Tubing Questions

[Bleigh]

I was considering doing clear PVC for my tank build. I was thinking that I'd be able to see clogs (or snails) before they became a problem and blocked lines. As I was researching this, I found that algae growth becomes problematic in the tubes and nixed that idea.

Then, I saw a dark blue transparent pipe and it got me thinking about this idea again. So two things, 1) does anyone know where to purchase colored, transparent PVC (or whatever material it would need to be made out of) pipe; 2) is there a color that is likely to filter out more useable light to lower algae growth while allowing the interior of the pipes to be somewhat visible?

 

[Peace River]

From what I have seen, the blue transparent piping is made out of acrylic instead of PVC and the dimensions are close but not exact. The transparent piping comes in a range of colors including red, orange, blue, green, purple, bronze, etc.

 

[Bleigh]

From what I have seen, the blue transparent piping is made out of acrylic instead of PVC and the dimensions are close but not exact. The transparent piping comes in a range of colors including red, orange, blue, green, purple, bronze, etc.

Thanks for the response.
I have seen it in use, but I haven’t seen a place to buy it from though. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[Peace River]

Thanks for the response.
I have seen it in use, but I haven’t seen a place to buy it from though. Do you have any suggestions?

I’ve never used them but I think eplastics.com has colored acrylic piping.

 

[Bleigh]

I’ve never used them but I think eplastics.com has colored acrylic piping.

Wow! That's not cheap. That may be why people don't use colored transparent tubing.

 

[Peace River]

I would recommend staying with PVC tubing, but FWIW if you use clear nylon hose then you can use a Two Little Fishies MagFox hose brush cleaner to clean the algae from the inside of the hoses.

 

[TheGreatWave]

If you want to use clear tubing and your plumbing is not too complicated, maybe you can make up some sleeves to wrap around them, say with velcro. It would be easy to remove and replace for inspection.

 

[Bleigh]

If you want to use clear tubing and your plumbing is not too complicated, maybe you can make up some sleeves to wrap around them, say with velcro. It would be easy to remove and replace for inspection.

I first had the idea because I was going to put the tank next to the stairs, so everything would be visible. I was thinking I could try to make the plumbing look interesting too, rather than being in the way.

I’ve decided to put the tank somewhere else, so that’s not really an issue anymore. I’ll probably just do black or blue pvc pipes. My sump is blue, so that way it will match. Just spit balling.

 

[Bleigh]

I would recommend staying with PVC tubing, but FWIW if you use clear nylon hose then you can use a Two Little Fishies MagFox hose brush cleaner to clean the algae from the inside of the hoses.

Thanks for that! I didn’t even know that was a thing. Can I ask why you recommend staying with pvc? I think I’m going to either way, but if there’s a reason I don’t know about, id love to hear it.

 

[theMeat]

Personally would just use black and keep an eye on flow. But you could use clear and cover tubing with wire loom entirely, or in areas that get lotsa light, and simply remove it to inspect as needed

 

[MrsBugmaster]

If you want to use clear tubing and your plumbing is not too complicated, maybe you can make up some sleeves to wrap around them, say with velcro. It would be easy to remove and replace for inspection.

Or use pipe insulation like these. They come in all different sizes.

 

[Fin]

You could use this, but it would defeat the purpose of using the clear pipe. It is more for covering up lettering on regular PVC pipe and giving it a look of furniture grade PVC. It is a sleeve made by Formufit, so the same people that make the furniture grade PVC. It is similar to heat shrink tubing and requires a heat gun to apply it. You would have to cut it off the clear pipe to see inside. Maybe a cheaper alternative to using colored PVC though.

I have never used it, but they advertise that it gives the same appearance of furniture grade PVC, without the expensive shipping cost. I dunno. Seems like a lot of extra work to me. 65¢ per foot (sold in 10' sections), so not that expensive

Formufit PipeSleeves

For temporary cover of clear PVC, I would go the wire loom route (as someone already mentioned above). I believe this 1¼" size should cover 1" PVC fairly well. I have used it before on some return lines that I wanted to not stand out (appearance wise).

1 ¼" Black Split Wire Loom Tubing

Cropped pic of how I used it (years ago) on a return line. This was over 3/4" PVC