Equipment Review and Discussion :: Dirt in the filter hoses

[Fernando77]

Do 2 months hoses cleaned the filter. But they are already dirty again. This debris is releasing this slowly, in small pieces like fur. But I found it strange they are already dirty again. They took 6 months to get dirty and loose these small pieces, now took only 2 months.

That is dirt or algae? I ask because I read that algae can colonize hoses.

If dirt, so cleaning is manually (by removing the filter) or have some other trick to clean? is to prevent this accumulation of dirt in the hose?

If algae how can I eliminate them?

Despite appearing green (because the hose is green), this is kind of brown dirt. Here are a few photos (the photo with my finger shows well the dirt dropping the hose and the last shows the dirt on the bottom of the aquarium)

P1000477 por 10 Fernando 10, no Flickr


P1000474 por 10 Fernando 10, no Flickr


P1000470 por 10 Fernando 10, no Flickr


P1000480 por 10 Fernando 10, no Flickr


fundo por 10 Fernando 10, no Flickr

[steve]

Which filter is that? It's pretty normal and you can't get rid of it entirely. It'll break up a little, but you'll have to take it apart to fully clean it. I think most people just leave it.

[Fernando77]

My filter is a pro3 2080XL. I do not bother with dirty hoses (the back wall is dark green, hides well). But when that loosens the dirt aquarium gets ugly. Funny that Walle eats own poop sometimes (if I do not clean right after he does) but does not touch those dirts that drop hose.

Talking with a friend who has plenty of time to aquariums he said the following:

He told me that this can be brown algae, as the cups of the heater and the inputs and outputs of water also has this brown dirt. He told me to consult other turtle owners to see if they had the dirt in the hoses. I think he says it's algae, because this kind of dirt takes much longer to form in fish aquariums.
He told me that if algae really, I solve this by changing the hoses today. Using hoses that do not pass light. Or I can try to put plants in the tank, it would compete with the algae. But I do not think so, Walle eat plants.

[steve]

When I had a fluval 304 filter, I would get gunk in there too and those hoses are solid grey. I've seen bits of green algae in it, but I think it's mostly sludge from waste/bacteria. Both hoses would get it, not just the intake ones.

[VeipaCray]

Crud in the filter hoses is normal. The slimy brown sludge is bacteria clinging to the rough surface of the hose. It's a losing battle to try and get rid of it.

[amwassil]

Old thread, I know, but likely still relevant. I've had a brown slimy sludge build up in my canister hoses that got so bad before I noticed what was happening it restricted water flow. I pulled the hoses and cleaned them with very hot water and bleach; the hot water flushed out most of it, and the bleach scoured out whatever was left. So this procedure killed whatever it was (combo of algae and bacteria?). My last filter cleaning, this very same sludge was clogging the mechanical filter as well as starting to build up in the hoses again. I got it out of the filter tray easily, but the hoses are a bit of a PITA to remove for cleaning. I have a UV sterilizer that I have not yet connected, but will do so as soon as I figure out how to connect it to my plumbing. I am hoping the UV sterilizer will prevent this crud from growing. Anyone else have a UV sterilizer and if so does it keep hoses clear? I'd like to think it's NOT a losing battle, since pulling the hoses is such a chore.

PS: I know you have to rinse the bleach out of the hoses 100%. That's really not too difficult to do. I have fish as well as turtles in the tank and the fish are a lot more sensitive to residual chlorine and they are alive and well.

[steve]

I don't think a UV sterilizer will help. Depending on the filter, some people find it's easier just to replace the hoses when necessary. I use a wooden dowel and push a damp paper towel through it to clean it out.

[amwassil]

I don't think a UV sterilizer will help. Depending on the filter, some people find it's easier just to replace the hoses when necessary. I use a wooden dowel and push a damp paper towel through it to clean it out.

Thanks for your input on the UV Sterilizer. I haven't yet gotten around to putting mine online because I'm soon going to replace my current Marineland C260 with a C360. Just awaiting my local Petsmart to get the item in, which they've back ordered for me, and should arrive within the next few days. Once I swap out the filters, I'll run the filter output through the UV Sterilizer.

