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  • Gunk in filter tubing

    About a month ago, I replaced the green inlet and outlet tubing to my eheim canister filter with plain clear vinyl tubing purchased from Home Depot. Shortly thereafter, I noticed that some yellowish gunk was "growing" inside the tubing. It has now entirely covered the inside of the tubing. I have not seen this buildup in any other parts of the tank and it appears to have no negative affects on water quality. Has anyone else ever seen this before? Is it algea? Fungus? Bacteria? Is it something I should worry about or just let it be? Thanks!
    Bacteria: the only culture some people have

  • #2
    Re: Gunk in filter tubing

    I get similar "gunk" in the intake tubes on my HOB filters. Are there any parts that are longer, or does it just seem to be forming a uniform layer on the inside of the tubing?

    My guess would be some sort of bacteria. I usually don't worry about it until it starts to clog the intake tube and slow the filter down. However, I've never asked anyone about it, so maybe I'm wrong in thinking it's harmless.  :)  But since it's not affecting your water chemistry, I'd be inclined to think it's nothing to worry about? Dunno, but just wanted to let you know that you're not the only one!
    "Millennium hand and shrimp!"

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    • #3
      Re: Gunk in filter tubing

      Maybe you should put back the green tube. It did not seem to cause a problem until you noticed it, lol. Sorry I could not resist. Honestly I don't know either. I would guess it is a good thing, part of your biological filter.

      max

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      • #4
        Re: Gunk in filter tubing

        "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."

        Quote is from: http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plant.../msg00357.html

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        • #5
          Re: Gunk in filter tubing

          The buildup is bacteria based. As such it is a good thing. It helps in the denitrification process along with the filter. In fact, if you were to lower the flow, coil the line, and increase the run to approx 40' you would have just built a denitrification filter. By lowering the flow and extending the run length, you in effect allowed the water more contact time with the bacteria which consume the nitrates in the water. As the water continues around the loop, more and more of the nitrates are consumed until eventually there are no nitrates left in the water, at this point the water is both nitrate free, and oxygen free. In order to keep from having oxygen depletion in the tank air is then injected into the return spigot to re-airate the water.
          I hope this answers your question without giving you an overload, hehe.
          Consider my posts as general information based on personal experiences, and in most cases, far oversimplified. Actual mileage may vary. Don't try this at home. If symptoms persist, contact your physician.

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          • #6
            Re: Gunk in filter tubing

            it's more difficult to see in the green tube but it's still there

            <--- has eheim canisters on all tanks

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            • #7
              Re: Gunk in filter tubing

              A longer tube would be good but doesn't the concentration of bacteria food in the tube go down with the flow rate and distance down the length of the tube. I would think faster is better. It's the concentration of ammonia nitrites and nitrates in the tank that we are worried about. Let them eat?

              max

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              • #8
                Re: Gunk in filter tubing

                Philistine, I think Max was kidding about the green tube...
                "Millennium hand and shrimp!"

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                • #9
                  Re: Gunk in filter tubing

                  I didn't see that

                  D'oh

                  I was responding to the original post

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                  • #10
                    Re: Gunk in filter tubing

                    Max,
                    High flow rates are good for aerobic bacteria, which is what she has now. By decreasing the flow rate and increasing the run length the aerobic bacteria, thats the bacteria which lives in an oxygen rich environment and is the same bacteria present in your filter, and also by the way the source of nitrates in the water, begins to die off in the line as oxygen is consumed. At that point anerobic bacteria forms and consumes the nitrates which the aerobic bacteria left behind. Given a low enough flow and enough line length, the anerobic bacteria will completely remove nitrates from the system.
                    Just before you return the water to the tank you add an airstone to re-introduce oxygen to the water, and you now have nice clean nitrate free water for your fishies.
                    As a side note, I am not recommending that she do this with this particular line, as this is her primary filtration we are talking about. However, if she should put a shunt in the return line and allow for a coil and a separate return, then she would then have the added benifit of both a primary filter and a nitrate filter. Not bad considering it is minimal effort and is essentially a maintanance free addition to the system.
                    The drawback for her though, she likes plants. Plants like nitrates. For the cichlid fan however, this is a great little diy project.
                    Consider my posts as general information based on personal experiences, and in most cases, far oversimplified. Actual mileage may vary. Don't try this at home. If symptoms persist, contact your physician.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Gunk in filter tubing

                      Oh, oops! D'oh for me, too.
                      "Millennium hand and shrimp!"

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                      • #12
                        Re: Gunk in filter tubing

                        Scott it just seems to me that if the line was twice as long as it needed to be to remove 90% of the nitrates and nitrites you could double the flow rate, amoount of nitrates and nitrites flowing through the tube in an hour and get the other half of the tube to do something so the nitrates and nitrites would go down faster in the tank. It would not cost much to add more tubing and leave the pump alone. Of coarse making the tube longer would slow it down a little bit.

                        max

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                        • #13
                          Re: Gunk in filter tubing

                          Scott - is that how the biological filtration in fluidized bed filters work or is that another animal alltogether?

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                          • #14
                            Re: Gunk in filter tubing

                            Fluidised bed is aerobic, it therefore still creates nitrates. The way a fluidised bed works is by suspending the media, typically filter sand, and exciting the environment with water flow. This causes the sand to remain in a suspended state and therefor allows for a tremendous surface area for aerobic bacteria to grow. As a side benefit fluidised beds are low maintenace. Due to the sand being in a suspended state, and moving around in the water column, it is continuously bumping into other sand particles and is in effect self cleaning to a certain extent. Often fluidised bed filters only require a back wash every few months to remove solids, especially if prefiltered to remove the larger sediment particles in the water.
                            Max, by low flow, I am talking something on the measure of 1-2 gph for a 40' run. If you were to up the flow rate, you would need to multiply the run length in accordance with the gph flow. The whole secret to the denitrification process is to allow the aerobic bacteria time to consume all the oxygen in the water and allow the anerobic bacteria a chance to consume the nitrates left as a process of the aerobic bacteria feeding. By increasing the flow rate, you in effect are making it less efficient rather than more efficient. At 1 1/2 gph the filter should be able to remove something like 30-45ppm nitrate. As you can see, over a period of time that can be very benificial if you arent trying to feed plants or algae.
                            Consider my posts as general information based on personal experiences, and in most cases, far oversimplified. Actual mileage may vary. Don't try this at home. If symptoms persist, contact your physician.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Gunk in filter tubing

                              Originally posted by SCOTT";p="
                              As a side benefit fluidised beds are low maintenace.
                              plus, they are pretty inexpensive

                              maybe I'll get one and try it on one of my tanks

                              thanks

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