Embarrassed to admit this

[Anihiel1]

Best purchase ever:

 

[Jseimo]

I have few hoses but rather hard plumbing. As part of the bacterial and ecosystem, the film within lines are subject to constant flow and should not have anything harmful within. The only lines I DO clean are the dosing lines which tend to crystalize and the CA reactor line which knowingly does plug up periodically.
Pumps are necessary especially powerheads.

The sad reality for me is dosing line is so super cheap. I’m lazy and I’ll just replace it

 

[Karen00]

Best purchase ever:

I was looking for something like this but couldn't find anything. Thanks for posting. I ended up twisting a bunch of pipe cleaner together (that craft type fuzzy stuff) to make one long piece I could run through the in siphon hose and that kind of worked but this looks better.

 

[Anihiel1]

I was looking for something like this but couldn't find anything. Thanks for posting. I ended up twisting a bunch of pipe cleaner together (that craft type fuzzy stuff) to make one long piece I could run through the in siphon hose and that kind of worked but this looks better.

Found it on Amazon, $5.89 and long enough to get through the entire hose:

 

[inktomi]

Cleaning the inside of plumbing.. for sure that's the neglected area in my tank. Everything else gets a nice clean - but the inside of pipes - I've never touched those. Probably worth getting a brush like above.

Also, the note about the bacterial biofilm growing inside tubing - and then using our mouths to start a siphon. Never thought about that before ;Vomit

 

[Karen00]

The long eye-dropper/coral feeder I use 2x daily. I've cleaned it once in the past year. No ill effects yet, but it's definitely not sanitary.

Oh ya... This is a good one. I typically twist paper towel down my dropper to clean it but sometimes that's not enough so I use that craft type pipe cleaner to give a good scrub when needed. The only thing is you have to be careful the wire doesn't scratch the dropper. I fold over one end to make a fuzzy nub type end which helps hide the wire. Once the fuzz gets too thin after using it for awhile I toss it.

 

[Karen00]

Cleaning the inside of plumbing.. for sure that's the neglected area in my tank. Everything else gets a nice clean - but the inside of pipes - I've never touched those. Probably worth getting a brush like above.

Also, the note about the bacterial biofilm growing inside tubing - and then using our mouths to start a siphon. Never thought about that before ;Vomit

That's too funny because I have done the same thing starting my siphon. Mmmm Mmmm good and still alive to tell the story!! Haha.

 

[Karen00]

It's just biofilm.

Not neccesarily Algae, could be but rare.

By the way if you guys are REALLY super concerned about increasing longevity of your siphon hoses or wanting to actually clean them it would require similar protocol to Hospital Endoscopy Units.

I don't know if vinegar after every use would work. Partly the big situation is that you have teeming amounts of bacteria running through that line. I don't know if small vinegar flush would kill it all. You'd have to take way more drastic measures, with a cleaning brush/pipe thats long enough to also scrub down the entire tube.

additionally after cleaning and then rinsing with RODI or Freshwater for who knows how long to make sure no chemicals left, you still would then HAVE TO DRY THE HOSE ENTIRELY. Meaning you will have to run forced air through the hose channel until it is 100% completely dry. probably more important than even flushing with vinegar, as without moisture/water, nothing can grow. (if you actually wanted to do this, possibly a vacuum with the attachment connected to the exhaust(like with a wet vac) or This Air Canister might work....

Which is basically just too much work....... so i don't think there's a way to ever get around that.

Basically without it being 100% dry, you're leaving a perfect environment inside that tube for Bacteria to have an EXPLOSION of a bloom inside. Over the next 72 hours while it's tucked away in a corner, the bacteria colonies are going from a couple hundred to a few billion.

Then you get a bio film which just takes an insane amount of work to get rid of without harsh chemicals.

So ultimately, just replace your tubing, it's about $.50 a foot lol.


Also on that note and something I never thought about before, if your tubes look really dirty you probably should change them,

You don't know WHAT bacteria colony took hold inside. If that gets in your tank could be a problem, Probably the fact that 90% of the time the water is going OUT of the tank from that tube and not in, we're saved from more problems lol, human germs floating in the open air once your tube is no longer inside the tank could easily get inside introducing foreign bacteria particles such as C.Diff etc into your tank. Super easy to happen believe it or not, if you don't believe study up a bit more on endoscopy. Wet tubes are a thriving environment for them, It's like a perfect home for cultivation.

