skanky pipes

[noop]

i recently got an eheim 2213 filter (about 4 wks ago), and my fish are very happy. but i just noticed that the pipes/hoses to and from the filter have lots of black skanky stuff inside them (they're transparent so i can see). is this normal? can and should i get rid of this, and if so, how?

 

[Red]

I had a fluval external filter and the pipes were grotty so I bought new tube from my LFS but before I could change them a stupid fish swam into the tube during the night and died there. To avoid further losses I took the blasted thing out.

The Wolf recommends attaching a rag to a piece of wire and pulling through the pipe. My LFS sells a tiny brush on the end of a flexible wire which looks great.

 

[noop]

as i said, i've only had this filter running for about 4 weeks. is this type of maintenance something i'm gonna have to do monthly?? or is it possible that it's like this just because it's so new?

maybe the black patches are little colonies of bacteria (he said hopefully)

 

[Lateral Line]

The pipes do get like that. It is usually pretty harmless. I clean mine out several times a year when they start to affect the flow rate. I tie a nail to a piece of string, pull the nail through the pipe with a magnet, once all the way through, tie a rag or similar to the string and pull the rag through - repeat a few times then flush with water.

 

[konrad05]

My tubes got black too, after about 3 months. It doesnt affect the flow really, only this filamentous algae that grows in there with it. I just attach a cloth to a TV coaxial cable and push it through every 6 months or so.