# Acrylic Filter Overflows (no lilies!)



## Vinlo (Mar 29, 2003)

What is the inside and outside diameters of those tubes? I called around and can get 5/8 O.D. (3/8 I.D.) for $18 for 6'. I am really thinking of making 2 sets for my tanks seeing how nice these look.. but am not too sure if the 3/8" ID is too small?


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I got 3/4 OD which fits the 5/8 hoses of my Filstars perfectly (after a short bath in almost boiling water):










(inset is how it looked before)

Big difference...


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## Vinlo (Mar 29, 2003)

How do you prime it now? Heheh.

Oh, and do you have suction cups/clips somewhere in the setup?


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Easy. Both priming and emptying. It's a secret, but I will share it :icon_eek: 

Take a vinyl air hose, and shove it up all the way where the bend starts. Then carefully suck out all the air, until <gag> the first splash of water hits your taste buds. Then pinch the hose and pull it out. Bingo!

(the outlet doesn't need to be primed, doh!)

To empty it (so you can replace the dirty acrylic non-lily pipe with a brand new one) you do the same, but blow instead of suck.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Nope, no suction cups. Never quite understood why you'd need them. It's not like someone is going to lift them accidently out of the tank, or push them around. :redface:


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## dschmeh (Feb 5, 2006)

Wasserpest said:


> Easy. Both priming and emptying. It's a secret, but I will share it :icon_eek:
> 
> Take a vinyl air hose, and shove it up all the way where the bend starts. Then carefully suck out all the air, until <gag> the first splash of water hits your taste buds. Then pinch the hose and pull it out. Bingo!
> 
> ...


Why suck the air out just drill a hole in the top bend and put in a checkvalve hook a airline tube to the airator input on a power head and you will never lose prime . All the overflow boxes on my reeftanks come with this option. (no secret)


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Well, why make it simple when you can do it really complicated? You are absolutely right! :thumbsup: 

(I only have to prime once every two years when the hoses need a good cleaning. Therefore, I suck!).


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Wasser, I thought about this before exploring my own lily-pipe excursion. I was worried that the clear, acrylic pipes would whiten over time (within a few months). I look forward to future updates.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

Nice work WP!!!!


Well done!

I've got a fluval 304 that needs some funky downpipes now too. BUt that's gonna be fun, 3/4" hehe!

Also, I've been experimenting with ways of cleaning them as they do fill up with gunk.

Time for another DIY epsiode eh!


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

unirdna said:


> Wasser, I thought about this before exploring my own lily-pipe excursion. I was worried that the clear, acrylic pipes would whiten over time (within a few months). I look forward to future updates.


I will report back in 6 months or so... It's possible they will do something weird, like turn white, or develop little cracks, or something. However, tanks are built out of acrylic, and it doesn't to such things. So we shall see...


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Curare said:


> Nice work WP!!!!
> 
> 
> Well done!
> ...


THANK YOU oh master of all acrylic filter pipes!

Let us know what you find out about cleaning them. Knowing me, I am probably too lazy to take them apart, and just let them gunk up for the natural looks...

I am looking at my AquaClear inlet... there must be a good way to convert that grey thing to a glass clear acrylic pipe!!!


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Curare said:


> I've been experimenting with ways of cleaning them as they do fill up with gunk.


Hey guys. Great work blazing new trails (forgot to mention that in my first post).

I found a way to clean my lily pipes (post #29), and thought you might be interested. This, because the brush I use isn't made of metal. The very tip is, actually, but the long handle is made of soft, flexible plastic. I thought this would be worth noting, since scratching the acrylic is an obvious worry. I bought two different size brushes, the 7/8" and the 1". Strangely enough, they have very different bristles. The 7/8" is much stiffer. The 1" is considerably softer. For your purposes, I would recommend the 1" (if you were interested). If you'd like better photos than the ones on the website, I could snap a few shots.

http://www.justmanbrush.com/catalog/index.asp?ScreenOption=NewCatalog&SelectCatalog=2


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

that's what I was planning on urirdna, but I've got some trix up my sleeve.

Some arms too.


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

Man it looks good. I think I'll start planning mine.


