BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Problem Solved: Returning a pet fish to its bowl, pond or aquarium, without transferring old or dirty water or detritus back into your cleaned fishbowl, pond or aquarium.
Containers and nets: you place the fish in a container of water, usually with the aid of a net. In the efforts to catch the fish you can damage/injure the fish especially exotic varieties, and stir up dirt and sediment, which will be transferred with the captured fish into the container.
You can introduce the fish in water directly into this invention, (capacity is unlimited due to flow through design). Device can be used to capture fish, so no net required.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION
This invention makes it possible to change the water in a fishbowl, without the pet fish being out of its water.
It accomplishes this by means of two containers one placed inside the other.
The inner container has a gill port flush with the bottom of the inner container.
The port facilitates the evacuation of unwanted substances from the fishbowl during water changes.
It holds the fish in clean water while the bowl is cleaned.
And the end result is a cleaner fishbowl as no unwanted substances are reintroduced to the cleaned bowl.
The fish did not need to be netted and spent no time out of water, Minimizing damage and stress to the fish.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 Shows fish bowl contents introduced into the water changing device, With water flowing through device outlet and into sink drain through drainage channels in base of device.
FIG. 2 Shows clean water being poured into device to flush dirty water through device, with water flowing through device outlet and into sink drain through drainage Channels in base of device.
FIG. 3 Shows three inner containers floating at different levels in an Aquarium, using the closed pore urethane foam flotation ring.
FIG. 4 Shows fish being returned to cleaned bowl while contained in the Vee of the tilted inner container.
FIG. 5 Shows side view of device.
FIG. 6 Shows a cross section of assembled device.
FIG. 7 Shows a rear isometric view of assembled device.
FIG. 8 Shows a front isometric view of assembled device.
FIG. 9 Shows an exploded view of device components.
FIG. 10 Shows a top or plan view of assembled device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
- 1. Outer receptacle/container with outlet/overflow, made from injection molded BPA free acrylic
- 2. Inner receptacle/container, made from injection molded acrylic. With contoured radiused interior, and a Gill port on one side
- 3. Gill port intended to produce a more natural flow of liquid.
- 4. Source or container of fresh clean conditioned water
- 5. Closed cell urethane foam flotation collar to provide flotation option for inner receptacle 2
Relationship Between the Components:
Container 2 fits inside container 1 and container 2 is keyed to 1 (FIGS. 5-6). there is also standoffs or ribbing 8 inside container 1 to maintain clearance for water W to flow through the device (FIG. 6). In this example a bowl containing fish in their water 10 is poured into and flows through the device, using a Gill port 3, at the bottom of container 2 (FIG. 1). and on the opposite side to overflow outlet 4 of container 1 As the water is introduced it begins to flow into the space between the inner and outer containers 1-2, when the water reaches the outlet 4 on the outer container 1 it pours out, the water remains at an equal level in both containers 1-2, regardless of whether water is being introduced or not, once the device is filled. The water level in container 2 is always sufficient to cover and sustain the fish within it (FIGS. 1-2).
The cleaning element of this system requires a source or container of clean conditioned fresh or salt water 10. The assembled device can be placed into a sink, covering the sink drain 8 or alternatively on the edge of a sink with the outlet 4 orientated to allow the device to empty into the sink. This water W is then carefully poured into container 2, and flushes the old or dirty water, by displacement and dilution from the container 2 the water will flow through the gill port 3 and into the space between containers 1-2, exiting at the outlet 5, the water 10 then flows through the drainage channels 7 in the base of the outer container 1 and into the sink drain 8 (FIG. 1).
The cleaning action is further enhanced by lifting container 2 from container 1 (FIGS. 2-4), this will impart a slight suction on the water in container 2 through the gill port 3, as the containers 2-1 are separated. As the inner container 2 is lifted, the water having a self-leveling nature will flow through the gill port 3 into container 1. This also enhances the cleaning action. As the user lifts container 2, the clean water 10 from source or container will continue to be carefully poured into container 2, maintaining a sufficient water level until the water in container 2 is clean and free from detritus.
At this point the user will tilt the inner container 2 to one side until water no longer flows from the gill port 3. The fish will be contained in the clean water W remaining in the vee of container 2 (FIG. 4). Fish can now be returned to bowl, pond or aquarium by carefully pouring from or immersing tilted container 2 into bowl, pond or aquarium.
The Inner container 2 can also be used as a nursery or isolation tank, with the ability to float at differing levels with the use of the closed cell urethane foam collar 6 (FIG. 3), which is adjustable for height due to its interference fit on container 2, this has the advantage of allowing differing water levels within container 2 making it suitable for a wider range of aquatic species.
The assembled device (FIG. 8) can also be used to minimize loss of fish, when siphoning water from an aquarium, the siphon tube outlet would be placed into the assembled device and would catch any animal unfortunate enough to be drawn into the siphon tube and would reduce the risk of losing the fish down a sink drain for example.