# ADA & Cal Aqua pipes side by side



## Bunbuku (Feb 10, 2008)

I was doing some maintenance and thought these pictures might prove useful to some people. 

The pictures are two sets of 13 mm lily pipes that I am using on my 60-P. One set is by ADA the other by CalAqua Labs. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. 

I can send a video of the CalAqua in-line diffuser live in action.


----------



## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

This is a great comparison. Its hard to describe to people the difference. I think the You-tube flick would be very cool to see.
We have a new In-line diffuser from Cal Aqua that will be 17mm/5/8 and much larger than the previous model to compensate for increased flow.


----------



## Bunbuku (Feb 10, 2008)

orlando said:


> This is a great comparison. Its hard to describe to people the difference. I think the You-tube flick would be very cool to see.
> We have a new In-line diffuser from Cal Aqua that will be 17mm/5/8 and much larger than the previous model to compensate for increased flow.


Orlando:

I have the old version of the diffuser. I noted some physical differences with the version II, but nonetheless the principle should be the same.


----------



## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

Cool! send them my way. The II has a brace that supports the inner diffuser for filters with more flow. The new one that will be coming in on Monday will be the same except for 17mm tubes.


----------



## Bunbuku (Feb 10, 2008)

I was able to use Google to host. Here is the video of turbulent flow in the diffuser. You can see the circular flow of CO2 bubbles as it exits the disc


----------



## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

Very cool! Thanks for the email!

Regards, Orlando


----------



## hooha (Apr 21, 2005)

this is very helpful - thanks for posting!

Do you notice a difference in flow between the two? I see that the outlet portion is significantly different between the two, never noticed that before....


----------



## Bunbuku (Feb 10, 2008)

hooha said:


> this is very helpful - thanks for posting!
> 
> Do you notice a difference in flow between the two? I see that the outlet portion is significantly different between the two, never noticed that before....


Hooha:

I don't have precise answer for you, but I can infer that the *velocity* of the water exiting the pipes is higher for the CalAqua. Why?


When the lily pipes are raised at night for aeration, the sound produced by the ADA has a pitch that sort of sounds of like a flowing stream (probably an intentional design by Amano as part of the overall "_kimoch_i" of the ADA line). The CalAqua set in contrast has a higher pitch in the same position, suggesting that the water is coming out at higher *velocity*. 
Measuring the diameter of the neck of the outflow pipes at the lowest part of the "J" with my calipers, the ADA pipes measured 11.5 mm and the CalAqua 9 mm. Assuming the rated flow of 145 gph for my Eheim Ecco 2234, we get 4.8 ft/sec for the ADA and 7.86 ft/sec for CalAqua. NB: this is *not* the same as _volume_ per unit time.


----------



## orlando (Feb 14, 2007)

This is great stuff Bunbuku, you have gone above and beyond to get this solid information. Well done


----------

