YUCK... Canister filter hoses

[poconogal]

I like the "another set of hoses, complete with the quick disconnect valve to the XP3". I never thought of that. Such an easy solution.

I have a Ehiem 2227 and clean the tubes every two months. Every time I do it I'm always worried about taking too long. With the extra set it would be easier and quicker.

Dave

Dave, that's what I thought, too. Pretty quick easy and then hoses can be cleaned at leisure. I think I will actually get another intake and spraybar set as well so that I can just take it all off to clean. Of course it would be an extra expense, but a minor one and its worth it!

And my husband doesn't even keep fish!

[korbi_doc]

Do you use the spray bar??? Whenever I shut down the filter, I insert the spraybar inside a knee-hi. I twist the end so it won't pop off. Once the filter is restarted and the "blowout" is over, I remove the knee-hi.

Great ideas everyone! I've also used a pump to push a cottonball thru the hoses to clean'm as advised by some, but it does take a bit of ingenuity to get it the right size to do the job, patience, lol....Dottie

[fusQer]

cleaning the tubes is a mess. i have a planted tank and just replace the hoses every 2-3 months. you can get a pre-cut 10foot hose from home depot for $15. it is really nice with braided thread inside to prevent it from collapsing. just cut and stick it in and set it back up. throw the old ones away. i also clean the inside of hte spray bar with a long thin brush that came with my HOB emperor 400.

[lora]

I have the same problem with my hoses, I made up a special brush for them. I took an ordinary aquarium hose cleaning brush with the longest handle I could find, tied a long piece of string to the end of the brush and attatched a sinker used for fishing to the other end. I hold the hose up and drop the sinker end in first, then I shake the hose till the sinker comes out the other end and then pull the brush through. You may have to repeat this a couple of times for each hose.

[tcyiu]

I have done what Lora did with the string and fishing sinker etc. The only difference is I used some bits of rag instead of a brush. This requires a few more passes, but my reasoning is that I did not want to scuff up the inside of the hose, providing the bacteria a better foothold.

With respect to the "snow" I have a food safe container that I use for various aquaria purposes (transferring fish, surface skimming etc.). When I re-start my cannister, I put this container at the discharge before I restart the pump. The gunk gets deposited into this container and not into the tank. Relatively simple and cheap.

But this assumes that you can reach the discharge hose and the plug for the pump at the same time. I can imagine that this is not always the case, in which case you might need a helper.

Tim

[poconogal]

I forgot about this post, LOL!!! Thanks for the suggestions, all. In the interim, my hoses became clear again all by themselves, no cleaning, etc. and the snow has stopped. I'm not complaining! If it starts again, I'll at least have some things to try!

[rlong]

Hi,
I must be doing something wrong. I have been running 4 canister filers, a couple of them for 2 years and have never felt the need to clean the hoses. Mine are green and yes I can see some gunky build-up but nothing big enough that might hinder flow to a large extent.

Now, I do have 30 feet of clear 5/8 tubing that I use from my mixing barrel for water changes that is getting skumy. I wish I could find a way to clean that.

[lybrasoft]

I have a Filstar Xp 3 on one of my 60 gallon tank and i had the same problem. Imagine my water crystal clear. One day accidently I turn the switch off on the surge protector. When i turned it back on iit was like you said a snow storm. From one minute to another my tank was i don't want to think about it. I approached the tank and i saw tiny white things in my water so i took a sample and lokked at it under a microscope. Turnes out that in the filter most of the times where the uneaten food it there are some other "little creatures" called flat worms.They are very small and white. The book says they do not harm the fish but they can be anoying in a large number. There are other many reason we don't even think right know for a regular cleaning especially with these types of filters.
Pesonally i think the problem is not with the hoses.

[rlong]

Hi,
lybrasoft, are you saying that what you saw was flat worms?
Do you have the ability to get a picture with your microscope? what power did you use?

I'd love to hear if others examine their "white stuff" also to see if there is a comman thread hear.

[poconogal]

Hi,
lybrasoft, are you saying that what you saw was flat worms?
Do you have the ability to get a picture with your microscope? what power did you use?

I'd love to hear if others examine their "white stuff" also to see if there is a comman thread hear.

Sounds like Planaria, very tiny little white worms. The snow that came out of my hoses was definitely not any sort of worm though. When Planaria develop it is a sign that the tank/equipment needs cleaning more often. They are harmless to the fish though.

[poconogal]

....Now, I do have 30 feet of clear 5/8 tubing that I use from my mixing barrel for water changes that is getting skumy. I wish I could find a way to clean that.

I have a 40 ft. long 5/8 hose that goes to my Python. In my WC barrel I put some chlorine in my water and attached the hose to my Magdrive pump. I had the pump and the other end of the hose in the barrel too and turned the pump on. The pump circulated the water thru the hose and the chlorine killed any algae in the hose. With the water circulating thru the hose for a few hours, it eventually washed the dead algae out of the hose. The chlorine in the barrel also took care of the slimyness that can develop on the walls of a WC barrel. When done, I made sure to use lots of dechlor (I'm on a private well so I don't need to do anything normally for chlorine or chloramine) and then let everything air dry.

[C_of_Discus]

I wonder if you used an air hose to blow the stuff out would that work? Someone needs to invent a teflon non-stick hose!

[poconogal]

I wonder if you used an air hose to blow the stuff out would that work? Someone needs to invent a teflon non-stick hose!

I don't think an air hose would work - I don't think there could be enough air pressure to unstick algae off the insides of the hose, especially a 30 ft. long hose. Teflon coated... hmmmm...

[Kindredspirit]

This thread is almost a year old! Talk about a "bump"!

[alpine]

Be careful , an air hose might carry some oil from the compressor !

roberto.