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

dschmeh said:


> Why suck the air out just drill a hole in the top bend and put in a checkvalve hook a airline tube to the airator input on a power head and you will never lose prime . All the overflow boxes on my reeftanks come with this option. (no secret)


Or for those afraid to drill, combine the 2 methods, put the airline hose into the tube @ the bend, then put the other end into the powerhead venturi.
(that was how my HOB overflow worked.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

unirdna said:


> I found a way to clean my lily pipes (post #29), and thought you might be interested. This, because the brush I use isn't made of metal. The very tip is, actually, but the long handle is made of soft, flexible plastic. I thought this would be worth noting, since scratching the acrylic is an obvious worry. I bought two different size brushes, the 7/8" and the 1". Strangely enough, they have very different bristles. The 7/8" is much stiffer. The 1" is considerably softer. For your purposes, I would recommend the 1" (if you were interested). If you'd like better photos than the ones on the website, I could snap a few shots.
> 
> http://www.justmanbrush.com/catalog/index.asp?ScreenOption=NewCatalog&SelectCatalog=2


Hey Ted, thanks for the link. Something like that is great, I guess you could just remove the hose at the filter, and then feed the whole snake through the tubing and clean it. (I am afraid to place an order... usually ends up $2 for the brush, $9 for S+H :icon_roll).

BTW I noticed your glassware gunked up kinda fast... maybe I never noticed that on mine, since it was opaque plastic, but there seemed to be quite a gunky layer on yours after only a few weeks. I will see how long mine stay clean. Maybe contract an Oto to clean them once a week? (Yeah I AM just kidding!).


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

How do you tell the oto to go up the pipe to clean the inside?

How do you teach him to swim backwards?

hehehe


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

You'd have too put in a loop where if he takes a right turn he's redirected to the outlet. Also don't forget to put up a sign: "Danger! You are only 5 inches from the impeller!"


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## Vinlo (Mar 29, 2003)

What is the wall thickness of the tube? I found a place locally that can get me 3/4" OD (with 1/16" wall thickness) by 6' long for $9. I am thinking even if I screw up it's only $10.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

The acrylic I am using is 1/16" wall thickness as well.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

Most acrylic tube you get is 1/16" thick, even the 1/4" stuff!

hehe


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## Vinlo (Mar 29, 2003)

SO i got my 6 foot length today. SPent some time over the stove (electric) and all I can say is my results are piss poor.. at best. I got a decent bend once but the tube I used so it wouldn't collapse got stuck inside. Some bends collapsed. What a fiasco. I even tried rocksalt in there.. whew.. that work but it looked just about as bad as it could look. Man alive.

So what am I doing wrong?? I have 3/4" 1/16"wall acrylic tube. I was using a 1/2" OD flexible tube for the inside. The tube I used ended up melting a little but and sticking to the inside and broke when I removed it. Should I be used a smaller diameter tube for the inside? Something a little more rigid? I have a small length of .600" braided PVC, the fit was SO tight I though for sure I wouldn't be able to get it out. Maybe my radius is too tight that I am trying to bend?

I am at a loss. I have enough tube left to attempt to make an outflow tube.. if I can get that to look ok, I will buy another length of acrylic to try my hand at it.

Any tips, suggestions, help is greatly appreciated.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Bending acrylic pipe - an artform that has been developed and studied for centuries... don't give up yet.

Some ideas...

You said electric stove... I don't imagine that working too well. I think you need to buy a gas stove. Saves electricity too! 

The key to success is the part that you stick in there. I used something called Fuel Line, I think 3/8" (that's ID), I think because I rubbed off the letters so I can't tell for sure. It's available in hardware store, made out of thick rubber, and it doesn't flatten when you bend it.

The next thing is to find the right degree of viscosity when heating up the acrylic. You want to heat an area, not a spot, for a smooth radius.

Finally, I used a 3/4" plastic elbow to bend the acrylic around... I guess you need something to create a round shape, you can't just bend it in the air.

Good luck!


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## Vinlo (Mar 29, 2003)

Gas stove eh? Hmm, seems to blow the DIY budget out of the water! :icon_eek: :icon_smil I do have access to one though.

After reading your message I think I had 3 problems. 1. Not heating up enough of the tube.. I think I need to heat up atleast 6" of that thing. 2. I didn't really use a from, I tried.. but got frustrated. 3. Crappy tubing for the inside.

I have thick walled braided PVC that isn't going to kink. So the fuel line barely fits into the acrylic pipe? Or is there a little wiggle room in there? Sorry for so many questions, I want to try not to screw up the last piece.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

6 inches might be overkill, but that depends on how tight the bend is going to be. Using this 3/4 elbow worked perfectly for me, just so fits over my 100 gal tank brace. I heated maybe a 4in area of the pipe, until I could shape it to an S-form without effort.

