# "Stumpy" 17mm glassware inlet?



## George Farmer (6 May 2011)

Hi all,

I'm after a new 17mm glassware inlet for a future shallow set-up that's 30cm tall.

Most 17mm glassware inlets I've seen are around 30cm in length, which is too long.  This would mean the inlet end would have to be inserted into the substrate!

Has anyone seen any 17mm glassware inlets that are 20cm or shorter, please?

Thanks,
George


----------



## ghostsword (6 May 2011)

*"Stumpy" 17mm glassware inlet?*

Talk to Edis, he's getting some glassware in from Germany.


.


----------



## George Farmer (6 May 2011)

Thanks, Luis.


----------



## Morgan Freeman (6 May 2011)

Could you not take a 30cm into a glaziers and see if they can shorten it?


----------



## George Farmer (6 May 2011)

Morgan Freeman said:
			
		

> Could you not take a 30cm into a glaziers and see if they can shorten it?


No, because of the design of the inlet.  By shortening the end that fits into the inside of the aquarium, the 'blanked' off end will become a 17mm diameter open hole that will potentially suck in shrimp and fish.

edit - unless the glaziers can cut out a section along the length and re-join...  I suspect the finish would look untidy and the cost impractical, but I may be wrong...

Thanks, Morgan.


----------



## Morgan Freeman (6 May 2011)

Ahh I see what you mean. You're right the join section may look rather ugly.


----------



## ghostsword (6 May 2011)

*"Stumpy" 17mm glassware inlet?*

Crazy idea, but why not try acrylic? The outlet will be a pain to sort out, but maybe possible to make it fan out.




.


----------



## Piece-of-fish (7 May 2011)

Nothing compares to the sexy look of glass Luis 
I can really see the point with shalllow tanks becoming more and more popular.
View from the open top of a planted tank with some wood out of the tank is one of my favorites.


----------



## George Farmer (7 May 2011)

Piece-of-fish said:
			
		

> Nothing compares to the sexy look of glass Luis
> I can really see the point with shalllow tanks becoming more and more popular.
> View from the open top of a planted tank with some wood out of the tank is one of my favorites.


We're on the same wavelength, Ed...


----------



## ghostsword (7 May 2011)

*"Stumpy" 17mm glassware inlet?*



			
				Piece-of-fish said:
			
		

> Nothing compares to the sexy look of glass Luis
> I can really see the point with shalllow tanks becoming more and more popular.
> View from the open top of a planted tank with some wood out of the tank is one of my favorites.



Yep glass is king. 

So can you make yours to measure? Maybe there is a niche market, shallow tanks are indeed good.


.


----------



## George Farmer (7 May 2011)

If you think about it, "stumpy" inlets have many advantages over their longer counterparts, even in larger aquariums.


 -They're shorter, so much easier to clean
 -Less prone to breakages
 -Use less glass in manufacture
I would use these even in bigger tanks.  

What advantages do the longer inlets have?  Is there a real advantage to have the inlet slots nearer the bottom of the aquarium, especially in tanks with decent circulation?

One advantage of having longer inlets is that you can drain some aquarium water whilst the filter is still running, but I always turn my filter off during water changes/maintenance anyway..

Seems like a no-brainer to me.  You heard it here first!


----------



## ghostsword (7 May 2011)

*"Stumpy" 17mm glassware inlet?*

It does make sense. Juri is also on the forum, he's the one supplying the new glassware to Eddie.

Maybe he can get it made shorter, I'll buy some as there would be more versatility, as one would be able to have a large wabi with a proper filter.


----------



## Garuf (7 May 2011)

I had this issue with some 13mm glass wear and I had a inlet spare so I snapped the end off and then used an ehiem "inlet cap" over the end, it's not perfect but it improved flow no end, and was sort of a half way house between the green ehim and lillys. Bigmatt has it now so he might be able to post a picture to illustrate what I did more clearly.


----------



## bigmatt (7 May 2011)

no pics to hand but one halfway house solution is to diy a filter sieve from acrylic then connect to a shortened glass filter intake. I have plans for this in order to completely remove green plastic from my tank!


----------



## Piece-of-fish (7 May 2011)

We will be able to get these shortened lilies, now awaiting measurements from George.

