DIY Lily Pipe

[iatetheweatherman]

Has anyone tried making their own lily pipes? I found this article and might try this.

http://www.aquascapingworld.com/threads/diy-lily-pipe-acrylic-salt-method.6606/

[daworldisblack]

I think PM has tried this!

[pm]

Yep, I have made a few 

Only once did I attempt to blow the bulb part out.  I ended up breaking that one while blowing, but I used a stove as heat, so it wasn't even (a heat gun works great!).  I have recently made one from a spare piece of acrylic I had from a wine making kit for my 7 gallon nano.  Works great, but is does not have the flair at the end.  See the pics in the link in my signature.

Thinner pipes are available in small quantity at a wine and beer making supply store (racking tubes).  For thicker pipes, I went to Cannus plastics on Conroy road.

[iatetheweatherman]

Awesome. Do you think it's doable for larger than nano sized acrylic pipes? I was thinking about doing it for my 75.

[pm]

The one that I mentioned I broke was larger (5/8" OD acrylic tube to fit into 5/8" or 16mm ID tubing).  The process worked fine for this size.  I did notice, however, that I was not able to bend the tube with very sharp angles without the tube collapsing a little (probably need to pack the salt in a bit), but overall I was satisfied.  I bought this size tube at Canus.  They sell it by the foot.  I don't remember it being too cheap, but it wasn't too expensive either.  I just didn't buy enough to try it again.

The best advice I can give is to use a heat gun (vs a stove).  I used a cheapo one from Canadian tire, and it worked fine.

Note that in all the ones I have done (probably 4 or 5 ) I was not able to make them perfect, in that there were bubbles visible in the main over-the-tank bend.  Not at all noticeable unless you are like 6" away, and these do not cause leaks or anything.  I think these were caused by my lack of patience in the project.  If you take a little more time, it can be very smooth.

Bottom line, it is really not that hard to do and achieve a nice result.  If you have not done it before, I recommend buying more tube than needed in case of mistakes.

[iatetheweatherman]

Thanks for your input. I'll update the thread if I try it this summer.

[magnosis]

" I used the following tools and materials: [...] fine tooth hobby saw, sandpaper of various grits, heat gun, stove top burner, and plenty of patients."

Wait... "plenty of patients" and "fine tooth hobby saw"?

What is going to do to them!!? I'm afraid to read the rest of the article...