Re: [APD] Cleaning filter tubes for canister?

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

Unless your setup is extraordinarily strange, the gunk in
the tubes is the same stuff that you culture in the
biomedia, in other words, biofilm, which comprises certain
types of bacteria and the polysaccharide film that they
make, which holds them to surfaces.

As it builds up, it substantially reduces the water flow of
the filter, which is to be expected, and all the tubes
should be cleaned every so often with an appropriate brush.
How often depends on how fast and thickly it builds.

Imo, if it's thick enough to repeatedly and often break off
in chunks, then the tubes probably need to be cleaned -- at
least due it as often as you change the filter media.

A short bottle brush fastened to a loop on the end of some
weed-whacker nylon string/cord makes a great inexpensive
tube brush.

Canisster filters don't really like much gas in them but
they are usually designed so that, if small amounts enter
of develop in the cannister, it will tend to leak out
through the pump (the hiccupping you mentioned). So long as
your filter continues to pump water after the hiccup, the
gas should not be causing any harm to the filter.

When the media becomes very clogged, the pump will tend to
pull gasses out of solution and that too will cause bubbles
just when the water flow is getting slow. So if you notice
a large increase in the hiccupping, that can be a sign that
you need to change the fine filtering media in the filter.

As a rule, I find that canisters are the lowest maintenance
filters of all, skimming apparatus notwithstanding.
 
Good luck, good fun,
Scott H.

--- Walter Igharas <walterigharas at hotmail_com> wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I am new to using cannister filters.
> 
> I have noticed that my filter tubes have a lot gunk in
> them and I think it 
> contributing to my cloudy water. I use this filter as a
> skimmer. Every so 
> often the cannister get some air in it and does a
> 'hiccup' and pushes some 
> of the gunk in the output tube into the aquarium and
> produces a white haze. 
> Sometimes some of the gunk gets stuck in the bar spray.
> 
> Question: Should I clean out the tubing on both the input
> and output tubes?
> Also what is that gunk in the tubes?  Also how often
> should I clean out the 
> tubes?


=====
-  -   -   -   -   -   -   -
Tired of filling that aquarium all the way to the top? Ready to try something a little different? Think less water, more options. Think paludarium.

Aquarium Design Group's Mike Senske raised paludariums to a whole other level. SEE Senske paludariums at 

http://www.aquariumdesigngroup.com/aquascapes/aquascapes_paludariums.htm

SEE the Senske submissons to the AGA Annual Aquascaping Contests at http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2004.cgi

HEAR and SEE Mike talk about paludarium design at The 5th AGA Annual Convention. Details/Registration at www.aquatic-gardeners.org & www.gwapa.org
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