black rubber tubing? good or bad?

[azocean709]

was curious of what kind of black hose i could use for my return from fuge. Car Vacume line, black garden hose? what? as of now i have clear tubing, which i knew was not good, but i wanted to get my fuge up and running and thats all i had access to at the time. I really don't want to hard plumb anything on the bottom due to the way it is set up..<too many curves> any suggestions?

 

[thegrog]

Clear tubing will work. Rubber is a no-no as it will degrade rather quickly and spring leaks at bad times.
There are makers of black silicone tubing. The same stuff as the clear tubing, but black so algae won't build up inside from light. There is also silicone pond tubing that is reinforced that works well.

 

[azocean709]

thanks grog....yeah...my clear tubing is getting some nasty build up ...my little set up goes from....tank...fuge...uv, return.. my uv is mounted above the fuge , the light is at the very top <under the stand> the return line going from the fuge to the uv is covered on the inside with algae, the tube coming from the uv sterilizer has tiny spots but nothing to be concerned about...<this must mean the sucker works...LMAO> but if i could go with all black tubing that would be great...ill have to check out that silicone pond tubing. that sounds like a winner!

 

[nytrillium]

Were you referring to the stuff you can buy by the foot in HD or Lowes that they call "Heater Hose" ? i think ive seen it in 3/4" and 1". its black rubber and reinforced.

 

[azocean709]

i was just refering to anything black,,,but he metioned that the rubber will become leaky, he is absolutly correct....i didn't know they made slicone black tubing for pond equipment...i am going to go with that.

 

[nytrillium]

Yep i would have to agree with it. Plus its not UV resistant or Ozone safe so thats gonna be a nono.... any idea where to get that black silicone other than online?

 

[phixer]

I think that black rubber also contains more petroleum and hydrocarbons. It is also very susceptible to oxidation if you use ozone.
Phixer

 

[azocean709]

i know the lowes has a big garden center thing up here with tons of yard pond pumps, pools ect...im gonna check there tomorrow after work for the silicone tubing. hopefully they have it...i hate waiting for orders over the web! i want it NOW!!! lmao..

 

[nytrillium]

haha same here. let me know what you find.. ***)

 

[azocean709]

the new home depot here in yulee has the black silicone tube...from 1/4 to 1 inch...i got the 3/4 to match what i have...cost me 80 cents a foot...HECK YEAH!! LOL no waiting online. it was in the garden department....ya gotta look though...cause they had the rubber hose right next to it. and they damn near look identical

 

[nytrillium]

Sweet... Ill have to look when i go to hook up my sump. How bad does it kink up? or is it pretty rigid for silicone? I have some 1/4" latex that is impossible with the kinking. I use it for the intake for my venturi and it kinks on me all the time.. i gotta rework it.

 

[creative]

Why not use flexible PVC avalible at Depot & Lowes? then you can use standard pvc fitting to go with it.

 

[nytrillium]

i think because the "flexible" PVC is what it says... but its still pretty stiff. The silicone is deffinately alot more flexible and easier to work with.

 

[azocean709]

I just reran my new tubing this morning...this stuff is a wonder! no kinks...Its actually pretty stout stuff. the thinkness of the walls of it are thick! I did have one little oops....when i clamped it to my uv sterilizer

[hr]
i over tighted it and it squished up through the holes in the clamp and was leaking. there is a fine line of tightness it seems.... So i cut it, put it back on there. slighlty tighted the clamp a tad and turned the pump back on and tighted it untill it stopped leaking and gave it just a tad more . been going for an hour now...but will check on it through the day to make sure.

 

[azocean709]

also, i ran up to Advance auto parts here in town to get some brake shoes for my truck, i was walking down the Motor Dress Up isle and the colored vacume tubing to dress up an engine are silicone, i read through the back of the package and it is the same stuff as the pond tubing....black red yellow purple blue.. In all sizes..LOL but it was more expensive than what i got from HD. but it is another option incase your storre doent carry it.

 

[nytrillium]

how about using those plastic Sqeeze ratchet type clamps instead of the standard metal hose clamps? would that make a difference?

 

[azocean709]

probably could...i never thought of that....Id rather have plastic than metal anyway. I ll have to try that today!

 

[nytrillium]

I havent used them yet.. but i read a post on here that you have to tighten them with pliers or else they dont hold at all...