Hello all, have any of you tried stainless steel lily pipes. Dont want glass and tired of the green eheim pipes. Also can anyone do the math for me and tell me if I need 12/16mm or 16/22mm pipes to go with standard eheim tubing?

And finally has anyone seen a stainless steel spray bar?

The numbers represent inner/outer diameter of tubing, so the smaller specification is 12mm inner diameter (0.472 inches), 16mm outer diameter (0.63 inches). The larger spec is 16 mm inside (0.63 inches), 22mm outside (0.866 inches).

In inches, the smaller spec is compatible with 1/2" ID tubing, the larger with 5/8" tubing.

Check the numbers on the Eheim hoses so you know which sizes you are looking for or post the Eheim filter model.

Or if you are looking for a cheap option, try spray painting your existing Eheim pipes the color you want them. I've used black Krylon for Plastics spray paint on my intake pipes since they were most visible in a couple of my tanks. You just need to let the paint dry for a few days and they may need multiple coats.

So I just need to find the eheim pipe specs. Thanks

Not a bad idea but I was hoping to go with.the stainless steel look but I want a spray bar

If you know what filter you have, many of us can tell you what size you need as we have had to figure it out. I know one Eheim has a different size inflow and outflow size (2217), not sure if other models do, if you have one, you will need to buy individual pipes rather than a set. Do you have a brand in mind? I want to swap my glass for stainless in the near future, probably a Christmas gift to myself.

I have not seen stainless steel turbine parts for sale for aquariums. I don't think anyone makes it. For a stainless steel spray bar you probably have to buy some tubing and drill holes in it and plug the end of the hose in some way.

I missed that part. I have seen them for sale over the years but no consistent supplier. It would be a pretty easy DIY, just get SS pipes where the outflow isn't crimped, just a straight shot. Then just find the same size SS tubing and drill holes, you can find DIY spray bar threads to figure out the sizing. I am sure you can find an appropriate sized plug somewhere at the end.

I like lily pipes over spraybars myself, but if I were to have a spraybar, I would just window tint the back glass and paint it black. This would assume you would want or wouldn't mind a black background. Not that making an SS spray bar would be hard, it just is a lot less work. SS is pretty easy to finish, bet a stud slightly larger than the pipe, put in in a drill, then polish or use sand paper to brush, depending on the look. Finding a plug at the end might be more challenging, but you could also use plastic and paint it black (or maybe sliver) and nobody is going to notice.

If you decide to diy in SS buy plenty of drill bits. Especially if you don't use a cutting fluid while drilling. It work hardens pretty quickly if you aren't using the proper speeds and feeds, (which hand drilling makes that nearly impossible).