# What hose/tubing are you using?



## H.. (6 Mar 2019)

I am searching for the perfect hose or tubing for lilypipes. What kind should I use?

For CO2 tubing it is polyurethane, just because the agressive CO2 gas. But is this to be used in tubing for lilypipes also?

I think the tubing should be soft and smooth so it is easy to get on an off the glasswares, something like silicone tubing. And at the same time I want it to be steady, not fold and crinckle.

And the color? Transparent is probably the best looking hose, but the inside gets dirty after some time, what are you using.

Please give me some guidence here so I can make an good decition.

H


----------



## Tim Harrison (6 Mar 2019)

You don't need to worry about the CO2 thing for filter pipes, it doesn't matter. 
I use clear pipe, similar to this from Aquarium Gardens...


----------



## zozo (6 Mar 2019)

Glassware gets dirty pretty soon. Thus keeping this nice and shiny will require regular cleaning. Especialy if green spot algae develops inside it. If you wait to long with cleaning it out GSA can be pretty tough to clean. Neglected GSA has tendensy to form Calcium carbonate precipitation, this imeans it forms and accumulates a rock hard calcium layer in itself. That is particularly hard to remove inside a (glass) tube without soaking it in vinigar for an x periode.

Thus keeping glassware tidy means cleaning it at least once a week if you have hard water likely even more often.

Than ofcourse it looks best with clear pvc tubing, if you have to regularly take all apart to clean the glassware than it's not much work to clean the hoses in one way with it.


----------



## H.. (6 Mar 2019)

Thanks for answer Tim and zozo, 

Ok, but some pipes does get hard over time due to UV-c and perhaps acid gases. Is this an issue om PVC?
Tim , your link didnot tell what kind of plastic it was, perhaps pvc?

H


----------



## H.. (6 Mar 2019)

Yeah, cleaning is an "mustdo" when having tidy tanks I suppose, specially with transparent hoses.
Anyone considered an colored or toned hose?

H


----------



## Tim Harrison (6 Mar 2019)

H.. said:


> Ok, but some pipes does get hard over time due to UV-c and perhaps acid gases. Is this an issue om PVC?
> Tim , your link didnot tell what kind of plastic it was, perhaps pvc?


I think the point is that it doesn't really matter. Any CO2 corrosion related issues will be diluted to the point of insignificance, and I'm guessing you don't plan to place your tank in direct sunlight, so UV won't be an issue either. And Isn't UVc absorbed by O2 in the air and the O3 layer anyway?
But if it helps my tubing has been in continual use for several years and is fine. And even if it was a consumable, at £1.90 a metre I wouldn't be particularly worried about replacing it.


----------



## zozo (6 Mar 2019)

H.. said:


> Is this an issue om PVC?



Well yes it is, but only after many years.. Even outdoors it takes years and years.. I've been using clear soft PVC tubing in the garden. The time it degrades in UV is neglectable you can grow a 3 metre long beard before it does.  Than indoors behind glass UV light is at a minimum. No worries.

Only thing with the pvc Co2 tubbing the part that will be permanently submersed turns white instead of staying transparent. Thats nothing but an easthetic issue. But there are long glass U pipes available to connect co² diffusers. Hinterfeld used to sell glass co² U tubes in different lenghts. Than you need no pvc tubing in the water. But as said it aint an issue other than easthetics..


----------



## H.. (6 Mar 2019)

Well I would like to have my hose in good condition over more than one or two years, just like you Tim, and some plastics tends to be really hard, and difficult to pull of an glass lilypipe after som few years. For example the one I had untill now, I had to cut off with knife everytime just to be sure tha glasware was not damaged, and heat up to pull on.

I dont know what I had, but perhaps pvc is one of the best to this hobby?

H


----------



## H.. (6 Mar 2019)

Thanks zozo. And Tim

OK, so soft pvc tubing is the best solution for tank hosing, I think I agreed with you in the start, but I want to be sure this is the best solution for me.

Anyone dissagree with this, please share your experience.

Cheers

H


----------



## zozo (6 Mar 2019)

To get the soft tube off the glass, heat the part over the glass up under the hot running tap water.. Don't pull but gently turn, when its warm and soft enough and it turns than you can gently pull it off with a twist.

