# Stainless Inlet and Outlet pipes



## Aqua sobriquet (17 May 2019)

These seem to be available from about £20 but are they any good. Have any of you bought them?
I’m particularly interested in the Skimmer inlet version. I’m assuming the clear part is Acrylic. Size wise I’m looking at the fairly standard 12/16mm.


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## soggybongo (17 May 2019)

do you have a link to the item?


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## Aqua sobriquet (17 May 2019)

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sta...ef-4da0-824b-447213de7c64&transAbTest=ae803_4

If you use the AliExpress App they start at about £20. Also on Wish for a little more.


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## soggybongo (18 May 2019)

why pay for a app then pay for the item + postage then get hit with import charge.


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## alto (18 May 2019)

If they’re similar to the “direct from Asia” version I’ve seen at my lfs, they’re pretty basic, nothing beautiful or *smooth* (important for me re livestock)
If you’ve follow various forum posts re skimmers, design/engineering is important for effective skimming 

I wasn’t willing to pay ADA price for stainless steel inlet/outlet but haven’t seen any lesser quality versions that I’d place in my aquarium (I’ve turned down Chihiros, haven’t seen Borneo Wild)


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## Aqua sobriquet (18 May 2019)

soggybongo said:


> why pay for a app then pay for the item + postage then get hit with import charge.



? The app is free. Postage is also free from some vendors. If you pay about £20 then it’s below the threshold for import duty but you may have to pay VAT.  Many of the parcels I’ve had from the Far East  often don’t have the correct value on them so you may not even pay VAT. Unfortunately if you do have to pay the VAT Royal Mail charge a collection fee which isn’t good.

They are also available on the Auction site for similar money.


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## Michael1212 (18 May 2019)

I got a set of these, and was very impressed.  My lilly pipes were very difficult to clean, and got dirty easily, so I replaced them with these.  In my opinion they look a lot better.  Sleek and unobtrusive.  Also, algae struggles to grow on them.


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## Aqua sobriquet (19 Apr 2020)

Michael1212 said:


> I got a set of these, and was very impressed.  My lilly pipes were very difficult to clean, and got dirty easily, so I replaced them with these.  In my opinion they look a lot better.  Sleek and unobtrusive.  Also, algae struggles to grow on them.



I noticed the other day that the plastic hoses from my stainless inlet and outlet pipes were quite dirty and needed cleaning. Today though I decided to do some re-plumbing and just replaced the hoses. As the old ones were dirty I decided the stainless inlet and outlet were almost certainly dirty and ran a suitable size pipe cleaner in one and it came out as clean as a whistle! Why is this?

I’ve now bought two sets of these stainless pipes from eBay UK sellers. Non skimmer was about £20 and the skimmer version was £35.


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## dw1305 (19 Apr 2020)

Hi all, 





Aqua sobriquet said:


> As the old ones were dirty I decided the stainless inlet and outlet were almost certainly dirty and ran a suitable size pipe cleaner in one and it came out as clean as a whistle! Why is this?


It might be the stainless steel surface is smooth at micron level, so attachment is more difficult. The other option is simply that they don't let the light through, so you don't get any photosynthetic algae etc. 





Aqua sobriquet said:


> Today though I decided to do some re-plumbing and just replaced the hoses.


I've cut all my hoses so they aren't any longer than twice the length of the cleaning brush. I use <"long-handled lab. glassware burette brushes">, you can usually buy them cheaply from Ebay etc.

I just dunk the hose in warm water, to remove any kinks,  and then I push the brush through from both ends, and all the gunk should just rinse out. 

cheers Darrel


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## Aqua sobriquet (20 Apr 2020)

Whilst the outside of the pipes is polished nice and shiny I don’t think the inside is Darrel so I expect it’s the lack of light?


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## dw1305 (20 Apr 2020)

Hi all,





Aqua sobriquet said:


> so I expect it’s the lack of light?


Sounds likely.

cheers Darrel


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