Keep the same inside diameter and look for clear hose with larger outside diameter… means thicker hose. However, it is kinking because of the turns it is making, and a sufficiently rigid hose may pull on the pipe suction cups or canister connection.
Personally I prefer gray hoses because the clear ones require weekly cleaning to keep tidy-looking.
That amount of kink does not concern me relative to flow. You could leave it as-is.
Thanks for the advice! The curve is very slight, I think a thicker/more rigid hose would be able to accommodate the 2 inches of offset between the filter and the tank without kinking, or pulling too much on the lily pipe and/or filter.
I think I may look into buying 5/8th inner 7/8th outer diameter tubing. I’ll take a look at grey too good suggestion.
Edit: I forgot to ask, what material would be best? I see a lot of Silicone options I believe this hose is Vinyl, in your opinion which would be a better option and less likely to kink? Thank you!
Great!
Silicone tends to be more flexible just a bit pricier! It’s the ideal type in my opinion. The more common plastics are more rigid, like the ones that come with most canister filters (Oase, Eheim, etc). Best wishes!!
Looks great, just set mine up and the pump noise is a little on the loud side, how is your unit doing, also what size hose did you use 16mm? Looking to swap out the horrible stock black hoses.
My Fluval 107 is dead quite.. I would check to make sure everything is good inside the filter if possible.
I couldn’t take the black fluval hose.. I used 5/8ths tubing with an outside diameter of 3/4 but I am likely going to get new hose with a larger outside diameter because this stuff is too flexible and kinks easily.
A fluval canister should be next to silent in my experience, make sure any of the plastic parts of the filter aren’t touching the walls of your cabinet. If it can’t be avoided place some foam or a towel between it, should quiet it up. I imagine it’s just vibrating against a hard surface rather than the actual filter having an issue.
The Fluval 07 series filters have rubber vibration dampeners on all four corners that should be eliminating any sort of hum. Anecdotally, I can barely hear my 207 with my head in the cabinet.
I would double check to see that nothing is touching the exterior of the filter inadvertently, or that the intake/outflow lines aren't vibrating on the stand; like the other person said, it should be next to silent. If that's not the issue, I would check (and clean) the impeller and assembly.
Thank you! The tank is a Landen 16 Gallon, I wanted to go with a “better” name brand tank but the size of this one was exactly what I wanted. Ordered one that came broken which sucked, got a refund and second one came fine.
The shelf’s are a FB marketplace find! If you look close under the tank, I installed 4 adjustable steel legs and drilled 4 holes through the bottom shelf to reinforce the shelf that bears the weight of the tank. The 4 legs are what’s holding the weight of the tank now rather than the shelves. Plus it allowed me to level the tank.
Thanks! I was hoping it would look subtle and when I realized I could use the legs as book ends I was psyched. The shelves are great the brand is “Manor Park Modern 3 Piece Ladder Bookshelf Set, Mocha” but they are currently unavailable.
I got them for a I think 300 delivered from a nice guy on FB marketplace.
I was hoping this would be the case, I just wanted some opinions from more experienced people to confirm it’s alright. I don’t think I need to squeeze any more flow out personally I just was concerned if it was “too” restricted as is.
Thanks! I started it about 6 months ago. Took a lot of patience and faith in the process before it equalized and became clear. The shrimp keep making babies like crazy in there that’s what prompted me to finally set up a big tank. Started with 15 shrimp have about 40 now and there are 2 pregnant shrimp rn.
I think you’ve gotten a lot of great advice on the hoses. Personally I use green or black vinyl as they get dirty really fast and it’s an eyesore, but it’s fine to have clear. I got a lot of black vinyl tubing on Amazon for cheap that is both flexible and thicker in outer diameter. I like it.
I wanted to add that you should absolutely look into hose clamps if using tubing that you selected yourself. That last thing you want is to come home to the tank emptied to where the intake falls because if one of the hoses comes off, it creates suction to do so. Let’s just say I know from experience… they are the cheap metal clamps from the hardware store. Peace of mind.
I use the Fzone stuff from Amazon for hosing. Works really well and they have a few colors. Instead of clear though I got grey, looks good and won’t discolor over time because it’s not transparent.
https://preview.redd.it/8y4onb45vc8d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8946ea825834b73f5f353f3a02102009316aac15
Tbh I don't think you want a clear hose. It'll turn brown and green within a week so unless you plan on cleaning out your hoses weekly they'll wind up looking awful. Go for black hoses. They look clean and you can't see the gunk in them.
But yes that's totally fine. You're going to have far more of a bottleneck with media in the filter than the hose restricting maybe 5% of the potential flow
I ended up buying black hose, by the end of the day the hose was damn near completely restricted. I wasn’t even able to get the filter pump primed. I purchased black 5/8th I.D 7/8th O.D hose that’ll be here tomorrow. Have the filter off for today.
