Build Your Own Jellyfish Habitat

Though MAKE Volume 27, which hits newsstands on July 26, is the Robots issue, like all issues of MAKE, it features a wide variety of projects. One of the major projects in Volume 27 is Alex Andon’s Jellyfish Tank. Jellyfish are hypnotic, with their translucent bodies, sweeping tentacles, and fluid motion, but they require custom tanks to prevent them from getting sucked into filtration intakes. On the pages of Volume 27, Andon, who studied biology and environmental science and is founder of Jellyfish Art, teaches you how to either convert an existing aquarium into a jellyfish habitat or how to build your own custom tank from scratch. Your choice.

Here’s the “how it works” visual breakdown:

The Jellyfish Tank is one of a few projects from the new issue that we’ve shared with you on Make: Projects, our DIY wiki. Head on over and check out the full project build. If you’re a subscriber (thanks, we love you!), you likely have your issue in hand and can turn to the project on page 82. If not, be sure to pick up Volume 27 when it hits newsstands next week.

Photograph of Alex Andon with the Jellyfish Tank by Garry McLeod; illustration of how the tank works by James Provost.

From the Pages of MAKE

MAKE Volume 27, Robots!
The robots have returned! MAKE Volume 27 features a special package with robotics projects for every age and skill level. They play music; they outwit your pets; they learn from their mistakes! In addition, we’ll show you how to build a special aquarium to keep jellyfish, create pre-Edison incandescent lighting, spy via the internet, and make a go-anywhere digital message board! All this and much, much more, in MAKE Volume 27.

On newsstands July 26! Buy or Subscribe

21 Responses to Build Your Own Jellyfish Habitat

Anonymous on July 21st, 2011 at 12:40 pm said:

There aren’t enough fiery, stinging neurotoxins in my life.

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Anonymous on July 21st, 2011 at 12:40 pm said:

There aren’t enough fiery, stinging neurotoxins in my life.

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Robin Newberry on July 21st, 2011 at 1:44 pm said:

OK, great. Where the h*ll do I get the jellyfish, though?

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- Alex Andon on July 21st, 2011 at 8:45 pm said:
  
  Also sold online. You can sometimes find them at your local beach, but there are usually regulations concerning collecting wild animals.
  
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Roy Jacobusse on July 21st, 2011 at 5:10 pm said:

What do the jellyfish eat?

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Roy Jacobusse on July 21st, 2011 at 5:10 pm said:

What do the jellyfish eat?

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- JamesW on July 21st, 2011 at 7:37 pm said:
  
  Don’t fall in, that’s all I’ll say…
  
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- Alex Andon on July 21st, 2011 at 8:44 pm said:
  
  Frozen plankton. It’s sold online at Jellyfish Art.
  
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Paul Herbig on July 21st, 2011 at 6:18 pm said:

I didn’t know Hugh Jackman was into Jellyfish

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Paul Herbig on July 21st, 2011 at 6:18 pm said:

I didn’t know Hugh Jackman was into Jellyfish

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Alex Andon on August 12th, 2011 at 5:19 pm said:

There’s also a Kickstarter campaign running right now for a Desktop Jellyfish Tank: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1497255984/desktop-jellyfish-tank

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Kenn Koek on October 22nd, 2011 at 4:07 pm said:

There’s no such thing as a jelly fish. They are not fish, but sea jellies.

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Brooke Hicks on February 8th, 2012 at 3:56 pm said:

how do i breed jellyfish, do the polyps just grow on the sides of the tank and reproduce an endless supply? what do i do?

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Pet Jellyfish on February 28th, 2012 at 7:39 pm said:

Such a pretty creature to have as a pet. Im, wondering if we can get exotic color jellyfish instead of the plain color.

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Ray Budiardja on March 7th, 2012 at 5:49 pm said:

Good technique by using a large exit screen & a spray bar.
Simple but enough for a jellyfish habitat .

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wlyon on March 14th, 2012 at 9:25 pm said:

What GPH pump would you recomend? the bulk head looks like a 2 inch one so I’m guessing one around 2400 or so.

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Steve on April 2nd, 2012 at 9:00 am said:

Reef aquariums are much more captivating imo. But if you like seeing a lugey floating around slowly thats all good too. Cool idea to make some money off of these bountiful inverts.

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Luke on May 7th, 2012 at 6:00 pm said:

Nice lava lamp

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Bakeca Incontri (@xBakeka) on May 14th, 2012 at 2:36 am said:

this would look awesome if the tank was a whole wall in my house

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Vedette on May 17th, 2012 at 9:25 am said:

I’ve always been fascinated with jellyfishes. But to my dismay, they aren’t sold locally here in ou area. What else do they eat aside from frozen plankton?

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- Ben on May 28th, 2012 at 7:30 pm said:
  
  Baby brine shrimp can work. You can raise your own or buy frozen
  
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