Unless you are very mechanically inclined, these airlifts are not REAL easy to build. They are not very complicated, but there are formulas that must be followed to have a sufficient air supply. More volume than pressure is required, and usually a 1" pressure hose is required. PVC pipe is commonly used, however, it can get pretty heavy holding it from digging itself into the bottom. Once these things get away from you and bury up, They can be a bugger to get free. Basically, an airlift works just like a smokestack. If you picture a smokestack and then imagine it underwater, that is how an airlift works, except, all the stuff you vacuum up will fall back down around you. We used 6" and 8" airlifts in the Bahamas and conch shell would go through and then fall back, hitting you about the head and shoulders. We wore hard hat type breathing devices and that protected our heads.