Lily Pipe Questions

[Brian Mc]

Looking around and reading about different lily pipes I have a couple of questions about them. Please no supplier or vendor comments, I am just concerned with the pipes themselves.

Cal-Aqua Labs claims to have improved circulation with their 'upside down' bulb which forces the water more downward and the intake with slits higher up the pipe. Anybody notice better circulation with these? I see the bottom is open on the intake on these pipes, any problems sucking up fish/shrimp?

Also I saw where ANS I believe puts the intake slits on the backside of the pipe, this seemed like a good idea to me as maybe it would be less likely to get debris stuck in the slits but the idea did not seem to be a big hit. Any thoughts on this?

Lastly, on the thickness I have read that ADA are the thickest pipe at 2mm or so, nobody seems bothered that the smaller inner diameter reduces filter throughput? It seems everyone likes them the thicker the better.

I also put up a poll up just to see what people like, if you want to leave comments on why that would be great, thanks!

[pwolfe]

I prefer the borneo wild pipes. Borosilicate glass, same bell shape as the ADA, and 2 suction cups.

[Sethjohnson30]

I bought a set of powermen and I broke the intake pipe installing it. I replaced with another eBay one that fit better over my rimmed tank. I like the look but that's about it. Do they make a glass spray bar that would be awesome.

[samamorgan]

I believe all lily pipes made out of glass are borosilicate. Using soft glass would make them too delicate for any real use. I am assuming here though, if anyone knows any of them to be made of non borosilicate glass please chime in.

[Brian Mc]

You are correct as far as my research goes Sam.

[Brian Mc]

114 views and only 4 votes and hey wait a minute somebody voted for Power Men.

Guess everybody is tired of talking about them, I read the threads but wanted more.

Thanks for the input so far guys, wish I would have put the Borneo pipes on the poll, missed that sorry.

Originally Posted by Sethjohnson30

Do they make a glass spray bar that would be awesome.

It is awesome, you going to want the 12" or 20"?

How about a sideshooter pipe that hangs over the back and shoots to the side? Still circular flow, just opposite direction. Anyone want one of those?

[jingleberry]

Make your own acrylic ones.

[HD Blazingwolf]

GLASS SPRAYBAR...
im interested

pictures???!!!

[Brian Mc]

Well...OK Blazin, this pretty sorry mockup is all I have right now, still working on my CAD skillz LOL. I was thinking a 2-piece design like this:


As it would allow for precise placement and easier cleaning than a 1-piece such as the old unavailable Aquili unit which looked like this:


What do you think? Of course my quality will be MUCH higher than that Aquili unit, look at that bend lol. Any particular size requests? This is not BS, I am almost ready to start whipping these out.

[Brian Mc]

Originally Posted by jingleberry

Make your own acrylic ones.

That is always an option but I like real high quality stuff, that is what attracted me to the glassware to begin with. Yes, this thread is thinly veiled market research lol but I thought maybe people would like a say in the next gen pipe designs.

[samamorgan]

I'm wondering how you're going to have these manufactured? I've been trying my hand at scientific glassblowing and it's very slow going. I think it will take me at least a year of experimentation before I can do things consistently. Do you have a hookup on a glass manufacturer for a decent price? The machine setup per piece would be pretty costly I would think.

[HD Blazingwolf]

looks nice. how are you going to incorporate seals without being too noticeable on a two piece? that's the most interesting portion

short version would be awesome as well aslonger version
some people like myself like haging them on the side of the tank to blow lengthwise

[Brian Mc]

Originally Posted by samamorgan

I'm wondering how you're going to have these manufactured? I've been trying my hand at scientific glassblowing and it's very slow going. I think it will take me at least a year of experimentation before I can do things consistently. Do you have a hookup on a glass manufacturer for a decent price? The machine setup per piece would be pretty costly I would think.

I am sure it is slow going at first Sam, while there is a lot of info available on the web about scientific glassblowing it is typically done as an apprenticeship under a master glassblower over a period of years. I was actually already a couple months deep into this project when you popped up looking for glass manufacturers, to tell the truth I got worried there for a minute and you were almost the receipient of some hurried PM hush money LOL.

As with a planted tank or anything else, if you want something done right you throw a lot of money at it LOL. I found that any true Master glassblower (particularly scientific) that will talk to you is not cheap and to find one with true artistry skills is even harder. Hire them for a week to work on your prototypes, ouch. Anybody like that also tends to get a lot of offers so of course now the lawyers come out, they make more than glassblowers LOL.

Then add on top of that the complexity and legalities of talking someone into making something when you cannot tell them what it is (cuz you don't want them to run off with the idea) well let's just say it has been a difficult journey so far. But I found the right guy and got the job done, sorry but I can't put anybody in touch with him as he is under exclusive contract with me now for any aquarium glassware products.

Wish that the expenses stopped there but there is more, fluid dynamics pro, dye injection test setup, packaging, insurance, suction cups, why oh why did I start this? That is why these pipes are generally not cheap, but my research shows that people are willing to pay for quality here. And likely innovation as well. Oh yeah I don't work for free either but apparently I don't make as much as glassblowers or lawyers.

As to how long it takes to learn this art, I felt more at ease when my guy told me that it takes about 10 years to learn to do the kind of precision weld that joins bulb to pipe on the high-quality set that I was showing him. Talking with someone like this you can learn a lot. As noted in one of Sam's threads the glass is not really that expensive, it is what is done with it. The reason a lot of the cheap products are so thin is that these can be made much quicker in a production environment as it takes much less heating (time) to work with the thin stuff.

Well I could go on all day but don't want to give away the whole farm here lol. As tough as this project has been so far it is very easy compared to manufacturing my next idea (non-glassware) that I came up with out of the blue today and I can pretty much guarantee nobody has seen or conceived of before, my wife thought I was totally nuts on that one. It sounds like a crazy idea but the more I think about it, it could be my best one ever.

[Lurch98]

Originally Posted by Brian Mc

114 views and only 4 votes and hey wait a minute somebody voted for Power Men.

Do you own a pair? I do. And they're excellent quality and move water just as well as anything 3 times their price from ADA. Cool thing about the interwebs, lots of room for opinions.

I have a pair of acrylic ones I made myself. They work excellent too. I unfortunately didn't have the skill to add stubs to attach suction cups. Only drawback.

[Brian Mc]

Originally Posted by Lurch98

Do you own a pair? I do. And they're excellent quality and move water just as well as anything 3 times their price from ADA. Cool thing about the interwebs, lots of room for opinions.

I have a pair of acrylic ones I made myself. They work excellent too. I unfortunately didn't have the skill to add stubs to attach suction cups. Only drawback.

LOL sorry Lurch I was just kidding around there, if you are happy with them that is all that matters and I do appreciate the input. At the end of the day they are all just glass pipes really. You have to admit they took a pretty good beating in most reviews and my guy tells me the recurring micro cracks on their intake slits are a weak point for breakage. Maybe that is what happened to Seth. With only 7 guys talking in this thread here we have 1 guy that broke a Power Men set installing them and 1 guy that says they are excellent quality so maybe their QC guy is just napping. Actually I do technically own a pair but have not seen these yet as I am shipping them straight to the studio now. Personally I doubt these or any 1mm thickness pipes will stand the test of time, stuff happens.

The acrylic DIY pipes are a great project, the nubs and suction cups seem to be the tough part for everybody. I am thinking superglue here LOL. I would have maybe tried a set but I am all thumbs and would likely end up with a smoking shriveled hunk of plastic.

Edit: Hmm maybe PVC cement would be better than superglue