Glass Inlet - Outlet And Spraybar

[Ste_J]

Ever in search of things to do the job that don't come with an "aquarium use" badge I have started a search for glass tubing for my Inlet / outlet tubes on my Eheim. Whilst searching I have managed to find 12mm Glass rods that could easily [fingers crossed] turned into at least a intake tube and with a little drilling skill a spraybar as well.

Just think it looks far nicer than any plastic tube

This most likely should have gone into DIY but thought that other planted tank fans may find this usefull

The site that I'm looking at also offers custom made jobs so I am very tempted to drop them a mail re the Eheim bent tubes






Ste

 

[DaveW]

I'm sure there is a few people who would be interested in the reply, myself included.
Keep us updated.

 

[Ste_J]

I'm sure there is a few people who would be interested in the reply, myself included.
Keep us updated.

Yeah will do, looking at the individual prices for each unit they are not bad. Things may get a little higher once It gets into custom bend jobs although the end result would be well worth it!

Just got to work out the specs for the Eheim tubes detailed up there ^ and I'll fire them a mail - If I could get pre drilled sprayybar as well then I would be happy.

Ste

 

[simonbrown403]

I,d love to see the finished result especally the process of drilling the glass tube, i just carnt see how you could do it with out breaking the tube.
Unless you could melt the glass like them people in blackpool do when they are making the glass figurienes, and push pin in to make the hole while it was soft.
just a thought

 

[Ste_J]

Simon, thinking the same at the moment hence the reason I've just been measuring up the parts. Going to request a price for a custom job.

Think I'd have to order far too many spares if I was going to try the drilling myself

 

[Ste_J]

Just worked out a few measurements, if anyone has spare Eheim parts lying around could they please cross check my figures?

Spraybar length and Intake tube will be shorter than most due to a bit of cutting

 

[simonbrown403]

Cant wait to see the price, are you faint hearted lol
Good luck mate keep us posted.

 

[WendyinWichita]

Wow,
I wonder if you got a decent sized order together if the price would be better or if they would be more willing to do the custom work?

I know I would be interested if it didn't break me! The green tubes look soooo bad!

 

[Ste_J]

I know I would be interested if it didn't break me! The green tubes look soooo bad!

I have a feeling that this is going to sting although no more than this month has already with settingmy tank up.

Looking at their site the work that I will be asking about should be easy compared to some of the things that they make. Taking into account that they already have the right sized tube and the finished product doesn't need to be that precise re the shaping.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

hey there ! this is interesting for mee too although it might be hard for me to tag along since if ever i order it has to be shipped all the way to the philippines.

Anyway im also looking for a possible cheaper alternative to glass inlets and outlets and I am one step ahead of you.... But im stuck right now.. Basically i have also located a lab equip store that sells the correct glass piping size but i found out that having them(the store) make the tube to suit my needs proves to be quite expensive... especially since i will only need a few... So the next step (where i am stuck right now) is locating a glass blower. This should be a simple task for him/her because it will only involve bending the pipe ... sadly i cant locate one here in the phil. right now hope this helps you out

 

[Ste_J]

Basically i have also located a lab equip store that sells the correct glass piping size but i found out that having them(the store) make the tube to suit my needs proves to be quite expensive... especially since i will only need a few... So the next step (where i am stuck right now) is locating a glass blower.

Ken, the store that you have found, do they resell lab equipment i.e. buy the stock from elsewhere or do they actually make it? The link above is for the people who make the stuff in their workshop

 

[kenneth_kpe]

i think the shop i located is a glassworks shop... they manufacture via bulk so asking a single person to make one for me is in a way not feasible for them.. sadly i cant locate a smaller competitor .... anyway how are your glass inlet outlet project coming along ? who knows i might order along with you guys if the price is right

 

[littleimp]

I've done glass bending at school before but on solid rods rather than tubes. It was pretty simple to be honest, about 10secs in a bunsen burner flame & you could bend it, little bit more and you could pull it apart.

 

[Ste_J]

anyway how are your glass inlet outlet project coming along ? who knows i might order along with you guys if the price is right

Still waiting a response although I only sent the mail this morning Got my DIY double 55W CF stuff arriving in the morning so that will keep me busy for a short while.

Ken if the price is right I'll ship them to you myself

 

[Waterloo Kid]

Have you thought about doing it in acrylic or another very hard plastic? For the outlet from the filter you could even use very thin 'plastic bag' like plastics as the water pressure would keep the shape. Add a wire frame and you could bend it all over the place to suit. You could put slots or holes in it and when it starts getting a bit messy and requires a clean, just throw it away and put another one on. I've used extruded plastic tubing before and it's very cheap and suprisingly strong.

As for drilling it for a glass spray bar you could put a wooden dowel inside the tube and drill really, really slowly!

Oops, the engineer in me is coming out again. Must be coz I'm typing this in work!

WK