The fuel line fits loosely into the acrylic pipe. Not sure how to describe it... It *is* the most difficult part to remove it after bending, I broke one pipe, and another one almost, and I thought I was going to rip the hose.

There might be a way to make that easier with some sort of lubricant. I used flour! You know like talcum powder, to make it smoother? That worked a little better, especially since I had some residual moisture in some pipe which blocked the fuel line even more.


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## jimjim (Nov 9, 2003)

Just FYI you can also heat plastic tubing using a tea kettle. Hold the tube over the steam coming from the spout. I found it also seems to heat the tubing more evanly (is that a word?)....Jim


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

W., any reason you used flour instead of talcum? Is it because you were already in the kitchen? I have my tubes (but not my tank) and now I'm all scared to try it!


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Well I don't have talcum sitting around, while unbleached wheat flour... Plus talcum is carcinogenic, while flour isn't.

It was just a hunch... after realizing that the moist fuel line was difficult to pull out. However, rubbing that thing with vaseline/silicone lubricant might be another possibility.

No dirty jokes, please :flick:


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## fredyk (Jan 2, 2004)

with my gas stove, I hate spending $10 monthly on service/connectivity fees and $2 month on actual gas. that's $120 year to the gas company for the use of their infrastructure. But I figure turning off the gas to protest is a slight inconvenice as I use the gas stove a few times a week.

How about boiling water to heat up the acrylic or is it too little heat? I am trying to do this unsuccessfully with polyethylene plastic tubing. Acrylic must be quite a lot stronger material.

Mark


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

fredyk said:


> with my gas stove, I hate spending $10 monthly on service/connectivity fees and $2 month on actual gas. that's $120 year to the gas company for the use of their infrastructure. But I figure turning off the gas to protest is a slight inconvenice as I use the gas stove a few times a week.


My water and house are heated with gas too... so it isn't as bad.



fredyk said:


> How about boiling water to heat up the acrylic or is it too little heat? I am trying to do this unsuccessfully with polyethylene plastic tubing. Acrylic must be quite a lot stronger material.


I think you could use boiling water, the trick would be how to submerge only the section that you want to bend into the water... I don't think the steam alone would be enough to soften the acrylic enough. But I haven't tried.


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

Modern baby powder is made of corn starch. So I guess that should work. But I'd be more inclined to use liquid soap or vegetable oil. Flour gets so gummy when wet...


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## jimjim (Nov 9, 2003)

I have bent many a tubing with just steam from a boiling kettle wasserpest...Jim


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

There you go... no gas stove needed. roud:

Mori... the tubing was dry, so no problem with gummy-ness.


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## Curare (Sep 15, 2004)

I've struggled to get the heat I need into a pipe from just boiling water or steam.

A heat gun is inexpensive and fun, strip paint, set your friends on fire, and a million and one other household uses.

hehe.

Nearly ready to start on my next one, so keep an eye out!

RAWR!


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

If you're using a kettle, you're standing over the stove anyway... I do have an electric kettle but it shuts off automatically. I sort of like the idea of a fume hood when heating plastics so the stove seems like a good location. I can't remember where my heat gun is--obviously I tried stripping paint with it to the detriment of my brain.


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## Martin (Jan 15, 2005)

alas... you American people have access to a world of aquatic accessories..

I've searched hi & lo, and haven't been able to find anyone who sells Acrylic pipes here in Denmark,,..... :sniff: 

oh well... perhaps one day..! =)


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## Anti-Pjerrot (Jan 20, 2006)

Im sorry to hear that - Im looking for some acrylic pipes right now for my nano... If I see some ill give you a pm Symbiot


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## lewisjl481 (Oct 26, 2004)

Hey, I was just wondering if we could get a two month update on how these are holding up?


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## pineapple (Jan 22, 2004)

Clear suction cups on the outside of the tank to hold the intake and return pipes is an insurance policy, though not a necessity.

The plastic (albeit clear) strainer at the end of the intake is not really necessary. Instead, use a Dremel, or better still a hand drill with drills for acrylic, to make a series of small intake holes around the bottom of the intake pipe. Plug the bottom of the intake pipe with a piece of clear plastic. You will find this is much less obtrusive. Though I am sure most of our intake pipes are hidden behind big bushes of Java and what have you.

BTW, nice thread from Wasser...

