# Invisible Plumbing - Handmade Lily Pipes - update: Cleaning howto



## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

Those look very nice, Ted!


----------



## bpm2000 (Feb 16, 2005)

are you just hanging them? I dont see any suction cups or anything..


----------



## cbennett (Oct 20, 2005)

I'd be interested in a pair!


----------



## eds (Feb 12, 2003)

Look beautiful.
You may recall I was trying to sound my young niece out about manufacturing these - haven't heard back from her so I guess she isn't interested.
Way to creatively tap those resources!


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

bpm2000 said:


> are you just hanging them? I dont see any suction cups or anything..


They are held in place by a pair of suction cups. One hold the glass pipe steady, the other grabs the hosing to support the weight. I'm using black because it's what I had, and since my background is black - no big deal. But, if you wanted to side mount them, I'd defintiely go for clear. The guy who made these offered to put that little, glass notch on the side of the pipe, and fit a suction cup to it, but I told him not to. By using a suction-cup holder that grips the pipe, rather than a fixed suction cup, I can swivel the pipe to a 45 degree angle. This allows the outflow pipe to be fixed to the back of the aquarium and still release the water towards the center of the tank.










Thanks much for the words. As you can tell, I'm quite excited about these, and I'm happy I can share (with others who care about such things  ).


----------



## SunkShip (Oct 29, 2004)

Wow, amazing craftsmanship! It looks great


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

cbennett said:


> I'd be interested in a pair!


Roger that. I'll start making a list. We'll see where it takes us.


----------



## turbosaurus (Nov 19, 2005)

wow...very nice


----------



## fishwhisperer (Jan 8, 2006)

Wow...very nice. I am also interested.


----------



## VITARTE (Jan 28, 2005)

Count me in.  
Rafo


----------



## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

Great stuff Ted. Pls PM me if your friend needs to sell a couple of good sized outflows!


----------



## hoffboy (Feb 20, 2005)

I was showing this post to my wife and she said, "Hey, he's got a chair in front of his tank just like you!" I gave her my best 'duh' face.

I'm into buying a set of this glassware and I don't even have a canister. This could finally push me over the edge toward buying my dream Eheim.


----------



## JonMulzer (Apr 6, 2003)

> And....here's an "after" photo. The lily intake nearly disappears .


Nearly?? Where is it? It certainly disappears in photos. From a distance I can _barely_ see the outflow. Nice pieces for sure.


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

JonMulzer said:


> Nearly?? Where is it?


Right side . You can barely make out the intake on the bottom right. The pipe vanishes. My wife took a moment to find it when I asked her to look in the tank. The outflow is more conspicuous because the current gives it away.

I plan to meet with the 'creator' later this week. I'll run the idea past him re: further sets.


----------



## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Greg was selling pairs of these for a good price, but the holes are better IMO for the suction side, the slits cause the intake to break VERY easily if you bang it even slightly against the tank wall.

Then you are screwed.

The outflow is done very well.

Looks nice.


Regards, 
Tom Barr


----------



## bharada (Mar 5, 2004)

Just remember to get yourself a very flexible bristle brush to clean out the buildup in the intake tube.

I just sold my set of IUnknown-made pipes to someone on another board and ended up using a some rigid airline tubing with a swatch of cloth taped to the end as a cleaning rod. None of the bristle brushes I had could make 180° bent over the top.


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

bharada said:


> Just remember to get yourself a very flexible bristle brush to clean out the buildup in the intake tube.


Right on, Bill. I've orderer one of these. 










http://www.justmanbrush.com/catalog/plugins/lineitems/browse.asp 

Plenty long, and 1/10th the price of ADA wire brushes .


----------



## jgc (Jul 6, 2005)

Very nice. Keep us updated on potential prices. Personally (if the price is right) I could see myself wanting a set of these. Of course, like everyone else I have my own ideas of perfection - but those are beautiful none the less.

I use a 2217 with different sized intake and spray bars. I also am fond of verticle spraybars.


