fitting tube to powerhead

[dpatte]

I recently bought a UV steriliser for a 75 gallon tank. I also bought a hagen 30 (old 301) to drive water through the steriliser.

As I sat down to install them i realised that i was in a jam. The output spout from the powerhead is about 1/2" and square. The input to the steriliser is about 3/4 inch and round.

Any tricks or ideas how I could connect tubing from the powerhead to the steriliser?

[dpatte]

on a related topic, i got a larger sterilizer for my 150 gallon, and I'll be using the magnum 350 as the water pump for the steriliser.

But i'd like opinions. Should I connect the sterliliser on the intake tube of the magnum 350 or to the output tube from the 350?

[Nelson]

Hi Dave, seems to me the easiest solution would be to use liberal amounts of silicone in and around the square Hagen exhaust and round hose connection.  36 hours and you should be good to go.  You could reinforce the connection by drilling through both, once joined, and inserting a piece of a broken impeller shaft (everyone has one of those :wink: ) from one side to the other.

[BigDaddy]

Dave, are you asking how to fit a square peg in a round hole?   :lol:

As for the Magnum question... it'd put it on the outflow.  You want filtered water going through that UV sterilizer to minimize the cleaning schedule for it.

[dpatte]

is there such a thing as a plastic hagen adapter that converts the output from the powerhead to something circular. I'm having a difficult time finding square tubing

[Nelson]

is there such a thing as a plastic hagen adapter that converts the output from the powerhead to something circular. I'm having a difficult time finding square tubing

None adapters that I've seen and I've experienced the same problem.  Used my earlier silicone suggestion without any problem.  

I have three sterilizers in operation that, as per instructions, must always be placed in-line on the output side of the filter.

[BigDaddy]

Ask Nelson about his blowtorch method... it just might do the job

[dpatte]

my other solution is to sell the hagen powereads and use something with a circular output spout.

hmmm - i seem to remember that i may have a hot magnum 250 still kicking around here somewhere - ooops i sold that.

[BigDaddy]

I have a used Magnum David... it didn't come with the diffuser end, so it'll fit your tubing perfectly.

Let me know.

[pegasus]

Or ask rockgarden or I what we were doing while you were playing in the streets of Montreal. We use to make our own adapters using black chemical rubber stopper (Fisher co.) Buy one larger than the larger piece to connect. Drill a hole from end to end. On one side you would drill a hole halfway the size you need for the round part and cut with a knife the square counterpart on the other side.

There was a pharmacy on bank st. in the Glebe that could get Fisher Scientific products.

Blowtorching our glass tubing...  :oops:    good old times!

[gator]

perhaps you could heat the tubing enough that it would slide over the sqaure fitting of the powerhead?

[dpatte]

pegasus - i like your idea. a rubber stopper for a chemical beaker, correctly trimmed, would allow me to construct almost any adapter. I'll swing by that chemist's store this weekend.

Does anyone remember the exact address of that chemical pharmacy downtown near Laurier, or the one in the glebe?

[pegasus]

around 1st avenue, west side on Bank... It's been at least 10 years since my last visit. You had to order at the rear of the store.

[darkdep]

I know this will probably be of no value, but the output of the powerhead...it isn't a square piece of plastic stuck on a round tube is it?  Cause one of my powerheads is like that...

[jaracas]

my old fluval 4's came with a square-to-round adaptor for the addition of a spraybar, the 4+'s dont have this anymore as they already have a round outlet

i'll check with my lfs as they have alot of old stuff laying around

[redbelly]

there is also a chemist store in the campus for carleton.

dont uv steralizers rely on a specific flow rate through them?
i thought they had to have a certain amount of time for the bacterias to be exposed to the uv light in order to kill em...

[dpatte]

they do depend on specific flow rates. the turbotwist 6 requires a slower flow rate than the turbotwist 12