Beeing gentle is a pre, and don't pull like mad with frustration but gently with a bit of patience. Rather twistin than pulling.. I'm 90% sure that lak in patience and getting rude pulling and jerking is the main reason glassware snaps on you. Because after a firm jerk and it comes off you hit something else next to it. And crack..

I'm still with my very first set of lily pipe i bought 5 years ago.. I'm suprised myself i didn't break it yet.. Knok on wood.. But i'm raher gentle with it.


----------



## H.. (6 Mar 2019)

zozo said:


> getting rude pulling and jerking is the main reason glassware snaps on you. Because after a firm jerk and it comes off you hit something else next to it. And crack..



Thanks zozo, still havent snapped anything jet, only dropped a couple on the floor.

H


----------



## Tim Harrison (6 Mar 2019)

H.. said:


> I had to cut off with knife everytime just to be sure tha glasware was not damaged,


To remove a lily pipe from tubing - the trick is to push it in a little bit first, that releases the seal and then it's easy to pull it out.


----------



## Zeus. (6 Mar 2019)

Having lots of grey tubing




I have no idea what its like on the inside, so it tends to be overlooked amd not cleaned very frequently . IMO/IME having clear piping/hoses as simple and short as possible has many advantages esp if easy to clean


----------



## Ady34 (6 Mar 2019)

In my experience clear hosing is the best option as you can see the bio film/algae building up inside which makes you want to clean it regularly. In high tech planted tanks where consistency is key keeping the hoses clean offers the best flow rate which is necessary for distribution. When my tubes become dirty, then I clean them, the flow rate noticeably improves within the tank.
As others have said nipping and pushing the hose back onto glassware first breaks the seal and allows you to easily remove the hose from the inlet/outlet pipe without force.


----------



## dw1305 (6 Mar 2019)

Hi all,





Zeus. said:


> IMO/IME having clear piping/hoses as simple and short as possible has many advantages esp if easy to clean


Same for me.

cheers Darrel


----------



## Kalum (6 Mar 2019)

i've swapped all my hoses out for Chihiros clear tubing and it's the best i've found so far. The right amount of rigid/flexible and very clear unlike some which have a white tint to it, that's good and bad as it shows up every speck of dirt but it means you can get an idea of how bad your filter is so serves as a warning to get your finger out


----------



## Robru (6 Mar 2019)

Only ADA hose


----------



## zozo (6 Mar 2019)

Zeus. said:


> I have no idea what its like on the inside, so it tends to be overlooked amd not cleaned very frequently



I use that grey tubing for my sump.. That only overflow maybe 400 too 500l/h.. But lately afre 4 years running i noticed a constant biofilm on my water surface that just didn't wanted to go away. I thought needed a sump clean, so i did took all apart.. The sump actualy wasn't that dirty not even after 4 years, i flushed remarkable little dirt from the biomedia.. But in the grey tubing  accumulated quite a lot brown slimey filamentous bio blob. Was quite surpriced especialy the vertical pipes had a lot of it in them. It seems PVC is a perfect substrate for bacteria to attach to. And it attached firmly enough to resist the waterflow in a vertical pipe. 

Anyway it was a good guess it did the job.. But it was more in the piping than the sump itself.


----------



## Zeus. (6 Mar 2019)

One thought I had is with my piping is I get no algae on the inside as there is no light, just detritus. But with most of the piping being 25mm the impact on the flow with detritus build up has been has IMO been minimal. Was chatting with @ian_m some time ago and I think he did say he doesn't clean his pipes much either and when he does there isn't much detritus build up in them. So maybe non trans lucent pipes/hoses dont need cleaning as much without having an algae issue . Having said that one tank can be very different to another dependant on light, flow, CO2, LCO, scape design and plant choice etc
Dont think you can have pipes/hoses that are clean to much and it be an issue


----------



## Zeus. (6 Mar 2019)

zozo said:


> But in the grey tubing  accumulated quite a lot brown slimey filamentous bio blob



When I had an independent line with just a pump on it and a spraybar the piping use to get quite a bit of the same stuff too, did only clean it about one every six months  it was a PITA. Post filter pipes never seems to get that bad even my CO2 reactors which I rarely clean are pretty clean when I do clean them.


----------