----------



## AlexPerez (Jan 25, 2004)

Count me in for a set.. Also would like to get and extra inlet (My old one got broken :icon_redf ). I like how the outlet angles.


----------



## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

AlexPerez said:


> Count me in for a set.. Also would like to get and extra inlet (My old one got broken :icon_redf ). I like how the outlet angles.


You too?

I think Ted's pipes are the nicest I've seen, you should sell them.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


----------



## turbowagon (Dec 30, 2005)

unirdna said:


> If you could see some of the medical equipment this man has made


Medical equpment, huh? Maybe I can buy some of your friend's wares with my health insurance flex benefits points. :tongue:

Back on topic, those filter pipes look really nice... might make a nice birthday present to myself in a few months.


----------



## fishwhisperer (Jan 8, 2006)

unirdna,

Did your guy say rather he would do an order of lily pipes or not? Not rushing, just keeping the interest alive . If not, do yor or anyone else out there know of anyone that is willing to do it for about the same price? I still can't believe the difference in looks. How does the flow seem to be working? I guess what I am asking: Are there any dead spots and has it effected your CO2 absorbtion?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

The questions you raise, Jeremy, is the reason I haven't been moving too fast. I used this week to get a look at how well the pipes perform. And, so far, I couldn't be more please. I hatched some brine shrimp to feed to my cardinals so I could watch the current patterns. The BS were scattered all over the tank within seconds. Actually, much faster than my spraybar. I angle the lily towards the front (bow) of my tank, and the water flows around my centerpiece. The slight downward angle keeps surface agitation down, but allow surface movement. This creates a slow, circular motion of the surface water.

Seemingly, no dead spots and CO2 is staying consistent with the previous setup. 

I will pass on interest to the guy who made them. I don't want to be the liason between him and the "aquatic market"; so I think I will leave all sales to him. I'll recommend that he sells them on aquabid or in the swap and shop area of this forum. Of course, I will let everyone know when/if he decides to make more.


----------



## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

> I don't want to be the liason between him and the "aquatic market"; so I think I will leave all sales to him.


I think that is a smart move, Ted. That is what I would do.

You let him know folks are interested and where to find them and he can do the rest. 

Mike


----------



## Wö£fëñxXx (Dec 2, 2003)

Better yet, ask the guy to make you up 2 dozen set, tell him you will give him $60 a pc, see if he responds positive, if not bump $5, etc.. you could sell these for $100 a set easy, dont let him know that though.

Those things are over $100 per intake/Pipe from ADA..


----------



## Wö£fëñxXx (Dec 2, 2003)

or, even better, tell him you will give him $800 for 2 dozen set....it wouldnt hurt to ask, see where it goes...:thumbsup:

Money talk's, BS walk's. I bet once he is setup, it wouldn't take him two days to make them, thats $400 a day. he might like the sound of that.


----------



## fishwhisperer (Jan 8, 2006)

wolfenxxx said:


> you could sell these for $100 a set easy, dont let him know that though.
> 
> Those things are over $100 per intake/Pipe from ADA..


Then the rest of us couldn't get them for $80 apiece .


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

*Cleaning*

So this was my fear of owning lily pipes. How to clean them (with as little anxiety as possible)...

I bought some long, flexible pipe cleaners from an online shop (the one mentioned in previous posts). The tubing is stuck to the glass pipe quite well, and the only way I'd be comfortable removing it would be to cut it parallel to the pipe. But, no one wants to do this every time and besides, I already have the length cut perfectly.

So, I cut the tubing a few inches before the pipe, and inserted a coupler with ball-valve. Now, all I have to do is turn the valve and remove the pipe for cleaning.

Which, by the way, was a cinch. Even the area surround the small intake holes clean up with only a few strokes because the hairs of the cleaning head protruded from the holes. Very nice.

Here's a photo play-by-play. The whole process took only a couple minutes.


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

BTW, the fella who made my pipes is in the early stages of contacting online shops to see if they want to carry them. I hope, for all of you, that aquariumplants or aquabotanic takes him up on his offer. These things are beautiful and quite strong.


