Now even your air line can be made to look more attractive! Nathan Hill takes a close up look at some smart new glassware.
I stumbled across these on the web and tracked some down as soon as possible. Now I’m hooked on them!
They’re pretty self-explanatory things, one being a 'J' shaped shepherd’s crook, the others glass horseshoes sitting on the lips of aquaria. These negate the 'pinching' effect that can happen with air lines going into a tank — and they look damned smart.
Obviously for people with hoods on their tanks, these will be of little to no use, but for open topped 'scapers who want extra smart, they’re the way forward. After all, we have attractive glass diffusers, as well as outlets for filter pipes, so why not air line too?
Gentle is the word when handling, especially with the 20cm/8" long shepherd’s crook. The glassware is brittle and I suspect it would easily snap if a little roughly handed. I’d strongly advise heating any air line in hot water before pushing it into place to avoid mishaps.
The longer piece comes with suckers and clips to secure it, but the others just hook over the tank. There are two widths to choose from: the thinner fitting nicely over glass of 6-10mm/0.2-0.4” thickness, with the other size better for wider lips.
Prices: 'U' shaped connectors £4.99 each, 'J' (long) connector £9.99, from Tankscape.co.uk
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