Tutorials/Squid farming

Collecting of ink sacs can prove quite time-consuming. To save time a squid farm could be made to automatically gather ink sacs for your collection later on. There are two main ways to do it. The first is to dig a funnel underneath the ocean; the second is to make a man-made lake, or find a shallow pre-existing lake.

Necessary Mechanics
Squids will spawn in 1 or more blocks of water. The level of light is not important. However, they will only spawn if their spawning block (the solid block underneath the water) is between level 46 and 62, inclusive.

The Funnel
The first is to dig out a funnel at the bottom of an ocean. This funnel can be as long as you want it, but must only be 2 wide. This is so signs can block the water from entering the chamber. Use as many signs as necessary to block of the funnel from water flowing, and make the funnel around 20 deep.

Light Attraction
Squid are attracted to light so using glowstone or Jack 'o' Lantern around the edge of the funnel or inside the funnel chamber can dramatically enhance your turnover of ink sacs.

Final Notes
Lastly create a ladder to reach to the surface and you have completed your farm. Just go down your ladder and check on it periodically for ink sacs. You could make a water filtering system in the base of the farm to bring all items to one central location with a hopper if you wish.

Video Tutorial

 * Video tutorial by HybridCraft