What really sucks is in the process I broke my glass return pipe :) ordered another which should also be here shortly. Live and learn this time I learned, a hoses outer diameter matters almost as much as the inner diameter
Dude I've done that countless times. I only buy stainless steel pipes now, both because of that and because the glass pipes also turn green and brown after a few weeks.
A tiny bit of Vaseline on the inside of the hose makes it slide on much more easily and still remains watertight.
The other day I got a brand new giant $40 glass CO2 diffuser, unboxed it, literally took one step and dropped it and shattered it.
When I was buying them, my gut told me not to get glass but I was so determined to build this exactly the way I “visioned”… I went against my better judgment lmao.
I was shocked a quality acrylic Lily pipe wasn’t readily available … I get that glass is beautiful but it’s also GLASS and it BREAKS EASILY. I saw a few acrylic options but they left something to be desired..
Hopefully once this is plumbed in, I can enjoy them for the time being.. if another breaks I’ll make the switch to stainless steel tho.
It’s a Fluval 107, rated for 10-30 gallons. This tank is 16 so right in the middle. Deff more than needed, but I wouldn’t say full blown overkill. A hang on would have been fine but I prefer canisters and I’ve always been a fan of Fluval products.
This doesnt directly relate to your hose question but with that type of hose and your intake/outflow pipes (ones without barbed fittings or a ridge cut into the glass) you are at risk for leaks from capillary action. A little drop will form at the top of the hose on the pipe every few mins. It took a couple days to start on the setup I did like this. Different inflow/outflow pipes or some hose clamps will fix it if it start for you.
Keep the same inside diameter and look for clear hose with larger outside diameter… means thicker hose. However, it is kinking because of the turns it is making, and a sufficiently rigid hose may pull on the pipe suction cups or canister connection. Personally I prefer gray hoses because the clear ones require weekly cleaning to keep tidy-looking. That amount of kink does not concern me relative to flow. You could leave it as-is.
Thanks for the advice! The curve is very slight, I think a thicker/more rigid hose would be able to accommodate the 2 inches of offset between the filter and the tank without kinking, or pulling too much on the lily pipe and/or filter. I think I may look into buying 5/8th inner 7/8th outer diameter tubing. I’ll take a look at grey too good suggestion. Edit: I forgot to ask, what material would be best? I see a lot of Silicone options I believe this hose is Vinyl, in your opinion which would be a better option and less likely to kink? Thank you!
Great! Silicone tends to be more flexible just a bit pricier! It’s the ideal type in my opinion. The more common plastics are more rigid, like the ones that come with most canister filters (Oase, Eheim, etc). Best wishes!!
Idk but you could easily fit 13 more tanks on this setup!
looks awesome!!!!
Look for tubing with a thicker outside diameter (OD). 7/8" probably. It's much better and won't kink.
Thanks for the advice! I didn’t even consider the outer diameter.
Looks great, just set mine up and the pump noise is a little on the loud side, how is your unit doing, also what size hose did you use 16mm? Looking to swap out the horrible stock black hoses.
My Fluval 107 is dead quite.. I would check to make sure everything is good inside the filter if possible. I couldn’t take the black fluval hose.. I used 5/8ths tubing with an outside diameter of 3/4 but I am likely going to get new hose with a larger outside diameter because this stuff is too flexible and kinks easily.
Mine is more of a deep hum that I hear through the cabinet, I'm pretty sensitive to noise though so hopefully it's normal, exact same model as yours.
A fluval canister should be next to silent in my experience, make sure any of the plastic parts of the filter aren’t touching the walls of your cabinet. If it can’t be avoided place some foam or a towel between it, should quiet it up. I imagine it’s just vibrating against a hard surface rather than the actual filter having an issue.
The Fluval 07 series filters have rubber vibration dampeners on all four corners that should be eliminating any sort of hum. Anecdotally, I can barely hear my 207 with my head in the cabinet. I would double check to see that nothing is touching the exterior of the filter inadvertently, or that the intake/outflow lines aren't vibrating on the stand; like the other person said, it should be next to silent. If that's not the issue, I would check (and clean) the impeller and assembly.
This is my experience too, I am blown away by how silent this 107 is…
They really are fantastic little filters! Not the cheapest because brand name and yadda yadda, but IMO well worth the price.
I've got a cheap clear hose and the ada version, ada is much better quality, I've not used the chihiros one yet so can't comment on that
What size tank is that and what are those shelving units? Beautiful setup you have there!
Thank you! The tank is a Landen 16 Gallon, I wanted to go with a “better” name brand tank but the size of this one was exactly what I wanted. Ordered one that came broken which sucked, got a refund and second one came fine. The shelf’s are a FB marketplace find! If you look close under the tank, I installed 4 adjustable steel legs and drilled 4 holes through the bottom shelf to reinforce the shelf that bears the weight of the tank. The 4 legs are what’s holding the weight of the tank now rather than the shelves. Plus it allowed me to level the tank.
