Clear PVC

[musky48in]

I have been looking for Clear PVC pipe for some time now with no success. I found Harvel on the internet that makes the stuff, but they won't sell to me, only to contractors. What I am looking to do is make a water bridge between two tanks. This isn't going to be drilled into the glass, but rather go above the tanks. Any idea's where I might pick up a 4 foot section and 2 right angle connections?

[lbritish]

unless someone knows who sells it you're probably going to have to befriend a "contractor" who will buy a minimum quantity on your behalf and sell it to you. Then sell the rest in standard lenghts of several feet enough to fit in fedex mailer tubes and small boxes etc to fish ppl online

[blitzen25bm]

gonna be hard to find, you might have to resort to acrylic and pay a little more money.

[chefkeith]

I bought my clear acrylic tubing from- http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/default.asp
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=USPlastic&category%5Fname=21315&Page=1
They sell it in 6 ft sections only.

I bought the Acrylic Extruded Tubing, Heavy Duty, 3 1/2" OD x 3" ID. http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=USPlastic&category%5Fname=21315&product%5Fid=11263



Clear PVC Elbows are here, but they are extremely expensive-
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=USPlastic&category%5Fname=54&Page=1

I just used the regular white 3.5" pvc elbows found at my local hardware store.



My favorite water-bridges are custom built from 3/8" acrylic sheet , like this one I made-
http://home.comcast.net/~chefkeithallen/IMG_0016.jpg

I used 3/8" cell cast acrylic, which I bought from Delvies Plastics-
http://www.delviesplastics.com/ACRYLIC%20SHEET.htm

I've ordered acrylic from Delvies a few times. They do a great job in cutting the acrylic to size. Also they use a cutting blade that leaves minimal saw marks on the edges, so you don't need to prep the acrylic with a router or anything else. I use Weld-on #4 Solvent Cement to bond the acrylic together. It takes a little practice to learn how to apply the solvent, but once you get it down you can build just about anything. Tanks, sumps, and massive water-bridges.

If you need more help, feel free to ask. I've built 6 water-bridges so far for my tanks and will be building another one from acrylic sheet very soon.

[chefkeith]

check out-
http://fishighway.com/
There is a book here that you can download for $10. I bought the book. It's worth the $ IMO if your seriously considering this. It gave me some good ideas and and has some useful diy information.

This site also has some good idea's-
http://www.bio-elite.com/waterbridge.htm

[beviking]

Not the cheapest stuff on earth but...
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/7010/cid/1859

[slipknottin]

gonna be hard to find, you might have to resort to acrylic and pay a little more money.

Less money. Acrylic tubing is far less expensive than clear PVC.

[musky48in]

Ouch, that is expensive pipe. 25 dollars a foot. That would be a 100 dollars for one piece. I have to think that there is still a cheaper alternitive out there. Maybe I need to talk to some contractors and see what they can do for me. Also, thanks for acrylic idea's. They look great, but I really want a round tube; I guess I am just picky.

[slipknottin]

Also, thanks for acrylic idea's. They look great, but I really want a round tube; I guess I am just picky.

You can get acrylic tubing. Thats what I was talking about. Its significantly cheaper than clear PVC. The only real downside is that it does not bond all that well to PVC, so it wouldnt work under high pressures. But you can make a pretty good bond bewteen the two with something like weld-on #40, or even silicone.

[TipStylez]

what are water bridges for?

[chefkeith]

I think I paid about $70 for the 6ft of 3.5" clear acrylic tubing that I got. Like I said, I got it from US Plastics.


Anyways, If there is a leak when joining the acrylic tubing to the pvc elbows, I use plumbers 2 part epoxy (thats approved for potable water applications) to seal the joint. This stuff only needs about 20 minutes to set, then its ready for use in the aquarium.
Some pvc/acrylic joints, if tight enought, don't need to be sealed at all though.

Here's a pic of the 2 part epoxy, sealing the tubing-

http://home.comcast.net/~chefkeithallen/acrylic_tubing_and_pvc.jpg

[chefkeith]

Tipstyles - water-bridges connect aquariums together so that fish can swim from tank to tank.

[chefkeith]

Musky- I guess you didn't really check the links I provided.

BTW, clear Acrylic tubing is round and is less than half the cost of clear pvc.

Heavy duty clear acrylic tubing prices-
3.5" OD is $9.85 per foot
4" is $11.37
5" is $14.43

Regular clear acrylic tubing prices-
3.5" OD is $5.50 per foot
4" is $6.38
5" is $7.95
6" is $9.52

[blitzen25bm]

Less money. Acrylic tubing is far less expensive than clear PVC.
you right acrylic is cheaper i guess that site i was looking at was just a rip off but i found sites selling both and the pvc does cost more.

[TipStylez]

these water bridges actualy work? cool

[Kasakato]

Yes they work. The water is held in their because its at the same level, if not higher on both tanks.

[musky48in]

I did read the links. I just was a little worried about the strength of the acrylic round tubing and that is why I really wanted to go with the PVC. However, due to the cost of the PVC I might just go with the acrylic. I have one last option to exaust. At the university that I attend we have clear PVC in my Chem. labs. I think I might try and get ahold of someone there and see if they can order me a piece and maybe two elbows to go with it. Thak you for all of your help though.