing it......there you go, sorry.
http://s479.photobucket.com/albums/rr15 ... CN4023.mp4


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Where is your flow coming from? The bubbler to the side?


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## iwade4fish (Jan 5, 2009)

Yes, el cheapo from China, paid $1.00, shipping included :dancing: !!
Linear air pump at 40L/min, lots o' bubbles, plus more for the whole fishroom.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)




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## iwade4fish (Jan 5, 2009)

Perfect
:thumb:


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

What's that I hear... You laughing every time they bounce? :lol:


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

:lol: that was my girlfriend.... I wondered if anyone heard that. :thumb:


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

Alright, so I've had some time to play with the tumbler and I'm not very happy with the results so far. Mind you this is my first time working with a tumbler but....

So within the first 2-3 days I had a couple eggs fungus up - nothing unexpected. I always figured there was a chance that a few eggs don't get fertilized. However, every day after that I was still getting 1-2 eggs fungusing (fungi-ing?) up. Well now the fry are heads-n-tails so I know it isn't a fertilization problem anymore. As of right now, I have lost half this batch of eggs (17 of 32 left - but I see more eggs that are bad this morning).

This leads me to a list of issues that could possibly be causing this:

*1) Design Flaw* - Eggs have a tendency to collect around the outer "ring" of the netting they sit on, where they can get stuck and don't 'tumble'.

*2) Design Flaw* - The 'tumble' action has been too often and/or too harsh. A large bubble of air collects in the elbow and then releases out of the elbow in one big shot. Perhaps the eggs are being jolted too high and/or too often. How often does a female rotate the eggs in her mouth?

*3) Bad Placement* - Right now the tumbler is sitting on the glass in front of where the HOB pumps water back into the tank. I have noticed that some poop/food gets sucked up into the tumbler netting. Maybe this debris is giving off some chemicals that is fouling the eggs.

*4) User Error* - I haven't figured out a way to be very gentle when removing the bad eggs. Currently I have to dump the whole tumbler out into a bowl in order to separate out the bad eggs. Then it is dump them back into the tumbler. There is a good chance I am being too rough with the eggs. Any ideas on how to remove eggs more carefully?

As of right now I think the major culprits for the loss of eggs is a combination of #2 and #4. This is mostly because not all the eggs on the "ring" (#1) aren't going bad, just some. In the end I will probably try again with another batch of fry in the future - trying out any possible solutions.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

Well I removed the two bad eggs today once I woke up. I went and got a Mainstays brand turkey baster to do it with - the only problem is that the fungus makes the eggs stick to the tumbler and once again had to ruffle everyone up trying to remove them (using baster and wooden kabob skewer). I'll have to have my girlfriend use the baster to remove any eggs showing the slightest bit of fungus - hopefully catching it early will prevent them from sticking.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Could be them being overly jumbled. I build a DIY tumbler a while back for some Red Zebra fry and didn't lose a single one, I was a little surprised since I stripped on day 2. Mine bounced every 10 seconds or so and mine wasn't exactly a bounce ether, more of a vibration that lasted maybe a second at the most.

I don't think the fact that they are at the ring is the problem, I think it's something that's also at the ring with them. Something like the food/ waste that you mentioned in #3.

I think the turkey baster idea is a good one, I was going to suggest it but using a smaller baster like a medicinal baster.


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## Guams (Aug 21, 2009)

Brian, maybe you could try drilling a couple small holes in the PVC elbow where the air collects? This might prevent them from jumping around on you every time the air releases itself...

As for debris getting into the tumbler... I used a piece of 3M Scotchbrite pad cut to fit the bottom of my tumbler. It acts a mechanical filter for the tumbler. It keeps the debris out, but the downside is it reduces the flow through the tumbler and they may not tumble as well. Turning up the amount of air fixes that.

Have you tried tilting the tumbler to a slight angle? Some of my first tumblers I found were move effective when I did that. It will bring all the eggs to one "side" (it's round, I know, no sides on a circle.. :-? ) and might keep them in a more fluid state.

Here's a video of a tumbler I made that ended up being my favorite and final design. It wasn't a quick build like yours, though. At the very bottom of it, you can see the 3M pad shoved in there. A daily cleaning is required for it... otherwise it can clog and stop the tumbling... I learned that the hard way.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

Turning down the airstone and using a baster seems to have helped so far. I haven't seen anymore bad eggs but we'll see how the weekend goes.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

I was typing on my phone earlier, but now that I'm on a laptop at Fish Fest I'll type more.



Guams said:


> Brian, maybe you could try drilling a couple small holes in the PVC elbow where the air collects? This might prevent them from jumping around on you every time the air releases itself...


A good idea, I will probably try it out on a second tumbler and see how it works out. :thumb:



Guams said:


> As for debris getting into the tumbler... I used a piece of 3M Scotchbrite pad cut to fit the bottom of my tumbler. It acts a mechanical filter for the tumbler. It keeps the debris out, but the downside is it reduces the flow through the tumbler and they may not tumble as well. Turning up the amount of air fixes that.


Not a bad idea. I will probably just move the tumbler to a less flow-direct spot, high off the sand.

Very good looking tumbler BTW. :thumb:


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## Guams (Aug 21, 2009)

why_spyder said:


> Not a bad idea. I will probably just move the tumbler to a less flow-direct spot, high off the sand.


That might work... but at the time you'll be creating a flow area just by moving the tumbler. It's a catch 22. Maybe even find a way to tack on an extra piece of screen at the bottom to catch some of it before it makes it to the screen the eggs sit on. Just another thought for you.



why_spyder said:


> Very good looking tumbler BTW. :thumb:


Thanks. Took a lot of trial and error, and a lot of time. But I'm happy with it and made two of them. Unfortunately, I haven't been collecting fry lately so they've only tumbled dust for the better part of 6 months...  .

If I didn't have plans over the weekend, I would have brought them to the Fish Fest for you to peek at.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

All is well with the tumbling eggs now, haven't had a issue since the flow was lowered and I started using the baster. :thumb:


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## Aulonocara_Freak (May 19, 2011)

Awesome! Good Luck!


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