The embodiments disclosed herein seek to ameliorate high costs associated with the use of ultra-pure silica by using a lower-cost starting material and purifying the lower-cost starting material to an acceptable level of purity during the preform manufacturing process. In one embodiment, a nucleating compound is coated on a thin-walled silica tube, which upon cooling, forms cristobalite allowing for easy removal of the thin-walled silica tube.