The AquaPike is a tube for fish to swim between two tanks. It is made from three inch clear PVC tubing. The clear tubing is moderately expensive; three inch tubing per foot is about $14, four inch tubing per foot is about $20. Four inch tubing would be better but the opening on the tanks would not fit four inch tubing without major reworking. The elbows are just $3 white elbows from your hardware store. The three inch clear elbow would cost about $93 and the four inch clear elbow would be about $167. I chose to use the cheaper white elbows.

The fish love it...well the 'smart' fish, anyway. The 'dumb' fish don't really want anything to do with it and the bottom dwellers don't ever really go there, either.The best fish for this seems to be gouramis. They just seem to understand. The fish on the left is Opie (opaline) and Opie practically lives in the tube. He often acts like a troll chasing the other fish out of the tube.

This is the larger of the two tanks. It is a 90 gallon tank. The 'cool' fish live in here. There are several varieties of Gouramis and two really great fish we call Striper and mini-Striper (cuz they are striped). They are not to be seen now; they are hiding. Striper loves the log. The water in the AquaPike is kept circulating all the time by the pump in the back center of this tank. It flows 60 gallons per hour thru a half-inch tube from this tank into the other tank. If the water in the tube was not kept flowing the tube would get icky inside.

This is a smaller tank - 38 gallons. The 'dumb' fish live in here. There are 3 danios and 3 albino tiger barbs that I have had forever...(since the tanks were started). They just keep on keepin' on. They don't ever use the AquaPike. There are also some sharks that do use the AquaPike. Sharks and Gouramis like the AquaPike the most.

How do you get the water in the tube...and why does it stay up there? That had to be what you were wanting to ask. Well, the water gets up there by removing the air. There is a small valve tapped into the left elbow. A tube is inserted and the air is...sucked out...literally. It takes more than one go but between breaths you just close the valve again. I left one end of the bracket which holds the tube loose so that the tube can be lowered on one end. This makes all the air flow to the upper side of the tube, exactly where the valve is. Why does the water stay up there? Thru the magic of physics, of course. Nature is a whore with a vacuum.

Here is the tube angled for air removal. I shove the white tub of cold cream under the middle to relieve some of the weight stress. The entire tube is just hanging on that stereo shelf.

I will attempt to get more pictures of my fish up, later...at least the BEST fish, anyway.

There are other websites discussing such a tube and naming it other things. Waterbridge is a site using a PVC tube, also, much like what I have done. Fish Highway is a different construction technique using acrylic plate. It looks great but I question how much work it must take to get the sections to seal perfectly; with PVC tubing it is quite simple to guarantee a perfect seal. Fishie Hi-Rise describes a different sort of thing entirely but is still related to fish travel.