AndreaW Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 I'm trying to find a rigid tube that has an inside diameter (ID) of 3/4" that will attach to the outlet of a powerhead, that I can drill holes to create a DIY spray bar. Each powerhead is rated for 145 GPH, for a total of 290 GPH. I haven't figured out what size holes and how many I will need to have to soften the flow of water yet. I'm thinking that if I can find a tube that is rigid, I can turn both powerheads toward each other (along the back wall) and have the tube connect them, I can create a whole wall of flow, rather than the concentrated flow from the two corners. So far, I can find 3/4" ID silicone tubing that is flexible, and 1" rigid tubing, but I haven't found a source for 3/4" ID rigid tubing. I think the uplift tubes are 1" diameter, and that would work great if I could find a piece about 36" long, but a 3/4" should work perfect without having to find something to adapt. This is the powerhead outlet with the flow diffuser removed. It is round, and seems to be exactly 3/4". This is what I have in mind. Powerheads (in red), facing each other. Rigid tube (in green) suspended between the powerheads with lots of holes for water to flow out of. I found some polycarbonate tubing many people use for light sabers, but I don't know if that's aquarium safe and some people said it looked a little cloudy. At this point cloudy isn't as important as just finding something that will work. I'm sure it will just grow some algae anyway, like the uplift tubes, which I need to replace as well. I'm confused as it says it is 1/8" thick, 1" OD, 3/4" ID, which doesn't add up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widgets Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 On 4/2/2022 at 1:15 AM, AndreaW said: I'm confused as it says it is 1/8" thick, 1" OD, 3/4" ID, which doesn't add up... I think you are forgetting that there are two walls to the hose. 1/8" wall 3/4" inside diameter 1/8" wall 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widgets Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 You might want to look at 3/4" schedule 40 PVC pipe. It comes in black. Home Depot has furniture grade available. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 You can look up computer liquid cooling websites as well. It's an extremely common size. Beyond that, McMaster Carr, trying to find some acrylic or PVC tubing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 On 4/1/2022 at 10:15 PM, AndreaW said: I'm confused as it says it is 1/8" thick, 1" OD, 3/4" ID, which doesn't add up... 1" = exterior dimension (it will have a tolerance) 3/4" = interior dimension (it will have a tolerance) the thickness of the material on either side is 1/8"... So you're looking at .75 + 2* (.125) = 1.000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaW Posted April 2, 2022 Author Share Posted April 2, 2022 @ Widgets & @nabokovfan87 ~ You are right. I need an extra "Are you sure you have thought through this" button late at night before I post! I spent the night dreaming of rigid pipes! I'll take a look at PVC, computer liquid cooling supplies. I was thinking further, and it definitely needs to be rigid. The silicone tubing would be flexible and would need clips (like heaters) to secure it to the wall, but this will be further away from the wall than a heater would be and I would really rather not deal with suction cups anyway. My thought is that with a rigid tube, with a somewhat close fit, I can put it in place between the two powerheads and it will hold itself there as the powerheads are hanging on the back edge of the tank, and I have a back strip that is cut to shape around them. It should be easy to maintenance if I can do it that way. Anyway, I'm off to Home Depot this morning and I'll see what I can find! Thanks for the ideas. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 On 4/2/2022 at 6:57 AM, AndreaW said: You are right. I need an extra "Are you sure you have thought through this" button late at night before I post! I spent the night dreaming of rigid pipes! I'll take a look at PVC, computer liquid cooling supplies. I was thinking further, and it definitely needs to be rigid. The silicone tubing would be flexible and would need clips (like heaters) to secure it to the wall, but this will be further away from the wall than a heater would be and I would really rather not deal with suction cups anyway 😂 What a lot of people end up doing to give some flexibility and placement is to have a small section of flexible tube and then fit that into the rigid piece. It can help it to seal and you end up with ties on either end or something to keep it attached. Doesn't look the best but that's what I've seen a lot of times. People like eheim also sell kits. But between everything you're looking at you should be able to dean something up and follow a lot of what he's got in terms of his spray bar design. 😉 On 4/2/2022 at 6:57 AM, AndreaW said: The silicone tubing would be flexible and would need clips (like heaters) to secure it to the wall, but this will be further away from the wall than a heater would be and I would really rather not deal with suction cups anyway Nylon zip lies would work best and be water safe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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