I will be ordering a set for myself 

Thanks George again for a great idea


----------



## George Farmer (7 May 2011)

I think 15cm is a good length for most shallow tanks.  

Here's a sketch of my idea - 

Patent pending!


----------



## Garuf (7 May 2011)

I personally find my cal aqua intakes a bit short, 20cm would be better I feel.


----------



## Garuf (7 May 2011)

The other thing is it's important to make sure the total area of the slots is either equal or greater than the area of the diameter of the tube. So if the area of the tube is 18mm then the intakes need to be at least 18mm in total area or preferably more.


----------



## George Farmer (7 May 2011)

Garuf said:
			
		

> I personally find my cal aqua intakes a bit short, 20cm would be better I feel.


Trouble with 20cm is that you won't be able have 10+cm substrate in a 30cm.  10+cm substrate depth at the rear is common, and many like to keep their inlets in the rear corners.


----------



## Garuf (7 May 2011)

17.5cm Happy medium ? All my tanks have been 30cm tall or less and I don't think many will stray above the 10cm+ mark, substrate I always found levelled out much too fast if you went above it, the angle of repose was just too steep for tanks as wide as they are tall.


----------



## George Farmer (7 May 2011)

Garuf said:
			
		

> 17.5cm Happy medium ?


15cm for me in this case.  But I'm not forking out my own cash to risk making these, so it's up the potential investor; in this case Edis and Juri.

I do think it's a great idea, the more I think about it.  Especially in these more environment-conscious times (less raw materials, less energy to manufacture and transport).



> All my tanks have been 30cm tall or less and I don't think many will stray above the 10cm+ mark, substrate I always found levelled out much too fast if you went above it, the angle of repose was just too steep for tanks as wide as they are tall.


My 60cm iwagumi is now 12 months old and has maintained a 12cm substrate at the rear - hence why I think 15cm is a good starting point.


----------



## ghostsword (8 May 2011)

*"Stumpy" 17mm glassware inlet?*

I would also buy a 15cm, my wabi trays are 20cm tall, and it is short enough.

A 15cm lilypipe would be very versatile.

Edis, do say when they are available, call them GF 15 model! 


.


----------



## B7fec (8 May 2011)

Great idea guys....... Well done George, I'd take a pair of GF 15's for my 30cm cube!!


----------



## viktorlantos (8 May 2011)

On the shorter outlet in larger tanks. Maybe i am wrong but even if you unplug the filter you need to close the head unit otherwise the short glass will suck air to the filter. This never happens with longer pipes.

Of course you only need to take care to turn off the head unit at every water changes.

I do not agree with George about the circulation. Shorter pipes has disadvantage especially with clay type of substrates, maybe with sand type too. Even with good circulation a short pipe will not suck the floating clouds from the bottom 1/3 of the tank which cause the cloudiness the most. You can't solve it with good circulation and circulation pumps.

But i agree short pipe cost less, maybe works better to some if the above reasons are not real issues.

edit: of course if the tank is not that tall the shorter pipe could work well.

Hope i not hijack the topic


----------



## George Farmer (9 May 2011)

Good points, Viktor!  Thanks for the feedback.  

I agree it's a good idea to shut off the filter inlet/outlet valves to prevent air ingress if the water line is dropped. 

I've used a nano ("stumpy") 12mm inlet in taller aquariums (36cm and 45cm tall, and with Aqua Soil) but did not notice any disadvantage over longer 12mm inlets, so our experiences are different perhaps.

However, I do perform large water changes after any maintenance, especially any that causes the clouding you refer to.  I find water changes are the best way to prevent algae issues after disturbing the substrate.


----------



## bigmatt (9 May 2011)

I find it inconceivable really that the "big" players in filters (eheim, tetratec and the like) aren't supplying the range of intakes/outlets that the market clearly would like.  I know planted tanks are a small market, but equally i don't think "normal" aquarists wouldn't be happy with clear intakes and outlets.  It just seems insane that we have to rely on the asian markets (by and large) to get the kit!
If i had the ventrue capital... 
Matt


----------



## Piece-of-fish (9 May 2011)

So we will try to make maybe 2 sets and test it to see... Cost wise the price is almost the same. Glass price is a very little fraction of the manufacturing process. Or thats what we are told by the blowers


----------