Also a reason to not use your mouth to start your siphoning.


This would not apply to any line in your tank constantly wet or constantly in the water, it's not the same concept. it's a tube that's left with small bits of water in it.

And lastly I've never changed my siphon tube, but it just looks like a tube with water spots, I don't have insane crusts or anything or weird films (YET)

And lastly, yeah, now you also know the similar procedure hospitals go through after they scope you each time to make sure the next patient isn't getting a scope with biofilm . Also why you shouldn't get scoped at lazy/dirty hospitals.

Thanks. That's a good point about it most likely being biofilm. I ended up buying a bunch of that craft pipe cleaner and twisted a bunch of them together. Works not too bad but the fuzz wears off after a bit. Another member posted something from Amazon. Hopefully that's small enough to get through the long tube portion because that's the only part that gets grungy.

Maybe that COPD SoClean gizmo will work for aquarium tubing Haha. If it does it might open up a whole new market for them.

 

[terraincognita]

Thanks. That's a good point about it most likely being biofilm. I ended up buying a bunch of that craft pipe cleaner and twisted a bunch of them together. Works not too bad but the fuzz wears off after a bit. Another member posted something from Amazon. Hopefully that's small enough to get through the long tube portion because that's the only part that gets grungy.

Maybe that COPD SoClean gizmo will work for aquarium tubing Haha. If it does it might open up a whole new market for them.

That's potential.Didn't realize how effective activated oxygen is at killing bacteria/viruses.

The only thing that most aerosol sanitizers miss is Spores. Not sure how many harmful spores one would find in tubing. or if at all? I'm sure mold spores might make it in on their own. and Ozone doesn't kill them just renders them "in-active" which then water can reactivate them. However Vinegar may kill the spores.

I think though since siphoning most tubes are taking AWAY from a tank, we're not in too bad of a situation, you should be able to replace them when they need it. The actual wider tube which goes in the tank can easily be scrubbed with a baby bottle brush.

But yeah, if you're using lines to return water to your tank (i.e. a return pump in a bucket to the tank for WC's) I would suggest cleaning/changing it more often.

 

[RickLRMS]

Use Zip strips and save your droppers for testing ! Easy to clean and picks up a nice chunk of frozen that fits perfectly between egg crate!

I’m just beginning to set up my tank so, while it may be common knowledge, I’ve no idea what you are describing. Any chance you would decode for a newbie?

 

[TriggerFinger]

I’m just beginning to set up my tank so, while it may be common knowledge, I’ve no idea what you are describing. Any chance you would decode for a newbie?

Yep! Let me take some pics next time I feed my tank.

 

[TriggerFinger]

I’m just beginning to set up my tank so, while it may be common knowledge, I’ve no idea what you are describing. Any chance you would decode for a newbie?

Zip strip=zip tie. Scoop up some frozen food and stick it between the egg crate top to feed the tank.

 

[RickLRMS]

Zip strip=zip tie. Scoop up some frozen food and stick it between the egg crate top to feed the tank.

Neat. I first assumed a zip tie but couldn’t figure how to use one to feed the fish, so thought maybe it was something else. Thanks for the pictures!

 

[CubsFan]

My lucky underwear

You only have to gamble and lose once before it becomes your unlucky underwear.

 

[pseudorand]

Anyone else neglect something like this for way to long?

Until recently, test tubes for my water test kits. I used to just rinse them in tap and call it good. Then I had a problem where test accuracy was a factor. I bought an aqualifter pump and now I do a tap rinse then use the aqualifter to flush with running RO/DI too.

I still have no idea if that actually makes a difference in the test accuracy, but at least I don't question the tests when trying to figure out what's wrong.

 

[McPuff]

I've been using the same siphon hose for about 15 years, perhaps 16. But it's perfect! I give it a hot freshwater rinse after I use it but it still has some black-ish staining on the inside. Still mostly clear but I have never done any soaks or anything like that. Just water to rinse the salt out. It really doesn't concern me. It's well seasoned by now! :0)