Ugly filter pipes, any suggestions?

So I bought an EHEIM canister and I have some aesthetic problems.

1. The tubes are black, thick, and ugly. Any suggestion on how to make it look better? I saw lily pipes can be installed. Guide me here, what should I do?
2. I have a long rectangular tank sitting on a regular home table. When I put the canister below it the tubes can not go to the side of the tank, they can but they look ugly. I do not want to drill holes in the table to pass the tubes from bottom to top. Plus, its better to make the water flow side ways than hang it on the back and have it flow the short distance from back to front, am I correct? Is there a tool I can install/hang to the side of the aquarium and connect the tubes to , to redirect the water inflow/outflow?
3. The tubes are extremely tough and stiff, my hands got red trying to push the pipes in. I was literally hammering the pipes in. Is this normal or are these cheap pipes and I should get something of higher quality? I can't imagine myself disabling for cleaning them and re-inserting them. Good news is there is no leaking....yet...

Thanks. I am trying to learn from those who are more experienced than me.

 

You could maybe change the flexible tubes for clear PVC tubing? And/or you can hide the ones inside the tank with plants and driftwood.

 

Hi diamonfingers
Welcome to fishlore.

I am more into the needs of fish than worrying about how things look.
I do have one lounge tank that is almost presentable.
My suggestion is not an instant fix and certainly not to everyone’s taste. Anyway I am just throwing the idea out there as a way of hiding the pipes.
A picture paints a thousand words?

There are 6 or more pothos cuttings in this lounge tank.
Having trailing vines could hide the workings?

 

The tubes are black, thick, and ugly. Any suggestion on how to make it look better? I saw lily pipes can be installed. Guide me here, what should I do?

Install a black background and they disappear visually.

Any clear tubing means constant cleaning, not only from algae, but inside the tubes bacteria love to dwell.

I have a long rectangular tank sitting on a regular home table. When I put the canister below it the tubes can not go to the side of the tank, they can but they look ugly. I do not want to drill holes in the table to pass the tubes from bottom to top. Plus, its better to make the water flow side ways than hang it on the back and have it flow the short distance from back to front, am I correct? Is there a tool I can install/hang to the side of the aquarium and connect the tubes to , to redirect the water inflow/outflow?

You will have to test your own ingenuity. Putting a tank on a table like this is (with reason) not really intended by the manufacturers. Just for stability and weight distribution reasons most tanks are put on stands that barely leave a rim around the tank. So either you will have to get the hoses through or around the tabletop. There is no other way.
It depends on the general outflow pressure whether back to front or side to side is the better option. Both can work depending on how you design the scape layout.

The tubes are extremely tough and stiff, my hands got red trying to push the pipes in. I was literally hammering the pipes in. Is this normal or are these cheap pipes and I should get something of higher quality? I can't imagine myself disabling for cleaning them and re-inserting them. Good news is there is no leaking....yet...

Well, these pipes are quality. Because only with such tight fits the manufacturer can hold up to their no-leakage warranty promises. You replace them with others and you loose all warranty claims. You should also only have to clean them maybe 1-2x a year if everything goes right, and there are hose cleaning brushes and pipe cleaners you can use for that.

 

Hi diamonfingers
Welcome to fishlore.

I am more into the needs of fish than worrying about how things look.
I do have one lounge tank that is almost presentable.
My suggestion is not an instant fix and certainly not to everyone’s taste. Anyway I am just throwing the idea out there as a way of hiding the pipes.
A picture paints a thousand words?

There are 6 or more pothos cuttings in this lounge tank. View attachment 851893Having trailing vines could hide the workings?

Hello back !

Amazing , such an out of the box idea. Are those plastic or water floating plants? if so which type?

I have a tank mainly for aesthetic reasons so how the tank looks is very important to me.

Install a black background and they disappear visually.

Any clear tubing means constant cleaning, not only from algae, but inside the tubes bacteria love to dwell.

You will have to test your own ingenuity. Putting a tank on a table like this is (with reason) not really intended by the manufacturers. Just for stability and weight distribution reasons most tanks are put on stands that barely leave a rim around the tank. So either you will have to get the hoses through or around the tabletop. There is no other way.
It depends on the general outflow pressure whether back to front or side to side is the better option. Both can work depending on how you design the scape layout.

