Hi

Something that has irritated me for years is a brown slimey algae that grows in the filter pipes of my tank and gradually reduces the water flow. There isn't any inside the tank itself but just in the filter system so every few weeks when I give the tank a good clean I have to remove all the filter pipes and blast them out with the garden hose to clear them. Any ideas what might be causing this and how to get rid of it? It would be nice to clean out the tank without having to dismantle the filter system everytime.

The filter is an Eheim Professional and the pipes are a transparent green. I have been informed that the reason they are green is to filter out the light wavelength that the algae feeds off but it appears from practical experience that this is not the case.

Thanks

This happens with all my hang on filters too and their pipes are black. A pain to clean out :an!gry

it was my impression that brown algae grows in lower light.. so the filtering out of light may be working against you in this case.

But I still get a little on my clear pipes, it's easy enough to get rid of, just a pain like you say to dismantle every so often.

I think what you are talking about is not algae.. it is bacteria buildup..

Nothing you can do about that, but cleaning them every 2 weeks sounds far too often to me...

I take mine apart every 3 months or so and use a pipe brush.

I think what you are talking about is not algae.. it is bacteria buildup..

Nothing you can do about that, but cleaning them every 2 weeks sounds far too often to me...

I take mine apart every 3 months or so and use a pipe brush.

+1 I also do my filter maintance every 3 months and clean the pipes, I need to get a pipe brush though, for now I battle sticking a little cloth through it :facepalm:

I think what you are talking about is not algae.. it is bacteria buildup..

Nothing you can do about that, but cleaning them every 2 weeks sounds far too often to me...

I take mine apart every 3 months or so and use a pipe brush.

Nope, it's a brown algae and I clean it every 3-4 weeks and have no choice in the matter because as I stated above the water flow from the filter reduces to a trickle.

A blast with some decent water pressure from the garden hose leaves a nice pile of brown slime on the back lawn.

mine definately looks like algae I don't have a pipe brush either so I have to sort of fill it up with the tap and then give it a good wack against the sink. It's icky and smells of consintrated fish poop :nilly:

I need to clean my pipes as often as every 2 weeks or like above, the filter outflow is reduced to a trickle.

Nope, it's a brown algae and I clean it every 3-4 weeks and have no choice in the matter because as I stated above the water flow from the filter reduces to a trickle.

A blast with some decent water pressure from the garden hose leaves a nice pile of brown slime on the back lawn.

Ok.. interresting.. are they exposed to direct sunlight or something?

How about wrapping them in something that will block the light.. Paper, electrical tape, tinfoil.. etc... doesn't look nice but if you would have to flush out your hoses every two weeks I think I would do something like that.

It must be an algae because the filter with the co2 reactor on it has cleared up and the one without is still brown. I'm guessing the concentrated co2 killed it off but isn't strong enough yet in my tank to last another round through the other filter.

Ok.. interresting.. are they exposed to direct sunlight or something?

How about wrapping them in something that will block the light.. Paper, electrical tape, tinfoil.. etc... doesn't look nice but if you would have to flush out your hoses every two weeks I think I would do something like that.

Definitely not exposed to sunlight. All the hoses run between the back of the tank and the living room wall which is quite a dark cavity. The only place the hoses are exposed is where they enter the tank. It may be the lack of light causing the issue.

It must be an algae because the filter with the co2 reactor on it has cleared up and the one without is still brown. I'm guessing the concentrated co2 killed it off but isn't strong enough yet in my tank to last another round through the other filter.

That's interesting. I might re-route my CO2 line so it feeds into the inlet pipe of the filter and see if that has any effect on it. If so I might end up running a split feed. I've got a 4.5kg tank so if I'll hardly notice if I have increase the feed a little to keep the filter line clear.

That's interesting. I might re-route my CO2 line so it feeds into the inlet pipe of the filter and see if that has any effect on it. If so I might end up running a split feed. I've got a 4.5kg tank so if I'll hardly notice if I have increase the feed a little to keep the filter line clear.

But a little careful increasing the CO2 flow because it will also change your pH and also the balance of CO2/light/nutrient which could have undesired effects.

I would try to wrap the hoses in something.. if only as an experiment to see if it helps..

If there is no light and it still clogs up then it can't be algae.

But a little careful increasing the CO2 flow because it will also change your pH and also the balance of CO2/light/nutrient which could have undesired effects.

Actually that's quite interesting as I was a bit paranoid when I first introduced CO2 to my tank but the pH level didn't budge from what it was originally. I put it down to the fact that I have it on a timer and I have the CO2 on during the day and the air bubbles on at night. The CO2 is certainly having an effect though because the plants have gone nuts.