It has always surprised me that some innovator has not come up with clear acrylic versions of the Eheim standard intake and outflow pipes.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

lewisjl481 said:


> Hey, I was just wondering if we could get a two month update on how these are holding up?


They are holding up great so far, well they better... if they would break that'd be a major catastrophy. After a little over 2 months, mine have turned from shiny clear to a light brown, and I guess it is time to clean them but they are still almost invisible so I guess I delay that a little more.

It's really a huge difference to the regular colored plastic pipes that stand out in every tank.

I have done a little project where I modded the inlet of my AC Mini and added some clear acrylic to this one too. Not as necessary since the AC pipes have a rather subdued color (sorta half clear grey-ish). But turned out alright as well.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

pineapple said:


> The plastic (albeit clear) strainer at the end of the intake is not really necessary. Instead, use a Dremel, or better still a hand drill with drills for acrylic, to make a series of small intake holes around the bottom of the intake pipe. Plug the bottom of the intake pipe with a piece of clear plastic. You will find this is much less obtrusive. Though I am sure most of our intake pipes are hidden behind big bushes of Java and what have you.


You are absolutely right. I am just a little nervous about inlet strainers clogging up with debris, and prefer a manufactured solution that optimizes the openings for unobstructed flow (with some spare slits). It is amazing what a strong canister filter collects on these strainers, and I am afraid that drilled holes plug up too easily with leafs etc. Don't want to use a prefilter sponge either.

And yes... in a corner, hidden behind plants, it is absolutely invisible anyway.


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## pineapple (Jan 22, 2004)

I use the standard Eheim intake pipe and discard that blinking great cage they supply for the bottom end strainer. Instead, I have drilled small holes in the inflow pipe and plug the end. It has worked well for more than a year on more than one tank with no clogging issues. Actually, I find the Eheim plain vanilla pipes are quite OK - it's just the colour (though not as bad as Fluval's battleship grey) that is not great. If they were in plexi, it would be so much better. My best source of plexi etc in NYC has closed down (Industrial Plastics on Canal Street). But I better go looking...


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Each tank is different, and my strainers collect enormous amounts of stuff. Leaves, java fern plantlets, moss strings, Riccia, etc.

For material, try Tap Plastics, good prices and decent shipping...


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## mshaeffer (Nov 29, 2002)

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pr...SPlastic&category_name=21315&product_id=11231

Heres a cheap place to order some acrylic tubing!!


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

Mine are a few months old and still work. They are sludge brown of course, but my goal was more just cheap extensions than beauty. They're quite obvious since my tank is almost empty at this time but at least they aren't nuclear waste green.

I bent mine over the gas stove using a silicon oven mitt to shape them. You can squish them back if they start to cave in. I had trouble getting my tubing to work.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Mori said:


> I bent mine over the gas stove using a silicon oven mitt to shape them. You can squish them back if they start to cave in. I had trouble getting my tubing to work.


Did you get a nice even radius just by doing this by hand?


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

Not perfect, but my mitts are huge and stiff and my tiny hands could barely bend inside them. I would have had better luck with just the square oven thingy instead of the mitts which are hard to even cook with, let alone do fine art in. 

I believe that with properly fitting mitts, one could have very good results. My results are entirely satisfactory, but could look better. I suspect that combining the hose technique with the hands-on method would be pretty good. You just slowly heat, bend, heat, bend, turn the fan up another notch, heat, bend...

The tubes do shrink a little with heat. Does the airline keep the ID from shrinking?


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Yeah, that's the point of the rubber fuel line, to keep the ID as round and big as possible. That said, there is some flattening of the previously perfect circle.

I just can't imagine how you bend this using oven mitts without totally collapsing or weird angles. I used a little 3/4" elbow to get that perfect circle.


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

If it starts to collapse, you just pinch the wide part to poof it out again. I didn't just heat til goopy and bend. It took several passes, heating until _slightly_ flexible, mold it a little, heat some more, etc. Fitting it into an elbow would have made for a nicer curve than my freehand efforts, though. It's not a perfect U; it almost has corners.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I see... BTW you can tell from my picture (first post) that the pipes flattened a little bit where the radius was bent.


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## jgc (Jul 6, 2005)

Thanks for the idea of using fuel tubing (was offline in April, so am a little behind)

lfs is getting me some thinwall acrylic 1/2" (not sure if id or od) 3' for $3. Will see if this works. While eventually would love some clear non-lilly pipes, my first attempt will be more ambitious - an acrylic paperclip - constant level syphon for a nano sump. Call me crazy, but feel safer testing new ideas small (1 gallon tank rather than 10 or 58). 

