Vinyl quieter than spa flex?

[notsofishy]

Is vinyl tubing quieter than the spa flex in terms of dampening the vibrations?

[saveafish]

I have heard boath ways. I use vinyl due to it being easier to move around. I think it is a bit quiter due to it being a softer tubing.

[DMBillies]

I'd personally be really surprised if a person could hear a difference between the two. It seems like you'd get a lot more mileage out of making sure the pump is mounted on foam and potentially using bed padding (the white foam eggcrate kind of stuff) in the compartment surrounding the pump to reduce the noise of the pump itself. I used that stuff to quiet a Gen-X PCX40 in a cabinet next to my tank and now my canopy fans are definitely the loudest part of the tank. Vinyl is slightly more flexible (and therefore seems like it would take out some more of the vibrations), but even that stuff doesn't give all that much.

Big advantage to spa flex is that it fits directly into standard PVC fittings. That, in itself, keeps things cleaner looking, probably less likely to leak, and (using unions) much easier to get apart than vinyl tubing with darts and hose clamps. I also find that if you need to bend vinyl pretty hard, over time the tubing will start to collapse/kink pretty badly.

I'm not really for one or the other (each have their own applications), but those are just my observations.

[jerome736]

I agree, I don't really think you can hear a difference between the two unless you have very discerning ears. I like the vinyl because of the ability to move it around more as well.

[notsofishy]

oka great thanks I think il probably go with the spa flex then if their isnt really a difference i dont like how the little nozzles for the vinyl tubing restrict the flow but thanks for the input.

[Pbrown3701]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12438825#post12438825 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DMBillies
Big advantage to spa flex is that it fits directly into standard PVC fittings. That, in itself, keeps things cleaner looking, probably less likely to leak, ......

Regarding the leaking - i have experienced the opposite to be true. I have had problems with spa flex leaking at the PVC joints on a few occasions. It is more difficult to work with and more difficult to get a good joint with standard PVC fittings (although doable). I use vinyl tubing on my pump outlets only as using it in suction applications causes it to collapse.

[ReefEnabler]

what kind of PVC glue did you use?

most people suggest no primer on spaflex (only the rigid PVC fitting), and using the thicker solids glue, like oatey rain-n-shine for ABS.

btw, last night I used a heatgun to slowly heat up some spaflex to get it to bend a different way. i put a coupling on either end (to give me something solid to grab), and used alot of strength to bend the spaflex into shape (was very hard at first). then I pressed it onto the ground and put one knee on each fitting to secure it.

I then ran my heat gun along the length of it, spending just a bit more time on the more 'bent' areas. after a few minutes the pipe will soften up just a bit and the resistance will dissapear. if it starts to 'collapse' in any places, remove the heat from that spot right away. after it cools for a few seconds, squeeze the pipe around that area to try and restore the tube shape (as if you were trying to remove the dent in a 2liter soda bottle).

After cooling off, the new pose was the complete natural pose of the spaflex. This might help if you're trying to force the spaflex to do anything besides its natural curve.

[notsofishy]

thanks, great advice. Il remember that when putting it together