Acrylic:
For this project we will be using some acrylic sheet that is 1/2 inch thick. This will be cut using a hole saw to make the plugs for the tube ends as well as making the holes for the plumbing. Now I realize that everything can be measured in carbon and energy required in making a product... and I realize that I will get email saying how plastics will kill the earth. Well... your likely right. So I wanted you to know preemptively that I actually got this magic carbon / pollution free acrylic from my future self coming back in time with a carbon free time machine to give it to myself so I could feel guilt free about using it. For those not fortunate enough to have a future self with a carbon free time machine and carbon free acrylic just go to your local plastics supplier. (Use your phone book, yes it’s in there)

More Acrylic:
These are 3 3/4 OD 3 1/4 ID Cast acrylic tubes. There are two types of acrylic, cast and extruded. It’s important that you use a cast acrylic tube for this project. If you use extruded acrylic it will eventually crack under the pressure of the water in the tubes and you will kill an entire plankton colony thus lending to the over demise of the planet some how...

Life Support Chemicals:
To help keep our plankton happy we have both de-chlorinator and a phyto-grow plankton fertilizer. This stuff makes the plankton really take off and I highly recommend it. Fair warning though, it smells kind of like pee after taking a good multivitamin. So don’t get it on your hands just in case. I did buy it off the internet after all.

Air Tubing:
This is your basic run of the mill aquarium air tubing. Nothing to special about it other than we used three twenty foot packages for the build. When you buy this it’s good to look for hard kinks in it. You need a nice clean 20 foot kink free run.