Aquarium pump

Abstract

An aquarium pump including a first unit comprising a magnet in an encasement disposed against the outside panel of an aquarium or other tank, and a second, submersible unit comprising a magnet in an encasement and a motor, an impeller, and buoyant material contained within a chamber disposed against the inside panel of an aquarium or other tank and opposing the first unit. The magnet included on the second, submersible unit includes a plurality of recesses into which are inserted synthetically coated ball bearings that are allowed rotate freely, with a portion of the ball bearings extending outside the magnet thus allowing the ball bearings to make contact with the aquarium or tank wall and allowing the second, submersible unit to be maneuvered into place without the necessity of violating the aquatic environment. The buoyant material allows the second, submersible unit to remain fixed in place solely utilizing magnetic attraction. An aquarium pump comprises an outer member a side of which is disposed adjacent an exterior surface of a sidewall of an aquarium and a submersible inner member defining at least one slot for facilitating intake of water by the inner member and/or including an outflow port for facilitating outflow of the water from the inner member through the port by an impeller and into the aquarium. A side of the inner member is disposed adjacent an interior surface of the sidewall and opposing the outer member such that the sidewall is interposed between the members. The members are magnetically attracted and, in turn, movably retained in a fixed position relative to one another, the pump is “centrifugal,” and a motor and the impeller and slot and/or outflow port provide adequate power and intake and outflow of the water to create a variable current of the water in the aquarium.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An aquarium pump, comprising:
 an outer member adapted so that a first side thereof may be disposed adjacent to an exterior surface of a sidewall of an aquarium or tank and including a first magnet and a first encasing supporting said first magnet; 
 a submersible inner member adapted so that a first side thereof may be disposed adjacent to an interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium or tank and opposing said outer member such that the sidewall is interposed between said inner and outer members and including a second magnet and a second encasing supporting said second magnet; 
 a motor-and-impeller assembly; and 
 an attachment mechanism that uses magnetic attraction to retain said inner member and said outer member in a fixed position relative to one another, wherein said second encasing of said submersible inner member receives a plurality of ball bearings that are exposed to and disposed upon the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium or tank and are rotatably secured in place by said second magnet of said submersible inner member. 
 
     
     
       2. An The aquarium pump as in of  claim 1 , wherein said motor-and-impeller assembly is fixedly mounted to a second side of said submersible inner member disposed opposite the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium or tank. 
     
     
       3. An The aquarium pump as in of claim  2  1, wherein said motor-and-impeller assembly is encased in an encasement. 
     
     
       4. An The aquarium pump as in of  claim 3 , wherein said encasement includes a top panel, a bottom panel, a front panel, and two opposing side panels, thereby creating an inner chamber of said encasement. 
     
     
       5. An The aquarium pump as in of  claim 1 , wherein a motor of said motor-and-impeller assembly receives power from a power cord. 
     
     
       6. An The aquarium pump as in of  claim 4 , wherein said bottom panel of said encasement includes a plurality of slots suitable for passing of water into and out of said inner chamber. 
     
     
       7. An The aquarium pump as in of  claim 4 , wherein said front panel of said encasement includes an outflow port allowing water to be forced out of said inner chamber through said outflow port by an impeller of said motor-and-impeller assembly. 
     
     
       8. An The aquarium pump as in of  claim 4 , wherein said inner chamber includes a buoyant material so positioned as not to interrupt flow of water into or out of said inner chamber; and
 wherein said buoyant material fills a substantial portion of said inner chamber. 
 
     
     
       9. The aquarium pump of claim 1, wherein said first encasing defines at least one ridge for manual gripping of said first encasing and, thus, movement of said pump along the exterior and interior surfaces of the sidewall of the aquarium or tank.  
     