If the paperclip works, I might try a larger sump for fert mixing/constant level, and daily water changes for the larger tank (10gallon, low flow sump)


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Keep in mind these things get a little fragile at the bends. So as you get to larger scale, I think supporting them so nothing heavy puts stress on them might be a good idea.

Uhm, what I mean is... don't do what I am doing here:


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## csf (Jul 10, 2003)

I've put salt into a tube that I bent before. It helped the tubing to keep its shape. You pack it full with table salt (Morton's, etc.) and then bend it. You have to kind of keep it packed in w/ your fingers on the ends, but you don't have to be super-particular about it.

It worked for me, your mileage might vary.  You can also try sand.


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## Martin (Jan 15, 2005)

I made these:










used this to bend & shape;










and the result;










a more detailed journal in Danish is here;

Akvarieplanter.dk :: Vis emne - DIY - indsugning & udstrømmer i klar akryl.

quite a lot more photos.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Sweet... looks really professional.

For the non-danish speaker with average sized monitor, can you share what you used to keep them nice and round? I figure it is some sort of filled garden hose.


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## Martin (Jan 15, 2005)

1 way is to click the link, and see the images on my own site.

but ofcourse, for the non-danish speaker...

I tried a few ways, first I used sand, but that didn't work. Sand was to coarse, and it embedded itself in the pipe. Then I tried salt, as per a user here. Salt kept the bend rather smooth, but again, it embedded itself in the pipe.

I then tried a rigid gardenhose, but suffice to say... rigid & heat=soooooft. 

So I took a piece of rigid gardenhose, and filled that piece with salt, since salt worked the best for me.
I fdid a test run, the bend came out wonderful, but alas.. the hose stayed well put.
I had to saw the pipe to remove the hose. Mind, I used 1 meter of acrylic pipe to do all these testruns.

I then pulled out my trusty Vaseline... mmmm... I rubbed it in _real good_ and when to work on my pipe... by now you're probably not thinking acrylics..

nevertheless, this was how I created the pipes. I decided to move the hose back and forth whilst heating up the pipe, to even any heat that might start softening the hose. When I was ready to bend the pipe, I pulled the gardenhose back or forth, so the piece of hose, that was positioned where the bend was supposed to be, was as cold as possible.

2 of the bends I made with a long piece of hose, the last bend I made with a smaller piece of hose.

I then just sawed the outflow bit so it would give a nice current at the surface.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

How innovative. Salt inside a garden hose inside the acrylic tube!


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## Martin (Jan 15, 2005)

lol. Well it did the job.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Thanks for the explanation... lol. I did look at the pictures, but my laptop set to 1024x768 was way overwhelmed  

I noticed too that removing the fuel rubber lines that I used for smooth bends was the most difficult part. Rubbing in vaseline... how innovative, indeed.


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## Martin (Jan 15, 2005)

oh dear, I could imagine. The standard dimensions of my shots are 1280x(xxxx)

I hope you can use the bit of info I've added to this Thread. I know I wouldn't have started without this thread, and Curare's.

I appreciate all you do, wP, for DIY'ers all over the world.

testing & tinkering... great info always comes out of your threads! at least I can use it!


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## Martin (Jan 15, 2005)

here, some days later, and all seems to run well. No clogging, no brown sludge etc. 

excellent!


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

OK, I redid some plumpbing, and thought of what to do next....revive an old thread!!!!!
Wasser, How are the pipes holding up really long term? Did they discolor badly? Do you still use them?


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

They are holding up well... they do collect some brown algae/biofilm after a month or two, easy to remove with a special brush (connected to a long flexible piece of plastic).

No problems whatsoever...


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

Great to hear. I was worried that the plastic might actually discolor under the lights, but if all you are having is algae, and biofilm, I would love to remove my intakes for these.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Go for it... the difficult part is keeping the bend nice and round and tight and stuff.

There is no discoloration, they are staying pretty clear so far. Not quite like glass, but the cost savings make it clear up very well. :smile:


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

Well, considering, I would have to replace 2 intakes, and 2 outputs on my tank, I can't trade glassware for my son's college. 

I think I might have an easier solution for myself ( I hope to document when I get around to doing it) since I have the Eheim install kit, and can just attach it to the dark gray piece that goes over the rim.


