# Eheim vs Generic Tubing



## TexasCichlid (Jul 12, 2011)

Any point of paying the premium for Eheim 16/22mm tubing or will clear 5/8" work just as well? I should clarify, I have the following components to consider.

17mm Powerman Lily Pipes
16/22 mm inline CO2 atomizer
5/8 200w Hydor Inline heater

Of all the components, the lily pipes are probably the most sensitive to tubing size.


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## i'm a ninja (Aug 2, 2009)

As long as the tubing has thick enough walls you won't have any problems. If the walls are too thin they can collapse in on themselves under the pressure.


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

I use tubing from Lowe's. Works just fine and is less than a dollar per foot I believe.


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## Mr. Fisher (Mar 24, 2009)

TexasCichlid said:


> Any point of paying the premium for Eheim 16/22mm tubing or will clear 5/8" work just as well? I should clarify, I have the following components to consider.
> 
> 17mm Powerman Lily Pipes
> 16/22 mm inline CO2 atomizer
> ...


The Eheim "premium" you're talking about is nothing when you compare it to the cost for clear ADA 16/22mm (5/8") filter hose! LoL 

That said, any 5/8" hose will work. You can go to Lowes or Home Depot.


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## Capsaicin_MFK (Nov 15, 2009)

The difference is quality. Eheim tubing is soft and can be straightened easier than generic vinyl tubing. Best 1/2'' tubing is from a Python No Spill, but it is spendy.


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## fusiongt (Nov 7, 2011)

Yep I can attest to that. Eheim's grey 5/8" tubing (the only I've tried, came with my g3 filter) was so much better than the clear tubing I got from Home Depot. Home Depots was thicker, which was good, but because of that it was so stiff! This wouldn't be a problem if it came straight, but it came all curled up so it was stuff like that and was a pain in the butt to work with. I ultimately just used my Eheim one and in the future I would buy that because it's so much for flexible.

*also clear tubing sounds like a good idea until it's filled with crap inside and looks brown lol. go with eheim tubing I say. If it's 1/2" tubing though then it should be easily bendable if you buy it from Home Depot and stuff.


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## chubbyone (Dec 9, 2011)

I just ran clear tubing on my filter, a 2213, replacing the eheim stuff it came with. It is Lee's Aquarium tubing, 1/2" inside diameter. I like it a lot more than the eheim kind. It was more flexible to start with, yet holds just as tight at all of the connections. It was 0.79 cents a foot at my LFS.


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## Mr. Fisher (Mar 24, 2009)

Capsaicin_MFK said:


> The difference is quality. Eheim tubing is soft and can be straightened easier than generic vinyl tubing. Best 1/2'' tubing is from a Python No Spill, but it is spendy.


This is a good point. It's important to have soft tubing. Especially when using things like lily pipes. The ADA tubing is softer than the eheim. Both hold up well. The clear tubing can be cleaned out with a tool ADA came out with to clean the inside of lily pipes.  Just another option.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

I use both Eheim and non-name tubing with Eheim filters without being able to tell the difference (green does not mesh well with glass pipes, but it's a matter of personal taste).

HomeDepo's tubing has ID/OD on the label: do make sure you get the right size.


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## KH2PO4 (Jul 18, 2009)

I thought Eheim hoses would not turn sticky and harden like cheap hoses.
But after 2 years of use, I've found they are not better than those hoses at all.


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## Rich Conley (Jun 10, 2008)

Mr. Fisher said:


> This is a good point. It's important to have soft tubing. Especially when using things like lily pipes. The ADA tubing is softer than the eheim. Both hold up well. The clear tubing can be cleaned out with a tool ADA came out with to clean the inside of lily pipes.  Just another option.


Just buy some silicon tubing. Its much better than the eheim stuff, and still much cheaper.


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

Seconding the silicone tubing reference.

It's going to be quite a bit more expensive then vinyl tubing, and a bit more difficult to find (will probably have to get it online, but nowadays, that's not much of an issue...) but it tends to be a bit softer, and it should remain soft.

Vinyl tubing (I may be wrong here- if someone has better/more accurate info, correct me) has plasticizers in it to maintain the flexibility, and over time these leach out (atmosphere, water, I'm not certain, but it seems to be a small enough amount over a long enough timespan that it seems to be a non-issue, so...) leaving the tubing more rigid. 

I don't think this happens to silicone. plus, silicone is frequently used in medical stuff, and highly sensitive lab equipment, so that's a bit of a plus.

And for what it's worth, it's a bit more chemically resistant, and can handle high-temps pretty well, in case you had some need to boil your tubing or something...


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