Well, these pipes are quality. Because only with such tight fits the manufacturer can hold up to their no-leakage warranty promises. You replace them with others and you loose all warranty claims. You should also only have to clean them maybe 1-2x a year if everything goes right, and there are hose cleaning brushes and pipe cleaners you can use for that.

Yeah I did not think too much about the thick tubes and how they will reach the tank.

Do you know of an online store that sell quality backgrounds or wall paper that look nice?

I appreciate that no leak promise but that tubes are so touch my hands swelled trying to push them through. Aren't there any tips or tricks to be able push the pipes in and out of them? My hands literally swelled with redness trying to push in the pipes. 1 pipe all I could do is about half inch I think. Couldn't push much further.

You could maybe change the flexible tubes for clear PVC tubing? And/or you can hide the ones inside the tank with plants and driftwood.

hiding with plants from the inside doesn't work, I think it will restrict the inflow/outflow of water? but good idea.

I do not think there are clear pvc tubing, but its no use because after that you have to connect it to the black tubes.

 

That is the indoor house plant called pothos. Or should I say 6 or so plants that are vine cuttings. As it grows down I loop it back to the top. After a few days the leaves turn towards the light and it looks like it’s always been growing that way. . Only the roots are in water. All the cuttings are in a single 30 mm / 1 1/4 PVC pipe. The roots grow and are rolled into a ball. Java Moss and Java fern help hide the root ball a little.
To be clear it’s not floating but hangs on the edge without any contact with the substrate.

I don’t do much maintenance on this plant ( group of cuttings) but I can assure you it’s a living green vine all right.
A quick snapshot of the other side of the same tank.

Its very easy to propagate from cuttings so I use dozens of these plants on my not so pretty functional fish room.

 

Do you know of an online store that sell quality backgrounds or wall paper that look nice?

I use black cardboard from the stationery shop around the corner. And even if I knew an online store, chances are they are on the wrong continent for you.

I appreciate that no leak promise but that tubes are so touch my hands swelled trying to push them through. Aren't there any tips or tricks to be able push the pipes in and out of them? My hands literally swelled with redness trying to push in the pipes. 1 pipe all I could do is about half inch I think. Couldn't push much further.

You could lube them up with a tiny bit of vaseline. There are also products specifically
for aquarium use.

hiding with plants from the inside doesn't work, I think it will restrict the inflow/outflow of water? but good idea.

I can tell you, it only impairs the current, not the actual in/outflow. And depending on what you want to keep a slower current might well be what you want.

I have a tank mainly for aesthetic reasons so how the tank looks is very important to me.

Then I have one advice, I would like you to keep in mind like a mantra: NEVER put your aesthetic demands before the animal's demands. You can do a lot in and outside the tank visually, but always keep that in mind. I rather tell people early on than too late.
Good luck then.

 

I agree that aesthetics is very important to me, as is the animals welfare. No reason you can't have both. Many people are able to maintain healthy, happy fish and stellar show worthy tanks that would be presentable in any room of the house.

Back when I had my 75 setup in the living room it was positioned as a sort of room divider, with one short end of the tank against the wall and no backgrounds on the glass. I ran the filter hoses up one corner of the tank near the wall. I had plants covering it on the inside, and a large potted plant blocking it on the outside. When one entered the room it was quite striking. You could see through the tank and visible equipment was minimal. I even had an inline heater hidden in the cabinet.

DF, Where is your tank setup? Post a photo of it and maybe you'll get some more ideas.

 

what about temporarily removing the pipes and siliconing bits of rock/substrate/wood to them to make them appear like part of the scape? Maybe super glue some plants like anubias or buce. It’s pretty common to do this in vivarium/terrarium builds so I don’t really see why it wouldn’t work.
Be sure to use aquarium safe silicone, or 100% silicone. I use ASI aquarium sealant.

 

The best background is black spray paint, done with proper masking, in many many many coats. I have tried the other kinds of backgrounds and they always look shoddy.