----------



## IUnknown (Feb 5, 2003)

For those that have the eheim brush that comes with the filter. What I did was connect it to the end of some coaxial cable that was laying around, cut one end to expose the middle copper wire that I just raped around the metal loop on the eheim brush. It's rigid enough to get to the end of the lillie pipes.


----------



## zero9046 (Jul 6, 2005)

what's the latest on these pipes? any idea?


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Well, I'm loving mine ....

The gentleman who makes them contacted aquariumplants.com and aquabotanic, but they never responded. A real shame. A product like this could really set one of these vendors apart from the others.

And to be honest, I'd take my pipes over the ADA ones anyday. I've already clobbered them against the glass a few times (accidently, of course), and they held up. Since they are made from [chemistry] glass that is designed to take a beating, they are rock solid (as far as glass goes).

Hopefully, he will find a distributer. Unfortunate - when you can't get a quality product to folks wanting to purchase.


----------



## samratb (Mar 24, 2006)

*Desperately want to buy those pair*

hi unirdna,
Can you please ask him to create a paypal account and sell them on ebay?

I must say you are the luckiest person on earth who possesses those beautiful pieces.

Thanks


----------



## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

unirdna said:


> Right on, Bill. I've orderer one of these.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I don't see this particular brush ar justmanbrush.com can you direct me on how to order it?


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Looks like they stopped carrying it, Fish Newb. But, it isn't like this was the only place that carried such a thing. There must be another place
.


----------



## ThatNewGuy (Sep 8, 2004)

You know for a small amount of money he could set up a website and sell them himself. He would most likely make back to stup cost in one sale. As a matter of fact I would host him for life on my server for a setp


----------



## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

unirdna said:


> Right on, Bill. I've orderer one of these.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Anyone know where I can order this brush or buy it locally since it isn't available on that website any longer? I need to clean my inflow/outflow pipes because they are totally disgusting now. I went to Home Depot but they don't have any sort of pipe cleaners whatsoever.


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

The link is still working.... and I am able to add one to "my cart".

Scroll down the page a bit...???


----------



## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

unirdna said:


> The link is still working.... and I am able to add one to "my cart".
> 
> Scroll down the page a bit...???


It looks like they have re-added it! Thanks Unirdna!


----------



## ColeMan (Mar 9, 2008)

First of all, I'd love a set of these pipes...Second of all, we're talking about lily pipe so I'm going to stray a bit off topic (still lily pipes don't worry):

I've considered approaching local glass blowers in my area, but don't know how they'd respond and if they even consider doing such a seemingly bizarre thing. I've always wanted someone to make an outlet pipe that has a bent neck, so one can still hang it over the back of the aquarium but the water flow (and outlet itself) is still lengthwise in the tank...surely I'm not the only person to think about this - any ideas about where I could find one or have one made (actually i'd need 2)?


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

If you have a large university in your city, check to see if their chemistry department has a glass fabricator. Chances are, he/she has a home studio as well, and may be willing to help you out. Be prepared to pay "Amano" prices. It's not a way to save $$, just an alternative. My pipes cost the same as Amano lily pipes, but they are custom made for my tank, and they are stronger than anything I've seen at the stores.


----------



## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

those are amazong and are probably worth the money. I wonder how colored lily pipes would look. Hmmmmmm


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

This thread was started to show the first lily pipes that nice fella made for me. Page 1 of my ADA 90cm journal has the 2nd generation lily pipes. And before you go asking, yes I still have the original set, no I'm not using them right now, and no I don't wish to part with them .


----------



## ColeMan (Mar 9, 2008)

function, quality and performance are paramount - price is important and, of course, a limiting factor, but paying a little more now is better than paying a little less twice...plus those green eheim intakes just aren't gonna cut it!

I think I'm going to follow up on your advice and call the chem. departments of some area university's - I've got some friends in the department here at TU that might be able to direct me in the right place..I never even thoguht about consulting them for lily pipes!! thanks!


