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Glass tubing: DIY-able?

2K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  m00se 
#1 ·
I've been enjoying the look of some of the glass bits and bobs I've seen in many of the aquariums here, and I'm curious. Has anyone who isn't an actual glassblower of any sort made their own glass intake and output pipes?

I know there is "soft glass" that is malleable at relatively low temperatures, but I do not know if it would be chemically safe to use in an aquarium. Borosilicate, I assume, would be safe, since it's used in chemical laboratory applications, but is it shapable at the temperatures of, say, your average propane torch?
 
#5 ·
I've actually not seen ANY DIY clear piping--at least, not that I've known what I'm seeing was actually DIY. Acrylic sounds like it'd be easier to work with than glass, though--muuuuch lower woking temperature. I'm sitting here, wondering what sort of heat-resistant equipment I can borrow off my uncle (A ceramicist with several kilns in his studio)... Tongs or whatever to hold the glass while I bend, and everything. Aah, I seem to always make things way more complicated than they need to be.

Lo and behold, that WAS easy. Now I just have to find the acrylic tubes. Thanks for the link!
 
#9 ·
Try to find an old chemistry text. It's not as common now, but chemists (and chemistry students) used to make a lot of their own glassware, and this used to be a pretty common skill for chemistry labs.

granted, I think most of what they did was working with much narrower tubing (pipette size), but some general principals probably still apply.

Not entirely what you want, but I found this interesting:

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/convert-old-light-bulbs-into-chemical-glassware/
 
#10 ·
Try to find an old chemistry text. It's not as common now, but chemists (and chemistry students) used to make a lot of their own glassware, and this used to be a pretty common skill for chemistry labs.

granted, I think most of what they did was working with much narrower tubing (pipette size), but some general principals probably still apply.

Not entirely what you want, but I found this interesting:

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/convert-old-light-bulbs-into-chemical-glassware/


Yes! My dad went to Cornell and got his chemistry degree there (in 1934). He had to make a lot of his own glassware. Of course, Corning Glassworks being right up the road, of course that's where he wound up working after school, so he was pretty sharp with it. Borosilicate glass is used in chem aparatus because it doesn't expand as much as standard glass. I don't think there's any harm in using it in your aquarium. Heck, your tanks are made of float glass.

Here's a forum you might want to take your Q's to:

https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/

GL!
 
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