double helix problem

[Riptide]

The vinyl tubes that came with my double helix 36w sterilyzer are a serious pain. They won't bend very much without kinking up. I went and looked at some PVC elbows but they end up kinking it up anyway since it needs to bend at pretty much a 90 degree angle to clear the back of the hood and go into the aquarium. The tank is only a 55 so it's pretty tight for a big 36w model (& hose) but even my 125 looks like it would have the same problem with this thing.

Is there anything to be done? I am about ready to return this. It didn't even come with suction cups to help stick the hoses up against the glass inside the tank. Just a couple of clamps and two pain in the rear hoses.

 

[gbolton]

I may be reading this wrong, but why don't you just create a U out of PVC and attach the vinyl hoses directly to the pipe outside of the tank? That way the hose can be straight and not bent over and kinked at the tank. Just make sure the PVC is small enough that the hose can be attached to it and secured either with a hose clamp or with zip ties.

Hope this helps.

 

[Riptide]

Well, the problem with PVC is that if I try to use an elbow or U joint the hose ends up getting kinked inside the PVC where it forms the 90 degree angle. It's just to tight inside the PVC, unless I get HUGE pieces, for the hose to fit through it without kinking at the joint. The hose is just to big for it to make the angle without kinking, and I doubt it would even work on my 125g tank (this tank is a 55).

Check out the attached diagram so you can see what I'm working with and where the difficulty is.

**Edit** A friend just suggested I find a different kind of PVC elbow joint. He suggests a piece that has a stem on each end for the hose to attach to. This sort of elbow joint isn't something I'd feed the hose through. No, it would actually replace the portion of the hose that would need to make the 90 degree bend.

 

[gbolton]

See attached diagram

 

[Riptide]

Thanks gbolton, that is what my friend just suggested as well. I need to actually REPLACE that section of hose with an elbow, not feed the hose THROUGH an elbow. I will give this a shot when I get a chance to hit the hardware store again this weekend. If I can't make it work then I'll return it. It's worth a try though.