     
       10. An aquarium pump for an aquarium, the aquarium having a sidewall, the sidewall having an interior surface and an exterior surface, the aquarium pump comprising:
 a mounting member including a casing, said mounting member adapted to be disposed adjacent to the exterior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium, said mounting member configured to mount to said exterior surface while held against said exterior surface;   a submersible inner member including a housing and a plurality of ball bearings, said submersible inner member adapted to be disposed adjacent to the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium, opposite the mounting member, said plurality of ball bearings being exposed to and adapted to be disposed upon the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium or tank of said submersible inner member such that the submersible inner member may freely translate about the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium while held against said interior surface opposite the mounting member;   a motor-and-impeller assembly having an axis of rotation, said motor-and-impeller assembly configured to intake a water flow radially, relative to said axis of rotation, and to output said water flow axially, relative to said axis of rotation; and   an attachment mechanism including a first magnet secured to the casing of the mounting member, and a second magnet secured to the housing of the submersible inner member, the attachment mechanism configured to use magnetic attraction to hold the submersible inner member and the mounting member together in a fixed position relative to one another with the sidewall of the aquarium interposed therebetween, the second magnet configured to hold the plurality of ball bearings rotatably in place.    
     
     
       11. The aquarium pump of claim 10, wherein the housing of the submersible inner member forms an encasement bounded by a back wall, a front panel, a top panel, a bottom panel, and two opposing side panels, thereby creating an inner chamber within said encasement, the bottom panel of said encasement including a plurality of slots suitable for passing a water into said inner chamber, and the front panel including an outflow port configured to allow the water to be forced out of said inner chamber through said outflow port by an impeller of said motor-and-impeller assembly.  
     
     
       12. The aquarium pump of claim 10, wherein the motor-and-impeller assembly is further configured to output the water flow so as to effectuate a current in the aquarium.  
     
     
       13. The aquarium pump of claim 10, wherein the submersible inner member further includes a buoyant material of sufficiency and distribution to allow the submersible inner member to remain fixed in place solely utilizing magnetic attraction of the attachment mechanism.  
     
     
       14. The aquarium pump of claim 10, further comprising an external power cable configured to power the motor-and-impeller assembly, the external power cable being water-proofed; and
 wherein casing of the mounting member defines at least one ridge adapted for manual gripping of said mounting member, and, thus, movement of the aquarium pump along the exterior and interior surfaces of the sidewall of the aquarium while the submersible inner member and the mounting member are held together in the fixed position relative to one another with the sidewall of the aquarium interposed therebetween.    
     
     
       15. The pump of claim 10, wherein the housing of the submersible inner member includes a plurality of recesses configured to receive the plurality of ball bearings while leaving a portion of each of the plurality of ball bearings exposed such that said portion of each of the plurality of ball bearings that is exposed is disposed upon the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium when the submersible inner member is magnetically retained in the fixed position relative to the mounting member when placed in alignment adjacent to the interior surface of the sidewall and the exterior surface of the sidewall, respectively.  
     
     
       16. An aquarium pump for an aquarium, the aquarium having a sidewall, the sidewall having an interior surface and an exterior surface, the aquarium pump comprising:
 a mounting member including a casing, said mounting member adapted to be disposed adjacent to the exterior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium, said mounting member configured to mount to said exterior surface while held against said exterior surface;   a submersible inner member adapted to be disposed adjacent to the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium, opposite the mounting member, the submersible inner member including a housing and a means for freely translating the submersible inner member about the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium while said submersible inner member is held against said interior surface;   a motor-and-impeller assembly configured to intake a water flow from along the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium, and further configured to output said water flow away from the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium; and   an attachment mechanism including a first magnet secured to the casing of the mounting member, and a second magnet secured to the housing of the submersible inner member, the attachment mechanism configured to use magnetic attraction to hold the submersible inner member and the mounting member together against the sidewall of the aquarium, in a fixed position relative to one another, with the sidewall of the aquarium interposed therebetween.    
     
     
       17. The aquarium pump of claim 16, wherein the means for freely translating the submersible inner member about the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium while said submersible inner member is held against said interior surface includes a plurality of ball bearings that are adapted to be exposed to and disposed upon the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium, and are rotatably secured to the submersible inner member by the second magnet.  
     
     
       18. The aquarium pump of claim 16, wherein the motor-and-impeller assembly is further configured to output the water flow perpendicularly from the interior surface of the sidewall of the aquarium, and to effectuate a water current in the aquarium.  
     
     
       19. The aquarium pump of claim 16, wherein the submersible inner member further includes a buoyant material of sufficiency and distribution to allow the submersible inner member to remain in the fixed position relative to the mounting member solely utilizing magnetic attraction of the attachment mechanism.  
     
     
       20. The aquarium pump of claim 16, further comprising an external power cable configured to power the motor of the fluid pump assembly, the external power cable being water proofed.