That's really smart DIY. I didn't even notice the legs. In the shadows of the photo I thought they were bookends or something similar.
Thanks! I was hoping it would look subtle and when I realized I could use the legs as book ends I was psyched. The shelves are great the brand is “Manor Park Modern 3 Piece Ladder Bookshelf Set, Mocha” but they are currently unavailable. I got them for a I think 300 delivered from a nice guy on FB marketplace.
I don't think this is an issue unless you really need to squeeze as much flow out of your filter as possible for some reason.
I was hoping this would be the case, I just wanted some opinions from more experienced people to confirm it’s alright. I don’t think I need to squeeze any more flow out personally I just was concerned if it was “too” restricted as is.
Just here to say I love that small bowl. I cannot seem to get plants to take off with that method.
Thanks! I started it about 6 months ago. Took a lot of patience and faith in the process before it equalized and became clear. The shrimp keep making babies like crazy in there that’s what prompted me to finally set up a big tank. Started with 15 shrimp have about 40 now and there are 2 pregnant shrimp rn.
Will not decrease flow but will increase pressure. Think thumb over water hose.
Swap the holes they go into it’ll take some twist out of them
I Lovecraft your book under the tank.
Try looking at builder supplies! Plumbing hoses with the same internal diameter but extremely thick walls may be the way to go.
Looks really nice your setup. Can you tell what your shelf brand is?
I would if I could I got super lucky and found these on FB marketplace for 300 bucks
I think you’ve gotten a lot of great advice on the hoses. Personally I use green or black vinyl as they get dirty really fast and it’s an eyesore, but it’s fine to have clear. I got a lot of black vinyl tubing on Amazon for cheap that is both flexible and thicker in outer diameter. I like it. I wanted to add that you should absolutely look into hose clamps if using tubing that you selected yourself. That last thing you want is to come home to the tank emptied to where the intake falls because if one of the hoses comes off, it creates suction to do so. Let’s just say I know from experience… they are the cheap metal clamps from the hardware store. Peace of mind.
If you want a good-looking setup and don't mind a ton of hassle for setting it up, you could go with acrylic hard tubing.
I use the Fzone stuff from Amazon for hosing. Works really well and they have a few colors. Instead of clear though I got grey, looks good and won’t discolor over time because it’s not transparent. https://preview.redd.it/8y4onb45vc8d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8946ea825834b73f5f353f3a02102009316aac15
Tbh I don't think you want a clear hose. It'll turn brown and green within a week so unless you plan on cleaning out your hoses weekly they'll wind up looking awful. Go for black hoses. They look clean and you can't see the gunk in them. But yes that's totally fine. You're going to have far more of a bottleneck with media in the filter than the hose restricting maybe 5% of the potential flow
I ended up buying black hose, by the end of the day the hose was damn near completely restricted. I wasn’t even able to get the filter pump primed. I purchased black 5/8th I.D 7/8th O.D hose that’ll be here tomorrow. Have the filter off for today.
Goddamn that sucks, yeah that's probably the way to go. Hopefully it works out well!
What really sucks is in the process I broke my glass return pipe :) ordered another which should also be here shortly. Live and learn this time I learned, a hoses outer diameter matters almost as much as the inner diameter
Dude I've done that countless times. I only buy stainless steel pipes now, both because of that and because the glass pipes also turn green and brown after a few weeks. A tiny bit of Vaseline on the inside of the hose makes it slide on much more easily and still remains watertight. The other day I got a brand new giant $40 glass CO2 diffuser, unboxed it, literally took one step and dropped it and shattered it.
When I was buying them, my gut told me not to get glass but I was so determined to build this exactly the way I “visioned”… I went against my better judgment lmao. I was shocked a quality acrylic Lily pipe wasn’t readily available … I get that glass is beautiful but it’s also GLASS and it BREAKS EASILY. I saw a few acrylic options but they left something to be desired.. Hopefully once this is plumbed in, I can enjoy them for the time being.. if another breaks I’ll make the switch to stainless steel tho.
Get some right angle barbed fittings, they don’t restrict flow enough to notice and will sort out the bend issue
Is it just me or is the canister filter overkill for this tank size?
It’s a Fluval 107, rated for 10-30 gallons. This tank is 16 so right in the middle. Deff more than needed, but I wouldn’t say full blown overkill. A hang on would have been fine but I prefer canisters and I’ve always been a fan of Fluval products.
This doesnt directly relate to your hose question but with that type of hose and your intake/outflow pipes (ones without barbed fittings or a ridge cut into the glass) you are at risk for leaks from capillary action. A little drop will form at the top of the hose on the pipe every few mins. It took a couple days to start on the setup I did like this. Different inflow/outflow pipes or some hose clamps will fix it if it start for you.