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

Do the acrylic! It's fun, easy, and cheap. Mine still look good. I didn't do mine to be cheap or even to look good but because my tank is an awkward depth--when I bought a new Eheim filter with 2 intakes, I combined both intake kits to achieve the proper depth on one since I didn't have enough acrylic pipes. Sad, too--I now live about 3 blocks from one of the TAP outlets and would love to tidy up my pipes, but I can't heat acrylic on my new home's stove.


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

This is a great thread! You DiY'ers really know your stuff!

I may have to get to this in time also! I want lilly pipes very very badly, but Im not a DiY'er and didnt have much luck with a DiY reactor in the past

There isnt any good places to find lilly pipes for sale that dont cost your arm? Knock off is quite fine! hahaha 

Thanks, and I hope I didnt hijack your thread


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## Curt_914 (Oct 6, 2007)

Ok so What excatly is a Lily Pipe?? I am new to all of this. I would like the Idea for the clear acrylic an have a source for it here in town. I have a 55 gallon that I have a Rena XP2 and I really dont like the color of the intake or the spray bar, Unnatrual gray color. I Am going to be building a diy reactor as well as a hydor 300 watt in line heater. I will try to get a plumbing Dia up this weekend. 

Curt


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Curt, here is the original Lily Pipe - http://www.adana.co.jp/_e_product/58_index.html

And Erk, yes, I think your question deserves its own thread. Or a quick search.


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Ok....very sorry

Thank you


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

You _can_ DIY this, Erk. The stuff is cheap. Get a little extra and play with it before using the good chunks.


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Thanks Mori, I will do some research and see what I can do


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## Matthew_Machine (Oct 12, 2003)

Thanks to this thread (and others), I was able to bend some new tubing for my canister filter. Picked up 1/2" acrylic tubing for $2.50 at TAP plastics (so cheap!) and used a heat gun at work to bend it. 

I found the perfect size silicone tubing to run into the acrylic and then slowly bent the pipe over a wooden dowel. The first one came out a little wonky (2nd from left) but that's ok. The spray bar looks and works well and the intake seems good.

The whole point was just to get rid of the green pipes from the Eheim canister. I've got a little tweaking to do, but so far they work good. 

questions: I'm using a spraybar with a plug in it from the originak tubing and it works, but it's green. I saw people made plugs with extra acrilic. Does the acrylic cement become safe when dry? Also, does anyone have any alternatives to making end plugs in that fashion? I'd like to make it super clean looking and the end plugs are great, just green. Thanks!


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## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

I was thinking if I ever had time to try this, but to imitate the lily pipe outflow, I was wondering if it would be possible to get metal or wooden cones (or plastic, but my concern would be that it would melt under the heat?) that have a series of sizes from small to large. Inserting the smallest cone into the outflow pipe and then eating the acrylic and pushing the cone in as the acrylic softens to enlarge the opening. Continuing this process until there is a large opening like the standard ADA lily pipes. 

This would likely stretch the acrylic pretty thin, but it's plastic after all and wouldn't be anymore fragile than the glass ones, right? Just an idea and if I run into some cones of some sort, I might try it.

Oh. Lightbulb moment. Might work well with regular kitchen quality metal funnels that come in a range of sizes too.


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## redcherryshrimp (Oct 30, 2008)

*plug*

You could just heat up the end and crimp it closed.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Talk about bringing back an old thread...


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## rountreesj (Jun 12, 2007)

yup...but everyone is doing it nowadays...


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Nothing wrong with adding a new idea to a mature thread. :smile:


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

So i assume you guys are using the non-cast material? I clicked on that and crapped on the price haha

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=141&




> I got 3/4 OD which fits the 5/8 hoses of my Filstars perfectly (after a short bath in almost boiling water):


"od 3/4"x6' Clear Acrylic Tube (1/16 wall) $4.05"

Is this the one that fits Filstars?


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Yep, that's the stuff.


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## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

Well to touch moogoo's year old thought of imitating the lily output, I watched a guy take both glass and acrylic tubes, pinch one end closed after heating, then heat some more while spinning the tube, blow into the open end and produce a bulge at the heated/pinched end to the desired size. 

It seems that may work to produce a funnel if you could get a bulb shape blown to the right size, then saw it off to the angle/shape desired. I can't really give any tips firsthand other than to maybe be sure to exhale into the tube, and not to inhale...lol


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