----------



## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

Wouldn't my idea be interesting though? Having like a light green, transparent lily pipe to filter, but also have it so you couldn't see the gunk?


----------



## ColeMan (Mar 9, 2008)

that is really interesting idea that can be expanded upon in a variety of ways... some glass that will actually change colors as it collects gunk and grime - so as algae and general grime collect, the pipes could change from clear to a medium or dark green - really any color - so as to best blend in to your background. there could even be multi-colored "camouflaged" pipes designed to be completely unnoticeable...


----------



## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

yeah, there is a glass blower near me I emailed. if he thinks he can do the regular pipes, I will ask how much for colore pipes. I did not order them, I just asked an estimate and if he could actually make the outflow.


----------



## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

are these handsome pipes still holding up nicely?


----------



## neonmkr (May 16, 2008)

Can someone get me the measurements of the tubes. I'll give it a try, though they won't be made out of Pyrex, I don't have the equipment for it. By the way, no guarantees on getting them done. The inlet will be the tricky one.


----------



## CuLan (Sep 25, 2008)

neonmkr said:


> Can someone get me the measurements of the tubes. I'll give it a try, though they won't be made out of Pyrex, I don't have the equipment for it. By the way, no guarantees on getting them done. The inlet will be the tricky one.


neonmkr, can you make these pipes? I am very interested.


----------



## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

volatile said:


> Anyone know where I can order this brush or buy it locally since it isn't available on that website any longer? I need to clean my inflow/outflow pipes because they are totally disgusting now. I went to Home Depot but they don't have any sort of pipe cleaners whatsoever.


Try going to a music instrument store. They have these type of brushes for cleaning brass instruments, which is basically a lengthy set of pipes anyway. I had an extra one that I got to clean my trumpet and I use it to clean my filter and it works PERFECTLY.


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

fishman9809 said:


> are these handsome pipes still holding up nicely?


I have accidently swung them into the faucet with enough force to shatter ADA pipes. I've also dropped them twice on the linoleum kitched floor, and routinely twist and torque on them while cleaning. I seriously can not give the maker enough credit for how solid these things are. 

...and yet, despite the makers best efforts, no US distributor wanted to carry them. :icon_roll

The 2nd generation pipes he made me are even stronger and better designed.










http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v340/unirdna/ADA Photo Journal/?action=view&current=NewTank047.jpg


----------



## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

...Really jealous right now. Tank, stand, living room, lily pipes, football team...just can't catch a break, now


----------



## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

i agree with fishscale, your house makes me very jealous.


----------



## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

seriously...

but it has to be... since come winter he will be stuck inside and if it weren't nice, it'd be torture... 

awesome lily pipes by the way.... totally jealous. i need to learn how to do that stuff...

OH.. and perhaps no american distributor is willing to carry the pipes is because they are too similar to the ADA ones? There is potentially a copyright or patent (if they have one) infringement. If that's the case, he need only tweak his design. otherwise, go into business for himself... he'd make a ton!


----------



## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

...It's totally just as cold here, boooo.


----------



## salth20 (Mar 6, 2008)

Very nice work. Can I suggest a cleaning method? I work for a company that makes reproduction equipment. On the cleaner assembly, we have a rather convoluted, oddly bent piece of plastic tube to carry away waste toner. Engineering was having us replace the tube on a regular basis.. long service time, and parts expense. A local whiz kid took a small piece of foam, about 1" square, and pulled a long, medium duty ty-rap around it, capturing the foam, and squishing it's middle. That can be worked the length of the tube, twisting and cleaning as you go. Seems like the idea may work on these too, and without removing the tubes from the tank. Just an idea, YMMV.


----------



## wendyjo (Feb 20, 2009)

I want a set of these pipes soooo badly!


----------



## aquabear (Jan 10, 2008)

ok...those who have been looking for these, i am a glassworker (and have a 300 gallon planted tank myself) if someone could send me specs for one of these i would love to give them a try.


----------