If, as you note in a previous post, the crud in the hoses is a mix of turtle poop and bacteria, I wouldn't expect the UV Sterilizer to do much either. It might eliminate the bacterial component, though, which in turn might let the poop flow more smoothly into the filter where it will get trapped in the mechanical filter sponge. On the other hand, if the crud is primarily brown algae and bacteria, I would expect the UV Sterilizer to remove both over the course of a few days or weeks.

I'll report on the success or failure of the UV Sterilizer to help keep the hoses clean.

[VeipaCray]

The UV sterilizer won't kill any bacteria or algae living in the hoses. It can only kill what passes through it and is directly exposed to the UV light. There's probably not any algae in the hoses as algae needs light and the green hose (OP has green eheim hose) doesn't allow sufficient light to pass through. Most hoses in general do not allow sufficient light to pass. The sludgy slime is nitrifying bacteria that has colonized on the inner surface of your hose. If it's not restricting water flow you're better off leaving it there as it's helping keep your tank cycled.

If you don't have a free floating algae problem (green water), then the UV sterilizer won't do anything but restrict the water flow from your canister and make your filter even less efficient. If there's no floating algae in the water, then there's nothing the UV sterilizer will do. If you are starting to get a small build up on various surfaces, the best thing to do is remove excess nutrients from the water (better filtration). Better filtration = more meida + more water flow. Again the UV sterilizer will restrict the water flow and cut your filtration.

[amwassil]

Thanks for your input, VelpaCray. I know the UV Sterilizer only kills whatever water-borne entities pass through the UV light. My thinking is that whatever is living in the hoses got there in the first place via the water. So, if I sterilize the hoses, the UV Sterilizer would kill whatever is in the water before it can colonize the hoses again. If, as you suggest, the stuff colonizing the hoses is in fact nitrifying bacteria, then I don't want to kill that. The new tank is cycling very nicely since I filled it with my old water and maintained the filter media. I spend a LOT LESS time cleaning debris on the bottom. The fish, of course, clean up most of it, but fish poop and even most turtle poop seems to disappear. I only vacuum out the occasional "big stuff" I happen to spot from time to time.

My Marineland C260 has too little capacity for the new 80 gallon tank and doesn't create enough water current, which is why I am replacing it with the C360, rated for 100 gallons. However, I also have a Topfin Power Filter 75 hanging on one end of the tank with it's intake extended down to the bottom of the tank. In addition I have a Tom's surface skimmer running off an Elite Mini submersible filter at the opposite end of the tank. I'm hoping the C360 will pump water fast enough to increase the current in the tank to help stuff drift towards the filter intakes more efficiently.

The bigger tank is staying much cleaner with less effort on my part than the two smaller day tanks I had previously. Especially, it seems like the water is better oxygenated. I have no apparent algae in the tank and the "slime" coating on all the stuff in the tank appears less heavy than before. I have a couple of Ecobio Blocks and in the old set up one of the blocks continually hosted a layer of something that was almost black. The only way I could get it off was with a wire brush. I can't immerse the blocks in bleach to clean them, since that would kill the beneficial bacteria growing in them. After nearly a month in the new tank, neither Ecobio Block has any sign of this black growth. That's a good indicator that the water is better oxygenated. So I suspect the richer oxygen content is controlling water-borne algae and also helping the nitrifying bacteria work more efficiently on the waste in the water.

Anyway, thanks for suggesting the stuff in the hoses might actually be something beneficial! I'll hold off putting the UV sterilizer online for a while and see how it goes. If I have pull the hose only 3 or 4 times a year to clear out the gunk, that's not so bad a job.

[amwassil]

Update

I've swapped out the C220 (Not C260, as I erroneously said previously) with a new C360. Bigger canister, bigger impeller and bigger hoses: LOTS more water flow now! The fish like to play in the water inflow. Just before changing the filters I tested the water. pH: 6.5; NH3: 0; NO2: < 0.1; NO3: < 5.0. I will test the water again this weekend, one week after replacement to see if there's any difference.

I changed about 16 gallons of water this week, which is pretty much the norm. I discard water from the night tank and replace it with water from the day tank, then top up the day tank with fresh, filtered water. Depending on how much poop is in it, I replace 2 to 6 gallons in the night tank every day and do a complete water change on Tuesday or Wednesday and Saturday, when I clean and sterilize the tank.